Tanya Rand is a faculty member and the Coordinator for the Area of Emphasis in Aging (AEA) Program at the University of St. Thomas in their Morrison Family College of Health- School of Social Work. At St. Thomas, Tanya teaches graduate level social work courses and provides mentoring to students who want to work across interdisciplinary micro, mezzo, and macro practice settings with older adults and their families.

At St. Thomas Tanya helps lead their growing campus wide Age-Friendly University initiatives. She is a board member with the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning and the Minnesota Gerontological Society. Tanya is also a member of the Gerontological Society of America. Prior to coming to academia, she worked as a clinical social worker primarily in health care settings that serve older adults and their families.

Tanya holds an undergraduate and graduate degree in Social Work and a doctorate degree in Leadership. Her practice and research interests include social work education, grief and loss, multigenerational family living, caregiving, interprofessional health and behavioral healthcare, whole person healthy aging, and intergenerational relationships.