About SageMind
Our People
We are a diverse team of clinicians and specialists with over 50 years of experience in neurocognitive assessment, the science of aging, and behavioral health.
Learn more about members of the SageMind Core Team below.
Dr. Kelly Casey
Kelly Casey, PhD, is the Director of the Leon O. Brenner Assessment and Consultation Center at William James College.
Dr. Casey is a graduate of the California School of Professional Psychology. She trained at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and subsequently became a staff Psychologist for MGH. In 2012, Dr. Casey became a Training Director at MGH where, beyond managing training programs, she led neurocognitive assessments of middle-aged and older adults, including assessments of cognition and cognitive well-being.
In 2014, Dr. Casey left the Harvard University Hospital system to become Director of the Leon O. Brenner Assessment and Consultation Center at William James College, where she now oversees a large team of licensed psychologists, post-doctoral fellows, and pre-doctoral interns and their work in neurocognitive assessment.
Dr. Casey is a member of the Massachusetts Assessment Society, American Psychology Association and the Society for Psychological Assessment.
Dr. Casey has contributed to the SageMind program from its inception and currently oversees quality control and program protocols.
Dr. Lee Ashendorf
Lee Ashendorf, PhD, is SageMind’s Neuropsychology contributor and consultant.
Dr. Ashendorf received his doctoral degree from the University at Albany, State University of New York, and completed his post-doctoral training in Neuropsychology at Edith Nourse Rogers Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts.
After working in private practice as a Neuropsychologist, Dr. Ashendorf returned to the Edith Nourse Rogers VA hospital, where he has worked as a Neuropsychologist for the past 8 years, and where he Co-Directs Neuropsychology Training and supervises doctoral and post-doctoral students.
Dr. Ashendorf is a Fellow of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, has served as the associate editor of the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, has authored over 24 publications in neuropsychology, and has edited the highly regarded Oxford University publication, “The Boston Process Approach to Neuropsychological Assessment."
Dr. Ashendorf was recently honored with the 2015 Edith Kaplan award for distinguished contributions to the field of Neuropsychology.
The Origin and Development of the SageMind Program
SageMind began with the following question: precisely what factors are associated with decreases in memory and thinking as we age?
In reviewing current science, the following became clear: the vast majority of risk factors for cognitive decline are modifiable through pragmatic, health-related interventions.
In fact, we surmised that by modifying risk factors for cognitive decline, we should be able to decrease the chance of memory loss, reduce the chance of getting at least some types of dementia (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia), and potentially even improve a person’s memory and thinking along the way.
At that time (2012), this insight was largely theoretical—no one had yet published scientifically controlled mind-brain-body clinical studies demonstrating that age-related declines in thinking could be mitigated, or potentially even prevented.
Today, however, several research teams have stepped forward to document the effectiveness of mind-brain-body interventions. We now know that improving memory and thinking as we age is not merely possible, but achievable.
Given our expertise in the fields of aging and cognition, William James College, via our neurocognitive assessment center—The Leon O. Brenner Assessment Center—has stepped forward to create SageMind. Our goal is to extend the tools and methods successfully used in research and make them directly available to the public.
To our knowledge, we are the only team in New England bringing a comprehensive, research-based, mind-brain-body health program directly to the public.