American Society on Aging

Social Isolation, Loneliness and Trauma in the Aging Community: Understanding Impacts and Challenges
2025-02-18 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | CO
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
10:00 AM Pacific
11:00 AM Pacific

1–2 PM Eastern | 10–11 AM Pacific
Also available on demand Feb. 21 – Apr. 18, 2026

>>> Important <<<
We have launched ASA’s new webinar platform. Find helpful information about the platform here.
Register Now
Includes one complimentary Continuing Education (CE) credit.
Closed captions are available for live and on-demand courses within specific browsers. Click here to see how to access and turn on the browser setting. If you still need to request speech-to-text captioning during this event, please contact us at least 5 business days prior to the live webinar so we may accommodate your needs.

WSocial isolation, loneliness and trauma significantly impact older adults, their caregivers and the mental health professionals who support them. This webinar delves into the critical issues surrounding these challenges in the aging community, offering professionals in the field valuable insights to enhance their understanding and care strategies.
Participants will explore the distinctions and intersections between social isolation and loneliness, understand the profound impacts of trauma on older adults, and examine the emotional toll on family caregivers. Additionally, the session will address mental health considerations for older adults and the professionals who work alongside them.
Participants in this webinar will be able to:

Define and distinguish between social isolation and loneliness and identify their causes and prevalence among older adults.
Recognize the impact of winter weather on older adults.
Recognize the types of trauma that affect older adults, including connections to social isolation and loneliness.
Examine the emotional and psychological toll of caregiving, including the impact of intergenerational trauma on family dynamics.
Understand mental health considerations for older adults and the professionals who provide their care.

Presenters:
Maureen Feldman, MA, directs the Social Isolation Impact Project at The Motion Picture & Television Fund, and is founding chair of the Social Isolation Impact Coalition. She specializes in social connectivity, technology, and cross-generational mentorship, and created Stay Connected: Communicating in the 21st Century, a course to help older adults and others navigate modern technology. Feldman has presented widely on topics such as Combating Chronic Loneliness: Digital Literacy, Social Media, and the Aging Population and Social Isolation and Loneliness: Preparing for the Next Epidemic. And she has consulted for the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, serving as Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles Collaborative for Healthy Active Children.

AgeTech for Elder Care Professionals: Elevating Care through Innovation
2025-02-18 - 2025-09-30
Dates:
Available from Feb. 18 – Sept. 30, 2025
Format:
On Demand, approximately 3 hours.
Price:
Member Rate: $497*
Non-member Rate: $575*
Certificates & Credits:
Continuing Education credits are not available for this course. We will offer a Certificate of Attendance.
A yearly ASA membership is $275 for individuals and $100 for retired professionals & students. ASA also offers Organizational Membership. Learn more about membership here.
*This offering is non-refundable.
Register Now
Description:
Aging professionals are invited to revolutionize their approach to care with our exclusive AgeTech for Elder Care Professionals seminar. Tailored for those dedicated to providing exceptional care for older adults, this extended course goes beyond the basics, covering the foundations of AgeTech, challenges of aging, and specific modules designed to empower attendees in sourcing, validating, and implementing cutting-edge tech solutions. This seminar can be completed in 3 hours. Key Topics Include:

Foundations of AgeTech: Explore the nuanced foundations shaping the AgeTech landscape. Navigate the variety of AgeTech offerings and understand available solutions.
Explore the challenges of aging through the lens of tech-enabled solutions: Delve into case studies showcasing innovative tech solutions that can transform how we age.
Sourcing AgeTech Solutions: Learn effective strategies for identifying and selecting technologies that align with the unique needs of attendees’ clients/ organizations.
Validating AgeTech Solutions: Develop skills to critically assess and validate AgeTech solutions. Gain insights into best practices for ensuring the reliability, safety and effectiveness of technologies in elder care settings.
Implementing AgeTech Solutions: Create a roadmap for seamless integration of tech solutions in organizations. Learn practical implementation strategies, ensuring successful adoption (on staff and client levels) and improved caregiving outcomes.
The business case for AgeTech—how do we get decision makers to fund innovations?
The ethical case for AgeTech—how do we make our service better for our clients?

