Margaret Wallhagen, Ph.D., of Mill Valley, California, has been named chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the nation’s leading organization for people with hearing loss. She officially assumed her new role at Convention 2014 in Austin, Texas, in June. Other officers installed at the Convention were: Vice Chairperson James J. DeCaro, Ph.D. (NY); Secretary Katherine Bouton (NY), and Treasurer Michael Stone, Esq. (DC).
Dr. Wallhagen is a professor of Gerontological Nursing and a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner in the School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She received her initial nursing degree from St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing in New York, her baccalaureate and master’s degrees from UCSF, and her doctoral degree in nursing from the University of Washington in Seattle. Since joining the faculty at UCSF in 1988, she has taught gerontological nursing at both the master’s and doctoral level, and worked as a geriatric nurse practitioner. In January 2006, Dr. Wallhagen became the director of the UCSF/John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence as it entered its second five years of funding.
Dr. Wallhagen has conducted a number of research projects in gerontology and chronic care management. Her research and publications focus especially on how older individuals and their families manage chronic illnesses as well as changes that occur with age. She has explored issues related to informal caregiving, diabetes, and successful aging, but for the last several decades has focused specifically on hearing loss. Her most recent work included a four-year longitudinal study of the experience of hearing loss in older adults and their partners, and she is now doing a study on the benefits of integrating a screening and educational protocol into primary care settings to promote better access to care and treatment.
“Meg Wallhagen's collaborative leadership style, passion and commitment to people with hearing loss are an asset to HLAA and will serve our members well at this most important moment in our history," said HLAA Executive Director Anna Gilmore Hall. "We are fortunate to have a Board of Trustees whose diversity of experience and strength of leadership are commensurate with HLAA’s standing as the most effective organization focused on the consumer needs of people with hearing loss.”
Dr. Wallhagen was appointed to the HLAA Board of Trustees in June 2010. In assuming the chairperson position she commented: "This is definitely an exciting but also humbling opportunity as I follow in the footsteps of leaders in promoting access for all persons with hearing loss. I am very much committed to the mission of HLAA and look forward to working with everyone to assure its fulfillment."
Just prior to Convention, the Board appointed the following trustees to serve a three-year term:
Don Doherty (VA)
Richard Einhorn (NY)
Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D. (MD)
For a complete list of board members and their biographies, see the Board Members page.
About Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)
HLAA opens the world of communication to people with hearing loss through information, education, support, and advocacy. HLAA produces Walk4Hearing events in 21 cities, publishes Hearing Loss Magazine, holds annual Conventions (Convention 2015, St. Louis, Missouri, June 25 - 28), and has an extensive network of chapters and state organizations. The headquarters is located at 7910 Woodmont Ave., Suite 1200, Bethesda, MD 20814. Phone: 301.657.2248.
