SAINT PAUL, Minn. — September 27, 2017 — Next Avenue, public media’s first and only digital publication dedicated to covering issues for people 50 and older, has released its third annual list of the top 50 Influencers in Aging, which includes advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts at the forefront of changing how we age and think about aging. People are honored from each of the five areas that Next Avenue covers: Health & Well-Being, Caregiving, Money & Security, Work & Purpose and Living & Learning.
The highest honor, Influencer of the Year, was presented this year to Elizabeth Blackburn, the Nobel Prize-winning president of the Salk Institute whose groundbreaking research about telomeres in the aging process is presented in a bestselling book, The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer, which was co-authored with Elissa Epel, a 2016 Influencer in Aging. Published in January, the book describes how the way we live influences our “healthspan,” or the length of time we live healthy and active lives.
This year’s Influencers in Aging list also includes New York Times reporter Paula Span, whose work for the news organization has brought broad visibility to issues facing older adults; Susan Burton, founder of A New Way of Life, which helps women rebuilding their lives after prison, and author of a recent memoir, Becoming Ms. Burton; Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Mayor of San Antonio, whose most recent work encourages housing and neighborhood design for “aging in place” and Vasundhara Kalasapudi, founder and executive director of India Home, a nonprofit serving elderly South Asians in New York.
“Next Avenue is proud to honor these 50 people who are transforming aging in a time when this work is especially crucial,” said Next Avenue Editorial & Content Director Shayla Stern. “More than 100 million Americans are over age 50 now, and as life expectancy increases, it is imperative that policies, housing, science, technology and culture all evolve to better serve our population. These honorees on our list of Influencers in Aging are on the leading edge of this revolution.”
For a complete list of honorees and further information about Next Avenue’s 2017 Influencers in Aging, please visit: nextavenue.org/influencers.
About Next Avenue
Next Avenue is public media’s first and only national service for America’s booming 50+ population. Our mission is to meet the needs and unleash the potential of older Americans through the power of media. We do this by providing information and advice to help our audience navigate their lives and inviting them to join in an ongoing conversation about the issues and transitions we all face. Twin Cities PBS produces Next Avenue for the PBS system. Over 35 million people have visited nextavenue.org since we launched in 2012. Our content extends far beyond our website to reach over 15 million people monthly through social media and our national network of media partners and government and nonprofit allies. For more information, please visit nextavenue.org.
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