2023 Conference Agenda
9:00 Registration
9:20 Welcome – Christopher Parrish, Chief Assistant District Attorney, Guilford County
9:30 Joyce Massey-Smith, Director, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services
9:45 Plenary Session: By Caroline Farmer, Executive Director, Governor’s Crime Commission
10:45 Break
11:00 Keynote: DA through CODA: By Jordan Ford, Chief Financial Crimes Prosecutor at NC Conference of District Attorneys and Nancy Warren, APS Consultant
12:00 Annual Business Meeting
12:15 Lunch
1:15 Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session A: APS Design Team Report: By Karey Perez, Adult Services Section Chief, Division of Aging and Adult Services, NC Department of Health and Human Services
Breakout Session B: Financial Exploitation, Physical Abuse, and Neglect: By Jessica Spencer,
Assistant District Attorney, Forsyth County.
Breakout Session C: Guardianship Reform: By Corye Dunn, Director of Public Policy, Disability Rights North Carolina
Breakout Session D: Sexual Assault: By Genevieve Lynch-Sachs, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Solace Center, Interact of Wake County
Breakout Session E: MDTs: By Kristy Preston, Network Director Adult Protection Network, School of Government, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Breakout Session F: Nursing Home Changes… Before and After the Pandemic: By Kim Johnson, Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Kay Castillo, Executive Director, Friends of Residents in Long-Term Care, and Chip Lacy-Sellers, Nursing Home Administrator at Alpine Health and Rehab
2:30 Auditorium: Where Do We Go From Here? By Heather Burkhardt, Executive Director, North Carolina Coalition on Aging, and Mary Bethel, Chair of the NC Coalition on Aging’s Board of Directors
3:15 Closing Remarks and Door Prizes
3:30 Conference Adjourn
9:00 Registration
9:20 Welcome – Christopher Parrish, Chief Assistant District Attorney, Guilford County
9:30 Joyce Massey-Smith, Director, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services
9:45 Plenary Session: By Caroline Farmer, Executive Director, Governor’s Crime Commission
10:45 Break
11:00 Keynote: DA through CODA: By Jordan Ford, Chief Financial Crimes Prosecutor at NC Conference of District Attorneys and Nancy Warren, APS Consultant
12:00 Annual Business Meeting
12:15 Lunch
1:15 Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session A: APS Design Team Report: By Karey Perez, Adult Services Section Chief, Division of Aging and Adult Services, NC Department of Health and Human Services
Breakout Session B: Financial Exploitation, Physical Abuse, and Neglect: By Jessica Spencer,
Assistant District Attorney, Forsyth County.
Breakout Session C: Guardianship Reform: By Corye Dunn, Director of Public Policy, Disability Rights North Carolina
Breakout Session D: Sexual Assault: By Genevieve Lynch-Sachs, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Solace Center, Interact of Wake County
Breakout Session E: MDTs: By Kristy Preston, Network Director Adult Protection Network, School of Government, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Breakout Session F: Nursing Home Changes… Before and After the Pandemic: By Kim Johnson, Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Kay Castillo, Executive Director, Friends of Residents in Long-Term Care, and Chip Lacy-Sellers, Nursing Home Administrator at Alpine Health and Rehab
2:30 Auditorium: Where Do We Go From Here? By Heather Burkhardt, Executive Director, North Carolina Coalition on Aging, and Mary Bethel, Chair of the NC Coalition on Aging’s Board of Directors
3:15 Closing Remarks and Door Prizes
3:30 Conference Adjourn
2023 Conference Speakers
Caroline Farmer, Executive Director, Governor’s Crime Commission
Caroline Farmer is an experienced attorney with more than twenty years of public service experience. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC). In role as Executive Director, she oversees millions in grants to local and state partners, and the criminal justice analytics center. Prior to joining the Governor’s Crime Commission, Farmer was the Executive Director at Volunteer NC (NC Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service), which is a statewide government organization housed in the Office of the Governor whose mission is to improve lives and strengthen communities in North Carolina through service.. There she led the statewide coordination of volunteers and donations in response to natural disasters for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management.
