Join host Nancy Griffin on the Glowing Older podcast as sheinterviews Tara Ballman, Executive Director of the National Aging in Place Council. Discover Tara's journey from the music industry to becoming a leading advocate for aging in place, and learn about the innovative solutions and resources available to support older adults in living independently and comfortably wherever they call home.

About Tara

Tara Ballman is a nationally recognized aging-in-place expert who is passionate about connecting and supporting professionals serving older adults. She is an author of three books on financial retirement issues, two books on aging in place issues, and conference speaker addressing aging-in place topics. Tara currently serves as the Executive Director of the National Aging in Place Council and the Aging-in-Place Business Development Manager at Longbridge Financial.

For years, Tara and her family struggled through theevolving stages of her father’s declining health. Unexpected illnesses, unforeseen situations, and a fear of the future was their reality, with so many questions and nowhere to turn. After her father passed, she had a desire to help other families navigate through the stages of aging and proactively plan for future needs, regardless of what life throws at them.

Key Takeaways

• The National Aging in Place Council (NAIPC) is focused on education, collaboration and advocacy. The nonprofit trade association provides support and resources for the five pillars of aging: housing, healthcare, finance, transportation, and social engagement.
• The CDC defines aging in place as the ability to live safely, independently, and comfortably in one's own home and community, regardless of age, income, or ability. NAIPC expands the definition to “home is where you lay your head,” which includes senior living communities and memory care.
• Seventy percent of Americans are going to need long-term care but do not have a plan in place. Proactive planning provides a vast number of options where in crisis situations options are limited.
• Advances in age-tech allow older adults to stay safe in their homes longer and provide peace of mind for adult children. Remote sensors detect changes in movement patterns or a fall, smart appliances make activities of daily living safer. Wearables and even newfangled toilets can read vitals like heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.

In this episode of the Glowing Older podcast, host NancyGriffin interviews Corinne Auman, Ph.D., a gerontologist and author of 'Keenagers'. They discuss the importance of reshaping the narrative around aging, emphasizing the benefits and opportunities that come with growing older. Corinne introduces the concept of 'keenagers', individuals who are active and engaged in life, and highlights the need for positive language in discussions about aging. The conversation also touches on countering ageism, navigating the challenges of the sandwich generation, and the importance of life design in planning for older adulthood.

About Corinne

Corinne Auman, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist,keynote speaker, and the founder of Choice Care Navigators, a leading consultancy dedicated to empowering seniors and their families as they navigate the complexities of aging and senior healthcare. Choice Care Navigators offers personalized guidance, family mediation, and expert education to help individuals and organizations rethink aging, plan effectively, and advocate confidently.

Prior to founding her consultancy, Dr. Auman served as a college professor for over a decade, specializing in adulthood and aging. She developed and taught courses that inspired students to explore the complexities of lifespan development and intergenerational relationships. Her academic expertise and passion for societal change laid the foundation for her current work in geriatric care management and anti-ageism advocacy.

Dr. Auman is the author of Keenagers: Telling a New Story About Aging, a book that reframes aging as a vibrant and opportunity-filled phase of life. As a sought-after keynote speaker, she has delivered transformative talks to organizations, universities, and community groups,inspiring audiences to challenge ageist narratives and create more inclusive environments for people of all ages.

Key Takeaways

• Keenagers are active, engaged older adults who defystereotypes.
• The narrative around aging is often negative and needs to change. Getting older has benefits and challenges like every other stage of life.
• Countering ageism starts with individual mindset changes. Become aware of your internal dialogue.
• People often don't identify as caregivers. Recognizing the toll caregiving can take is the first step to “wearing your own oxygen mask first.” A care manager can help you navigate the process and get everybody on the same page.
• Life design involves planning for emotional, social, and intellectual needs in older adulthood. When planning for the “keen-ager years,” it is important to design your life. Ask what gives your life meaning.
• Everyone needs a purpose or reason to get out of bed in retirement. Social connections are vital for mental and emotional well-being as we age, and learning new things forms new neural connections.

Join host Nancy Griffin as she interviews Janet Engel, VP ofClinical Strategy and Engagement at Dwell Safe, about the latest innovations in aging well. Discover how technology and home modifications are helping older adults live safely and comfortably in their homes.

About Janet

Janet Engel, MOT/L, CAPS, ECHM is the VP of Clinical Strategy and Engagement at DwellSafe, where she leverages AI and clinical expertise to democratize home safety modifications for aging in place. An expert in Aging in Place and Universal Design, Janet leads initiatives to revolutionize home safety assessments and foster strategic partnerships in the industry.

With a deep understanding of the Baby Boomer demographic, Janet helps businesses tailor their strategies to better connect with and serve this important market. Her expertise extends to messaging specialization, improving communication and market share for companies focused on this consumer group.

