By Ellen Goldbaum
Published September 30, 2025
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Balancing the needs of aging parents while still caring for children and supporting a family is a tough challenge and one that an ever-growing number of families are facing.
The challenges and opportunities of caregiving across the generations are the focus of “The Sandwich Generation: Balancing Care for Parents and Children,” a free, public symposium that the University at Buffalo is holding from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, 955 Main St., Buffalo.
Caregivers, community members, policymakers, advocates and others working in this space are invited to attend. Free registration for both in-person and virtual attendees is available online.
Sponsored by the UB Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences, the event offers knowledge, resources and connections to help build a more supportive ecosystem for all. Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, UB’s vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School, will make opening remarks.
Keynote Stories of Lived Experience, 8:40-10 a.m., featuring caregivers who will discuss navigating the complex realities of supporting loved ones at both ends of the age spectrum.
Speakers include Mary Brennan-Taylor, adjunct faculty member in the Jacobs School, and Robert Wahler, PharmD, clinical associate professor in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, both from Team Alice, an interdisciplinary research, interprofessional education and advocacy initiative that seeks to protect older adults from medication harm; Abigail S. Green, MD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry in the Jacobs School; Carleara Weiss, PhD, assistant professor in the UB School of Nursing; and Nicole Hinchy, DDM, assistant dean for clinical affairs in the UB School of Dental Medicine.
Understanding Legal Processes, 10-10:50 a.m. Attendees will learn how current laws and caregiving regulations impact families, with guidance on navigating guardianship, advance care planning and workplace protections. Speakers are Caleb Mammen, supervising attorney of Neighborhood Legal Services, Sarah Hedden and Kevin Quinn, managing attorneys of the Center for Elder Law and Justice.
The New York State Master Plan for Aging, 11-11:30 a.m. Greg Olson, executive director, NYS Office for the Aging, will discuss the state’s bold vision for aging services and what it means for caregivers today and in the future.
Community Resources, 11:40-12:20 p.m. Speakers include Randy Hoak, Erie County commissioner of senior services; Allison Lawson, vice president of healthy living, YMCA; Cathy Wilde, director of marketing and public relations, Alzheimer’s Association of WNY; and Priya Pinto, PhD, president and an owner of Allwel, a home care agency. Scott Scanlon of the New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative will moderate.