Rogerson Communities is proud to announce that Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, ​the national association of nonprofit and mission-driven providers of aging services, ​will be the Keynote Speaker at its annual Welcome Home Gala.

The organization will also honor Katie with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her storied career of advocating for older adults across the country.

“Katie has been an important partner of Rogerson for years and is a passionate steward of our mission,” says Walter Ramos, President and CEO of Rogerson Communities. “We are thrilled to celebrate her and hear from her at our annual fundraising Gala this fall.”

A recognized advocate for older adults and the aging services sector, Katie embodies LeadingAge’s mission of being “the trusted voice for aging.” After finding her career path — the nexus between public policy and aging — while working for former Senator Tom Eagleton of Missouri, then the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, Katie moved into the nonprofit sector, starting at AARP before going to LeadingAge in 2002. She was named to the top role in 2015 and over the past decade she’s navigated through significant challenges — including the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted older adults and the people who care for them, earning media recognition as “the mouse that roared” — and has, through advocacy in DC and in the media, positioned the sector and LeadingAge’s nonprofit members as values-driven organizations that have stood the test of time as key pillars of America’s cities and towns.

In addition to LeadingAge, Katie also serves as Executive Director at the Global Ageing Network, co-chair of Dementia Friendly America, and as board member of several more organizations with aligned missions.

Rogerson’s Welcome Home Gala is Boston’s largest and most anticipated fundraising event in support of at-risk older adults. Now in its 26th year, Welcome Home brings together the Commonwealth’s leaders and visionaries to raise awareness for the issues facing this vulnerable population and the Rogerson mission.

Rogerson’s mission is focused on low-income older adults—a community routinely overlooked and one that is outgrowing available support. The need for affordable housing and the services that allow this community to age with dignity is the bedrock of the organization’s ambitious five-year strategic plan.

Katie will headline Rogerson’s Welcome Home Gala along with honoree Jeff Sacks of Nixon Peabody. The Gala will be held on September 29, 2025, at Boston Harbor Hotel.