Dr. Calkins is nationally recognized as a creative, dynamic leader, trainer and researcher in the field of environments for elders. She is President of IDEAS: Innovative Designs in Environments for an Aging Society, a consulting firm dedicated to exploring the therapeutic potential of the environment--social and organizational as well as physical--particularly as it relates to frail and impaired older adults. She is a highly sought after speaker for conferences in the US and abroad. She has published extensively and received over $5m in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and foundations to develop training materials and explore the impact of the environment on people with dementia.