Course Schedule:
Module 1: Foundations of AgeTech

What is AgeTech? Why do we need it? Why now?

Defining key concepts

Understanding the underlying trends that drive and impact the AgeTech ecosystem

Module 2: The Challenges of Aging

Exploring the challenges of aging through tech-enabled solutions

Delve into case studies showcasing innovative tech solutions transforming the aging experience.

Module 3: Sourcing, Validating, and Implementing Tech Solutions

Sourcing AgeTech Solutions

Learn effective strategies for identifying and selecting technologies that align with the unique needs of attendees’ clients/organizations.

Validating AgeTech Solutions

Develop skills to critically assess and validate AgeTech solutions.

Gain insights into best practices for ensuring the reliability, safety and effectiveness of technologies in elder care settings.

Module 4: Implementing AgeTech Solutions

Implementing AgeTech Solutions

Create a roadmap for seamless integration of tech solutions into any organization.

Learn practical implementation strategies, ensuring successful adoption (on staff and client levels) and improved caregiving outcomes.

The Business Case for AgeTech

The Ethical Case for AgeTech

On Aging Institute Faculty:
Keren Etkin is the author of The AgeTech Revolution—a book about the intersection of technology and aging, and founder of TheGerontechnologist.com—a media platform that covers the global AgeTech ecosystem and offers AgeTech education through the AgeTech Academy. She is also the founder-director of AgeLabIL at the Shenkar Institute for Design, Engineering and Art. Named one of the most influential people in aging by Next Avenue, Etkin works with startups, big tech companies, elder-care providers, public sector organizations and NGOs on the development and adoption of AgeTech solutions.
Previously, she was the first employee at Intuition Robotics, the startup behind ElliQ—the world’s first social robot designed with and for older adults, and co-founder and Vice President of Product at Sensi.Ai, a startup that developed the first and only AI solution for remote care monitoring.
She holds a master’s in Gerontology and a bachelor’s in Life Sciences from Ben-Gurion University.

Register Now

This course is made possible in part by the generous support of Next50.

Ethics and Cultural Competency
2025-02-12 10:00 - 11:00
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
10:00 AM Pacific
11:00 AM Pacific

1–2 PM Eastern | 10–11 AM Pacific
Also available on demand Feb. 15 – Apr. 13, 2025

>>> Important <<<
We have launched ASA’s new webinar platform. Find helpful information about the platform here.
Register Now
Includes one complimentary Continuing Education (CE) credit.
Closed captions are available for live and on-demand courses within specific browsers. Click here to see how to access and turn on the browser setting. If you still need to request speech-to-text captioning during this event, please contact us at least 5 business days prior to the live webinar so we may accommodate your needs.

Social service professionals frequently face complex ethical dilemmas. Questions arise about the boundaries of client confidentiality, managing professional boundaries and dual relationships, and the ethical use of digital technologies, including remote services and artificial intelligence. Join us for an engaging discussion to help navigate cultural and diverse ethical encounters and more.
Participants in this webinar will be able to:

Identify ethical issues and challenges in the delivery of social services.
Manage ethical dilemmas consistent with prevailing ethical standards.
Implement ethics-sensitive policies and protocols to protect clients and prevent litigation and licensing board complaints.

Presenter:
Frederic Reamer, PhD, is a faculty member at the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College, where he teaches and conducts research on professional ethics, criminal justice, mental health, healthcare and public policy. He chaired the national task force that developed the Code of Ethics for the National Association of Social Workers, wrote 25 books, has more than 190 published works, and served as an expert witness and consultant in 150 court and licensing board cases related to professional ethics.

