Expertise

• Appreciative Gerontology
• Appreciative Education & Advising
• Compassion Satisfaction & Compassion Fatigue
• Creating Appreciative & Strengths-Based Cultures
• Disrupting Ageism through Age-Inclusive, Enriched Environments
• InterAge Experiences for a More Age-Inclusive Future
• Lifelong learning as an Anti-Ageism Strategy

Education

• Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, from Virginia Commonwealth University
• M.S. in Gerontology, from Virginia Commonwealth University
• BA in Management / Psychology from Averett University

Research Interests

• Building Compassion Satisfaction
• Innovations in Community-University Partnerships
• Appreciative Education

Bio

CliftonStrengths: Strategic | Learner | Intellection | Relator | Individualization

Ayn Welleford, M.S. (Gerontology), Ph.D., is a Developmental Gerontologist. She has taught extensively in the areas of adult development and aging, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction, person-centered care, ethical decision-making and disrupting ageism. Throughout her thirty year career at VCU, she has worked to bridge classroom and community,  #DisruptAgeism, and creating age-inclusive cultures where all ages are celebrated. She works to equip and affirm the present and future eldercare workforce community to bring forth meaningful change through person-centered and purpose-driven care. 

Dr. Welleford serves as the InterAge Director for LLI Chesterfield, which is a fresh approach to building an age-inclusive future by fostering connection, purpose and belonging across ages, reducing ageism and strengthening community wellbeing. 

Dr. Welleford is a certified Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator through the Appreciative Inquiry Commons. She regularly facilitates interactive community dialogues to provide a platform for participants to critically examine their perceptions and experiences of aging, confront ageism and implicit bias and co-create practical anti-ageist strategies.

She has been known to say, “Let’s do something that does something.”

Highlights

• 2018 Phoebe and Frank Hall Humanitarian Award, from Senior Connections, for her significant advocacy, Contributions, and Leadership.
• 2017 Humanitarian Award, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities
• 2015 Richmond History Makers for work on the Greater Richmond Age Wave,  encouraging regional collaboration
• 2012 Mary C. Payne Leadership in Aging Award for her visionary leadership as a trailblazer in the field of aging
• 2011 AGHE Distinguished Teacher Award
• 2011 Alzheimer's Association Advocacy for person centered dementia care and work on Virginia’s Statewide Dementia Plan
• 2007-2011, Chair of the Governor's Commonwealth of Virginia Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Commission

Selected Publications & Projects

• 2022 CHP Mentoring
• VCU Gero CCE
• Aging for Life Training, Greater Richmond Age Wave Coalition 
• Person Centered Personal Care Aide School, 2019
• Welleford, E. A. (2023). Souvenirs from the Journey: Building Compassion Satisfaction through Confidence, Competence, Connectedness, and a Climate of Compassion. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 29(1), 35–46. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1946
• Welleford, E. A., Watson, T. B., Amateau, G., & Johnson, M. (2023). Insights and Innovation: How a Local Public-Private Partnership is Building Home Care. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648221147915
• Welleford, E. A., Amateau, G., White, J. T., Stanculescu, N., (2021). Combating Compassion Fatigue: An Appreciative Pivot to the Virtual Classroom in a New Educational World. Journal of Appreciative Education. Special Issue: Innovations in Appreciative Education (8), 3-21.
• Welleford, E.A. (2021) Building Compassion Satisfaction through Self Honoring Practices, Honoring the Work, and Creating Compassionate Communities. CSA Journal, 85(4). 32-37.
• Van Aartrijk, A., White, J., Amateau, G., Welleford, E.A., (12 July 2021). Community EngAGEment: University, nonprofit and municipal partnerships emerging from the pandemic. American City and County. Retrieved from: https://www.americancityandcounty.com/2021/07/12/community-engagement-university-nonprofit-and-municipal-partnerships-emerging-from-the-pandemic/
• Taylor, Suzänne F, Coogle, Constance L, Cotter, James J, Welleford, E. Ayn, and Copolillo, Al. "Community-Dwelling Older Adults’ Adherence to Environmental Fall Prevention Recommendations." Journal of Applied Gerontology 38.6 (2019): 755-74. 
• Gendron, Tracey L, Inker, Jennifer, and Welleford, Ayn. "“How Old Do You Feel?” The Difficulties and Ethics of Operationalizing Subjective Age." The Gerontologist 58.4 (2018): 618-24.
• Arbogast, Charlotte E, Welleford, E. Ayn, and Netting, F. Ellen. "State Dementia Plans and the Alzheimer’s Disease Movement: Framing Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Motivation." Journal of Applied Gerontology 36.7 (2017): 840-63.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Welleford, E.A. (2018). “How Old Do You Feel?” The Difficulties and Ethics of Operationalizing Subjective Age. The Gerontologist.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Welleford, E.A. (2017). A Theory of Relational Ageism: A Discourse Analysis of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. The Gerontologist.
• Arbogast. C., Welleford, E. A., & Netting, E., (2015). State Dementia Plans and the Alzheimer's Disease Movement: Framing Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Motivation. Journal of Applied Gerontology.
• Welleford, E. A. & Netting, F. E. (2013). Taking a broader look at preparing for boomer volunteers: Beyond tips and tricks. The International Journal of Volunteer Administrators, XXIX, (3), 23-30.
• Ligon, M. B.,Ehlman, MC., Moriello, G. & Welleford, E. A. (2009). Oral History in the Classroom: Fostering Positive Attitudes toward Older Adults and the Aging Process. Journal of Aging, Humanities and the Arts. 3(1), 59-72.
• Welleford, E. A., Parham, I. A., Coogle, C. L., Netting, F. E., Burke, A. L., & Boling, P. (2005). The Emergence of a Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Certificate: A University-Community Partnership. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 24(3), 248-261.
• Cotter, J. J., Welleford, E. A., Vesley-Massey, K. (2003) Town and Gown Collaborative Research: Challenges And Opportunities. Family and Community Health: Community Based Innovations in Older Populations 26(4), 329-337.