Mary Ann Spanos

Dr. Mary Ann Spanos, Director of the Chautauqua County Office for the Aging, was elected as n4a Board President in July 2021 and is honored to be the first President of USAging. She joined the USAging Board of Directors in 2010 as an Alternate and became the delegate for Region II in 2016. Dr. Spanos credits her involvement with USAging as critical to her professional development and the evolution of her agency over the last 14 years, saying, “USAging has given me the skills to manage my agency and modernize my programs to meet the emerging needs of older adults.”
 
Dr. Spanos has spent her lifetime working with older adults. She was fortunate to grow up surrounded by family, especially grandparents, who encouraged and influenced her professional choices. She practiced physical therapy, specializing in geriatric rehabilitation, from 1986 until 2007, when she was appointed as Chautauqua County's AAA Director. Dr. Spanos sees the goals of physical therapy as aligned with those of AAAs, in that both focus on helping older adults and people with disabilities attain the highest level of autonomy and independence.
 
Dr. Spanos received a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1986 and received her doctorate from Boston University in 2005. She lives in Bemus Point, NY with her husband, George, and is the proud mother of two sons and grandmother of one.