LeadingAge members are invited to participate in the pilot fellowship program, funded by a $250,000 grant from the Next 50 Foundation.
A $250,000 grant from the Next50 Foundation will allow LeadingAge to establish a Leadership Diversity Fellowship pilot program to help high-potential individuals enter the field of aging services. LeadingAge provider organizations are invited to participate in the program by hosting a fellow.
A racially and ethnically diverse group of 10 fellows will participate in the Leadership Diversity Fellowship pilot program during its first year. The fellows, recruited by LeadingAge partner United Negro College Fund (UNCF), will be master’s program graduates or mid-career professionals with experience in nonclinical positions in finance, human resources, or data analytics.
Funds from the Next50 Foundation will cover the costs of recruiting fellows and developing the pilot program’s mentoring and education elements, including curricula on aging services and cultural competencies.
HOW LEADINGAGE MEMBERS CAN PARTICIPATE
LeadingAge members participating in the Leadership Diversity Fellowship pilot program will be asked to employ a fellow for one year. Host organizations will provide fellows with a full-time salary and benefits. They will also be asked to support fellows as they participate in training and mentoring programs funded by the grant and to help the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston evaluate the program.
There’s still time to join the Leadership Diversity Fellowship pilot program as a host organization. Here’s the timeline for participating:
- Provider Recruitment: The provider recruitment process is currently underway and will continue through January. Interested providers are asked to commit their organizations to participating in the program and submit a position description for the prospective fellow as soon as possible. UNCF will recruit prospective fellow candidates during January and February.
- Fellow Interviews: In March, each participating provider will interview prospective candidates for the fellowship program and make its hiring selection.
- April 2025: The fellowship program will launch during the LeadingAge Leadership Summit, which takes place April 7-9 in Washington, DC.
For more information about the fellowship program and to begin the application process, please get in touch with LTSS Center team members Adrienne Ruffin (aruffin@leadingage.org) or Natasha Bryant (nbryant@leadingage.org).
BACKGROUND
Planning for the Leadership Diversity Fellowship pilot program began in 2020 when LeadingAge and UNCF joined forces to increase awareness of careers in aging services among underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. An advisory board of LeadingAge members, historically Black colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions recommended that the partners establish an employer-based fellowship program to fast-track high-potential individuals who want to enter the field.
The Leadership Development Fellowship pilot program is one in a series of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts LeadingAge has created to address disparities in the aging services workforce.
“As America’s population rapidly grows older and demand for long-term services and supports (LTSS) rises, advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our sector’s workplaces is critical,” said Katie Smith Sloan, LeadingAge president and CEO. “This program is unique in our sector. With it, we seek to address systemic issues, including the current dearth of diverse leaders throughout our member organizations.”
AN INNOVATIVE MODEL AND A STRONG PARTNERSHIP
The Leadership Development Fellowship pilot program will follow a cohort learning model. This model emphasizes collaboration, interaction, and discussion among fellows who progress together through the program. The shared learning experience is designed to support the development of future professional relationships and career success.
In addition to UNCF and LeadingAge, the program team includes these partners:
- The Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) will develop the program’s aging services curriculum and deliver training to help fellows learn about the field of aging and develop their leadership skills.
- Mentorship and cultural competency expert Nzinga Shaw, founder of Attack the Glass, will develop workshop programming for fellows and preceptors. The workshops will focus on creating a culture of belonging.
- Members of LeadingAge’s Leader of Color Network will mentor the fellows.
- The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston will evaluate the program to assess its impact and inform future efforts to scale and sustain it.
“We are so excited to bring together this amazing group of partners,” said LTSS Center Co-Director Robyn Stone. “UNCF, the UMBC Erickson School, Zinga Shaw, LeadingAge, the Leaders of Color Network, and LeadingAge providers are each making an important and unique contribution to building a remarkable program that will become a model for fellowships in our field. We’re thrilled to work with all of these partners to address one of our sector’s workforce issues: recruiting people of color and retaining talent that has been missing in aging services.”
ABOUT NEXT50
Next50 is a Colorado-based national foundation working toward a society that values aging and makes growing older an empowering, fulfilling experience. The foundation invests in innovative and equitable programs that create economic opportunity for older adults, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. It funds programming in three key areas: ending age-related bias and discrimination, advancing digital equity so technology is available to all, and making it possible for people to age where they want to live.
“America’s rapidly growing older population is more diverse than ever,” said Peter Kaldes, president & CEO of Next50. “Inclusivity in the aging services workforce is more important than ever. We’re pleased to take action and partner with innovators like LeadingAge, who will change the status quo and help to make America a better place to grow old.”
To learn more about Next50, visit www.Next50foundation.org.