Mark your calendar! The 2026 Change AGEnt Summit will be held in Portland, on September 30th, at the Abromson Center on the University of Southern Maine campus. We hope you’ll join us for an incredible day of learning, sharing and inspiration focused on aligning our health and wellness with our new longevity. Registration will open this spring. Stay tuned for more details!

Meet our 2026 Change AGEnt Keynote Speaker

Somava Saha, MD, MS

Somava Saha, MD, MS is president and CEO of Well-being and Equity in the World (WE in the World), as well as executive lead of the Well Being In the Nation (WIN) Network, which work together to advance inter-generational well-being and equity.

Dr. Saha has dedicated her career to improving health, well-being and equity through the development of thriving people, organizations and communities. Dr. Saha has worked as a primary care internist and pediatrician in the safety net and a global public health practitioner for over 25 years. She has witnessed and demonstrated sustainable transformation in human and community around the world.  Learn more about Dr. Saha.

Sponsorship + Exhibitor Opportunities   

We have a variety of sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities available for the 2026 Change AGEnt Summit. Learn more. If you’re interested in sponsoring our Annual Summit or attending as an exhibitor please contact Becca Howes.

Past Summit Information

2025 Change AGEnt Summit
Stronger Together

Seizing the Opportunity of the Moment

September 19th | 8:00am – 3:00pm
Cross Insurance Center |Bangor, ME

For the first time ever, the Change AGEnt Summit – Stronger Together: Seizing the Opportunity of the Moment – presented by Hannaford Supermarkets – was held in Bangor, on September 19, 2025 at the Cross Insurance Center.  

This is a powerful moment in time that is brimming with opportunity – opportunity to shape a new vision for how we live in community with each other as we age, and opportunity to redesign systems to move us toward that vision.  The core of this work is shifting the way we value the lives, contributions, and abilities of older Mainers, and focusing our efforts on building inclusive communities, creating clear pathways to purpose, and strengthening connections between people of all ages.  

Join us at the Change AGEnt Summit: Stronger Together: Seizing the Opportunity of the Moment. This Summit is a proactive call to action.  Together, we will explore how connection and creativity can spark innovative, culturally responsive solutions, and the actions needed to create conditions for all older people to be fully and intentionally included in all aspects of life.  

Your voice, your ideas, and collaboration are vital. Please join us to share your ideas for how we can adapt to the changes ahead with fresh perspectives and innovative approaches, ultimately working towards creating a more age-positive and age-equitable culture in Maine.

We’re developing an interactive program designed to foster deep collaboration and inspire creative approaches.

Read the Summit Agenda

Register now to attend on September 19th to help us build a fundamentally better future together!

Our 2025 Change AGEnt Keynote Speaker

Delvina Miremadi-Baldino, PhD

The Deep Need to Matter: Reclaiming Purpose and Connection Across the Lifespan

What does it mean to matter — and why does it matter so much, especially as we age?

Dr. Delvina Miremadi-Baldino – sponsored by GT Independence – will explore the science and soul of mattering as a critical protective factor that supports mental health, well-being, and human dignity from youth through older adulthood. Drawing from her leadership in Maine’s statewide Mattering Movement and a career grounded in resilience science and positive psychology, Dr. Miremadi-Baldino makes the case that mattering is a lifelong human need.

Whether you’re a policymaker, caregiver, community leader, or aging adult yourself, this keynote will inspire you to take small, meaningful actions to ensure everyone feels seen, heard, valued and needed, no matter the age.

We’re also excited to welcome Lauren Stevens and tribal elders Citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, who will open the Summit singing the Welcoming of the Day, and artist Kate Crary, who will capture the learnings and actionable outcomes from the day in her beautiful graphic illustrations.

We are thrilled to feature their voices and creativity to this inspiring day of learning, conversation, and action planning!

Kate Crary
Graphic Artist & Facilitator

New This Year: Partial Scholarships Available
In response to the challenges many non-profits are currently facing, we’re offering one-time partial scholarships for this year’s event. While we haven’t previously extended scholarships to those employed by organizations, we recognize that some employers are experiencing financial constraints that limit their ability to support professional development. We want to help remove barriers to attendance.

Save on Your Trip to the Change AGEnt Summit — and Get $20 Off Your Ticket!
Planning to attend the Summit? Cut your travel costs and support a more sustainable event by carpooling, joining a GoMaine event rideshare, or creating your own ride share with friends and coworkers. As a thank you for choosing a greener commute, you’ll receive $20 off your registration when you participate.

Please reach out to Julie Guerette at Julie@mainepremiereventplanning.com to learn more about this these opportunities.

