Meetings & Events

Healty Equity Committee Speaker Series 2026

March 13, 2026 Meeting Recording 
Healthy Aging for All: Addressing Health Disparities and Strengthening Health Literacy in North Carolina
 
Speakers are Sandie Leathers, Juan Ortiz and Denita Nash

from the NCDHHS Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities

2026 Membership Meetings

Meetings are held via zoom on the 4th Friday of each month from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, unless otherwise noted. 
For questions or more information, please send an email to executivedirector@nccoalitiononaging.org.
  
April 24, 2026
May 15, 2026 
June 26, 2026
July – No Meeting
August 28, 2026
Friday, September 25, 2026 (Annual Meeting In-Person)
October 23, 2026
November – No Meeting
December 4, 2026
 
 
Closed-Captioning & American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters are provided at these meetings

Past Membership Meetings

March 27, 2026 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Partner Presentation: 
Empowering the Aging Community:  Addressing Nutrition and Food Insecurity Across North Carolina
Dr. Rashim Gupta, Community and State Medical Director with the North Carolina UnitedHealthcare Community Plan
(Click Here for Presentation Slides)
 
Presentation:
Assisted Living in North Carolina and Its Role in the Continuum of Care
Frances Messer, President and CEO – NC Assisted Living Association
(Click Here for Presentation Slides – NCALA)
and
Stacy Massey, Chief Executive Officer – NC Senior Living Association
(Click Here for Presentation Slides – NCSLA)
 
February 27, 2026  Membership Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Recording
Presentation:
Supporting Older Adults in the Public Mental Health and Substance Use Services System 
Kelly Crosbie, MSW, LCSW – Director, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services
(Click Here for Presentation Slides)
 
January 23, 2026 Membership Meeting
Member Meeting Recording
Meeting Minutes
Presentation: Highlights from the Caregiving U.S. 2025
Kim Cantor, Chief External Affairs Officer – National Alliance for Caregiving 
Elaine Dalpiaz, Vice-President for Government Affairs and Policy – National Alliance for Caregiving
Slides – Family Caregiving U.S. 2025 Report Highlights
———————————————-
Presentation: Supporting Caregivers Under New Federal Medicaid Requirements
Edem Hado, Senior Policy and Research Manager – AARP Public Policy Institute
Brendan Flinn, Director, Long-Term Services and Supports – AARP Public Policy Institute
Slides – Protecting Family Caregivers Under OBBBA’s Medicaid Community Engagement Requirements
 
Other Links of Interest:
Full Caregiving in the US Report: 2025
Caregiving in the US 2025: Family Caregiving Across States
Data Profile on Caregiving in North Carolina
Medicaid Work Requirements: Protecting Family Caregivers
Advocacy Resources Toolkit| Caregiver Nation Coalition
 
2025 Meetings
December 5, 2025 Membership Meeting
Member Meeting Minutes
Presentation: NC Olmstead Plan – Going Forward
Deb Goda, Director – NC Olmstead Office
Dr. Tamara Smith, Associate Director – NC Olmstead Office
Theresa Young, Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC)
Slides – Olmstead Plan for NC
 
October 24, 2025 Membership Meeting – 
Member Meeting Minutes
Meeting Recording
Member Spotlight: NC Adult Day Services Association, Teresa Troup
Slides – NC Adult Day Services Association
Presentation: Dr. Lawrence Greenblatt – NCDHHS State Health Director and
Chief Medical Officer
Slides Dr. Lawrence Greenblatt 10.24.25 Coalition on Aging
 
August 22, 2025 Membership Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Presentation: Digital Equity and Increasing Older Adult’s Connectivity
Slides – AADN Presentation by Lucas Heller, Digital Navigator, Mid-East Commission Area Agency on Aging
Slides – Digital Technology –  Maggie Woods, Director, Office of Digital Opportunity, NC Dept. of Information Technology
 
June 27, 2025 Membership Meeting
Presentation: Caregiving documentary film 
Meeting Minutes
Bills Passed of Relevance to Older Adults 2025
 
May 16, 2025 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Meeting Minutes
Member Spotlight: Betsy Barton, Community Engagement – Transitions LifeCare
Slides – Transitions LifeCare at a Glance – May 2025
Presentation: Mark Hensley, Associate State Director, Community Outreach & Advocacy – AARP North Carolina | Triad Region
AARP Powering Livable Communities NCCOA 5-16-2025
 
April 25, 2025 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Meeting Minutes
Presentation: Divya Venkataganesan, MPH – Section Chief-Planning and Caylee Weaver, Planner/Evaluator
Division of Aging – NC Department of Health and Human Services
All Ages All Stages NC Slides 
 
March 28, 2025 Membership Meeting
Special Guest: Dr. Dev Sangvai, Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services
Meeting Recording
Q&A with DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai at NC Coalition on Aging March 2025 meeting
NCCOA Meeting Minutes 032825
February 28, 2025 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Member Spotlight: Melinda Munden, Director and Deputy Commissioner – NC Dept of Insurance, Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP)
Slides
 
