Education

• PhD, Gerontology, University of Southern California
• MPL-Planning, University of Southern California
• MSW-Social Work, University of Southern California
• BA, Anthropology and Sociology, Davidson College

Research

• Age-friendly communities: built environment and service delivery
• Visual gerontology: aging artists and the portrayal of aging
• Attachment to place: the importance of home across the lifespan
• Fall prevention and home modifications
• Policy advocacy in the gerontology sector

Overview

Caroline Cicero, PhD, MSW, MPL, is a policy advocate, educator, practitioner, and researcher, focusing on the intersection of: individual and population aging; urban planning for lifelong communities; and social and health service delivery. Making local communities better places to grow old is one of her primary interests, in addition to educating her students, policy makers, and the public about older people and the aging process. One of her favorite teaching and research methods is visual gerontology—an analysis of aging’s portrayal in popular media, fine art, and the public square. For the last 25 years, Cicero has lived in the Los Angeles area, where her professional work includes senior care management, affordable housing development, fall prevention, environmental design, and policy planning in public, private, and nonprofit settings.