Assistant Professor in Residence
Terry Berthelot joined the Human Development and Family Sciences Department in 2016. Her research and advocacy efforts are primarily about access to healthcare for people who are over sixty-five and for people living with disabilities.
She received her master’s degree in social work (MSW) from Syracuse University after which she worked for the city of Syracuse as a community developer. She then moved to Mississippi, where she created and then directed a Joint Commission Accredited hospice program. Finding herself fascinated by the legal and ethical questions surrounding death and dying, Terry pursued her law degree at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Terry won the Christopher P. Charlton Memorial Scholarship, endowed by John Grisham for students pursuing social justice careers. While at Ole Miss, Terry worked for a local attorney doing post-conviction death penalty mitigation.
After graduating, cum laude, Terry joined the Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA), a national not-for-profit law firm. As a senior attorney, Terry oversaw CMA’s advocacy efforts. She also provided legal advice and representation to Medicare beneficiaries unfairly denied Medicare coverage or access to healthcare, wrote articles for national publications, produced educational materials, engaged in educational outreach activities with a particular focus on the Medicare hospice benefit, was a contributing author to the Medicare Handbook, and served as co-counsel for federal class action lawsuits challenging improper Medicare policies. Also, while with CMA, Terry was the lead Medicare trainer for Connecticut’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program and for Connecticut’s Medicare Senior Patrol.
Terry is a former chair of the steering committee for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys’ (NAELA) Health Care Section, and she is a former Connecticut liaison for National Healthcare Decisions Day. Terry is currently a member of the NAELA News editorial board. She lives in Mansfield, Connecticut, where she is a member of the Town Council. She also serves on the board of directors for two local not-for-profits, the Mansfield Discovery Depot and United Services. Terry and her spouse have one amazing teen-age daughter and a new puppy. They spend their summers cruising on their sailboat, Finisterre.