Biography
Michael Adams is the Chief Executive Officer of SAGE – Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders. SAGE is the oldest and largest organization in the United States dedicated to transforming the LGBT aging experience. In partnership with SAGE affiliates countrywide, SAGE serves countless LGBT older people nationally via technical assistance, trainings and services as well as advocacy at every level of government. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services selected SAGE to establish and run the country’s first and only National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.
Prior to joining SAGE, Michael was the Director of Education and Public Affairs for Lambda Legal. Prior to that, Michael spent a decade leading cutting edge litigation that established new rights for LGBT people, first as Associate Director of the ACLU’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, and then as Deputy Legal Director at Lambda Legal.
A graduate of Stanford Law School and Harvard College, Michael has authored numerous publications on an array of LGBT issues. He has taught law school courses on sexual orientation and gender identity and has served on advisory councils for AARP, the American Society on Aging, and the New York City Department for the Aging among others.
Adams, M.
Biography
As a trusted strategic partner and community advocate, Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey brings leaders together to build powerful networks of inclusion committed to a more fair and just society for all.
Currently as Senior Advisor and National LGBT Liaison at AARP, he serves as a strategic advisor to the Senior Vice President of Multicultural Leadership, as well as various business units across the enterprise. Dr. Quartey is charged with ensuring robust strategy execution in collaboration with Multicultural Leadership staff across five audiences (African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and LGBT), state office staff, and national office staff in an effort to promote AARP’s strategic issues, enterprise-wide priorities, programs, and activities. In addition, he’s charged with overseeing the department’s robust multicultural research portfolio.
Previously as the National Strategic Partnerships Manager for the “Voices for Healthy Kids” Initiative, now a more than $50 million collaboration between the American Heart Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dr. Quartey facilitated collaborations among national coalitions addressing a range of root cause issues driving the U.S. childhood obesity epidemic. These efforts resulted in dozens of state and local public policy wins across the country, and the development of a growing health equity community of practice.
Dr. Quartey has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a Minor Degree in Critical Approaches to Leadership from the University of Southern California, Master of Arts Degree in Social Entrepreneurship & Change from Pepperdine University, and Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership also from Pepperdine University.
Quartey, N.
Workshop
LGBTQI Older Adults in the U.S. – Unique Challenges and Resiliencies
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and Intersex (LGBTQI) older adults in the United States are a population that experiences particular vulnerabilities, and exhibits notable resiliencies, as they age. In recent years, attention to this population — which numbers approximately 3 million and will grow to 6 million or more by 2040 — has increased significantly. Research and data examining the intersection of aging and LGBTQI identity and life experiences has gradually been amassed. A growing array of program interventions designed to address the particular needs of LGBTQI older adults has been introduced and refined in communities across the U.S. Public policy advocacy has slowly resulted in policy changes designed to address the needs of LGBTQI older adults and ensure that this historically marginalized and invisible population can participate equitably in government-supported programs and benefits. And the health care and service provider sectors have begun to take advantage of training and other tools to improve their practices in order to provide person-centered care to this population.
This workshop will provide an overview of these trends, offering insights into challenges and resiliencies among LGBTQI older adults in the U.S., highlighting relevant social determinants of health, and spotlighting some of the most promising interventions designed to address the acute needs of this population. The workshop will include presentation of important new research on LGBTQI older adults recently released by AARP, and an overview of the program interventions, policy advocacy, and training initiatives of SAGE, the national LGBTQI aging organization in the U.S. The workshop will identify disparities in experience among sub-populations — e.g. LGBTQI elders of color, transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) elders, older lesbians — and strategies designed to address those disparities. The workshop will include a facilitated discussion and question and answer period to maximize opportunities for engagement by workshop participants.