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Aging (40+ and Older)

SPECIAL EMPHASIS PORTFOLIO
Dr. Patricia Fletcher, Principal Strategist, Aging Portfolio.
MEET THE STRATEGIST

Dr. Patricia Fletcher

Dr. Patricia A. Fletcher is the Principal Strategist for the Aging Employment Portfolio. In her role, she champions age-inclusivity and strives to combat ageism, which refers to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination based on age. She uses an interdisciplinary approach to foster effective intergenerational workforce conversations about how we think, feel, and act about aging.

Meet Patricia

  • In This Section

A group of excited older people attending a group therapy session.

Aging (40+ and Older) Portfolio Overview

EDI strives to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and ensure that the civil rights of all employees are protected. The Aging (40+ and Older) Employment Portfolio serves the NIH by ensuring that this community remains a successful part of a broader DEIA strategy for the NIH. This portfolio is federally mandated, having its authority grounded in federal regulation and presidential Executive Orders.

Aging (40+ and Older) employees are an integral part of the NIH community, and we are committed to ensuring that every member of the NIH workforce this constituency is heard and supported, provided equitable opportunities for career advancement, and encouraged to contribute their ideas and perspectives to enhance innovation at the NIH. EDI is responsible for designing innovative programming and outreach initiatives to create positive experiences throughout the employee lifecycle. We count on the commitment and support of the entire NIH workforce to sustain DEIA efforts. EDI partners with the Office of Human Resources (OHR), the Chief Scientific Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD), NIH leadership, Employee Resource Groups, and Affinity Groups to ensure Aging (40+ and Older) community members thrive in their careers.

At NIH, we understand that our responsibility to diverse groups extends well beyond federal mandates. We define diversity broadly to include all elements of our human identities, acknowledge where those elements intersect, and to encompass every aspect of difference. Within the DEIA framework, EDI harnesses the collective ideas of every NIH employee to foster innovation and advance health discovery. The Aging (40+ and Older) community plays a pivotal role in our comprehensive diversity strategy, integral to fulfilling the mission of the NIH.