2010 News

March 30, 2010

Senior Care Management Supervisor Najja Orr Earns American Society on Aging “New Ventures In Leadership” Degree

The Bucks County Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is pleased to announce that Najja Orr, care management supervisor, recently graduated from the American Society on Aging’s New Ventures in Leadership Program. He was one of 14 partners selected from across the country. 

New Ventures in Leadership (NVL), created by the American Society on Aging, is designed to promote the leadership potential of professionals of color and their involvement in the national aging arena. NVL participants develop and enhance their skills in areas aligned with their career objectives, such as leadership development, community building and advocacy, grant writing and fundraising, and applied research techniques, empowering them to assume leadership roles in their communities and organizations. The year-long program for the NVL class is composed of three components: educational seminars, mentoring, and special projects.

During his year of participation, Mr. Orr completed a project entitled “Breaking Barriers” which used statistical data and focus groups to identify possible barriers to accessing services offered by the Bucks County AAA within the African-American and Latino communities. Findings from the project will become part of the ongoing work of the Diversity Committee at the Bucks County AAA. 

Mr. Orr’s mentors include Brian Duke, director of the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging; Louis Colbert, director of the Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging; Darrik Lam, aging services program specialist, US Administration on Aging Region IX

San Francisco, CA and Leslie Swann, aging services program specialist, U.S. Administration on Aging, Office of Planning and Development.

Mr. Orr joined the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging in 2002 as an aging  care manager and has served as an aging care management supervisor since 2005. Prior positions include service as a social worker with Methodist Services for Children and Families and as a behavioral health case manager with the Philadelphia Mental Health Care Corporation. He is an alumnus of Morehouse College.