Conference Program

Senior Planet programs have served an underserved audience of
more than 30,000 seniors in-person since 2004, and hundreds of
thousands more through online programs. The program reflects
training that strengthens the competence of older adults to participate
in and contribute to today’s digital culture, where most Americans
now routinely interact with each other, with institutions, and
with information via a computerized device and digital interface. By
teaching older adults how to use everyday technology such as the
Internet, smartphones, and tablets OATS is bridging a generational
divide, supporting seniors’ (re-)integration into the mainstream
culture, and improving the individual’s ability to live independently
within a connected society.
MindAlert Award
Center 4 Brain Health at Menorah Park
The MindAlert Award is given to a mental fitness
program serving the general population of older
adults developed by a nonprofit organization.
Launched in March 2014, Center 4 Brain Health at Menorah Park in
Beachwood, Ohio, is the first non-pharmacological, non-hospitalbased
Brain Health Center in a senior care community in the United
States. Created upon four pillars of brain health—cognitive fitness,
emotional wellness, social well being and personal health—the
Center provides a comprehensive, integrated approach to helping
campus clients, community members and professionals understand,
implement and improve brain health throughout Northeast Ohio and
nationally. The Center offers a variety of programs and services that
are designed to complement one another and to support adults on
their personal brain health and wellness journey. The Center does not
require any type of brain health concern or related diagnosis to access
services. Informal feedback suggests that participants are interested
in learning more about the brain and the relationship between
mind-body wellness. Ultimately the Center strives to lead the way
to translate the latest evidence-based brain health research into
everyday practices as it offers low-cost brain health programming
in a non-clinical setting to community-dwelling older adults.
Award for Excellence in
Multicultural Aging
St. Barnabas Senior Services
Los Angeles, California
The Award for Excellence in Multicultural Aging
recognizes organizations that have demonstrated high-quality, innovative
programs enhancing the lives of a multicultural aging population.
St. Barnabas Senior Services (SBSS) has been serving the aging
and economically vulnerable residents of Los Angeles since 1908.
Headed by President and CEO Rigo Saborio, SBSS provides services
to multi-ethnic seniors at 25 locations throughout Los Angeles, and
strives to create a vibrant and nurturing community for older adults,
their caregivers and their families. SBSS’s programming promotes
healthy and holistic aging, prolongs independence, combats
depression and enhances the dignity and overall quality of life for
nearly 18,000 older adults annually. SBSS provides a safety net
for thousands of at-risk seniors through the following services:
nutrition, transportation, social services, civic engagement, and
the wellness and longevity program.
Graduate Student Research Award
Marie Gualtieri
The Graduate Student Research Award is given to
spur academic and clinical interest in the field of
aging, and rewards the best unpublished graduate
research paper on a completed project relevant to aging
and applicable to practice.
Marie Gualtieri has committed her graduate career to the study of
food insecurity among older Americans, and policies aimed at
ameliorating this grave social issue. Gualtieri’s paper, titled “The
Overestimation of Social Support for Food Insecure Seniors,”
reviews factors underlying older adults’ food insecurity, its impact
and the role of social supports in combatting the food insecurity
that threatens older adults’ well-being. The paper not only explores
elders’ access to support, but also where support comes from, what
kind of support is offered and the consistency of support to which
they have access. Marie’s findings yield important conclusions for
understanding circumstances of food insecure people.
After completing her graduate studies, she intends to pursue a
post-doc specializing in aging before advancing into a career where
she can put her expertise to work addressing social problems facing
aging Americans.
Mental Health and Aging Award
Robert (Bob) Rawlings
The Mental Health and Aging Award recognizes
outstanding programs and services in mental health
and aging.
Robert (Bob) Rawlings has had a passion throughout his career and
in retirement to improve the lives of older adults with behavioral
health disorders. He is known affectionately as the “Godfather” of
mental health and aging coalitions. In 1991 he was instrumental in
organizing the Oklahoma Mental Health and Aging Coalition, which
was the first such coalition in the nation. Later that year, representing
the National Association of State Mental Health Program
Directors, he worked with the AARP and other national organizations
to form the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging.
He served on the planning committee for the 1995 White House
Mini-Conference on Mental Health and Aging and has been a
delegate to several White House Conferences on Aging.
He retired from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services after 17 years as director of the Aging
Division. In that role, he worked with the public mental health
system to develop specialized behavioral health services for older
adults. His influence and expertise extend far beyond the state of
Oklahoma, and he is respected nationwide.
ASA AWARDS
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