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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Todd Kluss |
Aging Experts, Business Leaders To Confer on Senior Marketing in New Orleans
The upcoming Annual Scientific Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America will include a special forum about aging and business on Monday, November 22, at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. It is organized to combine the talent and expertise found at the Society’s conference with industry leaders focused on America’s senior population. People over age 50 currently control 70 percent of wealth in the U.S., which highlights the enormous opportunity for businesses to cater to this demographic segment.
This day-long session, Aging Means Business, will feature presentations by more than 15 leading experts on boomer marketing, gerontology, housing, and aging-in-place technology. Laurie Orlov, author of “When Your Parents Need Elder Care: Lessons from the Front Lines” and founder of the market research firm Aging in Place Technology Watch, will provide the keynote address.
“With the Aging Means Business event, it is clear that gerontologists recognize the significance of technology’s role in the lives of an aging population,” Orlov said. “The market for aging-in-place technologies will reach $20 billion within the next ten years, enabling technologies that will help boomers and seniors remain in their homes of choice — securely connected to their families, caregivers and professionals.”
Other presenters include Joseph Coughlin, PhD, founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab; Mary Furlong, EdD, president and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates; Jon Pynoos, PhD, the UPS Foundation Professor of Gerontology, Policy, and Planning at the University of Southern California; Lori Bitter, MA, president of the integrated communications firm Continuum Crew; and Gary Moulton, product manager in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group.
“Every dissonance of aging is a market opportunity,” said Furlong, who authored “Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace.” At the forum, she will lead a session titled, “12 Steps to Take Your Business Idea in Aging to Market.”
The forum will be moderated by Harry R. “Rick” Moody, PhD, director of academic affairs at AARP, and Sandra Timmerman, EdD, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
This year will feature the premiere of the Aging Means Business Student Ad Contest, sponsored by the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. Students were tasked with designing an ad targeted at adults 50+ that promoted New Orleans tourism. Judged by experts in boomer marketing led by Bitter and the CVB, the contest received over 40 entries from students around the country.
News and updates also are available via Twitter at www.twitter.com/AgingMeansBiz.
The event’s sponsors include AARP, ActiveAge/Microsoft, Metlife Mature Market Institute, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab.
The forum — taking place in the River Room of the Hilton’s Riverside Building — will start at 8:30 a.m. and registration prices range from $79 to $149. Participants will enjoy breakfast and facilitated lunch table dialogues on various topics, such as aging-in-place technology and age branding and marketing.
GSA also is hosting an hour-long Aging Means Business luncheon Q&A session exclusively for reporters on Sunday, November 21, at 11:45 a.m. in Marlborough A at the Hilton.
A full description of the event, including the program and a list of speakers, is available at www.geron.org/agingmeansbusiness. For more information or to inquire about complimentary press registration, contact Sarah Wilson at (202) 587-2843 or
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,200+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.
Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition
Presented to C. Joanne Grabinski, PhD, Eastern Michigan University, and Mary Alice Wolf, PhD, Saint Joseph University.
This award honors colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired. Recipients are individuals who have been actively involved in AGHE through service on committees, as elected officers, and/or have provided leadership in one of AGHE’s grant-funded projects.
Administrative Leadership Award
Presented to Tammy M. Bray, PhD, Oregon State University
This award honors administrators on AGHE member campuses who have made exceptional efforts in support of gerontology or geriatrics education.
David A. Peterson Gerontology & Geriatrics Education Best Paper of the Volume Award
Presented to Nina M. Silverstein, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston; Elizabeth Johns, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston; and Judith A. Griffin, MA, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the article “Students Explore Livable Communities.” Honorable mention is given to Emily J. Robbins, MS, Miami University; Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD, Miami University; and Cary S. Kart, PhD, Miami University, for the article “Promoting Active Engagement in Health Research: Lessons Learned from an Undergraduate Gerontology Capstone Course.”
The purpose of this award is to recognize excellence in scholarship in academic gerontology in AGHE’s official journal, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.
Graduate Student Paper Award
Presented to Deborah Gray, MBA, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the paper “Weight and Wealth: The Relationship between Obesity and Net Worth for Pre-Retirement Age Men and Women.”
This award acknowledges excellence in scholarly work conducted by an AGHE Annual Meeting student attendee.
Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging
Presented to Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morinn-Nelson for “Niwechihaw/I help” in the primary reader (pre-K to 2nd grade) category, and Ann Grifalconi and Jerry Pickney for “Ain’t Nobody A Stranger to Me” in the elementary reader (3rd to 5th grade) category.
This award recognizes portrayals of meaningful aging in children’s literature.