Introducing Our 2026 Conference Sessions
Village Voices on How to Attract and Engage Volunteers
How can villages attract volunteers, keep them engaged, and create meaningful ways to serve? Through brief examples and peer discussion, this interactive session will explore recruitment, retention, and creative volunteer opportunities.
Organized by Kloe Lloyd, Deputy Director of Dupont Circle Village, featuring panelists and facilitators from across the WAVE network who oversee volunteer programs in their Villages.
Building Strong Villages, Board by Board
Villages are volunteer-led, grassroots organizations. Board members provide strategic leadership, governance, and oversight to ensure the organization meets its mission effectively. To remain healthy and sustainable, Villages should have board members rotate off of their boards to avoid burn out and to bring in new ideas and new energy. But how do we find these leadership volunteers? MCVC will present a Three-Pillar Recruitment Framework for cultivating leadership volunteers.
Presenters: Keiona Gorham, MS, Executive Director, Montgomery County Villages Consortium + Margie Eulner Ott, Board President, Montgomery County Villages Consortium and former Board President of Little Falls Village, Bethesda, MD.
Meet Claude: AI Support for Grants, Fundraising, and Village Operations
Meet Claude, an AI assistant that can help Village leaders tackle grant writing, fundraising language, and everyday communications in a fraction of the time. In this hands-on session, Joan Green will walk through live demos, privacy settings, and practical use cases, so you leave knowing exactly how to start. You'll keep your own voice and expertise front and center, with AI as a thought partner, not a replacement.
Presenter: Joan L. Green, M.A. CCC-SLP
Medication Usage and Management- The role Villages can play in supporting medication management
Age-Friendly Tools and Methods to improve medication use & safety. Launch of a village program partnering with the Lamy Center and the Age-Friendly Pharmacy network. Learn about evidence-based practices to identify risks, access tools, and when and how to access professionals. Program is part of Elder Care Medicine Network focused on Patient Centered Outcome Research (PCOR).
Facilitator: Jim Sanders, WAVE Vice President. Presenters: Lamy Center and Age Friendly Pharmacy Network
Solo Aging 101 for Villages
Participants will learn about the unique challenges of solo aging, explore resources available to support individuals aging alone, and discover programming opportunities they can offer members to further this support.
Presenters: Mary Odonohue, President, Corewood Care, Peggy Gervasi, Former board president of Silver Spring Village, Eva Lucero, ED, Dupont Circle
"Finding Our Collective Voice:” Advocacy and Strategy for Stronger Villages
With expert assistance, participants will identify how/where to begin the process, key stakeholders to engage, critical strategic questions facing the Village and how to facilitate a thoughtful discussion resulting in a plan that matches the Village's vision.
Presenter: Dan Furmansky- Strategist, Facilitator, Movement Builder & Communications Professional
Creating an Affirming Community for LGBTQ+ Villagers
Introductory workshop that presents village leaders and members with practical next steps for developing their village as an inclusive community. This panel will focus on building an inclusive village from the inside out. We'll cover key areas such as affirming language, recognizing dignity, practical steps for inclusive and diverse programming, and next steps for ongoing discussions and challenging biases.
Moderator: Marti Bailey. Presenters: Sophia Ross, Josh Dubensky, Chaplain Brandon Cox
All Ages, One Village: Lessons from the Field on Multigenerational Community
Discover the powerful benefits of connecting generations to your village and community. In this session, you’ll hear from experts who have successfully developed thriving intergenerational programs. Learn how to bridge generational gaps, build a more enriching, vibrant village, and strengthen your community’s social fabric.
Presenters: Eram S. Abbasi, Chief of Community Services, Baltimore County Department of Aging Lori N. Marks, PhD, Executive Director, Link Generations Abby Simms, President, North Chevy Chase CONNECTIONS Megan Tracy Benson, MSW, Cofounder, Empowering the Ages
Strategic Planning- Key Visioning and Planning Considerations for your Village
This interactive session will cover strategic planning practices to support Village boards with creating 12–18-month plans. With expert assistance, participants will identify how/where to begin the process, key stakeholders to engage, critical strategic questions facing the Village and how to facilitate a thoughtful discussion resulting in a plan that matches the Village's vision.
Presenter: Wendy Wolff, MPH - Maryland Nonprofits
Data And Story Telling: Creating “Village Value Stories”
Villages increasingly want to show the value of their contributions to their own participants, their communities, and potential funders. Those contributions are too often only measured quantitatively by “bean counting.” A project In Montgomery County, Maryland, shows how villages can also showcase their contributions to social engagement, show their relational value, not just their transactional value, and create visual “value stories” for different audiences.
Presenters: Robin Anthony Kouyate, PhD; RAK Consulting, Presenter, Mary Jo Deering, PhD; Community Connector | Aging-in-Place & Democracy Initiatives, Presenter and Facilitator