2020 INFLUENCERS IN AGING

On November 19th, 2020, the Longevity Project, in collaboration with Stanford Center on Longevity and Next Avenue, celebrated this year's Next Avenue Influencers in Aging, whose names were announced on November 18th.

Each year, Next Avenue, public media’s leading journalism service for our country’s older population, honors dedicated advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts who determinedly push beyond traditional boundaries in order to change the public's understanding of what it means to grow older.

Two former Next Avenue Influencers in Aging joined us for a conversation about the challenges people over 50 have faced in 2020. Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, alongside Elizabeth White, author of 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life, lended their voices to the discussion by speaking about their experiences as Next Avenue Influencers and the work they are continuing to do to deconstruct the stigma of aging.

Ashton and Elizabeth were joined by a panel of this year’s Next Avenue honorees, the people who, in the midst of one of the most difficult years ever for America’s older generations, have nevertheless found ways to make a positive impact on society. Richard Eisenberg, the Managing Editor of Next Avenue, joined Ken Stern, chair of the Longevity Project, to discuss and analyze the trends that have reshaped America in 2020 and the contributions that these influencers have made to the fight against ageism.

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