Katie Smith Sloan ( Continued )
Katie Smith Sloan ( Continued )
At LeadingAge , we are talking about how we frame our work and our mission . Aging is , at its core , about family and life cycles . Housing and services are about community . Health is about quality and well-being . Using a different frame leads to a different conversation and challenges people to think about aging differently . I encourage all of you to think about how we frame what we do , who we listen to – and perhaps , who we don ’ t but should .
When I started my new role as president and CEO of LeadingAge in January , I realized that I had a great opportunity to reframe what we do at the national level . I met with our board of directors later that month and asked them if they ’ d be willing to put in a few more hours of their time . They all willingly agreed . Perhaps I should have been more clear , a little more time really meant a significant effort to rethink how we position ourselves in the aging services field .
I hired a strategic planning firm , Thruue , and they have been guiding the board as well as our staff through a series of exercises to analyze who we are , what we do , and where we are headed . I couldn ’ t be more pleased with the process and am so grateful for the board ’ s full participation and extra time .
The board is meeting again next month to roll up our sleeves and work on a new strategic plan . We are also looking at our mission and vision statements - do they accurately describe LeadingAge ? Do they convey where we are headed in this rapidly changing aging services field ? We hope to wrap up by July and I look forward to sharing our thoughts with the entire membership later this summer .
At the LeadingAge Annual Conference in Boston this past fall , we built a wall in the middle of the Rose Kennedy Greenway . The wall said “ When I Grow Old ...” And invited people – anyone who walked by – to offer a thought to finish the sentence . Thousands of people wrote on the wall . People said “ I want to be just like I am now .” I want to travel more . I want to learn to play the violin .”
I ’ d like to think we began a conversation – one that must continue – about growing old and a heightened sensitivity to its attendant challenges and opportunities . One that will lend strength and urgency to addressing these challenges and to advancing our policy agenda . One that will create a mandate for change . We look to our state partners , like LeadingAge New York , to continue these conversations .
Because , in due course , over the next 10 , 20 , and even 30 years , our society and our member organizations will become something we can ’ t even imagine today due to how we respond – as providers , government , and business – to the issues I have laid out for you today .
As our country ages – as our WORLD ages – I believe we have a responsibility to drive innovation . It has been said that “ in times of change , learners inherit the earth , while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists .” We need to learn and innovate , not just for practical reasons , but because it is our moral obligation .
Thank you for the work you do every day . Reach out to me or other members of our LeadingAge staff for support when needed or just pick up the phone to tell me a story about your organization . The stories make all the difference .
I have tremendous faith in the leadership capacity of LeadingAge New York and its members . Continue to lead , to innovate , to talk , and to advocate for what ’ s fair and what ’ s needed . Continue to be passionate and fierce about making the world we live in a healthy , safe , and dignified place in which to grow old .
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Thank you .
25 Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Summer 2016