Building Bridges Across Races and Cultures: It is Possible

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America’s growing older adult population is increasingly more racially and culturally diverse, yet the topic of race relations is not addressed by many programs serving older adults. However, it is a critically important issue as our diverse populations age and interact in senior centers and other social service agencies nationwide. Few programs explicitly address racial and cultural sharing and diversity, which only exacerbates the divisions between older adults caused by segregation, prejudice, and structural racism. Learn how one program is doing just that--in Chicago.

Linda Peters M.A.

Director of Older Adult Programs

Northwest Center

Linda Peters currently serves in the newly created position of Director of Older Adult Programs at the Northwest Center (NWC) in Chicago (formerly the Northwest Side Housing Center). In that role, she also serves as Site Director for the Kelvyn Park Senior Center, which the NWC has operated since 2019 after receiving a grant from the Department of Family Support Services of the City of Chicago. Since the NWC has taken over the Kelvyn Park Senior Center, attendance has increased over 40%. Previous to that position, she served as Director of Development for the NWC for three years. She has presented twice at the annual conference of the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to share about the NWC?s innovative program, ?Common Ground? which includes intergenerational engagement and digital training for older adults. Linda is also pursuing a doctorate degree in Higher Education Leadership from National Louis University in Chicago. She holds a master?s degree in Theological Studies from Providence College and a bachelor?s degree in American and British Literature from Brown University.

Alejandra Elox-Marquez

Older Adult Program Manager

Northwest Center

Alejandra Elox-Marquez joined the Northwest Center (formerly Northwest Side Housing Center) in Chicago, in 2020. She completed both the NWC’s Women Forward Program, a self-empowerment program for Latinas; as well as NWC’s Adelante program in Digital Literacy for workforce development. After completing those programs, she was hired as part of NWC’s newly formed Older Adult Outreach (OAO) Team, which was formed to help connect older adults shut in due to COVID-19 restrictions to the resources and income supports they need to sustain them throughout the pandemic. Alejandra was promoted to the new position of Older Adult Program Manager in 2021, based at the Kelvyn Park Senior Center, and currently manages all programs and activities based at the center as well as our Ready, Set, Bank online banking program; and the Common Ground Program. She has been instrumental in the growth and development of the Common Ground program to make it more racially equitable for Latinx older adults. Alejandra also serves on the Local School Council at Mary Lyon Elementary School in Belmont Cragin, where she and her family live.