The Center for Guardianship Excellence
Aug 06, 2021 7:30 AM
Heather Connors
The Center for Guardianship Excellence

Heather Connors, PhD, Executive Director, The Center for Guardianship Excellence, Andover, MA. Her team researches guardianship and conservatorship topics and develops training to meet the needs of professional and family guardians.

“The Center” is a research and training partner to Guardian Community Trust and Public Guardian Services. Together, these 3 non-profit organizations work to serve the needs of Individuals needing guardianship and the State of Massachusetts.

Heather is a nationally certified guardian whose passion for helping senior citizens and unbefriended individuals began as an undergraduate. During the last 20 years, she has researched and developed strategies to ensure professional and family guardians protect the rights of individuals under guardianship while acting as medical decision-makers and advocates.

She is a published author and has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in aging, sociology and qualitative research methods. She serves on the Boards of the Center for Guardianship Certification, the National Guardianship Association, and the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging. She is a member of the Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute and serves on the Advisory Committee for Public Guardian Services.  

Heather earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Gerontology Policy Studies from the University of Massachusetts Boston where she completed a dissertation titled Autonomy vs. Protection: A Comparison of Physicians, Elder Law Attorneys, and Protective Service Case Managers.  She earned a Master of Science in Gerontology from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the College of the Holy Cross.