11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Elevating the Nonprofit Narrative in Communications and PR

As nonprofit organizations face growing scrutiny from federal policymakers and influential stakeholders, it’s more important than ever for LeadingAge’s nonprofit and mission-driven members to promote the value of the services and benefits they deliver to communities nationwide. This session can help. Through discussion of a messaging framework from the National Council of Nonprofits and by sharing examples of their own messaging and strategic communications that elevate the nonprofit difference, attendees will learn to effectively reach key audiences, including reporters, policymakers, and prospective residents. They’ll share strategic communications plans, talking points, interviewing techniques, and story development tips to help you illustrate how your nonprofit organization delivers critical services, drives economic growth, and strengthens communities. Learn how to cut through a noisy media landscape to ensure key points and compelling stories about your organization and the people you serve are heard.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

How is Your State Protecting Life Plan Community Consumers?

Curious which states have “on-the-books” protections for current and prospective residents of life plan communities? This session will offer a guided tour of how state statutes codify these protections. Presenters will examine statutory language across various areas, including residents’ rights related to annual fee increases, the right to organize and relocate, marketing materials and communication requirements, resident representation on boards of directors, grievances and arbitration, and ownership transitions. You’ll gain insight into unusual or notable statutory language that makes certain states examples to emulate—or to avoid. An expert panel will also discuss how current law and advocacy shape interactions between life plan communities and consumers, and the implications of this advocacy for life plan community leaders.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Nursing Home Policy Update

The first year of the new federal administration brought significant changes that have reshaped the nursing home landscape. As a result, realignment of federal agencies and shifting policy priorities will affect day-to-day operations and the ability of nursing homes to enhance person-centered care, improve workforce recruitment and retention, ensure financial sustainability, and address regulatory challenges. This session will examine the events of the past year, focus on what lies ahead, assess federal priorities, and explore advocacy opportunities that can help shape the future of nursing homes.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Technology Adoption: Cultivating a Culture of Curiosity

Purchasing the right technology for your senior living organization is far more complex than simply ordering the right tool and plugging it in. This session will offer proven strategies to help your organization cultivate a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and continuous learning, so team members confidently adopt technology rather than quietly resist it. Presenters will teach you how to ensure that new technology aligns with your organization’s mission, resident experience, workforce challenges, and strategy. You’ll also learn how to engage frontline staff, managers, and cross-functional teams in selecting, testing, and refining technology solutions. Don’t miss this opportunity to ensure that technology adoption becomes part of how your organization learns and evolves, rather than a one-off initiative that struggles to gain traction.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Medicare Home Health and Hospice: Where Do We Go from Here?

In 2025, the federal government proposed deep, destabilizing cuts to home health payments and implemented a new hospice assessment tool that could affect future payments. Where do we go from here? This session will address that question. Staff from Capitol Hill offices, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the LeadingAge Policy Team will discuss the future direction of Medicare benefits for home health and hospice. They will also examine legislation affecting home health and hospice providers, palliative care, home health payment reform, and program integrity efforts. Discover how you can advocate to preserve these essential services so Americans can age in place if they choose.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The CEO as Culture Champion: A Leadership Imperative

A strong organizational culture is never accidental. It is shaped, modeled, and reinforced by an organization’s leaders. That culture fuels an organization’s quality and accountability because it is grounded in deeply held values such as empathy, belonging, trust, and empowerment. This session will feature a panel of aging services leaders who have embraced their role as “culture champions.” These leaders will explain how they intentionally nurture their organizations' culture by strengthening relationships among team members, elevating their organization’s brand, and aligning all stakeholders around a shared mission. An organizational health expert will be on hand to unpack the unique dynamics of culture in nonprofit aging services organizations and share lessons from other sectors that have elevated culture as a strategic priority.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

The Next Horizon for Emerging Technologies

Many emerging technologies have the potential to reshape how aging services organizations deliver care, engage residents, and manage their business operations. This session will preview these promising tools. Presenters will introduce you to sensor-based environments designed to enhance safety, independence, and proactive care; artificial intelligence-powered tools that can help you make better, faster decisions; engagement platforms that could reduce loneliness and support residents’ daily routines; and emerging health and wellness technologies that have the potential to enhance mental health, mobility, and well-being. Explore how these solutions are evolving, what needs they address, and how to evaluate them before adoption.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

