2026 LeadingAge MA Conference & EXPO
Schedule At a Glance
Opening Remarks & Keynote Session
Ethics in Ageing Services
Michael Gillette
This highly interactive, case-based ethics seminar will begin with an introduction to key strategies for identifying, analyzing and resolving ethical issues as they arise throughout the continuum of care. We will review some of the most interesting and difficult ethical issues that emerge in the provision of home-based and residential services including, but not limited to, autonomy and the dignity of risk, managing risks to others, family control, and professional responsibility. Case studies will be selected to represent issues across the full spectrum of relevant services.
- Provide a practical process for ethical clinical decision making.
- Review the concepts of autonomy, paternalism, and distributive justice as they apply to protection of harm to self and prevention of harm to others.
- Clarify possible responses to the multi-faceted ethical conflict between an individual’s right to make potentially dangerous decisions, a family’s desire to control services, and staff’s obligation to protect individuals from harm while balancing respect for autonomy and the duty to uphold professional standards of care.
Morning Breakout Sessions
Building a Culture of Board Leadership and Accountability
Naomi Prendergast, MPH, LNHAManaging Member, NMP Solutions, LLC
This session introduces the concept of “Intentional Governance” and the needed balance at Board meetings between strategy and operational oversight. Through presentation and discussion, participants will explore practical approaches for creating stronger, more accountable boards and more effective meetings.
- Define the principles of intentional governance and accountability.
- Distinguish between strategic and operational responsibilities in board leadership.
- Identify approaches for creating more productive and effective board meetings.
Continuing the Conversation: Ethics in Ageing Services
Michael Gillette
For participants who would like to continue the conversation from the keynote, this breakout offers an opportunity to spend more time with the issues, questions, and situations that arise in everyday practice. Through facilitated discussion and shared examples, participants will explore how ethical challenges emerge across settings and consider practical ways to respond.
The session is designed to be conversational and interactive, creating space to reflect on the themes raised in the keynote, hear how colleagues are approaching similar situations, and think more deeply about how ethics shape day-to-day decisions in ageing services.
- Continue exploring ethical issues introduced in the keynote through discussion and shared examples.
- Reflect on how ethical questions arise in participants’ own settings and roles.
- Discuss practical approaches for responding to common ethical challenges in ageing services.
Elderly Affordable Housing Preservation & Management
John ArdoviniVice President of Business Development, Hampden Park Capital & Consulting
Marguerite D’AngeloRegional Manager, CSI Support & Development
As affordable senior housing communities face increasing financial and operational pressure, providers must make the most of the programs, products, and preservation tools available today. This session will explore how current HUD programs and financing strategies can be used to support the preservation, repositioning, and long-term management of elderly affordable housing.
Drawing on both financing and operational perspectives, the presenters will discuss practical approaches for maintaining and improving aging housing communities, navigating today’s funding environment, and planning for long-term sustainability. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the opportunities available through current federal programs and how to leverage them to preserve affordable housing for older adults.
- Identify current HUD programs and financing tools that support the preservation of elderly affordable housing.
- Examine strategies for maintaining and improving aging affordable housing communities while strengthening long-term sustainability.
Empowering Residents Through Tech Support
Matt ReinersChief Growth Officer, Parasol Alliance
Residents today rely on technology for connection, entertainment, and daily living but without the right support, frustration can build quickly. By implementing a structured resident tech support program, communities can help residents feel more empowered, satisfied, and connected. This session highlights practical approaches that simultaneously reduce repetitive staff tech support requests, improve resident quality of life, and enhance overall community satisfaction. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to launch resident-centered tech support initiatives.
- Describe the benefits of structured resident technology support programs.
- Identify strategies to reduce repetitive staff technology support requests while improving resident satisfaction.
- Develop practical approaches for implementing resident-centered technology support initiatives.
Dementia Care Session: Title to Come
Presenter(s) from The Loomis Communities and North Hill
More details coming soon.
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Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Affordability Beyond Affordable Housing
Panel Discussion
As costs of living continue to rise across Massachusetts, affordability for older adults extends well beyond rent to include food, utilities, services, and long-term housing stability. This session will convene nonprofit and mission-driven leaders to examine what affordability truly means for seniors today and where the most significant gaps exist across housing, services, and daily living expenses.
