2021 Scholars and Benefactors Virtual Event Program

Scholars and Benefactors Virtual Event

Thursday, October 14, 2021 11:00 AM Virtual Event via Zoom

Program Pinchas Cohen Dean USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Holder, William and Sylvia Kugel Dean’s Chair in Gerontology Lourdes Bustamante Student Speaker Bachelor of Science, Human Development and Aging ’21 Candidate, Master of Arts in Aging Services Management ’22 Shari Thorell Chair Board of Councilors, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Bachelor of Arts, University of Southern California ’65 Bérénice Benayoun, PhD Faculty Speaker Assistant Professor of Gerontology, Molecular and Computational Biology, Biological Sciences, and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Kathleen Gilmore Benefactor Speaker Principal, Clifford Swan Investment Counselors Board of Councilors, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Thank You!

The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is extremely grateful for the generous support from members of our Gerontology family, friends and donors of the school. We thank you for your past donations and hope that you continue to share our vision to improve the quality of life for our aging world.

Keynote Speakers Lourdes Bustamante – Student Speaker Lourdes Bustamante is currently a master’s candidate in the Aging Services Management program at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and will graduate in May 2022. Lourdes’ passion for the aging field is demonstrated through her vast work for the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s and the National Adult Protective Services Association, where she serves on the board for both organizations. As the youngest member for both of these positions, she has done advocacy work, caregiving, and research in efforts to raise awareness for the importance of this age group.

Lourdes has also served as the Chair of Cultural Events for the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Student Gerontology Association (SGA). Upon her undergraduate graduation, Lourdes was awarded membership in USC’s Order of Troy. She is working towards using the knowledge and skills she acquired during her time in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology to join the senior living industry and provide older adults with innovative, dignified and high-caliber housing options on a national scale.

Bérénice Benayoun, PhD – Faculty Speaker Bérénice Benayoun, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences at USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology with secondary appointments at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Keck School of Medicine. She joined the USC faculty in 2017.

Dr. Benayoun received her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the École Normale Supérieure de Paris and Université Paris Diderot-Paris. Her PhD work focused on a transcription factor whose mutations lead to a human syndrome associated with premature menopause and later identified a new key chromatin signature of cell identity and transcriptional consistency. Her lab’s current research focuses on epigenome and transcriptome remodeling with aging in vertebrates, how these changes interact with overlooked cues such as biological sex, and changes in the aging process.

Dr. Benayoun was named a 2020 Pew Biomedical Scholar and received the 2021 Nathan Shock New Investigator Award. She has also been the recipient of the 2019 Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award in Mammalian Genetics and the Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity and Equality Junior Scholar Award, among others.

Keynote Speakers Continued Kathleen Gilmore – Benefactor Speaker Kathleen Gilmore is Chairman of the Board and President of Clifford Swan Investment Counselors, an independent wealth management firm founded in 1915 and headquartered in Pasadena, California. Kathleen’s career with Clifford Swan began in 2002. She was elected Chair and promoted to President in 2020.

A Pasadena native, Kathleen has enjoyed many years of volunteering with The Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club, Hillsides, Church of Our Savior, the USC Pacific Asia Museum, The Town Club, Pasadena Community Foundation’s Professional Advisors Committee and our very own USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Board of Councilors.

Ms. Gilmore is also a big sports enthusiast. After all, she was a double student athlete at Williams University where she played both basketball and volleyball.

In addition to her busy work and volunteer life, Kathleen has also managed to raise three wonderful sons.

University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology 3715 McClintock Avenue, Suite 110 Los Angeles, California 90089-0191 (213) 740-1362 gero.usc.edu