Finding the Right Fit: Options for Care at Home
2025-02-05 10:00 - 11:00
Wednesday, February 05, 2025
10:00 AM Pacific
11:00 AM Pacific

1–2 PM Eastern | 10–11 AM Pacific
Also available on demand Feb. 8 – Apr. 6, 2025

>>> Important <<<
We have launched ASA’s new webinar platform. Find helpful information about the platform here.
Register Now
Includes one complimentary Continuing Education (CE) credit.
Closed captions are available for live and on-demand courses within specific browsers. Click here to see how to access and turn on the browser setting. If you still need to request speech-to-text captioning during this event, please contact us at least 5 business days prior to the live webinar so we may accommodate your needs.

Most older adults want to age at home, in a place where they feel comfort and familiarity. But the reality is that to remain at home, they will need extra support. The options for care can be overwhelming and confusing, but with education, older adults and their families can find a solution that best fits them and their situation. Join this webinar to discover the options available to older adults needing help at home, including resources for planning to age in place with help.
Participants in this webinar will be able to:

Review important considerations for aging in place at home.
Understand the signs that more help in the home may be needed.
Discover questions that older adults and their families should consider when choosing a homecare provider.
Review the costs of care and options for financing.

Presenter:
Lakelyn Eichenberger, PhD, is a gerontologist and caregiving advocate for Honor and Home Instead, the world’s largest provider of home care. She began her career in a local Home Instead, working one-on-one with older adults. Today she works to educate professionals, families and communities on the unique challenges older adults face and the resources available to help them thrive. Eichenberger earned a doctorate in Gerontology from the University of Nebraska. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the topic of caregiving and aging and serves as a resource to major media.

What to Expect in the First 100 Days
2025-01-21 09:00 - 10:00
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025
Start time: 9 AM Pacific | 12 PM Eastern
End time: 10 AM Pacific | 1 PM Eastern

Click here to register now.

Description:
As newly elected officials begin to shape their policy agendas, implications for aging services are taking form. In a previous members-only event, we explored potential shifts in aging policy and healthcare following the November election. Join us Jan. 21 for our second installment of this ASA members-only series as we delve deeper into the anticipated changes that may impact aging services during the first 100 days of the new administration.
In this session, policy experts Amy Herr, Bob Blancato and Joel White will provide insights into expected legislative, regulatory and funding priorities. From healthcare and workforce development to housing and social services, we’ll discuss the key issues that could redefine aging services in the months ahead.
Presenters:
Bob Blancato is national coordinator of the bipartisan 3,000-member Elder Justice Coalition, and president of Matz, Blancato and Associates, executive director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, and national coordinator of the Defeat Malnutrition Today coalition. Blancato has long been recognized as a policy expert and national advocate for older adults. In 2019, the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee invited him to testify on a range of issues, including elder justice. His prior work history includes 17 years as a congressional staffer and service as executive director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. He is a member of the Senior Executive Service.
Amy Herr, MHS, directs Health Policy for the nonprofit, nonpartisan West Health Policy Center and an expert in state and federal health policy analysis, focusing on Medicare and Medicaid program policy development and implementation, specifically related to integrated care models for older adults. Before joining West Health, Herr was a managing consultant with The Lewin Group, and prior to that she was a health policy analyst for the National Association of State Medicaid Directors and a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate. Herr serves on ASA’s Board of Directors.
Joel White is founder and president of Horizon Government Affairs, a healthcare consultancy that represents several dozen clients and runs 4 coalitions comprising 200 organizations dedicated to reforms that improve the health system. Since Horizon’s founding in 2007, his team has helped enact more than 50 laws and shape countless regulations governing all aspects of the U.S. healthcare system. Previously, Joel spent 12 years on Capitol Hill, including as staff director of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee.
Register Now

On the Same pAGE: Facilitating Intergenerational Conversations About Ageism
2025-01-15 10:00 - 23:15
Date & Time:
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1–2:15 PM Eastern | 10 AM–11:15 PM Pacific

Format:
Live Workshop
Available On Demand Jan. 17–May 15, 2025

Price:
Free to ASA Members!
Non-member Rate: $75*

Certificates & Credits:
Continuing Education credits are not available for this course. We will offer a Certificate of Attendance.

