- Associate Professor
- Interim Vice Dean
- Gerontology
- Leadership in Human Services
- Social Determinants of Health
- Social Policy
- Strategic Planning
Jennifer Hewson, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. She completed her PhD in Educational Studies and her MA in Family Studies at the University of British Columbia. She has been with the Faculty of Social Work since 2005.
Dr. Hewson’s research interests include age-friendly communities; social participation, isolation and inclusion; and policies and practices related to program and service delivery in the older adult sector. Her teaching has focused on gerontology, research and evaluation, community and international development, leadership in the social services, and field education. Dr. Hewson is committed to student engagement in the classroom, as a field instructor, and as a research mentor. In 2010, she received a Student Union Teaching Excellence Award.
Dr. Hewson has a passion for leadership and has held a number of roles within the Faculty of Social Work including Director of the Centre for Social Work Research and Professional Development, PhD/Thesis Coordinator, Field Education Coordinator, Field Education Director, and faculty lead for the Gerontology Awareness Committee.
Professional service has also been a core component of Dr. Hewson’s work. She has been a member of a number of committees in Calgary related to aging including ElderNet, Older Adult Service Providers of Calgary, Intergenerational Practice Advisory Committee, Seniors Age-Friendly Steering Committee, Age-friendly Working Group, and Social Participation Working Group. She is currently the post-secondary representative on the Executive Committee of the Calgary Seniors Age-Friendly Strategy. Dr. Hewson is actively involved in the Canadian Association on Gerontology and is currently the Social Sciences Division Chair on the Board of Directors and was the co-chair of the Scientific Committee for the 2015 conference.
Dr. Hewson’s research and scholarly activities have focused on several domains of the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Cities Guide including social participation, social inclusion, and housing. Her 2013-2016 SSHRC funded study explored practices, future expectations, and organizational readiness related to social participation and aging baby boomers. She has also conducted research on intergenerational programs. Dr. Hewson has collaborated on evaluations examining programs for older adults and social isolation/inclusion. Her housing related research has focused on the meaning of home, risks and assets for homelessness, and subsidized housing for vulnerable pre-seniors. She has been involved in research related to age-friendly policy including collaborating on an age-friendly Calgary pilot project, assisting with the development and evaluation of the Calgary Seniors Age-friendly Strategy, and exploring age-friendly policy and practice in Guangzhou, China. Dr. Hewson has also collaborated on a variety of community-based research projects related to social service delivery.
PhD, Adult, Continuing, Community Education, Educational Studies (University of British Columbia)
MA, Family Studies (University of British Columbia)
Student Union Teaching Excellence Award (2010)
Hewson, J., & Lai, D. (2016, October). Informing municipal policy implementation of social participation strategies for aging baby boomers. Canadian Association on Gerontology 45th Annual Scientific & Educational Meeting, Montreal, QC.
Walsh, C. A., Hewson, J., Tong, H., Lai, D., & Zhang, H. (2016, October). Developing a research-based age-friendly community strategy: A case study of Guangzhou, China. Canadian Association on Gerontology, 45th Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting, Montreal, QC.
Lai, D., Hewson, J., Walsh, C. A., Zhang, Q., & Tong, H. (2016, June). Cross-cultural relevancy and learning about developing age-friendly cities’ strategies: From global to local perspectives in Canada and China. International Federation on Ageing 13th Global Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
Lai, D., Hewson, J., & Kwan, C. (2016, June). Age-friendly or not? Multiple perspectives about baby boomers and social participation. International Federation on Ageing 13th Global Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
Lai, D., Hewson, J., Kwan, C., & Haney, C-A. (2016, June). Understanding social participation of culturally diverse baby boomers: Implications for gerontological social work. The Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development, Seoul, Korea.