September 18: Adam Berman

Join us as we hear from Adam Berman, President of Chelsea Jewish Living, about the Leonard Florence Center for Living in Chelsea, MA. This nursing home, part of Chelsea Jewish Lifecare, is the first urban Green House skilled nursing facility. Adam will teach us more about the Green House model and enlighten us about the innovative ways the Leonard Florence Center for Living enables residents to live as independently as possible.

October 16: Dementia Friends Training

Join our very own Amy Walsh for a Dementia Friends Training. During this community awareness training program, we will learn what it’s like to live with dementia and how we can use our understanding to help those in our community living with dementia.

November 20: Roberta Robertson, PACE

Join us to hear from our very own Roberta Robertson as she teaches us about PACE programs. Roberta has over two decades of experience in elder services and is currently Director of Geriatric Outreach at The Elder Service Plan, the PACE program of Cambridge Health Alliance.

PACE, The Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, offers coordinated, interdisciplinary care for people 55+ who have medical needs but want to continue to live in the community for as long as possible.

December 18: Boston Bridge Conversations

Join us at our December meeting for a thought-provoking discussion with City Life/Vida Urbana Executive Director Lisa Owens. Lisa is a local educator, community builder and social justice advocate and will lead us in a discussion about social justice and the importance of taking time to reflect on important topics.

January 15: End of life planning innovations

Join us as Ariel Sherry and Ailene Gerhardt tell us about innovations changing the way we talk about and plan for end-of-life, including Cake and Hello. We’ll get to try both and learn how these platforms are making a difference.

February 19: Cal Halvorsen

Cal Halvorsen, PhD, MSW is an assistant professor at the Boston College School of Social Work and Public Voices Fellow with Encore.org. His research interests include late-life self-employment and entrepreneurship, encore careers, and older adults as social innovators.  Join us as Cal discusses his current research, including the antecedents, experiences, and outcomes of longer working lives.

March 18: Mentor Madness

Due to concerns about COVID-19, our upcoming meeting will be held by video conference. As planned, we will begin the evening with an overview of Boston Bridge’s great mentoring opportunities, and then hear from some of our wonderful mentors.

April 15: Survey Results & COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, we’ve had to shift around our speaker and topic. This month our board member Taylor Patskanick from the MIT AgeLab, will take us on a deep dive into the results from our recent organizational survey, “Checking in with Boston Bridge.” We will discuss key findings and its implications for Boston Bridge participants and members.

In the spirit of “checking in” we will use the second half of our meeting to discuss how we have been professionally impacted by COVID-19, with a particular focus on how the pandemic is impacting aging network services, our clients, and how our roles as professionals have changed. Time will also be provided for the

May 20: Lou Woolf

Join our zoom discussion on May 20th with Lou Woolf who is the president and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife, a top provider of senior care in the Boston area and a national leader in redefining the experience of aging. In light of our ever changing world Lou will be discussing his organization’s philosophy and approach as a front line service provider during to the Covid-19 pandemic, and how that fit (or didn’t) with their organizational culture.

June 17: Boston Bridge June Conversation – Systemic Racism in Aging

Today, more than ever, we need to talk about social justice and advocacy. We are taking the opportunity for our June meeting to discuss issues of white privilege in our work with older adults, systemic racism more broadly, Black Lives Matter, and intersectionality. We hope you join us for this pertinent discussion as we look for ways to elevate these discussions in our aging field. 

In preparation for this meeting, we suggest watching this video with an overview of Systemic Racism in the video “Systemic Racism Explained”.

Check out our amazing list of speakers & panelists throughtout the year!

September 16: Maureen Bisognano

Maureen Bisognano is President Emerita and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, who has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine among other distinctions. She is an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Research Associate at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Co-Chair of the Mass Coalition for Serious Illness Care with Atul Gawande. She will be speaking to us about global innovations in healthcare as it relates to aging.

October 21: Jumaada Abdal-Khallaq Henry Smith, J.D.

Jumaada Abdal-Khallaq Henry Smith, J.D. is the Coordinator of the Goldenaires of Freedom House. Jumaada is a Boston community advocate for underrepresented neighborhoods. She is a founding committee member for Age Strong’s Age-Friendly Boston’s Advisory Committee and Black History Month Committee, member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People  (NAACP-Boston), Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), Veterans and Friends of Gourdin Memorial Park, and the Chair of the Boston Juneteenth Committee. She will be speaking to us about the Goldenaires and how older adults are moving the needle on civic engagement.  

November 18: John Froio & Courtney Libon, De Novo

John Froio is the Deputy Director and Courtney Libon is the Housing and Disability Law Supervisor at De Novo. De Novo provides free civil legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to low-income people in Cambridge, MA. John and Courtney will provide an overview of De Novo and its unique model, and will address their response to the lifting of the eviction moratorium in Massachusetts.

December 2021: Boston Bridge Conversations

Join us for our annual Boston Bridge Conversations. This year we will break into small groups to network and discuss how we think COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the future of aging.

