Episode 29 / Undue Influence and Elder Abuse with Candace Heisler, J.D.

In this episode, Scott Modell, Ph.D. and Staci Whitney, LMSW, are joined by retired Assistant District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, Candace J. Heisler, J.D. More recently Candace's work has been a consultant and trainer regarding elder abuse, domestic violence, and abuse in later life. She also worked with MCG to develop our suite of SAFE trainings for interviewing older adults who are alleged victims of crime and maltreatment. Drawing from her experience and expertise, Candace explains what Undue Influence is and how it may impact the people that we work with.

Candace J. Heisler, J.D., served as an Assistant District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco for over 25 years. During this time, she headed the Domestic Violence Unit, which handled both domestic violence and elder abuse cases, as well as the Charging, Misdemeanor, and Preliminary Hearing Units. She was an Adjunct Professor at Hastings College of the Law for more than 20 years. She now teaches a graduate course at Virginia Tech on ethics and aging. Ms. Heisler has written for and trained a variety of professionals about elder abuse, domestic violence, and the criminal justice system, including work sponsored by the American Bar Association, Futures Without Violence, the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office on Violence Against Women, and the Judicial Council of California. She frequently presents at the annual National Adult Protective Services Association and other state Adult Protective Services (APS) conferences on related topics. Ms. Heisler has authored several curricula on interviewing alleged perpetrators, addressing undue influence, and working with the criminal justice system for APS Professionals.