The Power of Purposeful Aging
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE POWER OF PURPOSEFUL AGING PURPOSE THE SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS POWER OF PURPOSEFUL AGING Culture Change and the New Demography CONTENTS Report from the 2016 Purposeful Aging Summit Preface 3 1 When Purpose and Aging Merge 10 2 The Case for Purposeful Aging 20 3 Challenges on the Path 32 4 Communicate, Convince, Connect 46 Conclusion 58 Endnotes 59 Board of Advisors 62 B 1 Left to right: Henry Cisneros Catherine Collinson John Feather Susan Gianinno Michael Hodin Sherry Lansing Philip Pizzo Wendy Spencer Fernando Torres-Gil Chairman, Executive President, Transamerica CEO, Grantmakers Chairman, North America, CEO, Global Coalition on CEO, Sherry Lansing Founding Director, CEO, Corporation Professor of Social Karabi Acharya Committee, Siebert Institute; Executive in Aging Publicis Worldwide Aging; Managing Partner, Foundation; Founder, Stanford Distinguished for National and Welfare and Public Policy Director, Robert Wood Cisneros Shank & Co., Director, Aegon Center for High Lantern Group EnCorps Teachers Careers Institute; David Community Service and Director, Center for Johnson Foundation LLC; Chairman, CityView; Longevity and Retirement Marc Freedman Lynn Goldman Program and Susan Heckerman Policy Research on Aging, Former Secretary, U.S. Founder and CEO, Michael and Lori Milken Jody Holtzman Professor of Pediatrics Trent Stamp University of California, Arthur Bilger Department of Housing Joseph Coughlin Encore.org Dean, Milken Institute Senior Vice President, Becca Levy and of Microbiology and CEO, Eisner Foundation Los Angeles Founder and CEO, and Urban Development Founder and Director, School of Public Health, Market Innovation, AARP Professor of Immunology and Former WorkingNation Massachusetts Institute Linda Fried George Washington Epidemiology, Yale Dean, Stanford University Lester Strong John Whyte Pinchas Cohen of Technology AgeLab Dean and DeLamar University Carol Hymowitz School of Public Health; School of Medicine Vice President, Director, Professional Patricia Boyle Dean, Leonard Davis Professor of Public Editor-at-Large, Professor of Psychology, Experience Corps and Affairs and Stakeholder Neuropsychologist, Rush School of Gerontology, William Damon Health, Columbia John Gomperts Bloomberg News Yale University Ai-jen Poo External Affairs, AARP Engagement, U.S. Food Alzheimer’s Disease and Executive Director, Professor, Stanford University Mailman President and CEO, Director, National Foundation and Drug Administration Center, Rush University Ethel Percy Andrus University; Director, School of Public Health; America’s Promise Paul Irving David Linde Domestic Workers Medical Center Gerontology Center, Stanford Center on Professor of Medicine, Alliance Chairman, Milken CEO, Participant Media Alliance; Co-Director, Lara Sullivan John Zweig and William and Sylvia Adolescence Columbia College of Institute Center for the Caring Across Vice President, Strategy Chairman, Health Laura Carstensen Kugel Dean’s Chair in Physicians and Surgeons, Barbara Bradley Future of Aging Donald Miller Generations and Portfolio Solutions, Care and Specialist Professor of Psychology Gerontology, University Ken Dychtwald and Senior Vice President, Hagerty Leonard K. Firestone Worldwide Research and Communications, and Fairleigh S. Dickinson of Southern California President and CEO, Columbia University Author; Journalist Ina Jaffe Professor of Religion and Kimon Sargeant Development, Pfizer Inc. WPP Group Jr. Professor in Public Age Wave Medical Center Correspondent, NPR Co-Founder, Center for Vice President, Policy, Stanford University; Kerry Hannon Religion and Civic Culture, Human Sciences, John Nora Super Director, Stanford Center Richard Eisenberg Laura Geller Author and Columnist; Paula Kerger University of Southern Templeton Foundation Chief, Programs and on Longevity Managing Editor, Senior Rabbi, Temple Expert in Career President and CEO, PBS California Services, National Nextavenue.org, PBS Emanuel of Beverly Hills Transitions and Association of Area Retirement Agencies on Aging C D About the Milken Institute The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank determined to increase global prosperity by advancing collaborative solutions that widen access to capital, create jobs, and improve health. We do this through independent, data-driven research, action-oriented meetings, and meaningful policy initiatives. About the Center for the Future of Aging The mission of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging is to improve lives and strengthen societies by promoting healthy, productive and purposeful aging. @MIAging @MilkenCFA Future of Aging aging.milkeninstitute.org [email