By Melanie Davis & Robin Goldberg-Glen, Co-Presidents
It is with great pleasure that we introduce the 2013 Consortium Board and our goals for 2013. We encourage you to join with us as we work to achieve even more in the areas of education, health, and advocacy related to sexuality and aging.
Board of Trustees
Co-Presidents: Melanie Davis and Robin Goldberg-Glen
Treasurer: Harry Getzov
Secretary: Jean Levitan
Board Members: Connie Bowes, Joan Garrity, Karen Hicks, Anita P. Hoffer
2013 Goals and Plans
National Presence: We will engage with more aging, gerontology and sexuality organizations this year, building important relationships that may lead to joint initiatives and increased opportunities for member recruitment.
Training: Our goal is to develop and deliver training opportunities that prepare professionals for work with staff, residents, clients, and consumers with an interest in sexuality and aging.
Professional Development Conference & Training, Sept. 27-28: A highlight of our year will be the 3rd Annual Sexuality, Intimacy and Aging Conference in September at Widener University, on Sept. 27 focused on the sexuality of older adults in long term care settings. A day-long training on Sept. 28 will focus on LGBTQ and aging issues, with Robin at the helm. CEs and Contact Hours for AASECT, Social Work, Psychology, and Nursing. Our goal is to increase attendance so that even more people can benefit from this convenient, affordable and unique professional development opportunity.
Online Training: Karen Hicks will develop an online course to extend our outreach to professionals who otherwise could not attend our in-person trainings.
SilverSAR™: We will continue to promote the SilverSAR™ sexuality attitude reassessment developed by members Anita P. Hoffer, Joan Garrity, and Wayne Pawlowski.
Marketing and Promotion: Melanie will continue to work with Widener University Communications staff to promote the Consortium, its members and Advisory Board in university, regional and national publications. These efforts garnered excellent publicity in 2012, such as an article in Healthy California, which featured several of our members, and several broadcast opportunities. Newsletter editor Chris Nufer and administrative assistant Tiffini Lanza will continue to promote the Consortium through our newsletter, website, Facebook page, and Sexuality and Aging Today blog. We hope to increase member involvement in providing content for these promotional sites.
Membership: After experimenting with membership categories, the Board has revised application criteria so that the Consortium is inclusive rather than exclusive. We no longer limit full membership to professionals with expertise in sexuality and/or aging; rather, we welcome everyone who shares the Consortium’s commitment to enhance and advance the sexual health, education and rights of adults in mid and later life. The new membership application is linked here: http://www.sexualityandaging.com/join-the-consortium-and-advocate-for-sexuality-aging/
Our goal is to support members’ efforts to:
- Educate and counsel adults
- Foster sex-positive environments
- Preserve older adults’ dignity and privacy
- Advocate through multi-media channels
- Conduct and support research
- Lecture, facilitate and keynote
- Strengthen the Consortium through financial support, in-kind services, and word of mouth
- Enhance the Consortium’s impact by presenting at conferences, publishing and creating/responding to media opportunities work
Member Services: The Membership Committee will guide recruitment, create new member services, and communicate with members. The committee’s main focus this year will be to work with other national organizations and universities to build membership.
Research: Melanie and Robin will continue to seek out opportunities for funded training, program development and research. We need others to join us in this activity. Meetings have been held with two non-profit organizations interested in partnering with us.
We are excited about the many opportunities this year for the Consortium to become stronger and more influential as we strive to achieve our mission and goals. Please encourage membership by sharing this link. Thank you! http://www.sexualityandaging.com/join-the-consortium-and-advocate-for-sexuality-aging/