Janet is the creator and host of the podcast "Home Designs for Life," which ranks in the top 10% globally. Through this platform, she offers valuable insights and discusses current trends related to aging in place, effective consumer communication, and innovative home safety solutions.

Passionate about empowering individuals to live independently as they age, Janet is committed to driving meaningful conversations and innovations in her field. At DwellSafe, she leverages her extensive background as an occupational therapist, specializing in home health care for older adults, to ensure that everyone can age safely and comfortably in their own homes.

Janet's unique blend of clinical knowledge, technologyexpertise, and consumer insight positions her at the forefront of the aging-in-place movement, where she continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in-home health solutions.

Key Takeaways

• Planning early for aging in place is essential to reduce fall risks. Home hazards are responsible for half to two-thirds of all falls in people age 65 and older.
• Dwell Safe is a home safety platform that combinesAI with clinical expertise to assess home safety. Technology scans individual rooms in a home and gives a fall risk score for the person and the environment. An occupational therapist reviews the video footage and makes tailored home safety recommendations.
• From Instacart to smart home technologies like automated window treatments, technology is key to supporting aging in place. Technology makes life more comfortable in the home and reduces fall risk.
• Vision is the first system that deteriorates with the aging process — starting as early as age 35 or 40. Smart solutions include creating color contrast in your environment — between walls, furniture and flooring, or installing motion sensor lighting and smart appliances in your home.
• Age-tech friendly kitchen appliances allow older adults to prepare meals safely. The kitchen presents significant hazards. You can burn yourself, fall, or cutyourself with sharp objects.
• An induction stove is an efficient way of cooking and eliminates the risk for burns and fires. A Smart Refrigerators can tell us if food has gone spoiled, which is important as our taste sense of smell deteriorates. Eating spoiled food is a common reason why older adults end up in the hospital.
• Universal design has broad general appeal. It is for everyone, regardless of height, weight, gender, and strength. Lever handles, motion sensor faucets and lighting are examples of universal design.
• Aging in place means living in the home of your choice. Whether it's the home you've been in for 30 years, a new home, or a 55 plus community. The key is choice.
• Social determinants of health include living ina community where you have easy access to neighbors, parks, restaurants and stores.

In this episode of the Glowing Older podcast, host Nancy Griffin interviews Eric Blake, a financial planner specializing in retirement planning for women. They discuss the unique financial challenges faced by women, particularly solo agers, and the importance of having a clear financial plan. Eric emphasizes the need for women to be involved in financial conversations and decision-making, especially in the context of couples. The conversation also touches on the significant wealth transfer occurring as women inherit more wealth and the importance of holistic financial planning that aligns with personal goals and values.

About Eric

Eric Blake is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and the founder of Blake Wealth Management, specializing in helping women navigate retirement with confidence. With 25+ years of experience, Eric provides clear, practical strategies that help women optimize their investments, create reliable income streams, and minimize taxes.

His personal passion for helping women stems from beingraised by a single mother and grandmother being widowed at 62, providing a deep understanding of the financial challenges many women face later in life.

As the host of The Simply Retirement Podcast, Eric educates and empowers women to take control of their financial future.

Key Takeaways

• Optimizing investments for retirement is different than strategizing for an accumulation portfolio. Planning for retirement starts with determining what is most important to you.
• Not prioritizing women a failure of the financial services industry. 70% of women change their financial advisor within 12 months of losing their husband when he passes away.
• If you are married woman, make sure you are part of the financial conversation. Be willing to ask hard questions.
• Women are set to inherit approximately $30 to $34 trillion in the next few years and will potentially control as much as 67 % of the stock market wealth in the U.S.

In this episode of the Glowing Older podcast, host NancyGriffin interviews Erin Thompson, founder of Aspire for More and co-founder of The Mentoring Company. They discuss the importance of leadership in senior living, the challenges of navigating change in the industry, and the critical role of supporting caregivers. Aaron shares insights from his extensive experience in senior living, emphasizing the need for strong leadership to enhance resident experiences and the importance of personal growth for caregivers. The conversation also covers practical advice for families seeking the right senior living community and the emotional complexities involved in caregiving.

About Erin

With over 20 years of experience in the Senior Living Industry, Erin Thompson has built a legacy of turning struggling communities into thriving places to live and work. As a former Executive Director, she led teams to record breaking occupancy, near-perfect survey scores, and award winning workplace cultures—earning her communities the Great Place to Work distinction two years in a row.

Now, as the Founder of The Mentoring Company and Aspire for More with Erin, Erin is on a mission to mentor, motivate, and equip the next generation of senior living leaders. Through her executive coaching, leadership courses, cohort programs, and national leadership community, she helps new and emerging leaders own their story, develop their leadership voice, and create environments where both residents and teams thrive.

