Sharing Best Practices for Outreach to Beneficiaries with Limited English Proficiency

Gabriel Smith is a program associate at the NationalCouncil on Aging and oversees the Midwest region of NCOA's national network ofBenefits Enrollment Centers. Gabriel coordinates and provides technicalassistance to a portfolio of 27 BECs, serving a diverse population of olderadults, which also included webinars such as “What’s New in Medicare in 2023?”and “Outreach to Beneficiaries with Limited English Proficiency”.

Gabriel has received both anMPH (Public Health) and an MHA (Health Administration) from The GeorgeWashington University. Prior to joining The National Council on Aging, Gabrielworked at the Chesapeake Regional Information Systems for our Patients (CRISP),a nonprofit regional health information exchange.

Darren Hotton has over 20 years of experience helping Medicare beneficiaries, family members, and caregivers navigate the Medicare and Medicaid landscape. He was the Director of Utah Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIP), Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), and Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) for 18 years. Darren's mission is to empower, educate, and assist older adults to access all benefits, and age well on their own terms.

Rachel Cha Bio - Rachel Cha is a Senior Service and Public Benefits Team Lead at HANA Center with 4 years of experience providing in-language intakes and referrals for community members to eligible health and public benefits programs. She is a SHIP Certified counselor and Energy Service Technician (EST). Rachel graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a Master's degree in Public Health; Community Health Science. In free time, she likes to go hiking and spend some time by Lake Michigan. 

James is a passionate, equity focused leader who joined the Northwest Center (NWC) as Executive Director in May 2012. He was previously the Director of
Community Organizing for ESOP, a statewide community organizing and housing counseling agency in Ohio. James graduated with honors from John Carroll
University with a BA in Race and Identity Studies. He also holds his Masters in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University.
Since 2012, James has helped lead the growth of the NWC from a team of eight to 44 and increased the annual operating budget to over $6 million dollars. In 2015, James was an inaugural fellow in the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy. In 2017, James was elected to the UnidosUS Affiliate Council and in 2020 became the Affiliate Council chair and joined their Board of Directors. James is a proud member of the City of Chicago's Racial Equity Response Team (RERRT) which crafted a community first COVID response that has led to a 87 percent vaccination rate in Chicago's communities of color.
When not at NWC, James is an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University’s School of Public School where he teaches courses on race, housing, and politics and enjoys Crossfitting, reading, traveling, and cooking