Meet Our Team

Jean McConnell Dinwiddie, PharmD
Commissioner, Montgomery County Commission on Aging

Dr. Dinwiddie received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She has worked as a consultant pharmacist in long-term care, as clinical coordinator at the George Washington University Physician's Group, and as director of client services at PharmaCare, a national PBM. She retired from Lash Group, an AmerisourceBergen company, holding the position of senior director of client services.

Since retiring from getting paid, Dr. Dinwiddie serves as a commissioner on the Montgomery County Commission on Aging and produces the COA’s cable television show, 50+ in Montgomery County. In addition, she serves as a co-leader of the Communication Workgroup of the Montgomery County Age-Friendly Initiative and as chair of the Gaithersburg Senior Advisory Committee. She also volunteers at her grandchildren's elementary schools and as an usher at Ford's Theatre.

Dr. Stephanie Ozalas received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University in 2013. She completed her PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at the VA Maryland Health Care System and her PGY-2 geriatric pharmacy residency at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She currently serves as the PGY-2 geriatrics residency director and geriatrics clinical pharmacy practitioner at the VA Maryland Health Care System, where her areas of expertise include long-term care, potentially inappropriate medications, hospice, and academia.

Dr. Ozalas is actively involved with the education of interdisciplinary health care professionals in the Maryland area and beyond through presenting at local and virtual seminars, precepting various levels of pharmacy trainees, and publishing scholarly works.

Dr. Christina Prather is a geriatrician and palliative physician with the GW Medical Faculty Associates at the George Washington University. She is the director of GW's Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and the and the clinical director of GW’s Institute for Brain Health and Dementia, which is committed to improving collaboration for brain health research at GW. In her clinical practice, Dr. Prather is committed to providing the highest quality, patient-driven care to older adults, persons with cognitive disorders, and individuals living with serious illness in need of palliative care. As the co-director of GW’s Geriatric Memory Evaluation and Treatment Clinic, she is committed to providing person-centered care for patients and families living with memory loss to optimize function and quality of life. She is the aging theme lead in the human behavior and development theme for GW’s medical school curriculum, core faculty for the internal medicine training program, and an associate program director for GW’s long-running geriatric medicine fellowship. Dr. Prather believes that geriatricians and palliative physicians play an important role in supporting families in understanding their loved ones illnesses and that through education and research, we can improve access to care and quality of life for all seniors and their families.

Avra Thomas is ASCP’s Senior Director of Pharmacy Practice. ASCP is a nonprofit association of pharmacists and pharmacies that manage the medications of older people and the medically complex. Prior to joining the team at ASCP Avra was the Senior Director of Pharmacy with Sava Senior Care Consulting. In that role she served as a liaison between pharmacy providers, pharmacy vendors, interdisciplinary team members, and nursing home operators across 20 states. She is a past president of Maryland’s chapter of ASCP and a past member of ASCP’s Foundation Board. 

Avra received her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Temple University School of Pharmacy, Master of Science in Palliative Care from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Graduate School, and undergraduate degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.