Maine Council on Aging to Recognize Inspired Leaders at 2025 Change AGEnt Summit

Our annual awards shine a spotlight on Maine leaders who are quietly dedicating part or all of their careers to making Maine a healthier, safer, more inclusive place to live and work for older Mainers. This year’s honorees have had an impressive impact on the lives of older Maines, and we honor them to ensure Maine people know about their important work and leadership.

Lasting Legacy Award
Brenda Gallant, Executive Director of Maine’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program

Legislator of the Year Award
Representative Kristen Cloutier of Lewiston

Trailblazing Advocate Awards
Claudette Ndayininahaze, Executive Director of In Her Presence
Dr. Rebecca Spear, Program Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Practice

Douglas O. Wilson Rising Tide Leadership Award
Leslie Hill, Professor Emeritus of Politics, Bates College

Business Excellence Award
Motivational Services, Inc. (MOCO)

Read more about our 2025 award winners.

2025 Change AGEnt Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Keynote Presentation Sponsor

Inclusion Sponsor

 Diamond Sponsors

Awards Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

2024 Change AGEnt Summit
Riding the Wave of Opportunity

Empowering Societal Transformation in Maine

September 25th | 8:00am – 3:00pm
Pineland Farms | New Gloucester, ME

Riding the Wave of Change: Empowering Societal Transformation in Maine

This year’s Change AGEnt Summit will be an inspiring day of learning, engaged conversation, and action planning that will help us all build the skills and connect to the tools we will need to take action to create an Age-Positive culture in Maine. Maine’s future can be bright if we all work together to change the narrative about the value of older people in our communities, culture, and economy. Social norms are created and perpetuated by us – which means we have the power to change them, even in our institutions and systems. You’ll come away from the Summit with the information, ideas, AND tools needed to become a Change AGEnt within your spheres of influence and a plan to take action!

Announcing our 2024 Change AGEnt Keynote

Jennifer Sciubba, Ph.D. 

Jennifer Sciubba, Ph.D., 2024 Change AGEnt Keynote Speaker

Thank you to our Exclusive Keynote Presentation Sponsor,
Andwell Health Partners!

A Quick Look at the Day

Setting the Stage for Transformational Change
After we welcome the day and honor this place called Maine and its indigenous people, we will learn together how Maine fits into worldwide demographic trends and why we need to shift our thinking about the importance of older people to Maine’s future. This session will motivate us all to take serious action to transform our societal norms and build an Age-Positive culture that fully includes older people in all aspects of life, rejects the view that disability has to be limiting, and creates pathways to economic justice for older people who experienced a lifetime of disparities and injustices.

Making a Plan
The day will then shift to action planning – where your voices and ideas will fill the room. We’ll host a series of collaborative discussions through a World Café Conversation model where attendees will travel the room engaging in inspiring conversations and action planning through a set of questions focused on pathways to change on various issues. Each table conversation will build on the next, culminating in a plenary report out shared discoveries, insights and actions. The conversations will lead to collective knowledge, growth, and action plans that will be visually captured by a graphic illustrator.

Ripples Make Waves – Building Your Toolbox
The afternoon session we’ll feature a “ripple” panel to help participants see how easy it can be to take action and simple actions can have a big impact, inspiring us to see what’s possible and planting seeds for more change. The day will culminate with an interactive activity to help us each build our Change AGEnt toolbox, with self-identified actions we can take and tools we can use.

Let’s Take Action!
Attendees will leave with a clear plan they can implement to be Change AGEnts within their own spheres of influence. Even seasoned and active Change AGEnts will leave with new tools and plans for action. As we launch our fourth year of working to end ageism in Maine, this Summit will help participants see the waves we are already making and understand that every new ripple they make turns into a new wave for societal transformation.

Join us at the 2024 Change AGEnt Summit

Let’s ride the opportunities of this Age-Positive wave together!

From building longevity-ready communities to aligning health spans with life spans, the 2023 Change AGEnt Summit sparked creative and innovative thinking on what it will take to build systems that support healthy, engaged living into our 80s, 90s, and beyond!   

We were joined by over 300 Change AGEnts on September 27th to help us build an age-positive Maine – thank you for joining us!

We’re living longer than ever before but our thinking about aging and older people hasn’t changed, and our communities, institutions, and systems haven’t caught up to support our new old age. While change is hard, it’s time to embrace a new map of life and build flexibility into how we learn, work, and live across a lifetime. This informative, interactive, and inspiring Summit explored what’s holding us back from embracing aging as a lifetime journey of learning, growth, and health and how a shift in perspective can propel us to positive action that can transform our workplaces, communities and economy. 

Below you’ll find the graphic illustrations that captured the innovations and inspirations of the day – plus meet the amazing speakers, full program, and more!