Dr. Gail S. Eisen is a lecturer, consultant, and curriculum designer in the field of social gerontology and the psychology of aging. She also serves as a research editor and communications analyst in corporate, academic, and non-profit settings. Dr. Eisen holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and for 15 years has served as a consultant for universities, corporations, and non-profit counseling agencies. She has taught life-span development courses and workshops at UCLA, the University of Michigan, and California State University, and has presented invited seminars and training programs for universities in Kenya, Bulgaria, Egypt, Israel, and India. Dr. Eisen has also served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Cairo, where she taught at three Egyptian universities, developed curriculum in many social science disciplines, and consulted actively with government ministries and medical organizations.
Her corporate and non-profit seminars often focus on topics related to the psychology of aging, retirement adaptation, clinician training, aging in place, cross-cultural perspectives on aging, and exploring life stages and transitions through literature. Selected seminar and training sites include The City of Los Angeles, Ford Motor Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, The American Association of Retired Persons, The Inter-American Development Bank/World Bank (Washington, D.C.), General Motors, The Egyptian Ministry of Health, The American Business Women’s Association, The United Auto Workers, The Braille Institute, The Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (Social Work Division-Clinical Counselors), Sun-Cities Communities in Arizona and Nevada, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, The American Society on Aging (multiple curriculum-themed programs), Mercy Housing, The US Fulbright Association, The Center for Successful Aging (clinical counseling staff members), and The Airport-Marina Counseling Service. Overseas lectures include invited programs at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, The University of Sofia in Bulgaria, Ain Shams University Medical School in Cairo, Suez Canal University, Helwan University, The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and several educational sites in Southern India and Mauritius.
Newspaper articles and interviews spotlighting her research and teaching have appeared in The Detroit News, Senior Spectrum, Senior World, The Arizona Republic, The UCLA Courier, Fulbright Commission reports, online newspapers, and several overseas publications. Radio interviews have been conducted with AARP Radio in Washington, DC; National Public Radio-Affiliate KCLU (88.3 FM), Station KIEV in Los Angeles, Station KZSB, and Radio Sofia (Bulgaria); television interview with Nile TV in Cairo, Egypt, during Fulbright year of teaching in Cairo and Port Said.
Her life-span-themed courses and workshops traverse all ages and stages of life, and her seminar audiences have ranged in age from 7 to 97 years.
In addition to her academic interest in life-span psychology, Dr. Eisen has a strong background in cross-cultural training and program development, grounded in her eight years of work with international students and scholars at the University of Michigan, including three years with Michigan’s School of Business Administration. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UCLA and has served as a Rotary “Group Study Exchange” delegation member, under the auspices of Rotary International. Since 2014 she has served on the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Association, and all of her life-span-themed programs are infused with cross-cultural content and perspective.