James McCrae

“One of our missions at GT is to help professionalize the field of intergenerational work,” McCrea said. “The Specialist Certificate program, the only one of its kind in the world, provides 100 hours of training over a 2-year period. Our first graduate was from Sweden. She had 30 hours of classroom training here and 70 hours of field work in Sweden.”

Currently, McCrea is directing a federally funded program that is integrating gerontology courses at 66 colleges and universities with intergenerational service-learning experiences. Students studying gerontology use what they have learned to go into the community and work with older adults.

McCrea has been one of the most prolific writers on the GT staff, contributing 13 publications to its portfolio, including Talking to Children and Teens About Alzheimer’s Disease, and coauthoring GT’s latest book, Intergenerational Programs: Past, Present, and Future.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Duquesne University, a master’s in public works administration from Pitt, and is currently completing his coursework at Pitt toward a doctorate of education.

While working on his master’s degree, he received a Rockwell International Fellowship, and more recently, he served as a Collegiate Service-Learning Fellow with Pennsylvania Campus Compact. He is currently the president of the Pennsylvania Association for Volunteerism.

McCrea has his own vision for GT, in the areas of research and program development. He said today’s 50-plus population has a lot to offer.

“People are growing older, but staying healthier much longer,” he said. “There is an untapped resource out there. If we don’t tap into it, we’re missing a potential answer to some of society’s most serious problems.”

—Sharon Blake