protected] Acknowledgments Our work to advance the cause of purposeful aging could not progress without the dedicated efforts of colleagues who share our aspirations. Many people have played a part in the success of the Purposeful Aging Summit and of this report, which captures the spirit and insights of the event. I want to acknowl- edge several of them for their valuable contributions. PREFACE My gratitude to Arielle Burstein for her help in organizing the Summit and preparing the materials that informed our conversations. I am grateful as well With people living longer than ever and the world’s to Rita Beamish for her words and efforts as my principal writing collaborator, to Edward Silver for his critical eye and editorial prowess, and to Jane Lee for older population expanding at an unprecedented rate, her creative and thoughtful design work. My appreciation to Bryan Quinan and the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging convened Nancy McHose for their help planning the event, and to my assistant, Shantika Maharaj, for her dependable support. Liana Soll, Sophie Okolo, and Sindhu the Purposeful Aging Summit in Los Angeles in 2016. Kubendran also deserve recognition for their valued efforts at the Center for the Future of Aging. Thought leaders from public policy, business, academia, philanthropy, and media gathered to discuss reframing My special thanks to our Purposeful Aging Summit participants and to the members of our Board of Advisors. We’re honored to work with this exceptional perceptions of aging in the 21st century. The participants group of leaders. Finally, let me express my deep appreciation to the John acknowledged the importance of overcoming deeply Templeton Foundation for its support. The Foundation’s dedication to research and activities that elevate purposeful living inspires our daily work. ingrained bias, and the need to shed light on the compelling but little-understood benefits of purposeful aging. They Paul Irving Chairman recognized the upside of changing the culture of aging Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging for individuals old and young. This report summarizes the Santa Monica, Calif. themes, findings, and vision of the Purposeful Aging Summit. ©2016 Milken Institute This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ 3 As a society, we tend to believe that each generation is an insular one, and that the interests of each are unique and separate from those of others. But now more than ever, people young and old must join forces to address problems that affect both of their communities. MICHAEL EISNER 4 5 PURPOSE IN ACTION Countless older Americans are making a difference in their communities and the world by embracing PURPOSE IN ACTION their later years with creativity, purpose, and passion. They are volunteers for social causes and civic Co-Founder, Olmoti Clinic organizations. They are engaged in encore careers. DIANE RALEIGH They are mentors for young people and caregivers As a former Peace Corps volunteer, Diane Raleigh never forgot about the for one another. Throughout this report, we highlight great need she saw among Africa’s marginalized populations. At the age of 70, still enjoying her career as a clinical psychologist in Palo Alto, Calif., she ordinary people whose commitment demonstrates decided to do something about it. Raleigh co-founded the Olmoti Clinic in remote northern Tanzania, aiding an impoverished Maasai community. She the vitality and productivity of older lives. also serves as executive director of its operating trust, singlehandedly raising money for the clinic. Proving that one person can change lives, Raleigh has transformed the community by building a pipeline to provide fresh water and constructing a primary school for children who can’t make the long, dangerous trek to the nearest village school. | OlmotiClinic.org 6 7 2 BILLION 900 MILLION AS THE WORLD TURNS, IT AGES World population age 60 and over is projected to PURPOSE IN ACTION increase from 900 million in 2015 to 2 billion by 2050. Those age 80 and older will quadruple. In the Founder and Executive Director, City Startup Labs United States, the 65-plus cohort will nearly HENRY ROCK double to 83.7 million from 43.1 million. Henry Rock had an epiphany at age 60: He wanted to foster a “reimagining” of black male millennials in the eyes of society and the young men them- selves. Summoning his experience as a media executive and insights he gained from successful entrepreneurs, he launched City Startup Labs in 2014 with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Charlotte, N.C., organization instructs African Americans between 18 and 34 on launching their own businesses. Now in its third year and newly housed at the University of North Carolina, CSL focuses