Mark Lachs, MD, MPH
: Director

An internist and geriatrician, Dr. Lachs is the Irene and Roy Psaty Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College and Co-Chief of Geriatrics and Gerontology, and the Director of Geriatrics for the New York Presbyterian Health System. Both a clinician and researcher, Dr. Lachs has conducted numerous studies of elder abuse outcomes and epidemiology, and he is principal investigator of the largest longitudinal study of elder abuse victims which was funded by the National Institutes on Aging. He is also the co-principal investigator of the NYS Prevalence Study, funded by the NYS Family & Children’s Trust Fund. His other interests include resident-to-resident abuse in long term care, abuse committed by paid home care providers, and self-neglect in older people. His many accolades and awards include a Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholarship (the country’s preeminent career development award in Geriatric Medicine), a National Institutes on Aging Academic Leadership Award and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse Rosalie Wolf Ward. A co-author of the American Medical Association’s Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines on Elder Abuse and Neglect, he has testified before congress on matters related to aging, served as a consultant to the World Health Organization on an international screening study of elder abuse, and been a member of a congressionally mandated National Academy of Sciences Panel convened by an order of congress to address the training needs of health care professionals in domestic violence. Dr. Lachs mentors junior faculty in the area of elder abuse and neglect, and maintains an active geriatric medicine practice in New York City.

Risa Breckman, LCSW
: Deputy Director

A licensed clinical social worker, Ms. Breckman has been at the forefront of developing programs, protocols, educational forums and materials on elder abuse and neglect. In 1982, Ms. Breckman established an elder abuse program for NYC’s (then) Victim Services Agency, and later for the Queens DA’s office and a NYC-based hospital. She established the country’s first elder abuse victim support group and developed a change model adopted internationally. She co-wrote the AMA guidelines on elder abuse, developed training materials and protocols utilized internationally, and trained thousands of professionals across disciplines and career levels. She is also the co-author of the seminal book guiding interventions, Strategies for Helping Victims of Elder Mistreatment (1988) and numerous other publications addressing this topic. A psychotherapist, she integrates cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approaches to assessment, interviewing and interventions with elder abuse victims. At NYPH’s geriatric primary care practice, she instituted mental health and abuse screening and developed an award-winning geriatric psychosocial website for care providers (highlighted in BusinessWeek) which includes educational and resource materials for practitioners to use when helping abuse victims. Currently, she is working with the Department for Justice, Concept Systems, Inc. and others to develop a roadmap for the elder justice field utilizing concept mapping methodology. In addition to her work with the NCYEAC, Ms. Breckman is an Assistant Professor of Gerontological Social Work in Medicine and Director of Social Work Programs and Education in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Robin Roberts, LMSW: Coordinator, Multidisciplinary Team

Robin Roberts, LMSW serves as the Brooklyn Multidisciplinary Team Coordinator (MDTC) for the NYC Elder Abuse Center. Ms. Roberts facilitates multidisciplinary teams in Manhattan and Brooklyn that coordinate assessments and interventions on complex elder abuse cases. In addition, she provides case consultations to professionals from a range of disciplines from diverse systems and conducts in-service trainings on elder abuse and team interventions. Prior to this, she was the Director of JASA’s Legal/Social Work Elder Abuse Program (LEAP) in Queens. In addition, Ms. Roberts has a private practice, providing individual, family and group counseling to adults, specializing in anxiety and depression disorders. She also provides mental health services to substance abusers and formerly incarcerated individuals. Ms. Roberts’ previous employment included working at a residential treatment facility for 10 years, providing psychosocial interventions to children and young adults suffering from trauma and experiencing mental illness. She holds a Bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters Degree in Social Work from Rhode Island College.

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