The goal of the New Hampshire Senior Leadership Series is to develop leadership skills of older adults, caregivers, family members and friends to advocate at both the state and federal levels.
The New Hampshire Senior Leadership Series:
- Is a wonderful opportunity for growth and learning and a commitment of time and energy for its participants.
- Aims to choose participants with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.
- Is designed to support the development of leadership skills that will assist participants to effectively engage in positive social change for our aging population.
The Senior Leadership series is in its ninth year. Graduates from previous years have gone on to apply skills learned through the program to local, state and national advocacy efforts, taken on leadership roles in their community, as well as personally advocating for a family member or friend.
The goal of the series is to provide support and training in the advocacy and leadership skills necessary to promote livable communities, including community-based systems of support for New Hampshire residents as they age.
What to Expect
Participants will meet five times over eight months and receive intensive training on a wide variety of educational and community topics. The series will take place in Portsmouth, Manchester, Concord and Lebanon. To enhance learning and connection among participants, sessions are intended to be in-person learning sessions only, however, sessions will move to a virtual setting if necessary due to Covid-19. Participants are expected to commit to attending all sessions.
The sessions will cover the following topics:
- Aging and Society – NH and National Impacts: April 21 and 22, 2022--Portsmouth
- Community Engagement and Livable Communities: May 12, 2022--Manchester
- The Legislative Process: June 9, 2022--Concord
- Aging Well in our Communities: September 22, 2022--Lebanon
- Group Presentations and Graduation: November 17, 2022—Concord
Upon acceptance, each participant is asked to pay a $45 contribution to the program; it will be the only cost to participate. People needing additional supports (e.g. respite care, transportation, interpreter, physical assistance) will be assisted in every way possible to facilitate their attendance and participation.
If you have any questions or would like to contact us about the Senior Leadership Series please email Laura Davie at Laura.Davie@unh.edu.
A 2015 brief by Laura Davie, Sue Fox and Alison Rataj examined the lack of advocacy for senior issues in the Granite State and explored strategies that can be employed to grow grass-roots leadership among older adults. The Senior Leadership Series was found to be a promising practice to address this need.
Read the policy brief on their findings
