Purpose: This article describes the organization, operation, and evaluation
of the Oklahoma Aging Advocacy Leadership Academy (OAALA). Design and Meth
ods: The Academy was designed to assure the continuation of future cohorts
of advocates and volunteers for aging programs and services. It is a statew
ide training program consisting of 10 weekend sessions. The curriculum inco
rporates age-related content and advocacy/leadership/voluntary skills train
ing. Evaluation consisted of: (a) a pre-post assessment of perceived famili
arity with advocacy and volunteer leadership issues; (b) post-academy parti
cipant assessments of the quality of various aspects of the Academy; (c) po
st-Academy written statements about areas that were valuable and in need of
change; and (d) a compilation of student volunteer and advocacy activities
. Results: Evaluation results indicate that the OAALA led to significant in
creases in perceived familiarity with issues and very positive participant
assessments of quality. In addition many participants spontaneously initiat
ed advocacy and volunteer activities while enrolled in the Academy. Implica
tions: Our experience with the Academy suggests that it is a feasible means
of preparing individuals to become successful old-age advocates and volunt
eer leaders.