2025
2025 SGS Annual Meeting & Conference
The Southern Gerontological Society’s 47th Annual Meeting and Conference
Building Bridges: Collaborations and Communities in Aging
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N
Birmingham, AL 35203
April 3 through April 6, 2025
From The SGS President
An Invitation from the SGS President
The Southern Gerontological Society's 46th annual regional aging conference will be held in the historic city of Birmingham, Alabama. Our theme is “Building Bridges: Collaborations and Communities in Aging.” As President of the Southern Gerontological Society, I would like to extend an invitation for you to attend and contribute to our meeting being held on April 3-6, 2025.
Known for its welcoming and friendly atmosphere, Birmingham exemplifies Southern hospitality. Conference-goers can expect a warm reception from locals, great food, and a generally positive environment for both learning and networking.
Birmingham is a city with a significant history, especially in relation to the Civil Rights Movement. Visiting Birmingham for a conference gives you the chance to explore historical landmarks such as the Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church, and Kelly Ingram Park, offering valuable context and understanding of social justice and history.
The focus of our 46th Annual Meeting and Conference, “Building Bridges: Collaborations and Communities in Aging” starts by “bridging” with the community to host a screening of the award-winning documentary, Remember Me: Dementia in the African American Community on April 3, 2025.
Starting Friday, April 4, 2025; “Building Bridges: Collaborations and Communities in Aging” will open with topics that explore the different types of aging communities and the key themes surrounding them through podium and poster presentations.
Connecting communities with older adults is crucial for several reasons, as it fosters mutual benefit, strengthens societal bonds, and addresses critical challenges that both groups face. The conference presentations will address many of these challenges such as 1) combating loneliness and isolation; 2) intergenerational learning; 3) building stronger social relationships; 4) promoting health and well-being and 5) addressing ageism and misconceptions.
We are organizing the conference into five domains to drive session creation in ways that ensure that researchers, practitioners, clinicians, policy advocates, and older adult consumers create linkages in terms of networks, sharing ideas to forward the agenda of connecting communities and improving older adult quality of life. The DOMAINS are (1) Age-related Health and Wellness, (2) Diversity Topics in Aging Communities, (3) Caregiving, Care Support, and Care Partnerships, (4) Gerontological Education and Professional Development, and (5) Advocacy for or by Older Adults. We hope you will join us and share your important work at the Birmingham, AL 2025 meeting.
Sincerely,
Ethlyn McQueen-Gibson, DNP, MSN, RN-BC
President, SGS (2024-2026)
2025 SGS Sponsors
Conference Bag Sponsor
Vivid-Pix
Vivid-Pix invents and harnesses technologies, making it simple for individuals, families, and organizations to relive memories and share stories. Whether by inventing software to restore decades / centuries-old photos / documents, bringing back precious memories that were thought to be long gone due to the passage of time, or cognitive decline, or helping to bring families and friends together at reunions, for over a decade Vivid-Pix has made it simple and affordable to relive memories and share stories.
Gold Sponsor
Georgia State University Gerontology Institute
The Gerontology Institute builds on more than 40 years of gerontology education. It is among the oldest and most accomplished gerontology programs in the Southeast. Gerontology students receive individual attention and mentorship but also have all the benefits of being at a large, urban university. In downtown Atlanta, Georgia State is in proximity to numerous programs, services and organizations that provide students with first-hand experiences in the field of aging. The Gerontology Institute offers a Master of Arts degree and a certificate in Gerontology for students who wish to prepare for careers in the field of aging. The Gerontology Institute offers several programs at the undergraduate level: Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (B.I.S.), a certificate in gerontology and a dual-degree program – bachelor’s in sociology/master’s in gerontology.
Gold Sponsor
Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology
VCU’s Department of Gerontology in the College of Health Professions was founded in 1976 and remains the only MS in Gerontology in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our mission to promote optimal aging for individuals and communities is evident through our innovative graduate and continuing education, scholarship, and university-community partnerships. Our graduates further our person-centered, transdisciplinary mission all over the country and globe. The Department of Gerontology is well-known for the quality and innovation of its programs and for the scholarship and applied expertise of its faculty. The Department of Gerontology offers a variety of degree programs based on an interdisciplinary approach using the bio-psycho-social model. With a mission of promoting optimal aging for individuals and communities, Gerontology graduates further the person-centered mission of the department largely in the areas of administration, education, advocacy, and entrepreneurship. The Gerontology Department envisions continued commitment to service, scholarship, and education, with a focus on the DisruptAgeism and Elderhood Development paradigms.
The VCU Department of Gerontology remains the only NAB accredited program for Assisted Living Administration both in Virginia and nationally! VCU's master's of gerontology program is fully accredited by the Accreditation for Gerontology Education Council (AGEC).
Silver Sponsor
Acumen Fiscal Agent
Acumen Fiscal Agent is one of the oldest fiscal employer agents in the country. We specialize in working with self-determined, self-directed populations and programs that utilize home care assistance in communities throughout the U.S..
Silver Sponsor
University of Southern California, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Rooted in a world-class research university and located in one of the most vibrant cities on earth, the USC Leonard Davis School is a global pioneer in gerontology education, research, policy and service. Founded in 1975, we are the world’s first, largest and most renowned educational institution on aging. Through discovery, advocacy and leadership, our faculty, students and alumni are creating the future of aging – and living – well. We collaborate in scholarship and service to improve how people live and age, now and for generations to come. As the first, largest and most renowned School of Gerontology, we pioneered the study of aging. Today, we continue to boldly reimagine the future, break new ground and launch students into meaningful careers. Our mission to promote healthy aging for diverse people, communities and societies is more vital than ever. Join us in making life better for people of all ages.
