The Silver Lining: About Tom Berry |
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Tom Berry - Pilot Episode, 2005
Tom started working with seniors in 2001 at an assisted living community in
San Francisco. His grandmother had Alzheimer's disease and he knows first
hand how challenging this is for families. Tom especially enjoys his work
with seniors that have dementia and has been trained to be a support group facilitator.
Before working in assisted living, he received a degree in Political Science from George Washington University. During his time in Washington, he interned for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). It became very apparent while interning on Capitol Hill that the aging of America was going to be one of the biggest political issues of his generation. In 2003, Tom entered the Gerontology Program at San Francisco State University, and received his Masters Degree in 2005. During that time, he studied many different aspects of gerontology, and received his assisted living administrators license. To satisfy his internship requirement, he wrote to KRON TV to ask if he could work in the newsroom. He wanted to study how local news covers issues that are important to seniors and their families. He worked with news anchor Wendy Tokuda for one year. During that time, he helped write and produce many segments. From this experience, Tom wrote a proposal for a show that focuses on seniors and aging issues. The Silver Lining taped its first show in the fall of 2005. Tom has also taped several essays for KQED radio on aging issues. He is currently the Director of Community Relations for Sunrise at Golden Gate Park, a senior assisted living community. |