Also, Farmer was Deputy Director at the NCDOJ for over a decade. There she developed and managed the Attorney General’s statewide efforts on identity theft, financial exploitation of seniors, and child Predator campaigns. Also, she created public policy and generated multifaceted response to consumer and law enforcement concerns. Also, Farmers years in public service includes roles at the Department of Transportation and Agency Liaison at the Office of the Governor. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, and UNC School of Law.
Jordan Ford, Chief Financial Crimes Prosecutor, NC Conference of District Attorneys
Jordan was born and raised in Southeastern North Carolina but has called Raleigh, NC his home for the past eighteen years. After moving to Raleigh and graduating from North Carolina State University, Jordan attended North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, NC. Jordan began his legal career as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Wanda G. Bryant at the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He then spent five years as an Assistant District Attorney with the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office in Smithfield, NC. As a local prosecutor, Jordan specialized in impaired driving cases, financial crimes, and child sexual offenses. Jordan left Johnston County to join the Motor Vehicles section at the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. In his position as an Assistant Attorney General, Jordan’s responsibilities included representing the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and handling criminal appeals on behalf of the State of North Carolina. While working under the Attorney General, Jordan was fortunate enough to handle the appeal for one of the sexual offense cases he prosecuted as an ADA in Johnston County. Over the last decade, Jordan has served as a career prosecutor in various roles. For the past four years, Jordan has been a member of the Financial Crimes Unit at the NC Conference of District Attorneys. In his current role as the Chief Financial Crimes Prosecutor, Jordan is responsible for the development and implementation of the Financial Crimes Initiative throughout the state of North Carolina. Jordan manages a talented team of attorneys and administrative professionals as they direct and oversee the statewide prosecution of a variety of white-collar offenses including embezzlement, public corruption, fraud, and elder exploitation. Outside of the courtroom, Jordan is the Founder and Co-Owner of CrossFit SERVE and SERVE Wellness located in Downtown Raleigh. Although he wears many hats at SERVE, he is most passionate about engaging with his SERVE family and helping people feel comfortable in their own skin. When he is not at SERVE or in the courtroom, Jordan enjoys teaching his dog Mango new tricks and cheering on the Wolfpack (especially when they face those blue schools nearby).
Karey Perez, Adult Services Section Chief, Division of Aging and Adult Services, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Karey Perez serves as Adult Services Section Chief for the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS). A passionate social services advocate, Karey possesses over a decade of professional, programmatic, and leadership experience in social work principles, techniques, and practices which she applies to implement viable solutions impacting community issues. She is responsible for the administration and management of the Aging and Adult Services social work programs and the Special Assistance programs administered by the 100 county Departments of Social Services (DSS). Karey enjoys spending time with her family, especially playing board games and cooking.
Corye Dunn, Director of Public Policy, Disability Rights North Carolina
Corye Dunn joined DRNC in 2011 as the agency’s director of public policy. Dunn, who was born and raised in Durham, N.C., graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and NC Central University School of Law. Prior to coming to work at DRNC, Dunn practiced law in a small firm. She also served as a direct care provider to adults and children with developmental disabilities and worked in nonprofits seeking to expand access to education and increase investment in low-wealth communities.
Genevieve Lynch-Sachs, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Interact of Wake County, Solace Center
Genevieve studied Human Rights and Public Health at Bard College in NY and began a career in Public Health before recognizing her desire to provide direct, bedside patient care. Genevieve then completed her BSN degree at Concordia College, NY. Genevieve has experience in inpatient psychiatric nursing and ICU burn nursing, but now considers hospice care and forensic nursing her passions. For the last 5 years, Genevieve has worked as a community-based hospice RN and currently practices as a SANE at Interact of Wake County's Solace Center in Raleigh, NC.
Kristy Preston, Network Director, Adult Protection Network, UNC School of Government
Kristy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies from Meredith College, and a Master’s of Arts in Liberal Studies from UNC-Greensboro. She has served as the Director at Stokes County Department of Social Services, and later the Director at Surry County Department of Social Service. Currently, Kristy is the Network Director of the Adult Protection Network at UNC School of Government.
