by Vince EVANS
He always knew where he was going and was always in a hurry to get there. Though the route
may seem circuitous to some, the road Dr. Gary Brice took to a successful life and career
in service to the aging cannot be challenged. Along the way this boomer’s passion for
helping people and working with them was deepened and shaped by his upbringing, his
education and his experiences.
As Assistant Vice President for Community Health and Wellness for the Kaleida Health
System, Gary says that he helps keep Kaleida on its mission of improving the health and
wellness of Western New York “by identifying community health needs and solving
problems by bringing together the right partners to provide the right service, in the
right place, at the right time.” He has that science down to an art. Gary has been
bringing people together to improve things for as long as he can remember.
Growing up in Cheektowaga, Gary enjoyed his childhood but was always very responsible and
goal oriented. His compassion for people was set ablaze by his mother who told him that,
as a youth, he would often come home with different stories of what he was going to be.
But the stories all had a common theme - there was always a relationship with people, of
solving problems, of helping others move through life. Both his mother and his dad, an
electrical tester for Westinghouse, instilled a strong work ethic in Gary, his brother
Mark—a massage therapist—and his sister Cindy, a dental office manager. Those
lessons learned were not lost as Gary matured and chose a course of life that was driven
by values: spiritual, family, self-development. He remains on target.
While attending Hiram College in Ohio, he was influenced by a professor from nearby Case
Western Reserve, Dr. Ruth Glick, to explore the field of gerontology and aging. Gary found
this field fascinating and consistent with his pursuit of an enabling profession. After
graduating in 1974, he attended Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of
Buffalo where he received his master’s degree in social work with a concentration on
community organization and administration. Prior to landing his first professional job
with D’Youville College’s Department of Social Work to develop a major in
gerontology, Gary bought buckets, sponges and cleaning supplies and washed windows
door-to-door. Never content to wait for opportunities, he created them. From these
beginnings, he moved to the University of Buffalo’s Multi-disciplinary Center for the
Study of Aging as assistant director and later as associate director and became the
founding director of the university’s Institute for Work/Family Balance.
After 15 years with UB, Gary was hired by DeGraff Hospital to develop a center of
excellence for the elderly; a spectrum of services with a focus on wellness. In 1990 he
was named executive director of the McLaughlin Center and established the first division
for community health, that was hospital based, in upstate New York. His quest for
knowledge and self-development burned and Gary obtained another master’s degree, in
information and library science in 1993 from UB,(while continuing to work for the
McLaughlin Center). The success of the McLaughlin Center and its community wellness
perspective earned Gary a reputation as a “can-do” professional and a promotion
to Vice President, Community Research and Program Development, from DeGraff Hospital in
1995. But he wanted to know and understand more and enrolled in a distant learning
institution, Century University, to focus on community organization and information
science. His dissertation area, not surprisingly, centered on a geriatric continuum of
care plan and Gary earned his doctorate degree in 1996.
Gary’s focus, spirit of adventure and accomplishments lead to his current position
with Kaleida, where he champions the creation of quality of life initiatives that improve
the health and well-being of local communities and use of resources effectively to promote
wellness while reducing the overall cost of health care. He credits Kaleida CEO John
Friedlander with establishing a vision and principles that dictate that the Kaleida System
improve the health of the population it serves - a vision that is in lock-step with
Gary’s personal belief system.
Since 1978 Gary has generated over $1,000,000 in sponsored research, projects and special
events for the organizations he has worked for or assisted. He has served on over two
dozen community boards and committees and remains very active with a number of them such
as the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, Health Association of New York State,
D’Youville College and Christmas in April. Moreover, he has presented nationally in
over twenty states and has authored numerous professional articles and monographs
published in journals including Research on Aging, Journal of Applied Gerontology and
Management World. Gary has shared his knowledge of service to the aging in other ways - as
a mentor, field instructor, as well as teacher. In addition to his duties with Kaleida,
Gary is an Assistant Professor at D’Youville’s Health Service Administration
program and Clinical Assistant Professor with UB’s School of Social Work and the
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. As a result of his contributions to his field
of endeavor, Dr. Brice has been recognized through a series of awards and honors. They
range from Men of Achievement in Cambridge, England, the Distinguished Service Award from
the Buffalo Community Services for the Aging and the Community Service Award from the
University of Buffalo, to Who’s Who Among Social Service Providers and the Civic
Improvement Award from the Greater Buffalo All-America City Committee.
On the personal side Gary and his wife, Janet, reside in the southtowns with son Mark, a
student at Penn State, and daughter Callie, a student at Orchard Park High School. He
follows his own prescriptions for wellness by working out seven days a week at Erie
Community College where he runs and does flexibility exercises. While not exactly a
handyman around the house (trying to replace a toilet seat resulted in several mishaps
costing nearly as much as a small addition!), he prefers to grow vegetables and flowers in
his garden - a happier (and much safer) activity and an extension of his attraction to
helping things grow and develop.
When asked what he would like to do in the years ahead, he answered “a return to
education or the media.” Gary loved doing the weekly “Wellness Wednesday”
segment on WKBW-TV as a resident expert resource and co-producer in 1993. He also
co-hosted a radio talk show entitled, “Get a Life!” on WBEN, that dealt with
health, wellness and personal responsibility. He knows where he wants to go but, this
time, he isn’t in such a hurry to get there. Will he? Stay tuned.
Vince Evans is a freelance writer.