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.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

How Federal Policy is Shaping National Workforce Priorities

Federal workforce policy has significant implications for aging services and the broader care continuum. This session will examine key legislative and regulatory developments shaping national workforce priorities. Presenters will help you better understand current and pending policy proposals on direct care staffing shortages, visa programs for health professionals, and workforce development. They will also facilitate an informative discussion on federal policy decisions, including those affecting immigration, that are shaping the current and future aging services workforce. Don’t miss this opportunity to obtain the tools you need to engage with policymakers, advocate for meaningful workforce solutions, and position your organization to thrive amid shifting demands and priorities.

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.

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.

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.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Honoring the Care Preferences of Older Adults

When healthcare practitioners overlook the care preferences of older adults, those patients are more likely to experience stressful hospital visits, higher medical costs, and a loss of trust in the healthcare system. Conversely, listening to and honoring patient preferences improves health and quality of life, reduces avoidable costs, and helps reduce health disparities. This session will provide an overview of research from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston—including focus groups with physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants—that illustrates how healthcare professionals are engaging in shared decision-making, navigating barriers to honor patient preferences, and adapting these strategies across diverse populations. Join us to learn how health outcomes can be optimized by ensuring patients feel heard and that their care preferences and needs are considered.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Shaping the Future of Affordable Senior Housing

LeadingAge is working diligently to advance bold policy goals to preserve, expand, and enhance affordable housing for older adults. During this session, staff from congressional offices and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will discuss their goals for affordable senior housing. In addition, LeadingAge’s Policy Team will explore how those goals align with and diverge from LeadingAge’s platform to preserve, expand, and enhance service-enriched affordable housing for older adults. Don’t miss this opportunity to review funding, policy, and operational issues affecting affordable housing, including federal rental assistance programs, service coordination, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. You’ll also gain tips for participating in advocacy that helps shape the future of affordable senior housing.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The Landscape of Emerging Risks in Aging Services

Providers of aging services operate in an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment, and 2026 is likely to bring a range of challenges that warrant close attention. This session will outline emerging legal risks across the continuum of care, including litigation trends, evolving standards of care, contract and disclosure liabilities, survey and enforcement patterns, workforce and employment exposure, technology and data-related concerns, and potential scrutiny of nonprofit tax status and community benefit. Presenters will also examine how policy developments at the Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission could influence provider operations and accountability. Don’t miss this forward-looking assessment, which will help your organization’s leadership assess risk, align strategy, and prepare for what may lie ahead.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The Landscape of Emerging Risks in Aging Services

Providers of aging services operate in an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment, and 2026 is likely to bring a range of challenges that warrant close attention. This session will outline emerging legal risks across the continuum of care, including litigation trends, evolving standards of care, contract and disclosure liabilities, survey and enforcement patterns, workforce and employment exposure, technology and data-related concerns, and potential scrutiny of nonprofit tax status and community benefit. Presenters will also examine how policy developments at the Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission could influence provider operations and accountability. Don’t miss this forward-looking assessment, which will help your organization’s leadership assess risk, align strategy, and prepare for what may lie ahead.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

The Transformative Power of Repositioning

Providers of aging services face a range of challenges as they seek to deliver high-quality services and supports to more older adults. Securing capital for new construction projects and land purchases is becoming increasingly expensive. Suitable land bordering or near existing campuses is increasingly scarce. As a result, most providers invest in repositioning and expanding capacity at existing campuses rather than building new ones. LeadingAge providers and their architects will offer insights to help you update your organization’s aging assets to meet the needs and preferences of new cohorts of older adults. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about transformational repositioning projects, reflect on their successes, and apply the lessons providers have learned along the way.