Kim Johnson, Senior Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman at Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area Agency on Aging
Kim has a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology from Guilford College and a Masters of Science focused in Gerontology from UNC-Greensboro. She is an experience professional working in the non-profit sector and public service. Also, she’s skilled in advocacy, mediation, and training. For several years, she worked as the Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman at the Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area on Aging. She currently serves as the Senior Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman there. Prior to joining the Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area on Aging, she worked at Senior Resources of Guildford. There she held the positions of Senior Line Coordinator, Senior AIDES Director, and Senior Center Director.
Heather Burkhardt, Executive Director, North Carolina Coalition on Aging
Heather has over 25 years of experience working on behalf of older adults, spanning both the non-profit and state government sectors. Heather served for eighteen years at the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services. During her tenure, she functioned in a variety of programmatic and administrative positions for which she was responsible for strategic and program evaluation, system evaluation, and policy analysis. She served as the Assistant Director from 2015-2017. Heather draws greatly from her non-profit and direct care experience at both the Pitt County Council on Aging and Resources for Seniors. Heather earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and Certificate in Gerontology from East Carolina University.
Mary Bethel, Chair of the Board of Directors, NC Coalition on Aging
Mary is the Chair of the NC Coalition on Aging’s Board of Directors. Mary is retired as Associate State Director for Advocacy with AARP North Carolina in 2015. Prior to coming to AARP in October of 2005, she worked for almost 30 years with the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services in a variety of administrative, supervisory and program capacities. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her advocacy work in aging including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the 2019 Elizabeth Welch Award from the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services, and the 2012 National AARP Lyn Bodiford Award. She has graduate and undergraduate degrees from NC State University. Mary served as the first executive director of the Coalition on Aging.
Caroline Farmer is an experienced attorney with more than twenty years of public service experience. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC). In role as Executive Director, she oversees millions in grants to local and state partners, and the criminal justice analytics center. Prior to joining the Governor’s Crime Commission, Farmer was the Executive Director at Volunteer NC (NC Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service), which is a statewide government organization housed in the Office of the Governor whose mission is to improve lives and strengthen communities in North Carolina through service.. There she led the statewide coordination of volunteers and donations in response to natural disasters for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management.
Also, Farmer was Deputy Director at the NCDOJ for over a decade. There she developed and managed the Attorney General’s statewide efforts on identity theft, financial exploitation of seniors, and child Predator campaigns. Also, she created public policy and generated multifaceted response to consumer and law enforcement concerns. Also, Farmers years in public service includes roles at the Department of Transportation and Agency Liaison at the Office of the Governor. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, and UNC School of Law.
Jordan Ford, Chief Financial Crimes Prosecutor, NC Conference of District Attorneys
Jordan was born and raised in Southeastern North Carolina but has called Raleigh, NC his home for the past eighteen years. After moving to Raleigh and graduating from North Carolina State University, Jordan attended North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, NC. Jordan began his legal career as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Wanda G. Bryant at the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He then spent five years as an Assistant District Attorney with the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office in Smithfield, NC. As a local prosecutor, Jordan specialized in impaired driving cases, financial crimes, and child sexual offenses. Jordan left Johnston County to join the Motor Vehicles section at the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. In his position as an Assistant Attorney General, Jordan’s responsibilities included representing the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and handling criminal appeals on behalf of the State of North Carolina. While working under the Attorney General, Jordan was fortunate enough to handle the appeal for one of the sexual offense cases he prosecuted as an ADA in Johnston County. Over the last decade, Jordan has served as a career prosecutor in various roles. For the past four years, Jordan has been a member of the Financial Crimes Unit at the NC Conference of District Attorneys. In his current role as the Chief Financial Crimes Prosecutor, Jordan is responsible for the development and implementation of the Financial Crimes Initiative throughout the state of North Carolina. Jordan manages a talented team of attorneys and administrative professionals as they direct and oversee the statewide prosecution of a variety of white-collar offenses including embezzlement, public corruption, fraud, and elder exploitation. Outside of the courtroom, Jordan is the Founder and Co-Owner of CrossFit SERVE and SERVE Wellness located in Downtown Raleigh. Although he wears many hats at SERVE, he is most passionate about engaging with his SERVE family and helping people feel comfortable in their own skin. When he is not at SERVE or in the courtroom, Jordan enjoys teaching his dog Mango new tricks and cheering on the Wolfpack (especially when they face those blue schools nearby).
