In 1978, as interest in mental health and the process of aging grew, and older adults were increasing in number and as a percentage of the U.S. population, a small group of visionaries met to discuss late-life mental health needs and the field of geriatric psychiatry. From this meeting, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) was born.

What began as the vision of 11 leaders in the field of psychiatry grew to a society of several hundred by the end of its first year. Today, the AAGP is an established membership association of nearly 2,000 geriatric psychiatrists and other health care professionals in the United States, Canada, and abroad, dedicated to the mental well-being of older adults.

AAGP Past Presidents

  • Sanford Finkel, MD (1978-1981)
  • Eric Pfeiffer, MD (1981-1982)
  • Alvin Levinson, MD (1982-1984)
  • Lissy Jarvik, MD (1984-1985)
  • Elliott M. Stein, MD (1985-1987)
  • Charles A. Shamoian, MD (1987-1988)
  • Lawrence Lazarus, MD (1988-1989)
  • George Grossberg, MD (1989-1990)
  • Jonathan Lieff, MD (1990-1991)
  • Barnett Meyers, MD (1991-1992)
  • Alan Siegal, MD (1992-1994)
  • Gary Gottlieb, MD (1994-1995)
  • Ira Katz, MD (1995-1996)
  • Hugh Hendrie, MB, ChB (1996-1997)
  • Jeffrey R. Foster, MD (1997-1998)
  • Dilip V. Jeste, MD (1998-1999)
  • Soo Borson, MD (1999-2000)
  • William E. Reichman, MD (2000-2001)
  • Stephen Bartels, MD, MS (2001-2002)
  • Gary Kennedy, MD (2002-2003)
  • Joel E. Streim, MD (2003-2004)
  • Anand Kumar, MD (2004-2005)
  • Dan Blazer, MD, MPH, PhD (2005-2006)
  • Christopher C. Colenda, MD, MPH (2006-2007)
  • Gary S. Moak, MD (2007-2008)
  • Bruce G. Pollock, MD, PhD, FRCPC (2008-2009)
  • Charles F. Reynolds, III, MD (2009-2010)
  • Jeffrey M. Lyness, MD (2010-2011)
  • Allan A. Anderson, MD (2011-2012)
  • Paul D.S. Kirwin, MD (2012-2013)
  • David C. Steffens, MD, MHS (2013-2014)
  • Susan K. Schultz, MD (2014-2015)
  • Gary W. Small, MD (2015-2016)
  • Daniel D. Sewell, MD (2016-2017)
  • Iqbal Ahmed, MD (2017-2018)
  • Melinda Lantz, MD (2018-2019)
  • Rajesh R. Tampi, MD, MS (2019-2021)
  • Brent P. Forester, MD, MSc (2021-2022)
  • Marc E. Agronin, MD (2022-2023)
  • Helen Lavretsky, MD, MS (2023-2024)