A yearly ASA membership is $275 for individuals and $100 for retired professionals & students. ASA also offers Organizational Membership. Learn more about membership here.

*This offering is non-refundable.

Click here to register now.

Description:
Research tells us that intergenerational education and connection are important antidotes to ageism, and can bring communities together. Yet intergenerational connection and relationships are rare, a situation reinforced by the age segregation that’s embedded in many of our communities and institutions.
What can we do about it? We can start by deliberately bringing younger and older people together in situations where they have equal status and facilitating conversations.
In this interactive workshop, you will learn:

How to bring people together, and under what conditions
How to facilitate intergenerational conversations—in this case about ageism
Key mistakes to avoid
How to apply the principles of facilitating intergenerational conversations about ageism to other conversations
How to maintain the momentum and connections formed beyond the initial conversation
Recognize your own ageist beliefs and learn how to demonstrate non-ageist communications and behaviors with older adult patients

The workshop will include some breakout room practice. Participants will leave with a toolkit for hosting their own conversations, as well as some sample activities for dispelling stereotypes and finding common ground.
On Aging Institute Faculty:
Janine Vanderburg, JD, is CEO of Encore Roadmap, and speaks, writes, and consults with businesses, media and brands on how they can end ageism, become more age-inclusive, and leverage the benefits of intergenerational collaboration. Her ageism activism is informed not only by research, but also by 3½ decades running a social sector consulting firm. In 2018, Janine co-founded Changing the Narrative, a leading U.S. campaign to end ageism, through which she has trained 30,000 people in 50 states and 49 countries in ageism, reframing aging, and creating more age-inclusive workplaces, marketing and communications. In 2019, Janine launched Changing the Narrative’s on the same pAGE campaign, hosting 60 intergenerational conversations about ageism throughout the U.S. and beyond in 10 days.
Who should attend this session:
This session is for anyone who:

Would like to improve relationships between and better manage multigenerational workforces
Runs gerontological or other higher education programs and would like their students to experience intergenerational conversations
Works in an age-friendly university that deliberately tries to connect older and younger students
Designs and operates intergenerational mentoring programs
Operates programs that serve older adults (e.g., senior centers, area agencies on aging, senior living facilities)
Advocates for older adult issues and wants to host intergenerational conversations to better understand of how younger people experience specific issues
Believes in finding common ground among older and younger people, and in dispelling us vs. them stereotypes
Wants to DO SOMETHING meaningful about ageism

Register Now

Addressing Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Special Focus on Holidays and Anniversaries
2025-01-15 10:00 - 11:00
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
10:00 AM Pacific
11:00 AM Pacific

1–2 PM Eastern | 10–11 AM Pacific
Also available on demand Jan. 17 – Mar. 15, 2025

>>> Important <<<
We have launched ASA’s new webinar platform. Find helpful information about the platform here.
Register Now
Includes one complimentary Continuing Education (CE) credit.
Closed captions are available for live and on-demand courses within specific browsers. Click here to see how to access and turn on the browser setting. If you still need to request speech-to-text captioning during this event, please contact us at least 5 business days prior to the live webinar so we may accommodate your needs.

Join us for a deep look into the lives of older adults facing the challenges of social isolation and loneliness. This webinar reveals the emotional toll of holidays, anniversaries and personal milestones, shedding light on how occasions and the loss of loved ones can amplify feelings of solitude. The session explores lifestyle and health challenges that deepen this isolation and provides compassionate solutions, such as building social support networks, planning holiday connections, and engaging in meaningful activities. Through real-life case studies and professional tools, you’ll gain actionable strategies to help older adults overcome loneliness and find joy in later life.
Participants in this webinar will be able to:

Recognize the psychological and physical impacts of isolation.
Explain how loneliness is exacerbated around the holidays and anniversaries of loss.
Identify practical interventions to mitigate loneliness.

