2024 MSU AgeAlive Awards Ceremony
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 4:00pm – 5:00 pm
Held via ZOOM
2024 Intergenerational Award
The Kinship Care Resource Center is one of several community programs in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University. The KCRC serves kinship care families across the state by providing information and referrals to resources and services for caregivers and the children they are raising. KCRC also offers support to professionals serving kinship families. Beth Lindley, L.M.S.W., KCRC director accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
Lindley, is a social worker who has worked with aging adults and communities for over 25 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan as a John A. Hartford Fellow.
Lindley’s work has focused on supporting adults and caregivers in their communities, honoring their contributions and value to our culture and society. As a member of the MSU Kinship Care Resource Center team, she has built relationships with passionate colleagues and partners in Michigan and the U.S. in the service of wellbeing and stability for kinship families and the children in their care.
2024 Research in Aging Award
Daniel V´´elez Ortiz, M.S.W., Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Social Work, College of Social Science. His current projects involve developing a culturally relevant education curriculum to educate Puerto Rican older adults on depression and mental health services through a storytelling approach delivered in a virtual reality format. Dr. Ortiz is also working in collaboration with Dr. Fei Sun on a project promoting a virtual platform (Trualta) to educate family caregivers of older adults living with Dementia from Asian and Latino communities funded through the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. He is also the principal investigator on another MHEF project that seeks to build capacity among community organizations serving Latino and Asian communities. They aim to build a network that can enhance the capacity of these community agencies creating services to fill gaps in their communities of family caregivers of older adults with dementia and depression. Dr. Ortiz also worked with the National Council of Dementia Minds highlighting the experiences of people living with dementia in the process of diagnosis and onward. In addition, he has worked with the State of Michigan Services for Aging in developing and culturally adapting educational materials to educate Latino caregivers of people living with dementia.
2024 Research in Aging Award
Fatemeh Saeidi-Rizi, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Landscape architecture in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. Dr. Saeidi-Rizi’s scholarship focuses on understanding how urban design and exposure to nature, particularly through the inclusion of green infrastructure, enhance mental and physical wellbeing, with a specific emphasis on older adults and vulnerable populations.
Dr. Saeidi-Rizi explores how urban spaces, such as public parks and university campuses, can optimize mental health outcomes. Her work has further evolved through international collaboration on a project titled, “The Relationships between Nearby Nature and the Urban Aging Society,” a cross-cultural study involving the U.S., Thailand, and Taiwan. This project investigates how different types and levels of nature exposure benefit older adults. Dr. Saeidi-Rizi’s interdisciplinary approach integrates landscape architecture, cognitive psychology, urban design, and public health, employing both empirical and theoretical methods to deepen our understanding of the built environment’s impact on human health and wellbeing.
2024 Legacy Award
Joseph W. Hess Jr., M.D., was born June 7, 1926, in Farmington, Utah. He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Dr. Hess earned a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University and a medical degree from the University of Utah. Following graduation, with his wife and two small children, he moved to Detroit to complete an internship and residency at Detroit Receiving Hospital. He was invited to join the Wayne State University medical faculty where he rose to the rank of professor. He remained there for more than two decades.
Dr. Hess is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine and received a certificate of added qualification in Geriatric Medicine. During a sabbatical year, he earned a master’s degree in Medical Education from the University of Illinois. He was the founding chairman of Family Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine. After returning to the University of Utah, he became associate chairman of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. He led faculty development educational workshops sponsored by the World Health Organization in Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana.
Dr. Hess participated in delegations delivering medical supplies and education to health-related organizations in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and post-Soviet Siberia. After retiring from professional activities in 2000, he returned to Michigan, became a member of the Greater Lansing United Nations Association, and served eight years as president. He received the Greater Lansing Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award in 2012 and the Glen Taggart Award for contributions to international understanding from Michigan State University in 2014.
Dr. Hess’s pride and joy throughout his career have been his six accomplished children, their spouses, and their offspring. Widowed and living alone at 98 years old, Dr. Hess maintains a keen interest in domestic and international affairs. He also enjoys visits and activities with family and friends. He looks forward to the good times ahead.