Leland Waters, Ph.D.
Director, Virginia Geriatric Education Center
Associate Director, Virginia Center on Aging
Department of Gerontology

Expertise

• Geriatrics Education and Workforce Development
• Post-Acute and Long-Term Care
• Social Determinants of Health

Education

• Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University
• M.S. in Gerontology, with a specialization in Health Care Organization and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth University
• BS in Economics, Virginia Commonwealth University

Research Interests

• Interprofessional geriatric workforce enhancement
• Transdisciplinary Team Science
• Food Insecurity

Bio

Leland “Bert” Waters, PhD, is the Associate Director of the Virginia Center on Aging and is the Director of the Virginia Geriatric Education Center, a consortium of six Virginia universities. He is the Project Director for Virginia’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). Dr. Waters is core faculty at VCU’s Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry & Innovation (iCubed) Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan Transdisciplinary Core, addressing problems of older and disabled adults aging in place within low-income seniors housing apartment buildings and surrounding neighborhoods in urban Richmond, Virginia. He was instrumental in developing and sustaining the Mobile Health and Wellness Program, a care coordination model supporting low-income older adults. He is also the Co-Principal Investigator for the Virginia Long-Term Care Facility Network, a peer clinician network and associated website of free information with a monthly forum through which clinical issues in long-term care medicine can be discussed among peers. He currently serves as Past-President of the Southern Gerontological Society, and President of the National Association for Geriatric Education, the stakeholder organization for GWEPs. 

Highlights

• Fellow, Gerontological Society of America
• Researcher of the Year Award, 2021, College of Health Professions
• Victor W. Marshall Fellow in Applied Gerontology, Southern Gerontological Society
• VCU Leadership Development Program, (GEHLI) Class of 2018
• Alumni of the Year, Department of Gerontology, 2011

Publications/Projects