Your Board of Directors

HGS, Past President, Rick Cagney, J.D., LL.M., M.B.A.

Rick is a results-oriented attorney/mediator/arbitrator with experience in business, government, non-profit, technology and education. He is also a Parenting Coordinator & Facilitator and Guardian Ad Litem.  His BA in American Studies was from Yale University, New Haven, CT; JD, from the University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX; LLM, International Law & Trade from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.; and MBA, in Finance and Marketing from the University of Houston, Houston, TX.

Actively giving to the community, he serves the State Bar of Texas, Houston Bar Association; Texas Association of Mediators; ACR-Houston (Vice President/Treasurer); Houston Gerontological Society (Vice President); Alliance Francaise of Houston (Treasurer); Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (Life Member); Kentucky Derby Museum; Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.   Phone:  713-661‑9067

HGS 2018 to 2019 President – Vaunette Fay PhD, RNC, FNP, GNP

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Nursing Director, Continuing Education Lead Nurse Planner Professor of Nursing – Clinical Nursing Systems

Dr. Vaunette Fay received her PhD in nursing theory development and research from Texas Woman’s University in 1992. She received her Master of Science with a major in nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from Texas Woman’s University in Houston in 1974. She worked as a FNP for Harris County Hospital District- Sunnyside clinic and for Cardiology Associates prior to joining the faculty of University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing in 1981. She is currently an Associate Professor, and since 1990 has served as track director for the Gerontological Nurse Practitioner track.In 1993, she became head of the Division of Gerontology at the UTHSC-Houston School of Nursing and in 1997 was appointed as Associate Director for Education at the UTHSC-H Center on Aging. She is a certified family nurse practitioner and a gerontological nurse practitioner. Dr. Fay teaches gerontological nursing at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has had faculty practice positions as a GNP with Harris County Hospital District Settegast Clinic and is currently working with an Alzheimer’s Day Care Center.Dr. Fay’s research interests include the impact of co-morbidity on physical functioning in older adults and the competency level of nurses working in long term care.A focus of Dr. Fay’s academic career has been development of nurse practitioner programs and interdisciplinary education. She served as nursing coordinator for the Houston site of a Hartford Interdisciplinary team training grant and is lead faculty for an interdisciplinary Issues in Aging class. She is active in the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner faculty and has served on the education committee as chair of the GNP competencies taskforce.  Dr. Fay has served on national review panels and on expert panel on geriatric nursing education. She is currently the Project Officer for the UTHSC-Houston portion of the Texas Consortium of Geriatric Education Centers grant and the John A. Hartford Foundation grant for developing new electronic media for disseminating gerontological nursing content.

HGS, Past President Barbara Sunderland Manousso, Ph.D., M.P.H. CEO

Manousso Mediation and Arbitration, LLC Dr. Barbara Sunderland Manousso, the CEO of Manousso Mediation and Arbitration, LLC, has been in business since 1993 as a 100% woman-owned business. Her work in the field of alternative dispute resolution has been in training mediators and self-practicing as a mediator, arbitrator, ombudsman, facilitator, negotiator, conflict resolution coach, as well as author. A former president of the Association of Conflict Resolution Houston chapter, she is internationally recognized as a leader and mentor in the field of mediation.   She mediates civil and family cases, such as elder and adult mediation. Dr. Manousso serves on the international ACR Standards Committee for Elder Care Mediation Training and has been a seminal international lecturer and expert on elder mediation. In 2008, Barbara was appointed a state Commissioner by Texas Governor Perry to serve on Texas’ Nursing Facility Administrators Advisory Committee. Her baccalaureate was from Brown University; Master of Public Health, from the University of Texas School of Public Health; and Ph.D., from Nova Southeastern University.  She is a member of the the University of Texas Consortium on Aging. 21 Briar Hollow Lane, Suite 508 I Houston, TX 77027 (713) 840-0828 phone

Jeanette Lazarofsky, MS, CMC, CLL JML

Geriatric Care Consulting Laugh A Lot, Friends Jeanette Lazarofsky is a health and human services professional with 30 years’ experience as a consultant, administrator, board director, and volunteer focused on advocacy and support of independent living for older adults.  She has a Master of Science degree in Gerontology from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, is an Advanced  Professional Aging Life Care Expert and spends most of her time bringing the joys and gifts of Laughter as a Certified Laughter Leader and Laughter Yoga presenter. Jeanette has been a keynote speaker and program presenter at annual conferences, seminars and business workshops. Jeanette has been involved with HGS since 2004, served on the HGS Board of Directors since 2009 and was the board president in 2014 and 2015. Phone:  713-874-0793

Boardmember Emerita Faith Brock RN

Supervisor Family Tree In-Home Senior Care 2500 Tanglewilde Street, Suite 478 Houston, TX 77063 (713)333.9991

Boardmember Emeritus Brendan Kraut

Colonial Oaks

HGS, Boardmember Emmeritus Virginia Lootens, Esq

Virginia L. Lootens is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and licensed to practice law before all Texas Courts and the United States Supreme Court.  She received her Masters Degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois and her Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law in Houston. She has written various papers on Medicaid reimbursement, long-term care and elder care law.  Her mission is to help make the latter years of her clients as independent, comfortable and safe, as possible and her practice is specifically designed to serve the needs, concerns and challenges faced by the elderly and their families… affordably. She feels that direct planning, having adequate Powers of Attorney in place before problems arise and advocating early family participation in the planning process often eliminates any issues that may be contested.  She is a mediator in civil, probate and family matters, and a collaborative law. Ms. Lootens’ additional credits and memberships include:

• Adjunct Professor, University of Houston Law Center Lecturer at Manousso Mediation and Arbitration on Elder Mediation
• Past-President, Houston Gerontological Society (HGS)
• Member Elder Law Committee Houston Bar Association (HBA)
• Member, Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Houston
• Member, State Bar of Texas
• Member, Houston Bar Association
• Member, Collaborative Law Committee, HBA
• Member, Fort Bend Bar Association
• Advisory Board Member, Fort Bend Lawyers Care

Boardmember Emerita HGS, Co-Chair Scholarship Committee Ellen MacDonald, RN

Elder Care Consultant

Boardmember Emerita Donna Moran

Boardmember Emerita HGS, Scholarship Melinda Vanzant EEC

Social Worker