Offerings

Multidisciplinary Teams and Coalitions

Lisa has been actively engaged in promoting elder abuse multidisciplinary teams and coalitions at the local, state, and national levels since 1984, when she became the founding director of the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention. Since then, she has helped launch and served as the Executive Director of the California Elder Justice Coalition, directed the affiliate program of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and currently serves on the Steering Committee of the National Network of State Elder Justice Coalitions. She has provided training and technical assistance to teams, coalitions across the U.S. and Canada.

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Elder Justice, Ageism, a​nd Elder Abuse
Drawing from her book of the same title, Lisa describes how "aging policy" has promoted social justice and human rights and where it has fallen short. She presents her "elder justice agenda," which offers a vision for a more just society for older adults and people of all ages.

Undue Influence in Elder Abuse
Just as "I know it when I see it" has been used as a threshold test for pornography, so too has it been used to describe the intuitive sense that something's wrong when it comes to undue influence. This session describes how undue influence has been addressed by the legal and psychology professions to explain how powerful individuals induce the less powerful to do things they would not have done otherwise and how it can be undone. 

Elder Abuse Prevention: Emerging Trends and Promising Strategies 
Drawing from over thirty years in the field of elder abuse prevention, Lisa describes major trends in research, policy, and practice. These range from the early framing of elder abuse as a medical syndrome to today's emphasis on abuse as a matter of social justice and individual rights. She describes innovations in public policy, public awareness, and person-centered services. 

Ageism: "Ism" or Not? 
Children are demanding the right to be safe in school, women are reasserting their reproductive rights, and advocacy for people of color, immigrants, and religious minorities has taken on greater urgency. But in this era of heightened attention to social justice, one voice is conspicuously missing—the voice of older adults. This presentation addresses:

• Why ageism has failed to gain the traction of other "isms."

• The role of ageism in America's lax response to elder abuse, neglect in nursing homes, and exploitation by guardians and scammers.

• The cumulative impact of injustices over the life course that shortens lives and contributes to poverty and disability in old age. 

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It's Not Just About Exercise: Public Health and Elder Justice
Adopting elder justice begins by rejecting the narrative that old age is a disease that needs to be cured, which has led to an over- reliance on costly medical treatment and institutional care, and has resulted in glaring health disparities. Elder justice requires approaches that reflect public health values and principles and that seek to achieve health equity, optimal functional capacity, and home and community based long term care. This session describes public health principles and methods and how they apply to elder justice. 

Elder Justice on the Global Stage
Advocates in the U.S. have much to gain from participating in the systematic, deliberative, and inclusive processes that the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have applied to aging, elder rights, and elder abuse prevention. This includes the UN's tripartite approach to age as a matter of human rights, public health, and social development, which offers diverse strategies, resources, and opportunities. Dynamic and proactive strategies like "mainstreaming" aging and affirmative action can provide direction in confronting current, emergent, and yet to be revealed challenges. UN-produced, supported, or inspired research, reports, and treaties have informed policy development and practice. International organizations offer models and strategies for enlisting the public's participation in setting goals, tracking progress, marking milestones, and holding policymakers accountable for making good on promises. Engaging in international initiatives further challenges American advocates to weigh alternatives and recognize their own biases. This session describes international initiatives, including thecreation of a universal convention (a type of treaty) for the rights of older people."