Panelists will explore the challenges seniors face in maintaining stable housing amid increasing economic pressures, including food insecurity, rising utility costs, and limited fixed incomes. The discussion will highlight creative and emerging models for affordable senior housing, as well as strategies housing operators can use to improve stability, reduce financial strain, and support aging in place. Participants will gain practical insights into partnerships, service integration, and operational approaches that help mitigate insecurity and sustain affordability over time.
- Define senior affordability holistically, including housing, food, utilities, and supportive services, and identify the primary economic pressures affecting older adults in Massachusetts.
- Analyze current gaps in affordable senior housing and stability, with particular attention to populations most at risk of displacement and insecurity, including low-income and LGBTQ+ seniors.
- Identify practical strategies and creative housing models that housing operators and service providers can use to improve long-term affordability, enhance resident stability, and mitigate food and utility insecurity.
Inspired Spaces: Applying Montessori Principles to Transform Dementia Engagement
Michael TubbsSenior Director of Lifestyle Engagement, Benchmark Senior Living
This session explores how Montessori principles can be thoughtfully applied to create Inspired Spaces that promote dignity, purpose, and meaningful engagement for people living with dementia. Participants will learn how environment, choice, and intentional design can support independence, reduce distress, and foster authentic human connection.
Drawing from real-world senior living experience, this session will highlight practical strategies for translating Montessori concepts into daily programming and physical spaces within memory care communities. Attendees will gain insight into how Inspired Spaces can be developed and sustained through team engagement, consistent standards, and a focus on resident strengths rather than limitations.
This session is ideal for senior living leaders, memory care professionals, and lifestyle teams seeking actionable ideas to enhance engagement, elevate quality of life, and create environments where residents are empowered to connect, contribute, and thrive.
- Explain how Montessori principles can support engagement and quality of life for people living with dementia.
- Identify practical strategies for incorporating choice, purposeful activity, and environmental design into memory care settings.
- Develop approaches for sustaining inspired spaces through staff engagement and consistent practice.
The Changing Face of Seniors: Who Will Fill Tomorrow’s Communities?
Jessica RuhleSenior Account Director, Creating Results
By 2030, one in five Americans will be over 65, ushering in not just a demographic shift but a profound cultural transformation for senior living. Drawing on proprietary research and national data, this session explores four powerful forces reshaping the future of senior living: increasing diversity, the rise of working seniors, the growing LGBTQ+ population, and the evolution of family dynamics. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how these trends are redefining demand, expectations, and decision-making for the next generation of residents.
Through data-driven analysis and real-world examples, participants will learn how to adapt design, services, and marketing to create communities that are inclusive, flexible, and future-ready. The session will provide practical strategies for senior living leaders to differentiate their brands, sustain financial health, and foster genuine belonging for all residents.
- Identify major demographic and cultural trends shaping the future of senior living.
- Examine how changing resident expectations affect community design, services, and marketing.
- Develop strategies to create more inclusive, responsive, and future-ready communities.
R3: Title to Come
Speaker(s) TBD
More details coming soon.
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The Lunder Careforce Institute: Building the Future Workforce
Speaker(s) TBD
More details coming soon.
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Closing General Session
From Administrator to Neighbor: Finding the Heart in Senior Living
Dr. Lisa Ippolito
In a field that asks so much of us, it can be easy to lose sight of the “why” behind the work. This uplifting and heartfelt session invites attendees to reconnect with their purpose and reignite their passion for senior living.
Drawing on over 25 years of experience as an administrator in assisted living and long-term care, Dr. Lisa Ippolito shares a powerful and unique experience: the time she lived as a resident in her own assisted living community. Originally offered as a sign-on bonus while she searched for housing, this experience became a life-changing immersion that reshaped how she led, listened, and loved her work.
Through candid stories, moments of laughter, and reflections from the heart, attendees will see senior living through the eyes of the people they serve — and rediscover the profound impact they make every day. Now a full-time Professor of Healthcare Administration at the State University of New York - Brockport, Dr. Ippolito also weaves in how she’s inspiring the next generation of administrators, nurses, and healthcare professionals to embrace the sacred responsibility and joy of caring for older adults.
This highly interactive session will blend heartfelt storytelling with opportunities for participants to reflect on what fills their cup, ensuring they walk away feeling inspired, re-energized, and proud to be part of this incredible profession.
- Reflect on the personal and professional values that inspire work in ageing services.
- Describe how lived experience can influence leadership, empathy, and resident-centered care.
- Identify strategies for sustaining purpose, resilience, and connection in the work of caring for older adults.