She is also the host of the Aspire for More with Erin Podcast, where she shares real-life leadership insights, industry expertise, and conversations with top thought leaders in senior living. Her approach is simple: Great leaders create great communities. When leaders grow, communities flourish, retention improves, and resident experiences are elevated.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership is crucial for creating a positive resident experience in a senior living community. A strong leader doesn't just operate the community, they shape the environment and culture.
• Staff turnover is a detriment to tech adoption and stops the innovative changes inside of a community.
• Finding the right senior living community requires understanding individual needs. What is most important? Survey scores matter, but they are not the “end all be all.”
• Sometimes being home alone is not the best option. The desire to be in control can override every system of rational thinking.

In this episode of the Glowing Older podcast, host Nancy Griffin interviews Lauren Dunning, Director of the Milken Institute Future of Aging. They discuss the importance of intergenerational connections, the role of the Milken Institute in promoting healthy aging, and the challenges of financial security and loneliness among older adults. Lauren shares insights from recent studies and reports, emphasizing the importance of community engagement and innovative solutions for aging well.

About Lauren

Lauren Dunning is a Director for the Milken Institute Future of Aging, where she develops initiatives and strategic partnerships that advance healthy longevity and financial security across the life course. In her role, Dunning leads work on integrated care solutions leveraging technology and oversees the Future of Aging Advisory Board, a group of global leaders from across sectors who provide advisement,expertise, and collaboration to maximize collective impact.

Before joining the Milken Institute, Dunning served in key policy leadership roles for over 10 years at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where she was most recently the director of government affairs, working with officials at all levels to shape public health policy. She has written and presented on a variety of topics across public health, aging, and health care; held an appointment as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; and serves in an advisory capacity to several organizations, including LeadingAge California and the Atria Research Institute.

Dunning earned a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University. She works at the Milken Institute’s Santa Monica office.

Key Takeaways

• The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank with offices in the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that collaborates across business, philanthropy, government, nonprofit and academia.
• The two domains of social connectedness are social isolation, which is objectively having few relationships and infrequent social interaction and loneliness, which is the state of perceived isolation or inadequate social connections.
• Loneliness is a significant health risk, comparable tosmoking fifteen cigarettes a day and associated with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, anxiety, and depression.
• In a 2023 Gallup study of 142 countries, younger adults reported greater loneliness levels than adults over 65. The rates of loneliness were 10% higher among people 19 to 29 (27 % reporting they were fairly lonely) than for older adults over 65 (17%).
• Children that participate in mentoring programs with older adults improved their physical and mental health and educational status. Civic engagement among college students increases when paired with older volunteers.
• Intergenerational relationships benefit both younger and older generations by reducing ageism and age discrimination, bridging differences, and identifying shared values.
• Eight in 10 older adults would like to connect across generations and 92% of Americans believe intergenerational activities can help reduce loneliness across all ages.

In this episode of the Glowing Older podcast, host Nancy Griffin interviews Jeff Weiss, President and CEO of Age of Majority. They discuss the importance of understanding the needs and desires of this demographic, the impact of social media, and the positive aspects of aging. Jeff shares insights from his TEDx talk, emphasizing the potential for happiness and fulfillment in later life, and highlights the need for brands to adapt their messaging and approach to resonate with older consumers.

About Jeff

Jeff is the President and CEO (Chief Evagelist Officer) of Age of Majority, a research-driven marketing consultancy thatbreaks the myths and crushes the stereotypes and stigmas associated with aging. As the last of the Baby Boomers with over 40 years of marketing experience on both the client and agency sides of the business, Jeff has witnessed the dramatic changes of the aging population. In his experience of working for and with major brands including Pepsi, Gillette, Dannon, KitchenAid and Unilever, he understands why corporations are missing the boat on the over 55 crowd and he knows what’s necessary to take advantage of this largest and fastest growing segment in business.

Key Takeaways

• Currently a third of the population in North America is 55 and older. By the year 2100, the percentage of 55+ population will be 42%.
• It is a mistake to view the older adult market as homogeneous. When marketing to older adults, don’t segment by generations. Target by stage not age.
• People have a fear of getting older (FOGO), because of all the pervasive stereotypes in our society that getting older is bad.
• Ninety-five percent of adults 55 and older are on socialmedia platforms. Facebook is the top platform with 85% of users using the platform. Almost three quarters of older adults are on YouTube, 45% are on Instagram, and a third are on Pinterest.
• Brands are enlisting influencers (social media contentcreators) to motivate and engage older adults—63 % of adults 55 and older are following influencers. 60 % on YouTube and over 50 % on Instagram.
• Half of influencers followed by older adults are over 50. Popular topics include food, travel, entertainment, health and wellness.