About Age-Friendly

Scotte R. Hartronft, MD, MBA, FACP, FACHE, CPE

Executive Director

Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care 

Dr. Hartronft assumed the role of Executive Director, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) effective August 18, 2019. As Executive Director, his responsibilities cover the care of Veterans with complex care needs of all ages. GEC programs range in health care settings to include, but not limited to, acute care, home care, extended care, purchased home, hospice and palliative care, community, and facility-based community care. VA GEC programs  accounted for over $10 billion in expenditures for FY20. Prior to August 2019, Dr. Hartronft served in senior VA field positions at three different complexity 1a VA Medical Centers since 2006 including Chief of Staff at VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Deputy Chief of Staff VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Associate Chief of Staff at South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio.

Marianne Shaughnessy, PhD, AGPCNP-BC, GS-C, FAAN

Director, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center Programs

Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Dr. Shaughnessy has served in leadership positions since joining the VA in 2003 as the Associate Director of Education and Evaluation in the Baltimore GRECC. She joined VA Central Office in 2013 and assumed various positions, most recent the National Director of GRECC programs. In this role she is responsible for oversight of the 20 Geriatric Centers of Excellence throughout the U.S., including management of the Geriatrics and Gerontology Federal Advisory Committee. 

Kimberly Wozneak, MS

National Lead for Age-Friendly Health Systems

Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Kimberly is the National Lead for Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) with the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. Since January 2020, she has led AFHS in VA, coaching teams and engaging leaders. Kim oversees strategic planning, communications, partnerships, education, and evaluation for AFHS. From 2021-2022, she received an Age-Friendly Scholarship from The John A. Hartford Foundation and completed the Next Generation Leaders Fellowship with the American Hospital Association. Previously, she was a Presidential Management Fellow with the VA Office of Community Care from 2018-2020 and completed a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health from 2017-2018.

Ines Valencia-Mendoza, MPH

Age-Friendly Program Analyst

Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Ines is a Program Analyst for Age-Friendly Health Systems with the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. With a background in administration and clinical operations, she previously served as the business manager for Rehab & Extended Care at the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System. An Army Veteran, Ines completed a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Kayla Lalande, MSW, CISW

Age-Friendly Program Analyst

 Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Kayla is a Program Analyst for Age-Friendly Health Systems with the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. With 10 years of social work experience in geriatrics and end-of-life care at the William S. Middleton VA Hospital in Madison, WI, she has also worked in Systems Redesign, Caregiver Support, Oncology, and inpatient social work. Kayla helped develop the national Goals of Care Conversations Train-the-Trainer program with the National Center on Ethics in Health Care.

Shivani K. Jindal, MD, MPH

Clinical Consultant for Home Care, Community Based and Purchased Care

Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Dr. Jindal, a Geriatric Medicine physician at Cincinnati VA Medical Center, serves as Transition of Care Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She also consults for VA National Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care, focusing on Home and Community Based Programs. With a residency in internal medicine from University of Cincinnati, she pursued Geriatric Medicine fellowship at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and advanced fellowship at VA Boston Healthcare System. Her work spans hospitalist and educator roles across Veterans Health Administration, emphasizing quality care for older adults, care innovations, and humanism in medicine. She focuses on Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative implementation within VA system and various clinical settings.

The John A. Hartford Foundation invests in aging experts and practice innovations that transform how the care of older adults is delivered. Since 1982, The John A. Hartford Foundation has awarded more than $724 million in grants to enhance the health and well-being of older people.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) brings awareness of safety and quality to millions, catalyzes learning and the systematic improvement of care, develops solutions to previously intractable challenges, and mobilizes health systems, communities, regions, and nations to reduce harm and deaths.