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The State Workforce Board is excited to announce a five-part webinar series for Maine employers focused on how to break down barriers to attracting, hiring, and accommodating different communities, and sharing best practices, challenges, and innovations in creating a more inclusive, sustainable workforce.?The webinars will feature presenters who will share strategies for attracting and accommodating workers from a variety of populations that make up our communities, such as older workers, New Mainers, people with disabilities, those in the re-entry community, and those in recovery.

The first webinar, held on *February 21, 2024, from 12-1 p.m., *will be focused on *H**iring, Retaining, and Supporting Older Workers. *

We are honored to have two distinguished presenters on next week?s webinar:

*Jess Maurer, Executive Director of the Maine Council on Aging (MCOA)*


* As the Executive Director of the Maine Council on Aging (MCOA), Jess Maurer leads a broad, multidisciplinary network of more than 135 organizations, businesses, municipalities, and community members working to ensure we can all live healthy, engaged, and secure lives as we age in our homes and community settings, including diverse older Mainers. She leads a dynamic team and an engaged board to initiate and support data-informed policy change efforts through direct advocacy with federal, state, and municipal leaders. Recent successes include increased pay for direct care workers and significantly increased eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program in Maine. She creates shared-learning opportunities for community, social service, policy, and healthcare leaders across Maine and Northern New England. She collaborates with members and partners to convene processes and events geared toward action on issues related to ageism, equity related to all forms of bias, poverty, housing, transportation, food security, social inclusion, workforce, community development, and care across all settings. The MCOA has committed to ending ageism in Maine by 2032 through conversation, education, and action. Jess co-designed the first of its kind initiative called the Leadership Exchange on Ageism, a program that is helping Maine?s leaders take action on ageism. A licensed Maine attorney, Jess worked for 17 years in the Maine Office of the Attorney General. As Executive Director for the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging, she co-founded the MCOA in 2012, and became its first Executive Director in 2018. She graduated from the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

* Jess will discuss new developments in established demographic trends that confirm the strategic importance of hiring and retaining older workers. Maine is on the leading edge of these demographic trends. This session will explore how Maine employers can be successful by implementing strategies to intentionally create work cultures that support multiple generations of workers.

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*Catharine MacLaren, Ph.D., LCSW, CEAP, SHRM-SCP, Vice President of Talent & Diversity in Human Resources for Northern Light Health*


* Catharine received her Ph.D. from the New York University School of Social Work where she researched efficiencies in providing services to allow people to successfully age in place and factors that impact social workers? decisions to work with older adults. ?Catharine is a Past President of the Board of Directors of the Human Resources Association of Southern Maine (HRASM) and a licensed clinical social worker.

* Northern Light Health believes older workers are an invaluable part of a healthy and robust workforce. Catharine will discuss the strategies Northern Light Health uses to hire and retain this critical population across the healthcare system that can be applied in many industries.

*To register, visit **www.maine.gov/labor/employerwebinarseries/ [ [link removed] ]*

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