Tam Perry is a PhD student in social work and anthropology. Her main interests include aging, specifically transitions from living in the community to long-term care facilities, and communication between older adults and their kin, caregivers and others in their social network. Her dissertation research will focus on the discursive practices associated with older person's divesting of their possessions while transitioning into living in a long-term care facility. She has served as a peace corps volunteer and worked as a social worker in Singapore.