New Age-Friendly Teaneck Coordinator Brings Social Work Experience To The Post

​Age-Friendly Teaneck is pleased to announce recent changes to our leadership team, which, we are confident, will help us sustain and expand our efforts to make Teaneck as great a place to grow old as it is to grow up. 

EJ Nicolas, a licensed social worker with deep ties to our parent organization, Geriatric Services Inc., is now serving in the position of Project Coordinator.

Jackie Kates will be transitioning to the position of Project Advisor and reducing the numbers of hours per week that she devotes to Age-Friendly Teaneck.

“Although I will not be coordinating Age-Friendly Teaneck’s day-to-day- activities, I remain committed to the vitally important work of Age-Friendly Teaneck,” Kates said.

Nicolas has been associated with Age-Friendly Teaneck since its inception, serving as digital media manager and in many other untitled roles. 

In addition to her Age-Friendly Teaneck work, Nicolas most recently served as a social worker with the Garfield Housing Authority and as assistant administrator/ social worker of the PALS (Portable Assisted Living Services) program of The Bright Side Family. 

Nicolas first began working for the Bright Side Family as an MSW-candidate intern under the guidance of Elizabeth Davis, while a graduate student at Rutgers School of Social Work, where she received her master’s degree.
 
 “I believe EJ’s perspective as a social worker will be very beneficial to Age-Friendly Teaneck as we move forward in our efforts to work with the Township and with our community partners to improve the quality of life for older adults in Teaneck,” Kates said.

Elizabeth Davis, Age-Friendly Teaneck Executive Director, and Colleen Diskin, Communications Coordinator, will remain in their respective roles.

Since the pandemic began, Age-Friendly Teaneck has had to reconfigure its program priorities. Sadly, we were forced to cancel our third summer of the very successful Geriatric Careers Exploration Program and a new Community Table initiative, where we had intended to bring older adults who are increasingly homebound together for a series of festive communal meals. 

In recent months, we have worked to keep Teaneck residents advised of pandemic-related news and information and partnered with the Township and our community partners on social service and mental health outreach to at-risk older adults.

We have also been circulating a survey to identify the needs and challenges that Teaneck’s older adults are experiencing and to help us develop goals and objectives for the future, information we intend to share with Township leaders and stakeholder organizations.
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“The pandemic has brought to our attention - in even sharper focus - the many needs of the older adult community,” Nicolas said. “I’m excited to be serving in this redefined role with Age-Friendly Teaneck, and I know that the work of trying to improve the lives and circumstances of older adults in the Township will be both challenging and rewarding.”

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