Dr. Cheryl Woodson taught and practiced Geriatric Medicine for almost 40 years while also raising a family and navigating her mother’s 10-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease. She completed a BA in Biology (minor in English) at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, a residency in Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, and a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at UCLA.

She began her career in geriatrics education and program development as a faculty member at The University of Chicago and Northwestern University medical schools. After serving as the director of geriatrics services for a community health system, she founded and for 12 years directed a medical practice called Woodson Center for Adult Healthcare: when you’ve outgrown the kid stuff. The Center was the only privately-owned, community-based, comprehensive geriatrics program in the country that also provided primary care to adults of all ages. It also offered Sterling Silver, a community health education series for people who’ve been blessed to be on the planet more than 40 years. 

Woodson has served on national committees for the Veteran’s Administration and the American Geriatrics Society; she continues as an advisor to several community and faith-based organizations in the Chicago area. She has presented at national meetings on geriatrics, elder abuse and neglect, health literacy and patient-clinician communications, advocating for people with cognitive disabilities, and decision-making at the end of life. Other topics include support for family and professional caregivers, increasing geriatrics expertise in all professions that interact with older adults, and How to Make Careers in Medicine Compatible with Life.

In addition to board certification in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Woodson earned credentials in Health Care Quality Management and worked as a medical director for several managed care companies. Her goal was to serve as a bridge between the clinical and business sides of the health care industry.
 
In retirement, Woodson continues to write and speak to guide adults to ROAR PAST RETIREMENT, LIVE OUT LOUD and AGE EXCELLENTLY, Embrace the Magic of Menopause, and care for older loved ones without destroying themselves. She is the author of the popular eldercare resource, To Survive Caregiving: A Daughter’s Experience, A Doctor’s Advice, the second edition and a companion book, The Doctor is IN: Answering Your Questions About How to Survive Caregiving, and the inspirational book, Dear Lauren, Love Mom: 31 Days of Affirmations for My Daughter, for Myself, and for YOU.

Under the pseudonym, Tería Robens, Woodson also publishes love stories for women who thought it was too late to believe. Her first novel, What the Mirror Sees, won the 2015-16 Award for Outstanding Fiction from the African-American Arts Alliance of Chicago. A second novel, The Sounds of Cajun Spice, and other fiction and non-fiction projects are in progress.