Colleges and universities play a critical role in strengthening the field of aging services by educating and training the executives and managers who will lead provider organizations into the future.

But providers can’t sit back and wait for educators to do all the work, writes Robyn Stone, senior vice president of research at LeadingAge and co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. In her latest blog, Stone urges providers to roll up their sleeves and get involved in identifying local academic partners and helping those partners develop, promote, and implement leadership training programs specifically targeted to the field of aging services.

Stone emphasizes that strengthening leadership education is work that should be national in scope, but that building the necessary academic partnerships can be done at the local level by LeadingAge members. She outlines six action steps providers can take to foster such partnerships and train the next generation of aging services leaders. Read the full blog, Leadership Training: It’s Time to Roll Up Our Sleeves, for her recommendations.