The Latino Center on Aging Celebrates the 38th Golden Age Awards

The Latino Center on Aging (LCA) celebrated one of the year’s most significant senior community service events, the Golden Age Awards Gala, on October 11, 2025.

As is tradition, the 38th annual gala excelled in attendance and support, welcoming guests and award recipients at the Pullman Miami Airport Hotel for an evening of celebration. The event began with a cocktail reception, followed by a formal dinner, and culminated in the recognition of the tireless work of prominent Latino personalities and senior leaders in South Florida and at the state level.

In a truly historic moment, Miami-Dade County proclaimed October 11th as “Latino Center on Aging Day,” recognizing LCA’s decades-long dedication to advocacy, education, and service for Hispanic seniors.

The gala featured the participation of key organizational figures, including banquet co-chairs, Hon. Josefina Carbonell and María A. Hidalgo; commemorative journal co-chairs, Sissy Miranda, Stephanie De la Piedra, and Lupe Bruneman; gala committee members; and LCA’s President and CEO, Mario E. Tapia. Adding to the event’s prestige, 14-time Emmy Award-Winning Journalist Sandra Peebles served as the Master of Ceremonies.

Honoring Leaders and Advocates for Seniors

The Latino Center on Aging presented awards to the following recipients for their significant contributions to the Hispanic/Latino community:

• Hon. Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PHD: Florida State Surgeon General and Professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine, received the Excellence in Health Care Golden Age Award.
• Stephanie De La Piedra: Representing the Florida PACE Centers program, she was recognized with the Advocate for Seniors Golden Age Award.
• Hon. Nan Rich: Recognized for her passion and dedication in the Florida Legislature toward advancing equity and opportunity, she received the Community Leadership Golden Age Award.
• Ms. Evelyn Pérez-Verdía: President and founder of We Are Más, was honored with a Statewide Leadership Golden Age Award.
• Hon. Michelle Branham: Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) received the Effective Leadership Golden Age Award.
• Ms. Esnilcys “Sissy” Miranda: Broker Relationship Manager, Humana/Careplus, and NAHN Community Advisory Board Member, honored with a Corporate Social Responsibility Golden Age Award.

The Continuing Mission: Advocacy and Education for Latino Seniors

Founded in 1991, the Latino Center on Aging (LCA) holds the crucial mission of advocating for improved services for Latino seniors and educating them about the various options at their disposal that they often do not utilize due to language barriers, lack of knowledge, and inaccessibility.

The LCA fulfills its mission through the media, testimony at public hearings, and the organization of conferences addressing pressing issues like poverty and isolation. This work is essential, especially considering that the Hispanic population aged 60 and older in South Florida exceeds half a million and is expected to grow to 2 million within the next 25 years. This demographic is more inclined to live in poverty and isolation, making proactive social and health service assistance, along with community support and awareness, critically urgent.

Recent and Relevant Work:

• Focus on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s: The LCA recently held its successful 13th Annual Conference on Latinos, Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s, titled “A Life Without Memory,” featuring experts from the University of Miami and Florida International University, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive information.
• Funding Initiative: In August 2025, the LCA and its South Florida Hispanic Coalition for Aging organized a key seminar on “Who Funds Senior Programs?”, bringing leaders together to address the growing need for service funding in the region.
• Leadership Accolades: Mario Tapia, President and CEO of the LCA, was honored with the prestigious Claude Pepper Award for Hispanic Leadership in May 2025, recognizing his decades-long commitment to improving the lives of Hispanic older adults.

The LCA continues to be a vital voice working tirelessly to enhance the living conditions of the older Latino population, ensuring they receive the care, respect, and resources they deserve.