We’ll explore care preferences, social isolation, micro-credentialing, and home-based care. We’ll also support Leaders of Color Network events.
Team members at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston will share their work during four educational sessions at the 2026 LeadingAge Leadership Summit, which takes place April 20-22 in Washington, DC. The LTSS Center will also support several events sponsored by the LeadingAge Leaders of Color Network.
Educational Sessions
Honoring the Care Preferences of Older Adults: When healthcare practitioners listen to and honor patient preferences, it improves health and quality of life, reduces avoidable costs, and helps reduce health disparities. This session will provide an overview of LTSS Center research—including focus groups with physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants—that illustrates how healthcare professionals are engaging in shared decision-making, navigating barriers to honoring patient preferences, and adapting these strategies across diverse populations. Join us to learn how to optimize health outcomes by ensuring patients feel heard and that their care preferences and needs are considered. (Monday, April 20, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)
Reducing Social Isolation through Creative Aging Initiatives: 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. (Monday, April 20, 1:45-3 p.m.)
Micro-Credentialing: An Emerging Workforce Development Model: “Micro-credentialing” 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 certified nursing assistants 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. (Monday, April 20, 3:30-4:45 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. (Tuesday, April 21, 1:45-3 p.m.)
Leaders of Color Network Events
The LeadingAge Leaders of Color Network is open to all LeadingAge members, including senior, mid-level, and emerging leaders of color, as well as allies. Leaders of Color and allies are invited to participate in these events during the 2026 Leadership Summit:
Leaders of Color Network Dinner & Conversation with Dr. Laura Huang: LeadingAge will host a dinner and conversation with Dr. Laura Huang, associate dean of executive education and distinguished professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University, on the eve of her Leadership Summit keynote address. Dr. Huang will explore how individuals can build a competitive edge by turning bias, adversity, and perceived disadvantages into strategic assets that shape others’ perceptions and create value and distinction. (Monday, April 20, 6:30 p.m.)
Leaders of Color Network Lunch: The Leaders of Color Network Lunch offers all LeadingAge members an opportunity to meet, greet, and connect with their colleagues during an informal lunch. (Tuesday, April 21, 12:30-1:45 p.m.)
When you register for the Leadership Summit, be sure to check the box indicating your interest in Leaders of Color Network events. Attendees will receive email invitations to networking events in March.