Founder’s Playbook
Coalition Building
In 2010, leaders across the aging field recognized a hard truth: policies and programs were not keeping pace with a rapidly diversifying older population. Seven national organizations came together to change that. Building a coalition required more than alignment—it required structure, identity, and strategy. This work laid the foundation for collective power
Strategy: Robert Espinoza
Design: RD Design
For: Diverse Elders Coalition, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, National Hispanic Council on Aging, Nationbal Indian Council on Aging, Inc., SAGE - Advocacy & Services for LGBTQ+ Elders, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Images: Diverse Elders Coalition
Why the Moment Mattered
When the field isn’t built for the people it serves
New coalitions often form in response to gaps that individual organizations cannot address alone. In this case, older adults from historically marginalized communities were largely invisible in aging policy and practice. The challenge was not only representation, but credibility—creating a coalition that could speak with clarity and authority in complex federal and state arenas.
“Robert Espinoza understood early on that opportunity in aging meant ensuring Black older adults had a voice in national conversations about policy and care. Through the Diverse Elders Coalition, he helped build a space where those perspectives could shape the future of aging in America.”
— Karyne Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, a nationally recognized nonprofit advancing policy, programs, and advocacy for Black older adults.
How the Vision Took Shape
Aligning organizations around a common purpose
As a co-founder, Robert Espinoza worked closely with leaders from the six partner organizations to design the coalition’s earliest structures and strategic direction. The goal was to move quickly from shared concern to coordinated action—without losing the distinct perspectives each organization brought to the table.
This meant investing early in alignment, governance, and narrative clarity.
What Was Delivered
As one of the fifteen founding leaders of the Diverse Elders Coalition, Robert played a central role in shaping the coalition’s early architecture and coordinating its initial work. Alongside fellow founders, he helped establish a strong public identity, shared guiding principles, and a clear set of policy priorities that enabled diverse member organizations to align and act collectively. He also managed and coordinated key early efforts—from supervising the coalition’s first staff member to supporting the release of initial policy reports on health security and HIV and aging—ensuring the coalition launched with credibility and momentum.
With structure and strategy in place, the Diverse Elders Coalition emerged as a trusted stakeholder in national aging policy. The coalition strengthened coordination across member organizations, secured inclusion of seven recommendations in the official Older Americans Act reauthorization consensus, and increased visibility with federal agencies and congressional offices. Its early design choices created staying power—demonstrating how thoughtfully built coalitions can translate diverse community needs into a unified voice that carries weight where decisions are made.
A coalition built to last—and to lead
“At our statewide conference in 2025, Robert Espinoza helped leaders understand how rapidly changing federal policies could shape the future of workforce development in Illinois. His ability to connect national developments to real decisions facing states made his keynote both timely and invaluable.”
— Julio Rodriguez, Director of Program Services at the Workforce Development Division of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the State of Illinois.
Meet the Founder
Founder & CEO of The CareWorks Project, Robert Espinoza is a national expert on the care economy, advising leaders on caregiving, aging, workforce policy, and narrative strategy to create a long—term care ecosystem that truly works.