The Value of Home-Based Caregivers: Using Evidence to Drive Policy Change

Home-based care is integral to the aging services sector. Yet professional caregivers who work in clients’ homes often feel undervalued by the public, providers, policymakers, and consumers. This session will explore how results from a randomized controlled trial of aides caring for community-dwelling older adults with heart failure could shift those perceptions. Researchers found that an education and communication intervention improved aides' self-efficacy and knowledge, resulting in fewer self-reported, preventable 911 calls and potentially saving health care dollars. Presenters will discuss how these positive findings demonstrate the value of home-based caregivers and could inform federal and state policy recommendations for home care, home health, and the direct care workforce.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Reducing Social Isolation through Creative Aging Initiatives

Music, movement, and the visual arts can be powerful catalysts for resident connection, engagement, and well-being across senior living and community-based settings. This session will introduce you to arts-based programs that have been shown to reduce social isolation and loneliness among participants and to improve mood and quality of life. You’ll meet the leader of Goddard House, a Boston-based assisted living and memory support community that intentionally integrates the arts and music into residents' daily lives and sponsors programs that offer similar opportunities in local senior housing communities. Researchers on the panel will review current studies that illustrate the scope, impact, and effectiveness of these and other arts-based interventions. You’ll gain valuable strategies to help you enhance the resident experience in your senior living community.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Micro-Credentialing: An Emerging Workforce Development Model

The aging services sector continually strives to deliver high-quality care despite acute shortages of certified nursing assistants (CNA) and other frontline caregivers. “Micro-credentialing” could help address that challenge. This emerging workforce development model enables direct care professionals to participate in short-term learning experiences, have their knowledge assessed by a trusted third party, and earn micro-credentials in various aspects of geriatrics-informed care. During this session, representatives from a university and a retirement community in Maine will describe their efforts to use micro-credentialing to help CNAs build knowledge and skills, gain recognition, advance in their careers, and potentially increase their wages. They’ll also explain how micro-credentialing can help provider organizations reduce turnover, improve quality metrics, and enhance residents’ quality of care and quality of life.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Reducing Social Isolation through Creative Aging Initiatives

Music, movement, and the visual arts can be powerful catalysts for resident connection, engagement, and well-being across senior living and community-based settings. This session will introduce you to arts-based programs that have been shown to reduce social isolation and loneliness among participants and to improve mood and quality of life. You’ll meet the leader of Goddard House, a Boston-based assisted living and memory support community that intentionally integrates the arts and music into residents' daily lives and sponsors programs that offer similar opportunities in local senior housing communities. Researchers on the panel will review current studies that illustrate the scope, impact, and effectiveness of these and other arts-based interventions. You’ll gain valuable strategies to help you enhance the resident experience in your senior living community.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The CEO as Culture Champion: A Leadership Imperative

A strong organizational culture is never accidental. It is shaped, modeled, and reinforced by an organization’s leaders. That culture fuels an organization’s quality and accountability because it is grounded in deeply held values such as empathy, belonging, trust, and empowerment. This session will feature a panel of aging services leaders who have embraced their role as “culture champions.” These leaders will explain how they intentionally nurture their organizations' culture by strengthening relationships among team members, elevating their organization’s brand, and aligning all stakeholders around a shared mission. An organizational health expert will be on hand to unpack the unique dynamics of culture in nonprofit aging services organizations and share lessons from other sectors that have elevated culture as a strategic priority.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Rebuilding Your Marketing Engine with a Modern Mindset

Most nonprofit senior living leaders are falling short on innovation—but not because they lack vision. Instead, they are being held back by a decades-old marketing approach rooted in operations and census and built on the flawed assumption that adults 60+ are a homogenous audience. This candid session will help you rethink that approach. Two advertising agency leaders and a national marketer with roots at T-Mobile USA and Starbucks will reveal why the senior living sector is getting the basics wrong—and how a new approach could create the conditions for genuine innovation. You’ll leave with a modern playbook for restructuring your marketing function, building products for the people you want to attract, and creating brand and experience platforms that unlock growth, spark demand, and enable your organization to innovate with confidence.