MGA EVENTS

The Massachusetts Gerontology Association is proud to sponsors this year's Annual Spring Forum. All those in attendance are presented with valuable information as well as the opportunity to network with peers in aging and aging related fields.

In response to the coronavirus situation and public health guidelines set at the local, state, and federal level, MGA postponed our 2020 Annual Forum on Aging.

We look forward to rescheduling the Forum and will keep you posted as our plans take shape.

SEE BELOW FOR A BRIEF LISTING OF RECENT PAST EVENTS

2019 MGA Annual Spring Forum on Aging

The MGA Annual Spring Forum, Creating Pathways to Advance the Field of Aging was held at the Non-Profit Center in Boston on April 25, 2019.

Welcome - Senator Rebecca L. Rausch
Keynote - Kathleen Otte, Administration for Community Living
Moderator - Christina Matz-Costa, Boston College School of Social Work

Panelists

Valerie Fletcher, Institute for Human Centered Design
Monique Fuchs, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Tim Driver, Age Friendly Ventures, Inc.
Katherine King, Alliance for Aging, Williams James College

This year’s MGA Forum on Aging was a springboard for MGA’s focus on connecting a broad range of disciplines to opportunities in the field of aging. When we speak across areas of expertise, institutions, and organizations traditionally outside of the aging network, we create new pathways to improve life for older people. We aim to show how bringing together unusual suspects is a necessary step in expanding outreach and engaging professionals to work in aging.

2018 MGA ANNUAL SPRING CONFERENCE

The MGA Annual Spring Conference, Reframing Aging: Applying Communications
Research to Advocacy Challenges was held at Lasell College on Friday, May 4, 2018.

Mackenzie Price, PhD, presented findings from the FrameWorks Institute's Reframing Aging Project and how to use reframing as a strategic approach to changing the public conversation about aging issues. Participants will explore reframing as an advocacy tool and learn strategies for applying FrameWork's recommendations to their own communications practice.

The Reframing Aging Project was launched by a national collaboration of leaders of aging organizations (AARP, the American Federation for Aging Research, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Society on Aging, the Gerontological Society of America, Grantmakers in Aging, the National Council on Aging, and the National Hispanic Council on Aging) to address the pitfalls of current messaging approaches and promote more effective communications about aging.

2017 MGA FALL POLICY FORUM

The MGA Fall Policy Forum, Massachusetts for All Ages: Building Community Across Generations, was held at the Nonprofit Center in Boston.

Welcoming Remarks delivered by:
Barbara A. L'Italien, Massachusetts State Senator

Judy Cockerton, Treehouse Foundations

Speakers
Pat Chadwick, Gen2Gen (Encore Boston Network)
Andrea Weaver, Bridges Together
Noelle Marcus, nesterly
Lillyana Hebbert, La Cadena de Amistad (FriendshipWorks)
Nina Silverstein, UMass Boston, AGHE

2017 MGA ANNUAL SPRING CONFERENCE

The MGA Annual Spring Conference, What’s Next? Knowns and Unknowns…The Future of Care Transitions was held at Worcester State University on Friday, May 19, 2017.

Welcoming Remarks delivered by:
Annette Peele, Director of Community Programs, Massachusetts EOEA

Russ Pottle, Dean, WSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Keynote Speaker
Robin Hynds, VP Care Continuums, Lawrence General Hospital

Speaker Panel
Annie Fowler, Director of Clinical Services, Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services
Lisa Kippax, Strategic Initiatives Director, Elder Services of Worcester
Frank Pandolfe, Research Fellow, InfoSAGE, BIDMC Division of Clinical Informatics

2016 MGA FALL POLICY FORUM

The MGA Fall Policy Forum, Justice for Older Adults: Collaborative Approaches was held at the Nonprofit Center, 89 South Street, Boston, on November 4, 2016.

Speakers
Alice Bonner, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA)
Moderator: Denise C. Garlick State Representative

Joan Cirillo, Chief Executive Officer & President, Operation A.B.L.E.
Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Chief Executive Officer, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción
Betsey Crimmins, Sr. Attorney, Elder Abuse Prevention Project Greater Boston/Greater Boston Legal Services
Pat Baker, Sr. Policy Analyst, MA Law Reform Institute

2016 MGA ANNUAL SPRING CONFERENCE

The MGA Annual Spring Conference, Intersections of Aging and Disability was held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston May 11, 2016.

Keynote Speaker
Alan Jette, Boston University School of Public Health
Late-Life Disability: Findings from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS)

Expert Panel
Bill Henning, Boston Center for Independent Living
Beth Soltzberg, Jewish Family & Children's Service (JF&CS)
(View Beth Soltzberg's Presentation - First Steps to Inclusive Memory Cafes)
Carol Suleski, Greater Lynn Senior Services

Moderator
Amy Nazaire, Massachusetts Lifespan Respite Coalition

2015 MGA FALL POLICY FORUM

The MGA Fall Policy Forum, The Aging Network: Challenges and Opportunities for Emerging Leaders, held on October 23, 2015 at Lasell College in Newton, MA

The Fall Forum brought together leaders in the Massachusetts aging services network to discuss their policy challenges, priorities, and aspirations with an eye toward informing new leaders about issues they may face – and sharing perspectives with other leaders.

