VIDEO: Watch the AARP Massachusetts Virtual ReiMAgine Age and Dementia Friendly Summit

Looking to learn more about age and dementia friendly communities? If you missed the chance to attend our two-day Virtual ReiMAgine Age and Dementia Friendly Summit in September, you will find all the resources and videos here!

The program offered participants the opportunity learn creative strategies to increase community engagement in the movements and make significant progress on the important issues facing our communities.

The conference was brought to you by AARP Massachusetts, Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, Dementia Friendly America, Tufts Health Plan Foundation, and the University of Massachusetts Boston Gerontology Institute.

Video: Keynote Address – Partnerships and Power of Individual Advocates by Callie Crossley, the Host of the radio show and podcast Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, which airs on GBH. Her award-winning radio essays air Mondays during GBH’s Morning Edition. She also hosts Basic Black on GBH-TV, which focuses on current events impacting communities of color. Crossley is a frequent commentator on local and national television and radio programs and has been quoted in a variety of publications, including The Washington Post, and Vanity Fair. 

Video: Age and Dementia Friendly Education: Municipal Departments and Businesses - Uncover the many ways municipalities have worked across departments and engaged local businesses in their efforts to make the community more inclusive for all residents. Click to learn more about the Boston Age-Friendly Business Program.
Facilitator: Jacquie Bishop, AARP Massachusetts
Speaker: Andrea Burns, Age Strong Commission, Boston

Video: Encouraging Local Government Participation – Learn creative ways to empower residents and encourage local government participation in your community’s Age and Dementia Friendly efforts. 
Facilitator: Kelli Lefler, AARP Massachusetts 
Speakers: Beatrice Dewberry and Emily Thibault, Way Finders 
Walter Leutz, Waltham Connections for Healthy Aging  

Video: Organizing Community Stakeholders – Discussion on the different ways communities have identified and established groups of stakeholders to assist with moving the age friendly initiatives forward. 
Facilitator: Patty Sullivan, Dementia Friendly Massachusetts 
Speakers: Carrie Johnson, SeniorCare Inc.  
Nour Elkhattaby Strauch, LifePath 

Video: Reframing: Equity and Inclusion – This session offers community-based organizations tools to advance equity and reframe aging, including recommendations from Frameworks Institute Reframing Aging research and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Racial Equity Data Road Map. Communities will be challenged to consider who is participating of their age- and dementia-friendly movement, who may be missing, and how to create inclusive spaces. Additionally, the session will explore ways reframing aging has evolved in the context of the pandemic and offer time for conversation and discussion regarding communities’ journey for inclusivity and equity in age and dementia-friendly work.   

Facilitator: Amanda Bernardo, Executive Office of Elder Affairs 
Speakers: Sabrina Selk, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Alrie McNiff Daniels, Tufts Health Plan Foundation