Board of Directors

KATHRYN HESTER, MS
PRESIDENT AND TREASURER

Kathryn Hester, MS, founder of the Elder Justice Foundation (EJF), has been invested in matters surrounding long-term care for seniors for more than 15 years. Previously, she was an analyst at the Long Term Care Institute, one of the leading organizations focused on long-term care quality and performance improvement, compliance program development, and review in long-term care, hospice and other residential care settings. 

DAVID ZIMMERMAN, PHD
VICE PRESIDENT

David R. Zimmerman, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Health Systems Engineering, and the former Director of the Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis (CHSRA), at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2016, Dr. Zimmerman and his daughter Kate Hester started the Elder Justice Foundation to fund projects that prevent elder abuse and promote elder justice. 

KERRY BURNIGHT, PHD
SECRETARY

Kerry Burnight is a Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the University of California, Irvine where she has served for 15 years. Burnight is the Director and co-founder of the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center, where her team of law enforcement officers, physicians, attorneys and social workers have served more than 1,000 older adults. 

Staff

KATrina phelps, phd
CHIEF OPERATIng OFFICER

Katrina Phelps was the founder of Care Connect, which assisted families facing the challenges of health limitations, the aging process, or loss of a loved one. 

The work of the Elder Justice Foundation fuels her passion for translating academic research into high quality programs with positive outcomes to improve the lives of vulnerable individuals. She believes that small organizations can have a big impact through innovative collaboration and capacity-building.