Katie Smith Sloan, new president and CEO of LeadingAge, delivered the opening
keynote address of the 2016 LeadingAge New York Annual Conference and Exposition.
For those who missed the event or the keynote, her speech is reprinted below.
Keynote Address: Katie Smith Sloan
“
Thank you, I’m so pleased to be here
with LeadingAge New York. Over the
years, New York has brought LeadingAge
some wonderful leaders who have made
lasting contributions to our work and
our mission. We are grateful for their
time and talent. I also want to recognize
Nancy Hooks, LeadingAge’s “ambassador”
to New York, for her dedication to helping
LeadingAge New York thrive.
In my time with you today, I want to share
a bit about my journey and highlight the
LeadingAge priorities as they relate to some
of the challenges and opportunities you face
here in New York.
I entered the aging services field by accident,
as many of us do, but I haven’t looked back.
My first job after college was on Capitol Hill
working as a legislative correspondent for
a Senator. My job involved taking phone
calls from constituents and responding
to their letters. By hand. No email or
Facebook accounts to oversee. My Senator
also happened to be the Chair of the aging
sub-committee and I coordinated and
attended the committee’s hearings. At the
time, energy costs were exorbitant and were
very negatively impacting older Americans
who couldn’t