January 28, 2025 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Meeting Minutes
Member Spotlight: Kathie Smith Senior VP of Home Care and State Relations, Association for Home and Hospice Care of NC
Presentation One: Andy MacCracken, Director, NC Center on the Workforce for Health, Health Care Workforce Stabilization
Slides
Presentation Two: Demarcus Andrews, Associate State Director of Advocacy, AARP NC, State Facilitated Privately Operated Retirement Savings Program
Handout
Slides
Presentation Three: Jeff Horton, Executive Director, NC Senior Living Association, Special Assistance Rates Rebase
Handout 1 and Handout 2
Slides
January 10, 2025 Health Equity Committee Meeting 
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Lindsey Golden, Director of State Affairs, Alzheimer’s Association of NC, Alzheimer’s/Dementia and Health Equity
Slides
December 6, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Meeting Minutes
Membership Spotlight: Dylan Bondy, Head of Outreach for Solace Health
Slides
Presentation: David McLennan, Professor of Political Science, Meredith College and Director of the Meredith Poll, 2024 Elections and Implications for N.C. and National Politics 
Slides
November 8, 2024 Health Equity Committee Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Kylie Foley, Digital Inclusion Initiative Specialist from the Institute for Emerging Issues, Digital Inclusion Throughout the State
Slides 
October 25, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Agenda
Membership Spotlight: Heather Hooper, Executive Director of Dementia Alliance of North Carolina  
Slides
Presentation: Sarah Maness- Richardson, Adult Services Program Manager for the NC Division of Social Services, NC Adult Protective Services Program
Slides
September 13, 2024 Health Equity Committee Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Tara Muller, Disability Rights Attorney, DRNC’s Role in Advancing Health Equity for Older Adults
Slides
August 23, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording 
Membership Spotlight: Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Director of Housing Policy for the NC Housing Coalition
Slides
Presentation: Gina Upchurch, Executive Director for Senior PharmAssist, Senior PharmAssist- The Senior PharmAssist Model, Replication, and Relevant Medicare Policies
Slides 
June 28, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Membership Spotlight: Nadia Mazza, Senior Project Manager for Healthy Aging NC at the NC Center for Health and Wellness
Slides
Presentation: Ellen Bailey, Senior Project Manager for Falls Prevention with the NC Center for Health and Wellness & Divya Venkataganesan, Section Chief, Planning with the Division of Aging, NC Falls Prevention Coalition –Standing Strong NC: It Takes a Village to Prevent Falls- Learn how it is working to unite NC for falls prevention 
Slides
May 28, 2024, Consumer Fraud
Meeting Recording
Presentation: John Maron, Director, of Investor Protection & Education Services Secretary of State’s Office, Guarding Your Assets in a Scary
World
Slides
May 17, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Membership Spotlight: Kay Castillo,  Executive Director Friends of Residents in Long Term Care
Slides
Presentation One: Toni Gingerelli, Director of Policy and Advocacy with the National Alliance for Caregiving, National Strategy for Caregiving
Slides
Presentation Two: Amanda Swanger, Family Caregiver Support Program Consultant with the Division of Aging, Programs Available through the NC Division of Aging to Support Family Caregivers
Slides
May 10, 2024 Health Equity Committee Presentation 
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Dalton Bailey, Research and Data Manager NC Rural Center, Older Adult Trends
Slides
April 26, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Mary Bethel, Coalition Board Chair, May 7, 2024 Aging Advocacy Day Orientation
Presentation: Laura Wells, CEO Hope NC, Inclusive Communities-What Are They and Why Are They Needed in NC? 
Slides
April 26, 2024 The Legislative Process
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Chris Brandenburg, Manager of State and Federal Advocacy with AARP NC, The Legislative Process
Slides
March 22, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Jan Withers, Director- Division of Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing NCDHHS, Communication Equity for Older Adults with a Particular Focus on How Hearing Loss Impacts an Individual
Slides
Meeting Agenda
March 8, 2024 Health Equity Committee Presentation
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Joseph Wheeler, Professional Consultant on DEI Training/Formerly with SAGE, Why older LGBTQ+ adults learned to distrust the healthcare system, current views of health equity, and how the system can work to overcome the myth and the reality of the system moving forward.
February 23, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Dr. Bryle Henderson Hatch, Director of People, Culture and Belonging at NC DHHS, Building Belonging: Exploring the Principles of DEI
Slides
January 26, 2024 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Dalton Bailey, Research and Data Manager, NC Rural Center a Look at the State’s Older Rural Population, 
Slides 
December 1, 2023 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Accessing and Paying for Long-Term Care.
October 27, 2023 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation One:  NC LIFTSS Program
Slides
Presentation Two:  Kelly Crosbie, Director, NC Division of Mental Health,
Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services
Slides
August 25, 2023 Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Sabrena Lea, Deputy Director, Long-term Services and Supports, NC Division of Health Benefits 
Slides
June 23, 2023, Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Dr. Anne Dickerson, Director of Research for Older Adult Driving Initiative, Professor at East Carolina University
Slides
Plan For the Road Ahead
May 19, 2023, Membership Meeting
In-person meeting at AARP-NC
Presentation:  Governor’s Executive Order 280, Joyce Massey-Smith, Director, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services
April 28, 2023, Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation: Maggie Denning, Argisafe-NC Outreach Specialist from North Carolina Agromedicine Institute
March 24, 2023, Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentation:  Lisa Finaldi, Community Engagement Leader from Family Forward NC
Slides
February 24, 2023, Membership Meeting
Meeting Recording
Presentations:
  • DeLon Canterbury, Pharm.D.,President, Chief Executive Officer of GeriatRx
  • Gina Upchurch, RPh, MPH, Founding Executive Director of Senior PharmAssist