About Us
Magaly Freytes
Dr. Freytes is the Project Director. She has been working at the VA's Center of Innovation for Disability & Rehabilitation Research (CINDRR) for 10 years. Dr. Freytes has collaborated on numerous caregiver projects, mainly caregivers of persons with dementia. She has a PhD, a Master and Specialist dual degree in Education, and a Bachelors in Arts from the University of Florida. As a native from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, she enjoys sunny days, the ocean breeze, and the smell of the beach. To release stress and maintain and active lifestyle she does ZUMBA® Fitness classes. This project is personally meaningful to Dr. Freytes as she also has experienced the pain and challenges of having a loved one with dementia. Dr. Freytes' mother is in the mild/moderate stage of dementia.
Magda Schmitzberger
Magda is the team’s project coordinator, managing the day-to-day activities of the project and the staff. She is from Lakeland, FL but has been living in Gainesville, FL since moving here to attend the University of Florida 10 years ago. She earned her Bachelors in Health Education and a Master’s in Public Health both from UF. She has been at the VA for three years and has enjoyed working on various caregiver projects. This project, in particular, is meaningful to her as she helped her family care for her grandmother who had Parkinson’s Disease and dementia while she was in high school.
Kimberly Findley
Kim is a registered nurse and has been with the VA since 2000, working directly with older populations in areas such as stroke and depression. She is married with three teenagers and in her spare time, enjoys reading and spending time with her family. As a young adult, she had a grandmother with dementia and it helped her to understand the importance of providing support to not only the patient but to the caregiver as well.
