Christine Beatty, immediate past chair of the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) and director of Madison Senior Center, Madison, WI, receive the NISC Founder's Award for 2007. This award recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to senior centers.

NISC will present the award during the 2007 joint conference of NCOA and the American Society on Aging on March 9, 2007, in Chicago.

Beatty has helped advance the senior center field through the development of the national senior center accreditation program, as well as through expert writings and professional presentations nationwide.

Beatty has worked in the field of aging for 30 years. She is currently the highly regarded director of the Madison (WI) Senior Center, where she has served for nearly 20 years. She has also served as the director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and the Executive Director/CEO of a nonprofit elderly service organization.

The Madison Senior Center, a multi-purpose municipal senior center built in 1983, offers traditional and leading-edge programs, activities, and services advancing the quality of life for older residents of Madison. It also embraces their families and the community. Under Beatty’s leadership, the Madison Senior Center became accredited by the state in 1998 and in 1999 became the first nationally accredited senior center in Wisconsin.  Both official designations of accreditation remain in active status. 

NISC, a constituent unit of the National Council on Aging in Washington, DC, represents the interests of the approximately 15,000 senior centers across the nation. They honored Beatty by acknowledging her “as one of four people who played key roles in shaping the development of the (national senior center) accreditation process.”

Beatty is a nationally certified peer reviewer for national accreditation and a certified trainer in senior center standards. She served as Wisconsin Delegate to the NISC Delegate Council in the early 1990s and continued to serve in multiple leadership roles. She served as Chairperson of NISC from 2004 to 2006. In May 2005, she began a three-year term on the NCOA Board of Directors.

Beatty also has been active with the Wisconsin Association of Senior Centers since 1989. She has served in numerous capacities. The Association honored her with its "Professional of the Year" Award in 2004.
 
She is a consultant and keynote speaker on senior centers, retirement, and aging issues. Her undergraduate degree in education provides a strong platform for designing workshops and training sessions. Beatty is married to Dr. Fred J. Kauffeld, Professor at Edgewood College in Madison. She is past president of the Rotary Club of Madison, which at 500 members is the eighth largest Rotary Club in approximately 32,000 clubs worldwide. She reads voraciously, enjoys bird watching and kayaking, and volunteers in her community.  

Her tireless and thoughtful efforts have helped to advance the senior center field and knowledge base of senior center professionals; America’s senior centers and the older adults they serve are indebted to her for long hours of dedicated service.  NISC is please to honor Beatty with its prestigious 2007 Founders Award.

<< Return to National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) Main