Karey Perez, Adult Services Section Chief, Division of Aging and Adult Services, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Karey Perez serves as Adult Services Section Chief for the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS). A passionate social services advocate, Karey possesses over a decade of professional, programmatic, and leadership experience in social work principles, techniques, and practices which she applies to implement viable solutions impacting community issues. She is responsible for the administration and management of the Aging and Adult Services social work programs and the Special Assistance programs administered by the 100 county Departments of Social Services (DSS). Karey enjoys spending time with her family, especially playing board games and cooking.
Corye Dunn, Director of Public Policy, Disability Rights North Carolina
Corye Dunn joined DRNC in 2011 as the agency’s director of public policy. Dunn, who was born and raised in Durham, N.C., graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and NC Central University School of Law. Prior to coming to work at DRNC, Dunn practiced law in a small firm. She also served as a direct care provider to adults and children with developmental disabilities and worked in nonprofits seeking to expand access to education and increase investment in low-wealth communities.
Genevieve Lynch-Sachs, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Interact of Wake County, Solace Center
Genevieve studied Human Rights and Public Health at Bard College in NY and began a career in Public Health before recognizing her desire to provide direct, bedside patient care. Genevieve then completed her BSN degree at Concordia College, NY. Genevieve has experience in inpatient psychiatric nursing and ICU burn nursing, but now considers hospice care and forensic nursing her passions. For the last 5 years, Genevieve has worked as a community-based hospice RN and currently practices as a SANE at Interact of Wake County's Solace Center in Raleigh, NC.
Kristy Preston, Network Director, Adult Protection Network, UNC School of Government
Kristy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies from Meredith College, and a Master’s of Arts in Liberal Studies from UNC-Greensboro. She has served as the Director at Stokes County Department of Social Services, and later the Director at Surry County Department of Social Service. Currently, Kristy is the Network Director of the Adult Protection Network at UNC School of Government.
Kim Johnson, Senior Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman at Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area Agency on Aging
Kim has a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology from Guilford College and a Masters of Science focused in Gerontology from UNC-Greensboro. She is an experience professional working in the non-profit sector and public service. Also, she’s skilled in advocacy, mediation, and training. For several years, she worked as the Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman at the Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area on Aging. She currently serves as the Senior Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman there. Prior to joining the Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area on Aging, she worked at Senior Resources of Guildford. There she held the positions of Senior Line Coordinator, Senior AIDES Director, and Senior Center Director.
Heather Burkhardt, Executive Director, North Carolina Coalition on Aging
Heather has over 25 years of experience working on behalf of older adults, spanning both the non-profit and state government sectors. Heather served for eighteen years at the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services. During her tenure, she functioned in a variety of programmatic and administrative positions for which she was responsible for strategic and program evaluation, system evaluation, and policy analysis. She served as the Assistant Director from 2015-2017. Heather draws greatly from her non-profit and direct care experience at both the Pitt County Council on Aging and Resources for Seniors. Heather earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and Certificate in Gerontology from East Carolina University.
Mary Bethel, Chair of the Board of Directors, NC Coalition on Aging
Mary is the Chair of the NC Coalition on Aging’s Board of Directors. Mary is retired as Associate State Director for Advocacy with AARP North Carolina in 2015. Prior to coming to AARP in October of 2005, she worked for almost 30 years with the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services in a variety of administrative, supervisory and program capacities. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her advocacy work in aging including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the 2019 Elizabeth Welch Award from the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services, and the 2012 National AARP Lyn Bodiford Award. She has graduate and undergraduate degrees from NC State University. Mary served as the first executive director of the Coalition on Aging.
