Advocating for the LGBT Aging Community

Deirdre M.W. Lok, Esq. is the Assistant Director and General Counsel for The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Justice at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, the nation’s first emergency shelter for elder abuse victims.

Ms. Lok manages the operations of the shelter, including providing legal services to victims in Supreme Court, Housing Court and Family Court. An Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Lok currently co-directs the law school’s HELP (Helping Elders through Litigation and Policy) Clinic. Ms. Lok is a frequent speaker on the issue of elder abuse and the law, and has guest lectured at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Cardozo Law School, Touro Law, Hofstra Law School and CUNY Law School and has provided training to attorney’s through the New York State’s Judicial Institute, the Queens Bar Association, and the Bronx Bar Association.

Ms. Lok is appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to the Age-Friendly NYC Commission, is co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Senior Lawyer’s Division, Elder Abuse Prevention Taskforce, and serves as Chair of the Policy and Procedure Subcommittee of the New York State Committee on Elder Justice. Prior to joining The Weinberg Center, Ms. Lok was a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Oahu, Hawaii and an Assistant District Attorney in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office where she focused on domestic violence cases.

Tom has worked at SAGE for over 13 years. In his role as Director of Care Management Services, Tom oversees and is the administrator for SAGE’s social services, case management, caregiving, friendly visiting, HIV and veterans programs. He also currently represents SAGE in the NYS LGBT Health & Human Services Network and the HIV & Older Adults Coalition of NYS. He has presented on SAGE programs and an array of LGBT aging issues at a variety of organizations, conferences and workshops through the years, including the American Society on Aging.

In his previous role at SAGE as Director of Community Services, Tom oversaw the launch of The SAGE Center, the nation’s first full-time, municipally funded senior center for LGBT older adults. Tom also oversaw SAGE’s programs in the LGBT Center, Harlem, and its volunteer and outreach programs, as well as coordinating SAGE’s NYC Gay Pride efforts.

Tom has spent more than 28 years working in LGBT human services. Prior to coming to SAGE, Tom worked for almost 15 years at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). In his last role there, he was Director of the Buddy Program, one of the agency’s signature programs, pairing volunteers with home-bound people living with AIDS for companionship and emotional support. While at GMHC, Tom managed and coordinated volunteers, facilitated groups and trainings, and performed client intakes.