January 13: Grassroots Aging Professionals Networks

This month will feature a panel discussion with representatives from three grassroots organizations founded to help support and develop professionals in the field of aging. Alongside representatives from our very own Boston Bridge (MA), we welcome founders of EmergingAging (NY) and Emerging Leaders in Aging (CO). We’ll explore how each group got started, what they’re currently focused on, and what they hope to do in the future.

February 17: Dr. Ryan Chin

Dr. Ryan C.C. Chin is the CEO and Co-founder of Optimus Ride Inc. – an MIT spinoff company based in Boston, MA that develops self-driving technologies that enable safe, sustainable, and equitable mobility access. Dr. Chin is a leading expert in the area of Smart Cities and urban mobility systems. Dr. Chin will be talking with us about Optimus Ride’s recent work, including how they are rethinking urban mobility and the implications of autonomous mobility systems for older drivers.

March 17: Rebecca Gutman

Rebecca Gutman is Vice President of Homecare with 1199SEIU, a multi-state healthcare workers Union.

Rebecca will discuss the gains made by Personal Care Attendants through 1199SEIU and the continuing need to lift up homecare jobs in order to provide quality care to seniors and people with disabilities.

April 21: Elders for Climate Action

This month we will be joined by elder activists from the Massachusetts chapter of Elders for Climate Action. Tina Grosowsky and Seth Evans will speak about the ECA’s climate change advocacy work, including how they help concerned elders become effective climate change activists and leverage a multigenerational lens in doing their work.

May 19: Jeff Weiss

This month we will here from Jeff Weiss, the President and CEO of Age of Majority, a marketing consulting group. Jeff will define Active Aging consumers, a group who spend close to $3 trillion on products and services every year. He will describe the mistaken way society portrays this group and explain why by crushing these myths and breaking the stigma and stereotypes attached to older consumers, there is a significant opportunity to change how society and businesses/organizations see and engage older, active adults so that everyone benefits.

June 2021: BB Networking

This year has been an unusual one, and the Boston Bridge Board would like to thank you for your patience and participation as we relied on Zoom for all of our meetings. We recognize that this new format left less opportunity for the networking for which Boston Bridge is known.

This month we will devote our meeting to networking with one another through small breakout sessions. Come ready to chat and make connections!

Although a challenging year, Boston Bridge Inc adapted and recruited a variety of speakers to present and engage in relevant topics & discussion! Take a look at our guests below:

October 2021: Home Care Aide Council & Home Care Alliance of MA

We will have representatives from the Home Care Aide Council & Home Care Alliance of MA joining us to discuss the direct care workforce.

They’ll discuss what working in home care is like (home health aide, homemaker, etc.), who works in these positions, and how these services are paid for. They’ll discuss the safety challenges, interdisciplinary challenges, and what the field has learned about protecting this essential workforce and their clients in the last year. We hope you’ll join us for a discussion of these very timely issues.

November 2021: Amy Rosenthal, Health Care for All

Our November speaker wtill be Amy Rosenthal, the Executive Director of Health Care for All (HCFA). HCFA advocates for health justice in MA by working to promote health equity and ensure coverage and access for all. Amy will inform us about their outreach efforts to ensure coverage for those with low literacy or those with limited access. She will also share the issues for which they are presently advocating in the state legislature and what Boston Bridge can do to assist those efforts.

December 15th: Annual December Conversations Meeting

Please join us for our annual December Conversations meeting. This year, we will feature one-on-one networking sessions as well as trivia! Get to know your fellow Boston Bridge attendees, compete for a trivia prize, and celebrate the season with us!

January 2022: Aarabi Balasubramanian

Our speaker this month will be Aarabi Balasubramanian, Founder & CEO of EmTech Care Labs, an early stage tech startup based in Cambridge. She is currently developing Care-Wallet, a digital long-term care management solution for home-based family caregiving.

Aarabi is also a strategy executive with extensive business, innovation & operations leadership experience across healthcare, financial services and technology industries. She is very passionate about the evolutionary application of technology for societal progress, in particular, access to better healthcare, financial wellness and aging well. Aarabi will provide an overview of the state of innovation & technology in the aging marketspace and also share her own entrepreneurial experiences including how her team is addressing long-term care needs and challenges.

For more details – https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarabib/

February 2022: Dr. Elissa Sherman, LeadingAge

Our speaker this month will be Elissa Sherman, PhD, President of LeadingAge Massachusetts. LeadingAge Massachusetts represents the full continuum of mission-driven, not-for-profit providers of health care, housing, and services for older persons in Massachusetts.

Dr. Sherman has worked in aging policy for over 30 years, and will provide a review of the aging services landscape, including the impact of the pandemic on nursing homes, CCRCs, and assisted living facilities. She’ll tell us what lies ahead for these sectors, including challenges and opportunities.

