Luke Rackers

About Luke Rackers

As the Director of Development and Communications at the Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA), Luke supports opportunities for older adults to stay connected to the communities they know and love through fundraising, special projects, program development, community events, and communication of resources. Recognizing the need for meaningful social connection in 2020, Luke developed the Enhancing Social Connection through Arts and Technology program for older adults to engage in skills-based, social-centric, and practice-focused arts opportunities in their homes. This program is included in the engAGED Innovations Hub through The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, and received an Aging Innovations Award from USAging in 2022. This program was also included in study through Brown University to better understand the role of social connection opportunities in the lives of people receiving home-delivered meals through Meals on Wheels. As a member of the American Society on Aging\'s Ageism and Culture Advisory Council, Luke works to raise awareness about ageism and its impacts on our society. Luke is also a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ older adults and will be focusing on studying issues and challenges for this population as a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Outside of work, Luke also helps lead the Festival for Creative Pianists, a nonprofit arts organization with a vision of uplifting creative expression and nurturing creative skills at the piano. This organization features both an in-person and online collaborative and welcoming learning opportunity for pianists of all ages who seek to develop their creative skills and voices at the piano. In addition to this opportunity, the organization publishing new music by 21st Century composers through the publishing entity, Abundant

Experience

1. Director of Development and Communications

   Central Vermont Council On Aging Cvcoa

   Jul 2021 — Present

Education

• Goddard College

  MFA, Music Composition, Progressive Pedagogy, Music Healing, Soundscape Studies and Acoustic Ecology

  2009 — 2012

• University of Denver

  BM, Jazz Performance

  2004 — 2006

• UMass Boston

  Critical and Creative Thinking Graduate Courses

  2020 — 2024

• University of Vermont

  Continued graduate education, Interdicsiplinary Studies

  2019 — 2020

• Virginia Commonwealth University

  Graduate Study in Gerontology, Gerontology

• Goddard College

  BA, Music Composition, Jazz Studies, Music Philosophy, Human Rights

  2006 — 2009