The Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC) is an advocacy and education coalition made up of five national organizations representing millions of elders of color and LGBT elders around the country. The DEC focuses on strengthening policies and programs to enhance the health and well-being of diverse elders, educating and connecting our older people and their loved ones to key policy debates on aging, and increasing public support for issues that affect our communities. The DEC includes: the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the National Hispanic Council on Aging, the National Indian Council on Aging, Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders, and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.

Since its founding in 2010, the DEC has garnered considerable attention nationwide and moved key policy wins at the federal level. In its first years, the DEC focused on key areas of shared interest, including strengthening Social Security; increasing funding for programs aimed at more marginalized elders (largely through health care reform implementation); and ensuring that the Older Americans Act (OAA), through reauthorization, directs more of its sizable resources to marginalized older adults around the country. In the summer of 2012, the DEC released a landmark report on the economic security issues facing our communities, as well as a news blog that features regular commentaries on diverse elder issues. The DEC continues to make the voices of its communities heard and push for policy changes through efforts such as its recently released HIV & Aging Issue Brief and accompanying national teleconference. The DEC is poised to substantially increase its visibility and reach, and to achieve key policy improvements.

The DEC is searching for a full-time National Managing Coordinator to develop (in consultation with coalition members) and implement the advocacy and education strategies of the DEC, as well as to build online awareness of the many issues facing elders of color and LGBT elders. The National Managing Coordinator will largely focus on two areas: advancing joint policy advocacy (at the federal and state levels) and overseeing strategic communications, primarily through online and social media. The National Managing Coordinator will work very closely with coalition members, including the Core Working Group, and facilitate regular communications among members to arrive at decisions and concrete results. This position will focus exclusively on the work of the DEC; it will be supervised by one member of the Coalition.

Read more about the responsibilities, qualifications and how to apply.