OGA's 2021 Virtual Annual Conference

"Resolve, Resilience, Renewal: Responding to the Present and Reimagining the Future"

Register today for the Annual Conference of the Oregon Gerontological Association to be held virtually on the last four Fridays in October 2021!

We invite you to participate and engage in a month-long series of professionally produced, interactive sessions, all from the comfort and safety of your home or office. The OGA conference series will provide thoughtful and dynamic content exploring the ways older adults and their families, as well as professionals and aging-services organizations, have been affected by and are recovering from the global pandemic and other disasters.

Conference attendees will see themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion woven throughout the program. Some topics you won’t want to miss include:

  • Exploring resilience among older adults through humor and storytelling.
  • Coping and thriving among Black, Indigenous, and older adults of color.
  • Addressing social isolation and strategies to strengthen community and connectedness.
  • Reimagining the future of long-term care, services, and supports in a post-pandemic world.

Each session will feature multiple experts in the field of aging and include two hours of content.

For questions or more information contact [email protected]


Program - please click on the session titles for more information!

October 8:
Resilience Through Humor and Storytelling

Session Facilitator: Joyce DeMonnin

  • Warm-Up With Laughter Yoga (Sarah Rolerkite, MA, Certified Laughter Yoga Instructor & & UX/UI Moderator at VGM)
  • What’s so Funny? Humor Theory and Research (Ann McQueen, PhD, Community Services and Supports Manager, Aging and People with Disabilities, Oregon Department of Human Services, Salem, OR)
  • Laughing & Learning with Laughter on Call (Dani Klein Modisett, Founder & CEO, Laughter on Call, Los Angeles, CA)
  • Story Medicine – How Stories and Storytelling Entertain, Educate, and Build Stronger Communities and Resilient Individuals (Tim Carpenter, Founder and CEO, EngAGE, Burbank, CA; Will Hornyak, Storyteller/Educator/Facilitator, formerly Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR)

October 15:
Just Surviving or Thriving? Coping Among Diverse Older Adults

Session Facilitator: Siobhan Maty, PhD

  • Vulnerability and Resilience: A Qualitative Study of Diverse Voices from the COVID-19 Coping Study (Jessica Finlay, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Marisa Eastman, MPH, Research Associate, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI)
  • The Effects of COVID-19 on Communities of Color (Maria Caballero Rubio, Executive Director, Centro Cultural, Cornelius, OR; Ruth Zúñiga, PhD, Associate Professor, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR)

October 22:
Reimagining Long-Term Care in Times of COVID-19 and Beyond

Session Facilitator: Linda Bifano, DNP

A Call for Collaboration Among Long-Term Services and Supports, Health Care Systems, and Public Health

  • Robyn Stone, DrPH, Co-Director, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, Boston, MA
  • Courtney Van Houtven, PhD, Duke University, Margolis Center for Health Policy, Durham, NC
  • Nathan Adam Boucher, DrPH, Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy, Durham, NC
  • Walter Dawson, DPhil, Oregon Health and Science University & Portland State University, Portland, OR

Reaction Panel: Perspectives from Oregon

  • Lynette Caldwell, Adult Foster Home Program Manager, Oregon Department of Human Services, Salem, OR
  • Ana Potter, JD, Director, Aging Veteran Services, Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, Salem, OR
  • Kimberly Fuson, Chief Executive Officer, Cedar Sinai Park, Portland, OR

October 29:
Strengthening Community and Connectedness in the Midst of a Pandemic

Session Facilitator: Jenny Sasser, PhD

  • Addressing Social Isolation in Nursing Homes (Anabel Pelham, PhD, Professor Emerita, San Francisco State University, and Founding Director, Center for Age Friendly Excellence, Bend, OR; Elizabeth Johnson, MS, Executive Director, The Peaceful Presence Project, Bend, OR)
  • Addressing the Digital Divide Among Culturally Diverse, Linguistically Isolated, Low Income Older Adults: A Model (Pauline DeLange Martinez, MA, Doctoral Student, University of California, Davis, CA)
  • Warm and Caring Neighbors Who Have Become Friends (Lyn Trainer, Managing Director, Villages NW, Portland, OR; Nancy Doty, RG-CGC, OCPF, Board Director, Villages NW, Portland, OR)

Continuing Education Credit

Each session has been approved for 2 CE credits (NASW Oregon Chapter) and 2 AFH training credits - that's a total of 8 CE credits if you attend the entire series. There will be a $5 fee per session for NASW credits. Regular Certificates of Attendance can also be issued.

To receive a certificate, attendees must attend the session(s) for their entire length and complete a post-session evaluation survey.


Pricing

Non-Members:

  • $25 per session
  • $90 for all 4 sessions

OGA Members (Professional/ Organizational):

  • $15 per session
  • $50 for all 4 sessions

OGA Members (Student/ Senior) & Registrants with Limited Financial Means:

  • $10 per session
  • $30 for all 4 sessions

Becoming a member will pay off immediately - please visit our membership page for current member rates and do the math!

If you cannot afford attending at all, please email us to learn about scholarship opportunities.


Registration


Sponsorship

Are you or your organization interested in being a sponsor for this event? For more information, including sponsorship levels and benefits, please download our Sponsor Information Sheet (PDF). To become a sponsor, please complete the online Sponsor Agreement Form. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.


2021 Conference Series Sponsors:


2021 Session Sponsors:


2021 Supporting Sponsors: