Meet Next Avenue's 2021 Influencers in Aging. They are advocates, researchers, thought leaders, writers, educators and everyday people; the common thread is their success at bringing new ideas and breaking new ground. Choosing the annual Influencers in Aging list is a year-long effort; read about this year's list below. 


2021 Influencers in Aging

Meet Next Avenue's 2020 Influencers in Aging. These advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts continue to push beyond traditional boundaries and change our understanding of what it means to grow older.


2020 Influencers in Aging

The millennial creator of an intergenerational networking platform. The communications professional who launched a phone-based check-in service connecting isolated LGBTQ older adults. The physician who ensured age equity in COVID-19 vaccine trials. The cultural anthropologist who penned "the next boomer bible." The government official tasked with retooling Social Security for the future.
These are five of the 194 remarkable individuals recognized annually since 2015 by the PBS media outlet for people 50+, Next Avenue, as "Influencers in Aging:" People who, in myriad ways, are driving change in how Americans approach growing older. Each annual Influencers in Aging list also serves as a snapshot of the priorities, concerns, opportunities and sensibilities most relevant at that particular moment in time for the generations of 50+ people, as determined by Next Avenue's editors and the general public.
"The annual Influencers in Aging project allows us to highlight people who are reinventing the path to getting older. Taken together each year, they also represent the issues that are front-of-mind for those fifty and beyond," said Richard Eisenberg, managing editor, who directs the Influencers in Aging process.
About the Influencers in Aging
Influencers in Aging bring solutions, innovation, inspiration and big thinking to understanding and redefining how Americans are growing older. Those chosen have come from all over the world and are diverse in terms of race, culture, community, age and area of expertise. They're household names and people next door. Influencers in Aging have been advocates, researchers, thought leaders, writers, educators and everyday people; the common thread is their success at bringing new ideas and breaking new ground.
Choosing the annual Influencers in Aging list is a year-long effort. Through their work, Next Avenue editors continually note changing trends, emerging issues, evolving public curiosity and reader feedback while watching for individuals who capture and address these shifting national interests. In the spring, nominations open to the public as well. Editors review all submissions over the summer, add their own candidates and make the final selections in the fall. The class of 2021 will include both editor and audience nominations.
About Next Avenue
Launched in 2012 by Twin Cities PBS in St. Paul, Minn., Next Avenue has grown to become the premier national source of high-quality content and community for older Americans.
The award-winning Next Avenue website is a daily news and information destination with original content spanning its five channels: Health, Living, Money & Policy, Work & Purpose and Caregiving. Led by a team of experienced journalists with contributions from experts and freelance writers, NextAvenue.org published more than 800 articles in 2020. Although most coverage is aimed at those 50+, it regularly features stories about intergenerational realities and offers practical information for the parents and adult children of its readers.
Next Avenue has reached more than 80 million people through its multiple platforms: The website has nearly 800,000 unique monthly visitors around the world, more than 100,000 newsletter subscribers and nearly 200,000 followers on social media. The audience is as engaged and motivated as it is deep. In annual reader surveys, more than 70% of respondents say Next Avenue is personally important to them and 97% have taken an action based on its content. Hundreds of comments from readers are submitted monthly, many inspiring coverage and generating guest commentaries.  Among 2020's special initiatives were "Still Here, Still Positive," a series on how the first generation of Americans with HIV/AIDS are aging and "Telling Our Stories," 12 original written and audio essays by readers reflecting on the pandemic's first year. 
In addition to its own digital channels, Next Avenue content is distributed through leading news and business media outlets including Forbes, PBS NewsHour and MarketWatch.
In 2020, the brand explored new areas. As a diversion during the pandemic, it launched Next Avenue Arts Learning Courses, a series of mini-guides to performance, jewelry-making, photography and poetry. It also produced a comprehensive digital toolkit for Fast-Forward, a 2021 PBS documentary following four families through an "aging bootcamp" to understand future-planning. In partnership with FLX Entertainment, the film's producer, Next Avenue created a suite of resources including email courses, a master checklist of planning steps, task lists and how-to guides.


"Influencers in Aging" and Next Avenue

Influencers in Aging

(Left to Right) Next Avenue editors Richard Eisenberg, Grace Birnstengel, Julie Pfitzinger and Laura McCallumThe coronavirus pandemic changed pretty much everything in 2020 and that goes for how we chose this year's Next Avenue Influencers in Aging and why.
As we all know, the pandemic has been cataclysmic to people's lives and exposed major gaps in government and health care policies, institutions and services. Disturbingly, the pandemic has also amplified ageism and negative stereotypes of aging. These and other effects of COVID-19 will continue for months, if not years. 
So, when my fellow Next Avenue editors and I got together (virtually, of course) to talk about who'd be on this year's Influencers in Aging list — our most important assignment of the year — we instantly agreed that we needed to create a new category of Influencers for 2020: COVID-19.
Annual Selection Process
Next Avenue launched this annual program in 2015. Over the years, we've honored over 100 leaders across the five categories of Influencers in Aging representing our site's channels (Health, Caregiving, Money & Policy, Work & Purpose and Living). 
One other difference in the process choosing Influencers in Aging this year: the enormous number of terrific nominations from the general public.
Each year, our team of editors begins the selection process by surveying the field of aging for people whose work in the past 12 months significantly changed the way we think about growing older. Contenders are considered for their outstanding contributions with a priority placed on selecting final honorees from a highly diverse mix of nominees — by race, geography, age, gender identity and area of specialization.
A big difference in the process choosing Influencers in Aging this year: the enormous number of terrific nominations from the general public. We owe a debt of gratitude to the many individuals and organizations who told us about outstanding people we might not otherwise have discovered. Due all the excellent nominations from the general public, more than in the past, many of our final choices came from those recommendations and are the better for it.
Our New Influencer Category: COVID-19
As we thought about who might be appropriate for our new category, we quickly realized that COVID-19 wasn't purely about health. The virus touches older adults in all parts of their life: as workers, as caregivers and in their ability (or inability) to spend time with people they love.
And, of course, we knew that the coronavirus has been more virulent among people of color, those who are immunosuppressed and residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Consequently, we expanded the number of Influencers in Aging from 12 last year to 20. We're especially proud of wide variety of honorees in the 2020 list, from a 78-year-old Korean couple to current and former U.S. government administration officials to a young filmmaker.
Five of this year's Influencers in Aging comprise our COVID-19 category.
They are Harvard geriatrician Dr. Sharon Inouye, fighting for older adult representation in coronavirus vaccine trials; epidemiologist and pandemic authority Michael Osterholm, who has become a household name in helping us better prepare to help future generations; Dr. Jeremy Nobel, the president of the Foundation for Art & Healing who urges us to stay connected; Christina DaCosta, who created SAGEConnect to give isolated LGBTQ elders friendly, weekly calls and Dr. Dominic Mack, who battles the spread of coronavirus in vulnerable communities through the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network.
We never anticipated that two of our Influencers in Aging (Dr. Vivek Murthy and Osterholm) would be appointed to President-Elect Biden's Coronavirus Task Force.
What's in Our Articles About the 2020 Influencers in Aging
When you read our interviews with this year's winners and see the video and audio clips from them in our articles, we think you'll see why the 2020 Influencers in Aging are a remarkable, spirited group with groundbreaking achievements.
Be sure to read, at the end of each interview, the Influencer in Aging's answers to two questions we asked them all:
If you could change one thing about aging in America, what would it be?How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your perspective on aging?Their responses will tell you a lot about why these insightful honorees made the cut for 2020. We could not be more excited to uplift the work of these extraordinary people who are tackling these questions and finding new ways for living longer, healthier and happier lives.


Why We Chose Our Influencers in Aging Differently This Year

Richard Eisenberg

Meet Next Avenue's 2019 Influencers in Aging. These 12 advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts continue to push beyond traditional boundaries and change our understanding of what it means to grow older.


2019 Influencers in Aging

Meet Next Avenue's 2018 Influencers in Aging. These 12 advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts continue to push beyond traditional boundaries and change our understanding of what it means to grow older.


2018 Influencers in Aging

Additional Influencers of 2017:
Gretchen Alkema: Vice President, Policy and Communications at The SCAN FoundationRoz Baker: Hawaii State Senator, Chair, Committee on Commerce Consumer Protection and Health, 6th Senate District – South and West MauiJacqueline Angel: Professor of Sociology and Public AffairsLori Bitter: Author of 'The Grandparent Economy'Kathy Black: Professor of Aging Studies and Social Work, College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, University of South Florida, Sarasota-ManateeRichard Browdie: President and CEO of Benjamin Rose Institute on AgingDenise Brown: Owner and Founder of CareGiving.comSusan Burton: Author of 'Becoming Ms. Burton'Amanda Cavaleri: Founder and CEO of Connect The AgesHenry Cisneros: CEO of CityViewDr. Pinchas Cohen: Dean at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of GerontologyAnn Colby: Consulting Professor, Stanford Graduate School of EducationYanira Cruz: President and CEO of the National Hispanic Council on AgingTim Driver: Founder of RetirementJobs.comRabbi Laura Geller: Emerita Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Beverly HillsEllen Goodman: Founder of The Conversation ProjectJody Holtzman: Senior Vice President of Market Innovation at AARPDave Hughes: Author and founder of RetireFabulously.comSally Hurme: Author and Elder Law AttorneyElizabeth Isele: Founder and CEO at Global Institute for Experienced EntrepreneurshipJulene Johnson: Professor and Associate Director at the UCSF Institute for Health & AgingVasundhara Kalasapudi: Executive Director of India HomeSenator Amy Klobuchar: Minnesota SenatorRisa Lavizzo-Mourey: Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, University of PennsylvaniaNancy LeaMond: Executive Vice President, Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer at AARPEunice Lin Nichols: Campaign Director for Encore.org's Generation to GenerationKaren Lincoln: Associate Professor at Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California; Founder of Advocates for African American EldersWesly Lum: President and CEO of the National Asian Pacific Center on AgingSandy Markwood: EO of National Association of Area Agencies on AgingLisa Massena: Executive Director at OregonSavesMar Miller: Founder of Career PivotBrent Neiser: Senior Director of Strategic Programs and Alliances, National Endowment for Financial EducationSheila Nevins: HBO Documentary Film President and Legendary ProducerMaura O'Malley: CEO and Co-Founder of Lifetime ArtsLaurie Orlov: Founder and Principal Analyst, Aging in Place Technology WatchJaia Peterson Lent: Deputy Executive Director for Generations UnitedKevin Prindiville: Executive Director of Justice in AgingJean Risley: Author of 'How to Decide What to Do Next When You're Retired'Laura Robbins: Principal, Laura A. Robbins Consulting (LARC)Kathryn Roberts: President and CEO at EcumenLawrence Samuel: Founder of Boomers 3.0George Schofield: Developmental PsychologistPaula Span: Author and The New Old Age columnist for The New York TimesSeth Sternberg: CEO and Co-Founder of HonorRobyn Stone: Senior Vice President for Research at LeadingAgeJohn Tarnoff: Author of 'Boomer Reinvention'Elizabeth White: Author of 'Fifty-five, Unemployed, and Faking Normal'Daniel Wilson: Director of Federal Affairs for the Paraprofessional Healthcare InstituteCarol Zernial: Executive Director at WellMed Charitable Foundation

2017 Influencers in Aging

Additional Influencers of 2016:
Michael Adams: CEO, Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)Iris Apfel: Model, Designer, EntrepreneurAnne Basting: Professor of Theater, Peck School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; founder and president of TimeSlips Creative StorytellingBob Blancato: President, Matz Blancato and AssociatesDon Blandin: President and CEO of the Investor Protection Trust and Investor Protection InstitutePhyllis Borzi: Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security, U.S. Department of LaborTim Carpenter: Founder and Executive Director of EngAGEBruce Chernof: President and CEO, The SCAN FoundationCarol Fishman Cohen: CEO and Co-Founder, iRelaunchHelen Dennis: Principal, Helen Dennis & AssociatesKen Dychtwald: Founder, President and CEO, Age WaveMichael Eisner: CEO, The Tornante Company; Founder of The Eisner FoundationJim Emerman: Executive Vice President, Encore.orgElissa Sara Epel: Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San FranciscoJohn Feather: CEO, Grantmakers in AgingRuth Finkelstein: Associate Director, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging CenterTerry Fulmer: President of The John A. Hartford FoundationMary Furlong: President and CEO, Mary Furlong & AssociatesEric Garcetti: Mayor, Los AngelesTeresa Ghilarducci: Director, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy AnalysisHoward Gleckman: Professor, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Chief Scientist at Lapetus SolutionsMichelle Lujan Grisham: CongresswomanSarita Gupta: Caring Across Generations Co-Director and Jobs With Justice Executive DirectorGail Gibson Hunt: President & CEO, National Alliance for CaregivingPaul Irving: Chairman, Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, Distinguished Scholar in Residence, USC Davis School of GerontologyKaryne Jones: President and CEO, National Caucus & Center on Black AgingKathleen Kelly: Executive Director, Family Caregiver AlliancePaul Kleyman: Director, Ethnic Elders Newsbeat, New America MediaMark S. Lachs: Co-Chief, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care and Chief, Center for Aging Research and Clinical Care at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-PresbyterianNorman Lear: Television Writer and ProducerCarol Levine: Director, Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital FundBecca Levy: Professor of Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Psychology, Yale UniversityDavid Lindeman: Director of the Center for Technology and Aging (CTA), Co-Director of the Center for Innovation and Technology in Public Health (CITPH) and Co-Director of Health Care for Center for Information Technology Research in the Interests of Society (CITRIS) at the University of CaliforniaRichard W. (Dick) Lindsay: Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine and Family Medicine at the UVA Health Sciences Center, Founder of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at UVAJean Makesh: CEO of The Lantern memory care and assisted living facilitiesSiddhartha Mukherjee: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia UniversityS. Jay Olshansky: Professor, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Chief Scientist at Lapetus SolutionsSusan C. Reinhard: Senior Vice President and Director, AARP Public Policy InstituteMax Richtman: Chair, Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO)Charlie Sabatino: Director, American Bar Association Commission on Law and AgingAndy Sieg: Head of Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions, Bank of America Merrill LynchJune Simmons: President and CEO, Partners in Care FoundationBetty Reid Soskin: Oldest Full-time Ranger, U.S. National Park ServiceWendy Spencer: CEO, Corporation for National and Community ServiceLesley Stahl: '60 Minutes' CorrespondentE. Percil Stanford: President, Folding Voice and Professor Emeritus, San Diego State UniversitySarah Szanton: Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of NursingLouis Tenenbaum: Founder, Homes RenewedDebra Whitman: Chief Public Policy Officer and Executive Vice President, AARP

2016 Influencers in Aging

Update on Ina Jaffe
Additional Influencers of 2015:
Sudipto Banerjee:  Research associate at the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)Barbara Beskind: Design at IDEODan Buettner: Author of Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the LongestDonna Butts: Executive Director of Generations UnitedGlen Campbell: Music legend and contributor to Alzheimer's educationPeter Cappelli - Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Center for Human Resources and a management professor at The Wharton SchoolLaura L. Carstensen: Professor, author and founder of the Stanford Center for LongevityRoz Chast: New Yorker cartoonist and authorSen. Susan Collins: Maine SenatorBarbara Coombs Lee: President of the nonprofit Compassion & ChoicesJoseph F. Coughlin: Director of the MIT AgeLabTobey Dichter: Founder and unpaid chief executive officer of the nonprofit Generations on the LineNora Dowd Eisenhower: Assistant director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Older AmericansVickie Elisa: President of Mothers’ Voices GeorgiaDr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel: Oncologist, author and medical ethicist.Katy Fike: Co-founder of Aging 2.0.James Firman: President and chief executive officer of the National Council on Aging (NCOA)Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen: Professor of Social Work, University of Washington; director of the Institute for Multigenerational HealthMarc Freedman: Founder and chief executive officer of Engore.orgDr. Linda P. Fried: Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia UniversityLisa Genova: Author of Still Alice and Inside the O'BriensKathy Greenlee: Assistant secretary for aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and administrator of the Administration for Community Living (ACL)Jennie Chin Hansen: Former American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Chief Executive OfficerRodney Harrell: Director of livable communities, AARPCarrie Hessler-Radelet: Director of the U.S. Peace CorpsCindy Hounsell: The founder and president of the nonprofit group WISER (Women’s Institute for a Secure RetirementCynthia Hutchins: Director of Financial Gerontology for Bank of America Merrill LynchJ. Mark Iwry: Senior adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury and deputy assistant secretary (tax policy) for retirement and health policy at the U.S. Treasury DepartmentIna Jaffe: Veteran political and arts reporterCynthia Kenyon: Vice President of aging research at CalicoLaurence J. Kotlikoff: Economics professor at Boston University and co-author of the bestseller, Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social SecurityDr. Joanne Lynn: Director of the Center on Elder Care and Advanced Illness, Altarum InstituteKevin J. Mahoney: Gerontologist and director of the National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services at Boston CollegeDr. Bruce Miller: Director of the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San FranciscoLarry Minnix: President and CEO of LeadingAgeDr. Laura Mosqueda: Co-director of the National Center on Elder AbuseAlicia H. Munnell: Director of the Center of Retirement Research at Boston CollegeBernard Osher: Philanthropist and visionaryDr. Philip Pizzo: Creator and founding director of The Stanford Distinguished Careers InstituteAi-jen Poo: Author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America and labor activistLauren Stiller Rikleen: President of the Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership and a visiting scholar at the Boston College Center for Work & FamilyOfer Sharone: Assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts – AmherstMaria Shriver: Former network news correspondent and anchor for CBS and NBC, and former First Lady of CaliforniaFelipe Sierra: Director of the Division of Aging Biology at the National Institute on AgingKen Smith: Senior research scholar and director of the Mobility Division at the Stanford Center on LongevityLester Strong: Chief executive officer of AARP Experience Corps and an AARP vice presidentNora Super: Leader of 2015 White House Conference on AgingDr. Bill Thomas: Founder of The Green House ProjectBarbara Vacarr: Director of the Encore Higher Education Initiative at Encore.org

2015 Influencers in Aging

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