April 2022: Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, FAAN

We will be joined by Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, FAAN,Former Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and current Adjunct Faculty and Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing CAPABLE Program, and Senior Advisor for Aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

Dr. Bonner’s talk is entitled Age-Friendly Health Systems, Communities, and a Time for Leadership:

 Many different professional organizations, health systems, community-based organizations and government agencies are working to become Age-Friendly. Unfortunately, these efforts are not always aligned or integrated. This presentation will give an overview of some of the current state and national initiatives and will talk about how each of us may play a leadership role – from wherever we are.

May 2022: MassTech/MeHi Caregiving Initiative Presentation & Panel

MassTech/MeHI’s Caregiving Initiative: The Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition is an innovative team of leading employers, advocates, and government partners committed to recognizing, supporting, and building creative solutions that allow family caregivers to continue to thrive in the workplace while also caring for family at home.  Their mission is to partner with, encourage, and challenge Massachusetts employers wherever they are in their progress of supporting employee caregivers by:

• Illuminating the needs of employee caregivers and their economic impact;
• Identifying, sharing, and leveraging best practices inclusive of all employer sizes, locations and types of workforce;
• Championing employee caregiver policies; and
• Enabling culture change for caregivers across all sectors of the economy.

Speakers:

• Ben Linville-Engler, Chief Investment Strategist and Program Executive at MassTech
• Laurance Stuntz, SVP of Customer Success at Xealth & Co-Founder of Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition through Massachusetts eHealth Initiative
• Alexandra Drane, CEO & Co-founder of ARCHANGELS

June 2022: Philippe Saad, AIA, LEED AP

We are excited to welcome Philippe Saad, AIA, LEED AP. He is currently a principal at DiMella Shaffer, an architecture, planning, and design firm based in Boston. In 2021, Philippe was named Design Champion by Environments for Aging for his long term commitment and advocacy for inclusive senior living environments. His belief that architecture is a tool for equity and social change led him to co-found Project Q Communities and LGBTQ Senior Housing, Inc., two non-profit organizations focused on facilitating the development of “welcoming, safe, and affordable housing for low income LGBTQ seniors”. The Pryde, Boston’s first LGBTQ-friendly senior housing, is the result of that endeavor and he is delighted to share the journey to success with us!

This meeting will be held at 6pm via Zoom. RSVP Here.

We are excited to welcome Philippe Saad, AIA, LEED AP. He is currently a principal at DiMella Shaffer, an architecture, planning, and design firm based in Boston. In 2021, Philippe was named Design Champion by Environments for Aging for his long term commitment and advocacy for inclusive senior living environments. His belief that architecture is a tool for equity and social change led him to co-found Project Q Communities and LGBTQ Senior Housing, Inc., two non-profit organizations focused on facilitating the development of “welcoming, safe, and affordable housing for low income LGBTQ seniors”. The Pryde, Boston’s first LGBTQ-friendly senior housing, is the result of that endeavor and he is delighted to share the journey to success with us!

This meeting will be held at 6pm via Zoom. RSVP Here

MassTech/MeHI’s Caregiving Initiative: The Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition is an innovative team of leading employers, advocates, and government partners committed to recognizing, supporting, and building creative solutions that allow family caregivers to continue to thrive in the workplace while also caring for family at home.  Their mission is to partner with, encourage, and challenge Massachusetts employers wherever they are in their progress of supporting employee caregivers by:

• Illuminating the needs of employee caregivers and their economic impact;
• Identifying, sharing, and leveraging best practices inclusive of all employer sizes, locations and types of workforce;
• Championing employee caregiver policies; and
• Enabling culture change for caregivers across all sectors of the economy.

Speakers:

• Ben Linville-Engler, Chief Investment Strategist and Program Executive at MassTech
• Laurance Stuntz, SVP of Customer Success at Xealth & Co-Founder of Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition through Massachusetts eHealth Initiative
• Alexandra Drane, CEO & Co-founder of ARCHANGELS

This meeting will be held at 6pm via Zoom. RSVP Here

We will be joined by Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, FAAN,Former Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and current Adjunct Faculty and Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing CAPABLE Program, and Senior Advisor for Aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

Dr. Bonner’s talk is entitled Age-Friendly Health Systems, Communities, and a Time for Leadership:

 Many different professional organizations, health systems, community-based organizations and government agencies are working to become Age-Friendly. Unfortunately, these efforts are not always aligned or integrated. This presentation will give an overview of some of the current state and national initiatives and will talk about how each of us may play a leadership role – from wherever we are.

This meeting will be held at 6pm via Zoom. RSVP Here

We will be joined this month by Desiree Lapahie, a data analyst at the National Indian Council on Aging. Desiree is a member of the Navajo Nation and has five years of experience in the aging sector. From caregiver to a data analyst, she advocates on behalf of American Indian older adults for improved comprehensive health, social services, and economic wellbeing.

As a caregiver, she experienced firsthand the lack of native perspective for AI/AN people with Alzheimer’s and played a role in the Alzheimer’s Association’s efforts to pass legislation in New Mexico that would benefit people with Alzheimer’s. She has earned her BA in Economics, with a minor in Business Management at the University of New Mexico.