Remarks from Fed Partners – 10:05 – 10:30AM EST (5 minutes each) 

Keynote - Q&A Discussion – 10:25 -10:50am EST

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Ramsey Alwin, President & CEO, National Council on Aging

Sergeant Kevin Briggs, Retired, California State Highway Patrol, "Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge"

Christopher D. Carroll, MSc, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

This session discusses implementation of quality improvement and best practices in geriatric primary care, increasing access to geriatric supports and services through expanded training, professional development, and technology. These efforts successfully addressed issues commonly faced in rural areas including opioid use disorder. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how the LIGHT Project integrates geriatrics with primary care to improve health outcomes for older adults at the individual, system, community, and population levels.
2. Examine how provider integration, geriatric education, and home and community-based services improve healthcare delivery and workforce training for older adults.
3. Discuss strategies for leveraging interprofessional collaboration, community partnerships, and outcome measurement to create sustainable, patient- and family-centered models of geriatric care.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

James Lin, DO, President, LECOM Institute for Successful Living

Jaime Babiak, PharmD, MHSA, NHA, Technical Assistance Center Director Vice President of Operations, Director of Pharmacy, LECOM Institute for Successful Aging

Kristen Ryan, MHSA, CDP, PCHA, Director of Business Development, LECOM Institute for Successful Living

Melanie Titzel, PhD, Director of Operations, LECOM

Tara Sitter, Executive Assistant, LECOM

Nicole Howell, Director of Direct Care Workforce Development, NCOA

This session highlights an innovative model of hoarding disorder support that integrates cognitive behavioral health, peer in-home assistance, and Buried in Treasures (BIT) Workshops—an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach shown to transform both homes and lives.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify how integrating peer support with cognitive behavioral health strategies and Buried in Treasures (BIT) Workshops enhances recovery outcomes for individuals with hoarding disorder.
2. Explain how trauma-informed, accessible, and sustainable models of care—such as group workshops paired with in-home support—can be adapted and expanded across communities.
3. Apply insights from innovative hoarding disorder programs to develop or strengthen similar interventions within participants’ own organizations or service areas.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Gabriel Halperin-Goldstein, LSW, Program Manager, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia

Alana Knoppow, MSW, Assistant Director of Programs and Training, The Center on Aging, Trauma, and Holocaust Survivor Care at Jewish Federations of North America

Sheila Lorrett Emerson, Buried in Treasures participant

Courtney Owen, LCSW, Chief Program Officer, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia

Amanda Krisher, Associate Director, Behavioral Health, NCOA

This session highlights a community–academic partnership between Texas A&M University’s Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) and the rural Brownwood community to address older adult mental health through the delivery of Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) at congregate meal sites. By offering CDSME classes immediately following Title IIIC-funded congregate meals, the partnership reduces barriers to participation and leverages trusted community spaces and site empowerment to address social isolation, food insecurity, and mental health challenges. Presenters will share research insights, implementation lessons from the community-based organization, and lived experience from a program participant to illustrate how this integrated model supports mental well-being and can be adapted in other communities.

Learning Objectives:

1.     Describe how CDSME delivered at congregate meal sites can support older adult mental health by reducing isolation and increasing self-efficacy.

2.     Identify key partnership and implementation strategies for integrating CDSME into Title IIIC-funded congregate meal settings.

3.     Apply lessons from the Brownwood community partnership to inform replication or adaptation of similar models in other community-based settings.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Nandita Chaudhuri, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M University

Angela Dees, Executive Director, Brownwood Senior Citizens Center

Gretchen D. Tanbonliong, MS, MPH, RDN, Associate Director, Health & Wellness, NCOA

Chronic disease and behavioral health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD often intersect, creating barriers to effective self-management and overall well-being. Evidence-based Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) programs can improve confidence, symptom management, and engagement in care when thoughtfully implemented for individuals with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions.

This session will highlight practical strategies for adapting and delivering CDSME programs, building cross-sector partnerships, strengthening workforce capacity, and maintaining fidelity while promoting participant engagement.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the connection between chronic disease and behavioral health and its impact on self-management.
2. Identify strategies used to implement CDSME programs for adults with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and related conditions.
3. Apply practical approaches to integrate chronic disease self-management into behavioral health and community-based settings.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Danielle Hansen, D.O., MS (Med Ed), MHSA, Regional President, LECOM Health

Lon Kieffer RN, BSN, MBA, Milford Wellness Village

Betsy Wheeler, Manager, Education Health Research Inc.

Peter L. Holtgrave, MPH, MA (CCMP, CAP), Associate Director, Health Promotion Programs, NCOA

Falls and behavioral health are tightly linked, especially for older adults navigating depression, neurologic conditions, and complex care needs. This session brings together research and real-world implementation to explore how depression treatment pathways may influence fall risk and how cross-sector partnerships can tailor falls prevention for people living with Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Attendees will leave with practical strategies to align behavioral health and falls prevention screening, referral, and program delivery.

