Board of Directors
Officers
Kate Nederostek, MGS, CDP Gerontologist
President
Kate Nederostek, MGS, CDP Gerontologist
Kate is a gerontologist and a Certified Dementia Practitioner with 20+ years of experience within the long-term care industry, dementia care, and family caregiver support. At the State of Utah’s Division of Aging & Adult Services, Kate serves as the Program Manager for the Caregiver Support Program overseeing the support offered to family caregivers by the Area Agencies on Aging throughout the state. She also serves as the Program Manager for the Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias Program, which seeks to improve support to those affected by dementia and enhance dementia services throughout the state. As a gerontologist, Kate is devoted to supporting and advocating for older adults as well as caregivers throughout Utah. Having served as a family caregiver herself, she understands the role of a caregiver well. Kate has published articles and conducted numerous trainings on dementia topics for the Alzheimer’s Association and the long-term care companies for which she has worked. Kate received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of Wooster and a Master of Gerontological Studies degree from Miami University, Ohio.
Nick Brening, MD
Vice President
Nick Brening, MD
Dr. Nick Brening is originally from western Nebraska. He trained at the University of Nebraska and completed Internal Medicine residency and Geriatrics fellowship at the University of Utah. Dr. Brening currently practices Geriatric Medicine at the U of U Sugarhouse Clinic and serves as the Associate Program Director for the Geriatrics fellowship.
Nick enjoys finding ways to support older adults by focusing on "what matters most" to patients and their families. His clinical interests include caring for senior patients who identify LGBTQ and those older adult patients living with HIV. Outside of clinic, he enjoys biking, hiking, cooking and piano.
Rob Ence, MBA
Treasurer
Rob Ence, MBA
Rob Ence is the Executive Director of the Utah Commission on Aging that connects research, public policy, and community resources on behalf of older adults. He also manages the Bateman Horne Center, a non-profit clinic and research practice specializing in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other post-viral syndromes. Previously, Rob was the West Regional Vice President for AARP after serving nearly a decade AARP Utah State Director. His other career work includes Planned Parenthood of Utah and the Midtown Community Health Center, Sage Creek Apparel, work in the financial services industry and Marriott Corporation. Rob has an MBA and BA Psychology from the University of Utah. He has lectured frequently on financial security and older adult issues and has served on several boards of directors including Comagine Health Utah, Envision Utah, Alzheimer’s Association Utah, Community Counseling Center, and Repertory Dance Theater. Rob resides with Liz, his spouse and best friend of 46 years, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They have four children and sixteen grandchildren. Exercising outdoors and travel complement their love of theater, opera, symphony, and dance (with an occasional football and basketball game thrown in). They co-lead a 70-voice choir. Rob also sings with the Oratorio Society of Utah.
Elizabeth Fauth, PhD
Secretary
Elizabeth Fauth, PhD
Elizabeth Fauth is a Professor in Human Development and Family Studies and the Director of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research Center at Utah State University. Her research interests are in caregiving for people living with dementia, cognitive and psychosocial predictors of functional ability in late life, and interventions for stress and mental health across adulthood.
Directors
Perrine Anderson, FNP
Perrine Anderson, FNP
Ms. Perrine Anderson is a board certified Geriatric and Adult Nurse Practitioner, with a professional interest in geriatric psychiatry. A three-time graduate of the University of Utah, she worked for many years at Holy Cross Hospital. As an NP she has worked in acute rehabilitation and long term care, as well as several geriatric psychiatry practices. In the last 9 years she found her niche, taking primary care to home bound adults. In her spare time she enjoys skiing, hiking, playing in her garden, camping, paddling her kayak, and adopting geriatric cats and dog
Allie Spangler, MBA Utah Health Care Association
Allie Spangler, MBA
Ms. Allison Spangler began her career in long term care as a Certified Nursing Assistant while in high school. She fell in love with the older adult population and enjoyed her four years in direct care. She quickly realized skilled nursing was the route she wanted to take and began pursuing education to return to the field as an Administrator. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business Management, and a Masters of Business Administration in Healthcare Management. Allison went on to be an Administrator of a Skilled Nursing Facility in Utah where she was able to pursue her passion of long-term care and work towards quality care for the residents. After her time as an Administrator, Allison went on to work for the Utah Health Care Association (UHCA) where she has been since 2015. She began her time at UHCA as the Director of Membership Services and had the opportunity to help them provide better care and services to residents. Additionally, Allison organized all educational events and ensured the members had the tools and resources they need. In 2021, Alison was hired to be the President/CEO of UHCA and is excited to continue to be able to make an impact on long-term care in Utah and serve the members of the Association.
Rand Rupper, MD
Rand Rupper, MD
Randall Rupper is a geriatric physician and health services researcher at the Salt Lake VAMC and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah. He is currently the Director for the Salt Lake VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). He is also a member of the Utah Digital Health Commission.
Rand grew in Payson, Utah and attended college at Brigham Young University where he majored in molecular biology. He completed medical school at Stanford, and Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Washington. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of North Carolina, where he earned an MPH and worked as an instructor. He completed Geriatric Fellowship at the University of Utah, and Advanced Geriatric Fellowship at the Salt Lake GRECC.
Dr. Rupper’s work focuses on improving care delivery and access for older, rural patients, and improving resources for their family caregivers. He has led large, randomized clinical trials that included providing cancer navigation services to Native American Populations across the Intermountain West, and providing telehealth based dementia care-management to caregivers of Veterans with dementia. Currently, he is working on projects that relate directly to care delivery into the home. He is the site PI on an NIH funded project that involves teaching front-line home health agency staff to recognize and address dementia and related behavioral issues. He is also leading a pilot through the Elizabeth Dole Center of Excellence for Veteran and Caregiver Research that aims to predict the need for future long-term support services.
Janie Earle, DNP
Janie Earle, DNP
Janie Earle is a provider established in Washington, Utah and her medical specialization is nurse practitioner (gerontology).
Candice Daniel, PhD, ABPP
Candice Daniel
Dr. Daniel was born and raised in Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah, then attended the University of Wyoming for graduate school in clinical psychology. She returned to Utah for her clinical internship at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and continued her specialized training as a VA Advanced Fellow in Geriatrics. She is Board Certified in Geropsychology. She has previously worked as the Assistant Director of Psychology Training and advocated for geriatric training opportunities for psychology interns and postdoctoral fellows. She is currently living in Southern Utah and continues her professional work with Veterans of Southern Utah. Dr. Daniel is also the Assistant Chief of the Psychology Service.
Dr. Daniel loves the outdoors, and can often be found cycling, hiking, paddle boarding or playing outside in the sunshine with her two children.