Marie Beaulieu

Marie Beaulieu Ph.D., member of the Royal Society of Canada, is a retired and adjunct professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Sherbrooke and adjunct researcher at the Research Center on Aging of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS (Integrated University Health & Social Services Network of the Eastern Townships Region). From November 2010 to October 2022, she has been the Chairholder of the Research Chair on Mistreatment of Older Adults, funded by the Quebec government. Since 2017, she has been the co-director of a center that collaborates with the World Health Organization to promote senior-friendly environments, fighting against mistreatment.

For over 30 years, her research has primarily focused on the mistreatment of older adults. Her work has been widely disseminated in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan, and she has presented these at many national and international forums. In 2008, the Government of Quebec hired her as the scientific expert in the drafting of its ‘Government Action Plan to Counter Elder Abuse’, launched in 2010. She also contributed to the 2^nd version of the government’s action plan, made public in 2017.

Marie Beaulieu is a representative of INPEA (International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse) at the United Nations. In this capacity, she most notably participates in work concerning the rights of older persons, underpinning a global reflection on the possibility of developing and adopting an international convention on this issue.

Nominated by ministerial decree, Dr. Beaulieu is a member of the Commission de formation et de recherche de l’École nationale de police du Québec (Quebec National Police Force Commission on Training and Research). From 2010 to 2014, she sat on the Board of Directors of the CNPEA (Canadian Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse), was a board member of the National Seniors Council (2013-2018), and a board member of INPEA, representing North America (2010-2018).

In 2012, Marie Beaulieu received the ‘Mérite Estrien’ award in the senior innovation category and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her contribution in promoting the inclusion and recognition of older adults.

In 2018, Dr. Beaulieu was named a Fellow of INPEA. In 2019, the team of the DAMIA research project (Seeking Help in Response to Mistreatment and Bullying of Older Adults), composed of members of the research chair and the community organization DIRA Estrie, won first prize in the category ‘Taking Action for and with the user, their families and friends, and the population in general’ at the Annual Excellence Awards of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS (Integrated University Health & Social Services Network of the Eastern Townships Region).  Also in 2019, Dr. Beaulieu was selected for the Award for Contribution to Gerontology prize by the Canadian Association on Gerontology, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the field of aging.