Presenters:
Carol Marak is a nationally recognized expert in solo aging and longevity planning. She aims to empower older adults to age with dignity, security and joy. Marak consults with aging care professionals to integrate holistic planning and proactive strategies into their services. She developed the Life Plan Assessment, a unique tool that provides comprehensive feedback about an older adult’s top aging risks, and the “Solo and Smart” YouTube channel.

The Power of Age-Inclusive Healthcare
2024-11-13 - 2025-06-30
Dates:
Available from Nov. 13–Jun. 30, 2025
Format:
On Demand
Price:
Free for ASA Members!
Non-member Rate: $150*
Certificates & Credits:
Continuing Education credits are not available for this course. We will offer a Certificate of Attendance.
A yearly ASA membership is $275 for individuals and $100 for retired professionals & students. ASA also offers Organizational Membership. Learn more about membership here.
*This offering is non-refundable.
Register Now

Description:
Building upon the foundation of our recent members only event, “How Ageism Impacts Health and What You Can Do,” where we explored the harmful effects of ageism on health, this live workshop will take a deeper dive into the intersectionality of ageism in healthcare. We will explore actionable areas of age advocacy and empowerment.
Ageism does not exist in isolation; it often intersects with other forms of discrimination based upon abilities, disabilities, race, gender, socioeconomic status and more. Recognizing this intersectionality is crucial to addressing age-related bias in healthcare and our everyday lives.
On Aging Institute Faculty:
Kris Geerken, MHA, focuses on raising awareness about the impacts of ageism. For the past five years, she has worked with Changing the Narrative to develop its Age-Friendly Healthcare program and produced the educational film “Antidotes for Ageism.” She also developed a toolkit for intergenerational conversations on ageism. Kris is an adjunct instructor with Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Health Professions, where she teaches a course on ageism and ableism. Her previous experience working in hospice care reinforced her belief in treating all individuals with dignity, compassion and respect.
Register Now

Ending Ageism Together
2024-10-11 - 2025-12-31
Dates:
Available from Oct. 11–Dec. 31, 2025
Format:
On Demand
Price:
Free for ASA Members!
Non-member Rate: $150*
Certificates & Credits:
Continuing Education credits are not available for this course. We will offer a Certificate of Attendance.
A yearly ASA membership is $275 for individuals and $100 for retired professionals & students. ASA also offers Organizational Membership. Learn more about membership here.
*This offering is non-refundable.
Register Now
Description:
Ageism is rampant, in ourselves, our work, our organizations and our policies. And we know it has extraordinarily negative effects on economic opportunity, health, social connection and community, as well as on our ability to reach and successfully serve older adults.
The good news is that we can do something about it.
For Ageism Awareness Day, anti-ageism activist and age-inclusion expert Janine Vanderburg will deliver a special presentation for the American Society on Aging, covering:

Ageism and its impact on everything that surrounds us
How we can identify ageism in ourselves, our work and in public policy
Effective strategies for addressing ageism, and how we can use successful lessons from social change movements to end ageism

The presentation will end with a call for participants to take actions to end ageism together. The call will include 9 things anyone can do in 10 minutes or less.
On Aging Institute Faculty:
Janine Vanderburg is CEO of Encore Roadmap, and speaks, writes, and consults with businesses, media and brands on how they can end ageism and become more age-inclusive. Her ageism activism is informed not only by research, but also by three and a half decades running a social sector consulting firm, where she worked with leading changemakers across the United States and beyond to develop social and organizational change strategies, raise funds and evaluate impact, and design and implement large-scale capacity-building initiatives for the federal government and private foundations. In 2018, Janine co-founded Changing the Narrative, a leading U.S. campaign to end ageism, through which she has trained 30,000 people in all in 50 states and 49 countries in ageism, reframing aging, and creating more age-inclusive workplaces, marketing and communications.

Register Now

This course is made possible in part by the generous support of Next50.
