ABSTRACT
Friends and colleagues describe the legacy of and pay tribute to Lori Stiegel, elder justice champion, who died earlier this year.
KEYWORDS:
As an attorney, advocate, author, trainer, mentor, and JEAN Editorial Board member, Lori Stiegel was one of the first to recognize the insidious threat of elder abuse and to seek legal protections and remedies to address it. Most recently she served as Senior Attorney of the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging. Her contributions were immeasurable and far reaching. Lori died far too young on March 28, 2020. To honor her, we asked many of those who knew her best to share their reflections, professional and personal, of how Lori helped to shape the landscape of elder justice and their own work.
Lori first worked on behalf of older Americans as a legal aid attorney and then as a Georgia Legal Assistance Developer prior to joining the Commission on Law and Aging in 1989. She spearheaded the Commission’s efforts to address elder abuse and financial exploitation. Among many initiatives, she conducted an analysis of legal statutes affecting the autonomy and protection of older and vulnerable adults and contributed to the development of resources and training materials, such as the National Center on Elder Law & Rights Elder Justice Toolkit. In 2003, she provided testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She produced the Elder Abuse Fatality Review Teams: A Replication Manual in 2005 to promote the multidisciplinary examination of deaths related to elder mistreatment in order to improve service provision. Lori also developed legal issues “pocket guides” for practitioners. She championed the cause of guardianship reform as the national leader of WINGS: The Working Interdisciplinary Networks of Guardianship Stakeholders. Charlie Sabatino, Director of the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging, worked with Lori for 30 years. “I always relied on her not only for her analytic expertise in law and aging, but even more so for her insistence on the highest standards for research and project management, and her ability to see how the bigger picture of personal and professional relationships and our mission should be kept in sync.”
Lisa Nerenberg, author and executive director of the California Elder Justice Coalition recalled working with Lori and other pioneers in these earliest efforts. “I got to know Lori in the late 1980s when I was with the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention. We served together on the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) and were partners in the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) along with NCPEA’s Rosalie Wolf, Karen Stein at the University of Delaware, Joanne Marlatt of the National Adult Protective Services Association, and Sara Aravanis, who directed NCEA for the National Association of State Units on Aging. Those were exhilarating times, and over the next 30 years Lori forged a path forward for legal services in elder abuse prevention, leading a generation of lawyers along with her. Her boundless energy and curiosity led her to pioneer elder courts, fatality review teams, and to address domestic violence, public policy, and undue influence. She was an original – brainy, engaging, feisty, and a friend, mentor, and inspiration to many.”
Georgia Anetzberger, former editor in chief of the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect (JEAN), admired Lori for many reasons, including her “breadth of knowledge about all things ‘law and elder abuse’ and for her ability to write technical and complex matters in a way that the intended audience would actually seek out and read. Lori’s contributions to the field of elder abuse would exhaust mere mortals. They included service on many forums and groups, such as the National Research Council Study Panel on the Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect editorial Board. They also included numerous publications, like Guidelines for State Courts Handling Cases Involving Elder Abuse and Elder Abuse Detection and Intervention: A Collaborative Approach, both of which line my personal library shelves. Always an active participant no matter the context, Lori’s thoughts and ideas have helped shape our understanding and response to elder abuse in this country.” Georgia also remembered Lori as a friend with “wit and experiences and stories to share” during their many enjoyable conversations and their “quest” to find the best poutine whenever their paths crossed at conferences.
Lori’s “pursuit of excellence” is a theme that emerged among many friends and colleagues. Mary Twomey, former co-director of the National Center on Elder Abuse, fondly described trying to convince Lori that there had to be “a quick and dirty” way to communicate information on mandatory reporting. “‘Let’s just list how many states require healthcare professionals to report suspected elder abuse.’ Lori replied, ‘Well, it depends what you mean by require.’ I sputtered something to which she responded, ‘Well, then it also depends what you mean by healthcare professionals, and then it depends what you mean by report.’ She chuckled as she said this last part and shook her head a bit (all while knitting something beautiful). I relented because she was right. Ever the lawyer’s lawyer, Lori was a true professional who loved the detail of the law. She was super smart, funny, sometimes frustrating, kind. She worked hard and dedicated her life to the cause of elder justice.”