Bronze Plus - Living with Dementia Sponsor
The Riverside Martha W. Goodson Center
The Riverside Martha W. Goodson Center, part of the Riverside Health System network of care, continues its nonprofit work to fulfill its mission to improve the quality of life for older adults by integrating academic, clinical and health services research with the capabilities of local service providers. This allows us to develop and implement innovative community-based and healthcare system initiatives that can be replicated and sustained by Riverside.
The Riverside Martha W. Goodson Center places special focus on clinical services, programs, support and education for persons living with dementia and their family caregivers and care partners. The Center delivers evidence-based and evidence-informed programs and partners with community, state and national organizations to pilot and expand these programs. The Center is currently supporting age-friendly health system efforts and a number of other innovative approaches to how care is provided to older adults.
Bronze Sponsor
CerebroFit
At CerebroFit, our mission is to empower every individual to age well by improving brain health. Based on research linking healthy lifestyles to healthy brain aging, we offer services such as neuropsychological assessment, personal training, nutrition consultations, psychotherapy, and health and wellness coaching. We also offer professional workshops and science writing services to empower professionals and the community with information about brain health. Led by gero-neuropsychologist Vonetta Dotson, PhD, our team includes licensed and certified experts in clinical psychology, gerontology, exercise science, nutrition, and health coaching who offer services at our Decatur studio, with many services also available online. We take Medicare and Anthem for many of our services. CerebroFit is your one stop for healthy brain aging.
Bronze Sponsor
East Carolina University School of Social Work
The Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) is housed in East Carolina University’s (ECU) School of Social Work within the College of Health and Human Performance. However, with an active team of over 25 ECU affiliates with graduate credentials in numerous disciplines related to healthy aging, you’ll find OHA members in several colleges across ECU. OHA is a hub for teaching, research, and service-related activities that advance healthy aging research. OHA further uses these activities to provide evidence-based services for diverse aging with a heavy focus on rural communities in eastern North Carolina.
Bronze Sponsor
The Doctoral Program in Gerontology, University of Maryland Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore County
The Doctoral Program in Gerontology is an intercampus, interdisciplinary research degree program at the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The program provides an interdisciplinary and integrative perspective on the process of human aging and the experiences of growing old. The approach acknowledges the complex, dynamic, and bi-directional relationships among individuals and the historical, political, economic, environmental, psychological, social, cultural and biological contexts in which aging occurs. The goal of the program is to train a new generation of gerontology scholars conversant with interdisciplinary and integrative paradigms and research designs employed to examine the unique, reciprocal, and dynamic nature of aging in context.
Bronze Sponsor
The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC
The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC combines a passion for creating leaders and scholars in aging with a genuine connection to real world applications. The unique strength of our community is that it brings together so many exceptionally talented people of different backgrounds, lived experiences, interests, approaches and methodologies. Our goal, since our founding in 2005, is to integrate aging issues, business management and public policy. Our business orientation – applicable to nonprofit, for profit and government sectors encourages leadership and entrepreneurial behavior. We created and continue to refine a distinctive interdisciplinary and integrated educational approach combining the critical elements of aging studies, management, and public policy. This unique model includes an active learning environment based in practice in addition to theory. Collaborators with The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC have the opportunity to extend their interdisciplinary efforts further through partnerships with other units within UMBC including the Hilltop Institute, School of Public Policy and the PhD in Gerontology. Our curriculum includes all aspects of aging services, with particular emphasis on expanding opportunities for individuals in the longevity economy. Students, both full and part-time, can earn a B.A., M.A. and Accelerated B.A./M.A. and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in the Management of Aging Services.
Bronze Sponsor
HBCU Aging Conference
The HBCU Aging Conference serves as an important platform to promote aging-related research, mentorship, advocacy, and networking opportunities for scholars from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Our mission is to bridge the gap in aging research by fostering the next generation of scholars dedicated to understanding and addressing the unique health needs of diverse aging populations.
The HBCU Aging Conference is dedicated to supporting early-career HBCU scholars including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty—by fostering networking opportunities and provides a space for researchers, practitioners, community-based organizations, and advocates to engage with scholars, inspiring interest and commitment to the aging field.
By facilitating knowledge exchange, skill development, leadership opportunities, training support, and mentorship the conference aims to create pathways for HBCU scholars to excel in aging research and practice.
Bronze Sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Sociology
The Department of Sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is research-driven and impact focused. Our programs prepare students to address real-world challenges through research, critical thinking, and applied practice. The department features faculty who are either teaching specialists or leaders in research in their fields. Degrees include B.A in Sociology, B.S. in Medical Sociology, M.A. in Applied Sociology (Online), and Ph.D. in Medical Sociology.
Bronze Sponsor
University of South Florida, School of Aging Studies
The School of Aging Studies at USF offers undergraduate degrees (Aging Sciences and Health Care Administration), Master in Gerontology (online option), and Ph.D. in Aging Studies, Our interdisciplinary program includes innovative coursework, research, and internships, taught by award-winning faculty.
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