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Prof. Keefe Named Tideswell Emerging Leader in Aging Scholar at UCSF
Professor Bronwyn Keefe, director of the Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research (CADER) at BUSSW, has been named a Tideswell Emerging Leader in Aging Scholar at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
The Emerging Leaders in Aging Program at UCSF convenes academic leaders in the field of aging from across the country for a year-long professional development program. Scholars work together in small groups alongside an academic advisor throughout the program, collaborating on strategies to address challenges and opportunities their respective organizations may be facing. Program participants will enhance their skills in strategic planning, professional communications, and management. Through Prof. Keefe’s practicum, she will build on her highly successful venture of providing educational opportunities and bridging connections between academia and community-based organizations, with a focus on a workforce that needs geriatric education.
Prof. Keefe states, “It is imperative to build reciprocal academic and community-based partnerships to further prepare and retool the aging workforce, especially during a time of great exodus of social service practitioners who are leaving the field in high numbers.” It is through this individualized training that Tideswell aims to support the next generation of leaders in the care of aging populations, a field that is currently in high demand.
As the only social worker, Prof. Keefe joins 16 select scholars from various health professions who will build leadership skills to engage in effective reflective practice when leading programs to benefit older adults. Prof. Keefe is a national leader in professional workforce development in the field of social work and aging. She is the assistant dean of Workforce and Professional Development, director of the Network for Professional Education, and research assistant professor at BUSSW. In her varied other roles, as the vice president of the board for Massachusetts Gerontology Association, an Eldercare Workforce Alliance board member, an Older Adult Behavioral Health steering committee member, and member of the Education and Training Committee at the National Association for Geriatric Education, she directly influences programs and policies in aging across the country.