PROFESSOR KATHERINE PEARSON PRESENTS KEYNOTE ADDRESSES IN NEW JERSEY AND WASHINGTON
October 2023 — Professor Katherine Pearson gave keynote addresses to state-wide organizations in New Jersey and Washington in October 2023.
In New Jersey, her presentation to the Organization of Residents Associations in New Jersey (ORANJ) addressed key trends in legislation and action items for residents of Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Life Plan Communities. In Seattle, her presentation for the annual state meeting of the Washington Continuing Care Residents Association (WACCRA) focused on 5 key goals for resident advocacy, including the importance of organization when seeking consumer protections, identifying what disclosures will better assure financial transparency, important considerations in designing consumer protections, and the need for enforceable rights.
For additional details, see her Elder Law Prof Blog post, titled Organized, Thoughtful, Collaborative Advocacy: The Maturing of Resident Organizations in Senior Living.
Professor Pearson teaches courses on Elder Law, but also includes a focus on older adults’ concerns about consumer rights in her 1L course on Contract Law. The “contract is the king” in many commercial transactions, unless legislation mandates consumer protections.
Professor Katherine Pearson has deep experience in the field of elder law. She is the author of articles and book chapters on long-term care, financing issues, and filial obligations, and is the co-author of The Law of Financial Abuse and Exploitation (Bisel 2011) — a book about protection of vulnerable persons from financial exploitation. A former Fulbright Scholar (U.K., Queens University Belfast, 2010), Professor Pearson’s work includes international, comparative analysis of laws, and policies affecting older persons, including work as an international research consultant in the U.K. and Northern Ireland to promote better systems for safeguarding and adult social care.
Professor Pearson has served in leadership positions on national and state organizations for academics and attorneys specializing in elder law, including the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the AALS Section on Law and Aging, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association Elder Law Section. She was a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Elder Law Task Force that issued an influential report. For more than ten years, she served as director of Penn State’s Elder Protection Clinic.