Lori was universally remembered as being relentless, tireless, strategic, and effective. Lori Delagrammatakis, executive director of the National Adult Protective Services Association, said, “The woman was a force to be reckoned with: a passionate advocate who was unrelenting in her search for workable solutions. She will be very much missed.” Bob Blancato, national coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, echoed this in his message regarding Lori’s passing: “She educated thousands in her life. She stirred the pot better than most and usually knew the best time to do it – to effect change. Without question, the world of elder justice has lost one of its most influential and impactful figures.”
Mary Joy Quinn, former director of the Probate Department for the San Francisco Superior Court was most impressed with Lori’s ability to collaborate across disciplines. “She provided solid, reliable guidance to practitioners both in the legal field and the social services field through publications and presentations. She could be depended upon to ‘tell it like it is.’ She was a stalwart friend and mentor who promoted the work of colleagues with full credit. Her voice will be sorely missed.”
Former San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Candace Heisler collaborated with Lori throughout their careers. “We worked together on projects, articles, and a book. Her lifelong pursuit of justice for elder abuse victims led to studies of court practices, law enforcement and prosecution responses, and far reaching systemic changes for evaluating responses to elder abuse death cases. Her work has saved lives and reduced suffering. Six of us, all from different disciplines, worked together on the book Elder Abuse Detection and Intervention: A Collaborative Approach. We shared the conviction that elder abuse is a complex, multifaceted problem requiring multiple systems and professions to work together. Writing the book required us to identify and manage differences, think about the strengths and weaknesses of our systems, share turf, and compromise. Lori not only focused on civil justice issues but also helped us envision the future direction of our field. I also want to talk about Lori, my friend. She was supportive, generous, and offered wise counsel. She could be counted on to know the best places to eat and the best spots to shop no matter where we were. She took up knitting to relax and like all things in her life, excelled in it. Lori leaves a long and impressive legacy and we owe her a deep debt of gratitude for what she accomplished. As I honor that legacy, I will be forever grateful for the gift of friendship that she shared with me.”
As JEAN editors, former partners in the National Center on Elder Abuse, and elder justice advocates, we have also known and worked with Lori for many years and benefited tremendously from her expertise, drive, and ability to make us laugh. Colleagues have noted that a hallmark of Lori’s work was forging connections across disciplines and among stakeholders with varying perspectives. In this vein, Lori created and was the original manager of the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) electronic listserv, a vital conduit for information exchange that grew to include over 2,000 members at one time. The listserv, still active today, provides a channel where representatives across states and disciplines can connect to promote best practices and shared messaging. JEAN’s associate editor had “inherited” the task of managing the listserv from Lori years ago and it was pretty daunting to think of filling her shoes. She was always available for advice, and over the years we often joked about the challenges of keeping such a dynamic forum running smoothly. Most of the time things did run smoothly, but every now and then something would go sideways – for example, when someone forgot the prohibition against lobbying and the list manager needed to step in to redirect. At times, fiery exchanges would erupt. Lori had a wicked sense of humor and always expressed the perfect blend of empathy, but also relief that she was no longer the one dealing with that particular challenge!
We were fortunate to work with Lori on many initiatives but we are particularly indebted to her for her decades of service to JEAN as a contributor and editorial board member. Despite being one of the busiest people we knew, she never turned down a request for assistance or to review a submission. Her standards were impeccable, and her contributions were thoughtful, incisive, and comprehensive – and she pulled no punches when warranted. She never stopped working, serving as a reviewer as recently as January just weeks before she died. Lori’s pursuit of excellence advanced the quality of JEAN and its value to the field. We will miss her personally, and professionally.