SAGE honors trans trailblazer Barbara Satin
Barbara Satin has received the Carmen Vázquez SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging at the 2023 Creating Change Conference.
SAGE, the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ elders, has presented the Carmen Vázquez SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging at this year’s National LGBTQ+ Task Force Creating Change conference to Barbara Satin.
Satin is a transgender activist who has worked on issues of aging, faith, and gender justice. Previously she was the Faith Work Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force and is now serving as a consultant. The Carmen Vázquez SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging is presented to someone whose work exemplifies outstanding leadership in their advocacy for LGBTQ+ elders. The award was renamed to honor the memory of Carmen Vázquez, a long-time LGBTQ+ and social justice activist who passed away in 2022.
“I was in the audience at the 2020 Creating Change in Dallas, cheering with the enthusiastic crowd, as Carmen Vasquez received the SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues,” said awardee Barbara Satin. “I was moved by her proclamation that ‘change is never about one person alone.’ I am very proud to receive this annual SAGE award which now rightfully bears her name. As new voices and faces continue this vital work supporting LGBTQ+ aging, I look forward to cheering them on in the coming years.”
“Barbara perfectly embodies the spirit of the Carmen Vázquez SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging. Over the course of many decades, Barbara has made an extraordinary difference – providing leadership on one of the country’s earliest LGBTQ+-friendly affordable elder housing developments in her hometown of Minneapolis, representing our community’s elders at the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, and pioneering the welcoming of trans people in faith communities,” said SAGE CEO Michael Adams. “It’s hard to imagine how many members of our community have had the opportunity to work with Barbara and benefit from her countless contributions – I consider myself deeply fortunate to be among them.”
This year’s National LGBTQ+ Task Force Creating Change conference was held in person in San Francisco from February 17-19, 2023.
SAGE is the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBTQ+ older people and their caregivers. SAGE also advocates for public policy changes that address the needs of LGBTQ+ elders, provides education and technical assistance for aging providers and LGBTQ+ community organizations through its National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging, and cultural competency training through SAGECare.
