Our Team
Patricia J. Volland, MSW, MBA
Director
Contact Information: pvolland@nyam.org; (212) 822-7207
Emma Barker, MSW, MFA
Associate Program Officer
Contact Information: ebarker@nyam.org; (212) 419-3591
Jeannine Melly, MPH
N3C Program Advisor
Contact Information: jmellynyam@gmail.com
Kadia Darby, BS
Administrative Assistant
Contact Information: kdarby@nyam.org; (212) 822-7322
Patricia J. Volland, MSW, MBA
Director, Social Work Leadership Institute
Ms. Patricia J. Volland is the Director of the Social Work Leadership Institute. The Social Work Leadership Institute (SWLI) is a national initiative working to ensure that America’s older adults receive the care they need to remain in charge of their lives and live life to the fullest. Ms Volland is leading national education, policy and research efforts to advance our society's ability to support and care for older adults in a productive and coordinated manner. These efforts include educational initiatives to create social work leaders to work with older adults, and developing and implementing policies that benefit people in the third stage of their lives, 60+. She is focusing much of her work on developing effective comprehensive care coordination services - linking health/medicine with psychosocial/long term care - that are so important for older adults with chronic diseases.
Ms. Volland launched the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education in 2000. This education model has been adopted by 75 graduate schools of social work in 35 states. The model is field based and increases student’s competencies in working with older adults. This educational model has been so successful in training future social work leaders to work with older adults, that it is currently spreading to all graduate schools of social work with leadership provided by Ms. Volland and her staff.
In 2008, in partnership with the American Society on Aging, she formed the National Coalition on Care Coordination (N3C). The purpose of N3C is to build consensus among stakeholder organizations and to advocate for enactment of public policies that support care coordination effectively linking health/medicine and psychosocial and long-term care on behalf of vulnerable populations, with particular focus on older adults. The member organizations of the coalition include experts in aging, medicine and health, nursing, social services, long-term care, community-based services, family caregivers and older adults. The result of these efforts has included incorporation of care coordination extensively in the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
Ms. Volland serves on the boards of The American Society on Aging; the Altman Foundation, a New York City-based institution that lends support to programs that serve community populations, in particular the vulnerable and the disadvantaged; and Planned Parenthood of New York City. She is the former Chairman of the Board of Planned Parenthood of New York City, where she placed a special emphasis on effective advocacy to ensure access to health and reproductive services for women who wish to make responsible and independent decisions about their lives.
Prior to joining The New York Academy of Medicine, Ms. Volland spent 25 years as a hospital administrator. She has held administrative and clinical social work positions at several academic medical centers, including fifteen years at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. She has served as National President and Board Member of the Society for Social Work Administrators in Health Care.
Ms. Volland is a recipient of numerous awards, which include the Distinguished Alumni award of the School of Social Work, San Diego University, 1977; the Ida M. Cannon Award for Distinguished Leadership, Society of Social Work Administrators in Health Care, 1983; President's Award, Women in Health Management, 2005; and Lifetime Achievement Award, National Association of Social Work, New York City Chapter, 2010.
She is a Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine, and has edited and published in numerous scholarly journals and books. She is expert in issues of aging, workforce development and ageing, social work, and women's health issues. She has an MBA from Loyola College, MSW from San Diego State University and a BA in Sociology from Ottawa University.
Emma Barker, MSW, MFA
Associate Program Officer, Social Work Leadership Institute
Emma Barker is the Associate Program Officer at The New York Academy of Medicine's Social Work Leadership Institute where she supports the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education and other projects to strengthen the social work workforce in the field of aging.
Prior to joining SWLI Ms. Barker worked for the last 14 years as a community organizer, teacher, trainer, and outreach coordinator for a variety of New York-based community groups. Additionally, she also worked in a New York City Council office where she performed constituent services, with an emphasis on the older adult population.
Ms. Barker earned her Masters of Social Work from Hunter College and her Masters in Fine Arts from Manchester Metropolitan University, England, where she originally hails.
Jeannine Melly, MPH
N3C Program Advisor, Social Work Leadership Institute
Jeannine Melly is a consultant with the Social Work Leadership Institute, working with the leadership of the National Care Coordination Coalition and SWLI to further the policy related goals.
Ms. Melly has over 25 years experience in social work, public health, and aging. Previously, she worked for SWLI as Deputy Director, Hunter Collefe Center on AIDS Drugs and Community Health, and the New Jersey Association on Correction. She has exerpience in a variety of leadership role, working on public health research, and providing housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. Ms. Melly currently sits on the HIV Law Project's Board of Directors.
Kadia Darby, BS
Administrative Assistant
Kadia Darby is the Administrative Assistant for The New York Academy of Medicine’s Social Work Leadership Institute. She coordinates department meetings and conferences and assists in the production of department projects. She holds a Bachelor of Science in community health from Hunter College.
