Elizabeth "Like" Lokon, PhD
Director of Opening Minds through Art (OMA)
Email: lokonej@MiamiOH.edu
Phone: 513-529-2648
Office: Upham Hall, 206A
As Director and Founder of Opening Minds through Art (OMA) "Like" developed, delivers, and evaluates the OMA program. She also provides service learning opportunities for students, all while improving quality of life for people living with dementia through art-making.
Education
PhD, MGS, MAT, Miami University
MA, University of Hawaii
BA, University of California, Berkeley
BFA, California College of Arts and Crafts
Research Interests
Creative arts in dementia care and service learning
Biographical Sketch
Elizabeth “Like” Lokon, MGS, Ph.D. is the founder and director of Opening Minds through Art (OMA), an intergenerational art program for people living with dementia. She works for Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University. As an artist, gerontologist, and educator, she frequently speaks on the intersection of the arts, dementia, and intergenerational service learning. She has published in journals such as Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, Journal of Applied Gerontology, Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, and LeadingAge Magazine. She served as an associate editor of The International Handbook on Aging. She is also an art quilter.
Honors/Awards
Bishop Medal for service to humanity. Miami University (2018).
Outstanding Service Site Supervisor from Miami University Hamilton Center for Civic Engagement (2015).
Outstanding Service-Learning Faculty Award from the Office of Community Engagement and Service at Miami University for teaching Honors 190N and 290K (Opening Minds through Art) courses (2013).
OMA Awards
Endorsed by the Ohio Department of Aging as a Quality Improvement Project (2015-present).
Funded by the Ohio Department of Medicaid for state-wide replication (2016-2022).
Designated as a "Program of Distinction” by Generations United (2015-2021).
Best Practice in the Delivery of Activities Services award from the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals-NCCAP (2018).
Recipient of the Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Legacy Award (2016).
Best Practice award from LeadingAge Ohio (2011).
Selected Publications
George, D. R., Lokon, E., Li, Y., & Dellasega, C. (2021). An arts program to improve medical student attitudes toward persons with dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69(8), E23– E26. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17338
Levenberg, K., George, D., & Lokon, E. (2021). Opening Minds through Art: A preliminary study evaluating the effects of a creative-expression program on persons living with dementia and their primary caregivers. Dementia. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301221997290
Lokon, E., Li, Y. & Kunkel, S. (2020). Increasing college students’ “liking” of older adults with dementia through arts-based service learning experience. Gerontology and Geriatric Education, 41(4), 494-507. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2018.1515740
Lokon, E., Sauer, P., & Li, Y. (2019). Activities in dementia care: A comparative assessment of activity types. Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 18(2), pp. 471-489. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301216680890
Lokon, E., Li, Y., & Parajuli, J. (2017). Using art in an intergenerational program to improve students’ attitudes toward people with dementia. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education 38(4), 407-424. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2017.1281804