Learning Objectives:

1.     Describe how first-line depression treatments may affect fall risk in older adults.

2.     Identify two strategies to partner with CBOs to deliver/adapt falls prevention programs for older adults with Parkinson's and/or TBI.

3.     Apply one way to integrate behavioral health into falls prevention workflows (screening, referral, engagement), informed by lived experience.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Weihsuan "Jenny" Lo-Ciganic, PhD, MS, MSP, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Informatics

Michael Bauer, MS, Director of the Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention

Marianne Finn, Tai Chi participant

Emily Nabors, MSG, Associate Director of Innovation

Sleep problems are linked to chronic diseases, mental health, and the leading causes of death. Practical strategies for improving sleep can reduce medication reliance, improve mood, and enhance overall quality of life.

Learning Objectives:

1.    Recognize the importance of sleep.

2.     Analyze the relationship between sleep and pain.

3.     Demonstrate evidence-based strategies to improve sleep and reduce medication reliance in older adults.

4.     Apply practical sleep education tools from the SLEEP program to enhance patient mood, functioning, and quality of life.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Nicole Persing-Wethington, DET, ERYT, Health Educator

Liz Williams, M.Ed., Health Educator

Gloria Ramsey, SLEEP participant

Samantha V. Capacillo, MPH, CHES, Program Specialist

Suicide risk among older adults remains a critical and often underrecognized public health concern. In this session leaders from Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Alaska will share how participation in SAMSHA’s Suicide Prevention Academy strengthened their capacity to address suicide risk among older adults, including strategies to improve screening and referral pathways, engage aging network partners and individuals with lived experience, and address social isolation, chronic disease burden, and rural access challenges. Panelists will highlight lessons learned in building sustainable infrastructure, advancing health equity, and embedding suicide prevention within broader behavioral health and aging systems.

Learning Objectives:

1. Analyze how SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Academy framework strengthens cross-sector coordination between behavioral health and aging services systems to improve suicide prevention infrastructure.
2. Evaluate at state-implemented strategies (e.g., screening protocols, referral pathways, workforce training, community partnerships and engagement) used by Oklahoma, New Jersey, and Alaska to improve suicide risk identification and follow-up among older adults.
3. Develop strategies to integrate suicide prevention practices into their professional setting, leveraging principles of interprofessional collaboration, systems-level sustainability, and lived experiences.

Eligible for 1 CE with live participation

Brittany Fair, LPC, ACS, CCS, Director, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic

Yasmin Radbod, Program Coordinator

Julie Stearns, LCSW, Director, Zero Suicide and Quality for Crisis Services

Melissa Romeo, 988 Program Coordinator

Pata Suyemoto, PhD, Co-Chair, Suicide Prevention Resource Center Lived Experience Advisory Committee

3:30 to 4:30 PM ET: Workforce and Community Strategies to Support Older Adults Living with Serious Mental Illnesses

Older adults living with serious mental illness face complex challenges that intersect with aging, physical health, and social determinants of health. This session will highlight innovative approaches from Boston University’s SILVER (Supporting Individuals to Live as Vibrant Elders in Recovery) program and the Oregon Center for Excellence for Behavioral Health and Aging (OCEBHA) to improve health, independence, and quality of life for this population.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Describe the complex health and social needs of older adults living with serious mental illness.
2. Examine evidence-based practices and training models from SILVER and OCEBHA that enhance integrated, age-friendly behavioral health care.
3. Implement collaborative strategies and tools to improve service delivery and quality of life for older adults with serious mental illness.

Speakers:

• Marianne Farkas, Sc.D., Director of Training, Dissemination and Technical Assistance; Clinical Professor, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University
• Walt Dawson, D.Phil., Assistant Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine; Assistant Professor, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health; Co-Director, Oregon Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health & Aging

Moderator: Amanda Krisher, Associate Director, Behavioral Health, NCOA

4:30 to 4:50 PM ET: Mind-Body Practices for Mental Wellness: Tai Chi for Arthritis

This interactive session highlights the role of evidence-based programs in preventing falls and promoting behavioral health among older adults. Participants will learn about the Tai Chi for Arthritis program and its impact on balance, strength, and overall well-being, followed by a brief demo of the program.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Describe the evidence supporting Tai Chi for improving balance, strength, and fall prevention in older adults.
2. Demonstrate selected Tai Chi exercises and movements used in the program to enhance stability and reduce fall risk.
3. Apply strategies for integrating the Tai Chi program into community or clinical settings to support behavioral health and overall well-being.

Speaker: Bailey Rickels, MPH, CHES, Injury Prevention Coordinator, University of Iowa Health Care

4:30 to 5:00 PM ET: Closing Remarks 

Eligible for 1.5 CEU with live participation

Walt Dawson, D.Phil., Assistant Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine; Assistant Professor, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health

Marianne Farkas, Sc.D., Director of Training, Dissemination and Technical Assistance

Bailey Rickels, MPH, CHES, Adult Injury Prevention Coordinator

Amanda Krisher, Associate Director, Behavioral Health