PARTICIPANTS

Anne Doyle, Lasell Village, Welcome

Barbara Friedman Boston Bridge, Moderator

EXPERT PANELISTS

Ellen Birchander, UMass Boston
Elissa Sherman, LeadingAge Massachusetts
Carole Malone, Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs
Judy Willett, ReServe Greater Boston
Dan O’Leary, Mystic Valley Elder Services

2015 MGA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The MGA Annual Conference, 2015 White House Conference on Aging: What It Means for Massachusetts was held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston May 1, 2015.

This important forum was offered to provide information and perspectives from leaders at the national and state level. Presenting what’s happening around the WHCoA, what it means for aging in Massachusetts and, how to lend a voice to the discussion.

EXPERT PANELISTS

Sue Thomson, Acting Secretary Massachusetts EOEA
Patricia Yu, Health Policy Fellow, Washington DC, WHCoA Past & Present
Beth Dugan, Department of Gerontology, UMass Boston, Moderator

Andrew Eschtruth, Center for Retirement Research, Boston College, Retirement Security

Ken Smith, Director, MassHealth LTSS, EOEA, Long-term Services and Supports
Tina Matz-Costa, Center on Aging and Work, Boston College, Productive and Healthy Aging

(View Presentation - Productive and Healthy Aging)

Betsey Crimmins, Senior Attorney, Greater Boston Legal Services, Elder Justice: Abuse and Exploitation
Amanda Lehning, Health Policy Fellow, Washington DC, Strategies to Impact Policy

Jessica Costantino, Director, AARP Massachusetts Local WHCoA Listening Session

2014 MGA FALL POLICY FORUM

The MGA Fall Policy Forum, At Ground Level: Massachusetts Cities and Towns Respond to Changing Demographics was held at Lasell College, Newton, MA on Friday, October 24, 2014.

EXPERT PANEL PRESENTATIONS

Jan Mutchler, Director, Center for Social & Demographic Research in Aging, Gerontology Institute, UMass/Boston
Benjamin Forman, Executive Director, Gateway Cities Innovation Institute Research Director, MassINC
Sandra Johnson, Director, Randolph Senior Center
Jayne Colino, Director, Newton Department of Senior Services

2014 MGA ANNUAL MEETING

The MGA Annual Meeting on “Brain Matters” - Research and Practice in Cognitive Aging and Well-Being was held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston MA, on Thursday, May 22, 2014.

KEYNOTE

Margie Lachman, PhD, Minnie and Harold Fierman Professor of Psychology, Brandeis University

RESPONSE TALKS
Sharon L. Tennstedt, PhD, Vice President, New England Research Institutes
Lisa Fredman, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health

Sara W. Lazar, PhD, Associate Researcher, MGH Psychiatry Department, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School

2013 MGA FALL POLICY FORUM

The MGA Fall Policy Forum on FALLS PREVENTION: New Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice was held at Lasell College in Newton, MA on Friday, October 11, 2013.

SPEAKERS

Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) NCOA Falls Prevention Hall of Fame 2011-2012

Holly Hackman, MD, MPH, Epidemiologist, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (View Presentation - Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Risk for Falls in Older Adults)

Douglas P. Kiel, MD, MPH, Director of Medical Research, Musculoskeletal Research Center, Hebrew SeniorLife (View Presentation - Falls Research Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research)

Suzanne G. Leveille, PHD, RN, Professor, Department of Nursing, UMass Boston, MOBILIZE Boston Study (View Presentation - Unintentional Fall Injuries Among Adults Ages 65+:Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Surveillance Activities and Findings)

Additional Falls Prevention Resources

Massachusetts Commission on Falls Prevention
Phase 1 Report: The Current Landscape, September 2013

Fall-Related Injuries and Deaths Among Older MA Adults: 2002-2010
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2013

MA Department of Public Health (DPH) Falls Prevention Information Line: 1-800-227-SAFE (7233)

For more DPH information on Falls and Falls Prevention: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/community-health/dvip/injury-prevention/falls.html

2013 MGA ANNUAL MEETING

The MGA Annual Meeting on “Age-Friendly Communities” was held at Lasell College in Newton, MA on Friday, May 10, 2013.

KEYNOTE

Andrew E. Scharlach, Ph.D., is the Eugene and Rose Kleiner Professor of Aging at the University of California at Berkeley. He also serves as the Director for the Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services where is was instrumental in developing the seminal Compendium of Community Aging Initiatives which documents in a single place the various efforts across the country to help communities become more "aging friendly." Included in the Compendium are brief summaries of 121 community aging initiatives, representing respondents to surveys sent to nearly 300 organizations identified through online searches.

PANELISTS
The panel of experts included Frank Caro, Ph.D, Emeritus Professor of Gerontology, McCormack Graduate School, UMass Boston; Co-founder, BrooklineCAN, and Judith G. Gonyea, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Social Research Department, School of Social Work, Boston University.
(View Presentation - Age-Friendly Communities: A Framework for Understanding Inclusion)