INELDA Update – APRIL 2022
by Henry Fersko-Weiss
SAGECARE | TRAINER WINS GRANT | SURVEY | TRAINER IN NEWS | NEW STAFF
SAGECare TRAINS INELDA TEAM
At the end of March, INELDA leadership and staff members trained with SAGECare, a training and consulting division of SAGE (Services & Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Elders). SAGE is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQIA2S+ older adults. The training focuses on transforming, expanding, and elevating organizational awareness and education of LGBTQIA2S+ matters with a deep focus on history and interpersonal communication. INELDA achieved SAGECare’s Platinum Level certification, which means that 80% of employees and 80% of executives or administrators completed the on-demand and live coaching training.
CONGRATULATIONS, GARRETT!
Trainer Garrett Drew Ellis was awarded a grant to write and film the legacy stories of Black and Brown seniors at their end of life in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Your INELDA community supports your work and this exciting new project.
LEARNING AND TOPICS OF INTEREST SURVEY EXTENDED
Thanks to those of you who have completed the survey already! We want and need to hear from our community to help us continue cultivating learning experiences that meet your needs. Thanks to previous feedback from you, we learned there was a growing demand for end-of-life care information from people who are not seeking a doula’s path, leading us to develop our Care Partners Class. We will continue to introduce new learning experiences to support doulas and non-doulas alike.
Please help us by completing this survey before April 31, 2022.
INELDA IN THE NEWS
INELDA’s director of program development, Dr. Jamie Eaddy Chism, appeared in USA Today this week in a piece about how societal views on death are shifting.
INELDA WELCOMES
Mina Devadas as a new board member. Mina has been an end-of-life doula and hospice volunteer since 2017, receiving her initial training in one of INELDA’s earliest cohorts. In these roles, Mina has served clients and patients in private homes, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, assisted living and nursing settings, and acute hospice facilities. In addition to her end-of-life work, Mina brings more than 25 years of nonprofit and fundraising experience in the social justice, health and mental health, and higher education sectors to her role on INELDA’s board. Mina is based in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and is a proud daughter and granddaughter of Asian immigrants.
Yvette Pacheco as our coordinator of operations and finance. Yvette was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, is a graduate of City University of New York (CUNY) John Jay College of Criminal Justice and CUNY School of Law. Her career includes working at the district attorney’s office, in the housing industry in both the nonprofit and local government levels, and at a mediation organization in Hawaii. Her passion has been working with underserved and marginalized communities. She and her family moved to Hawaii after Hurricane Sandy and lived there for three and a half years. She moved back to the mainland in 2017 and resides in Jupiter, Florida, with her husband of 30 years, Michael, their 13-year old son, Aidan, their black rescue lab, Rambo, and their traveling Himalayan Persian cat, Yoda. She is excited to be part of INELDA.