Richard P. Adler
Richard Adler has been a leader in the fields of aging and technology for more than a decade. He is principal of People & Technology, a research and consulting firm based in Silicon Valley. He is also a Research Affiliate at Institute for the Future (IFTF), where he is co-leading a project, Baby Boomers: The Next 20 Years.
Adler has worked with many companies and organizations on the development of new products and services for the mature market. His recent clients include: AARP, American Heart Association, Bank of America, Civic Ventures, CNN, Duracell, Education To Go, Humana, the Japan Research Institute, MetLife, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Verizon and Xerox PARC. He also serves as an advisor to several start-ups.
Bill Benson
Bill Benson has worked in the aging field and with the aging network for 33 years. He established The Benson Consulting Group in 1998. In 2002 he joined with Sue Andersen to form Health Benefits ABCs (HBABCs), an independent consulting practice specializing in aging and health policy & services, program development and assessment, and training. Their clients include a number of national, state and private organizations, including n4a and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From 1993 to 1998 Mr. Benson served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging at the Administration on Aging (AoA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He spent eight years in various staff capacities in the U.S. Congress. Previously, Mr. Benson worked for the California Department of Aging including serving for more than five years as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
Mr. Benson is the immediate past president of the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform and president of the Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement.
Susan Bidel
Susan Bidel is the Marketing Director of MONEY magazine. She has been with the Fortune/Money Group since 2002, developing proposals targeting Boomers for financial services, healthcare, travel, luxury and auto marketers for Fortune, Fortune Small Business and Money. She worked closely with Time Inc.'s Research and Insights Group on their Baby Boomers' Hopes and Dreams Survey released in October 2007.
Bidel was the Vice President of Marketing for Messagevine, a start-up, private-label, wireless instant-messaging company and the Marketing Director of FortuneCity.com, a community website. Her first experience targeting Boomers was as Director of Sales Development for People magazine, one of the first media properties to identify the Boomer generation as a discrete entity with the power to make or break products.
Deborah Blake
Deborah Blake is the Area Vice President of Marketing for the Southwest Area of Pulte Homes, Inc. encompassing Arizona, Las Vegas, and New Mexico where she oversees all marketing and public affair activities for Pulte Homes and Del Webb-branded communities. Blake has held various roles in sales, marketing, and operations—starting with the Del Webb Corporation prior to its merger with Pulte Homes, Inc. in 2001.
Blake holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Family and Consumer Resources from the University of Arizona. She is active in the National Association of Home Builder’s 50+ Housing Council and has been a contributing member of the education committee for the 50+ Housing Symposium.
Blake Cahill
Blake Cahill is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Visible Technologies. He is responsible for executing marketing strategies, driving thought leadership, and engaging with industry analysts to increase market and customer awareness for continued revenue growth.
Blake has more than 15 years of executive management experience leading marketing, sales, product management, and customer support organizations including both domestic and international companies in a variety of technology, consumer, and telecommunications industries. Blake has developed invaluable insights about how the intersection of customer experience, social media, brands, and technology can allow businesses and brands to execute and leverage the "voice of their customers".
Blake holds bachelor's degrees in Political Science, History, and Business from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.
Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D.
Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University, where he holds the positions of Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry. He is founding director of the Washington, D.C., Center on Aging and past president of the Gerontological Society of America. He has appeared on Nightline, The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, and the CBS Nightly News, and has appeared in a series of public service messages on aging with George Burns and Steve Allen.
Cohen's new book, The Mature Mind (2007), offers an explanation of how to identify and promote our inner creativity in order to awaken human potential, growth, and personal fulfillment at mid-life and beyond. This text reveals how the mind creates new opportunities for positive change throughout adult life and confirms that growth can be jump-started at any age and under any circumstances, actively building brain reserves and new possibilities.
David Cooperstein
David Cooperstein has spent the bulk of his career in strategic marketing and consulting roles, and has been involved in strategy related to the Internet since the early 1990s. In his role as Chief Marketing Officer at Burst Media, he is responsible for marketing, strategy and business development.
David joined Burst Media from the Boston-based social media and social networking site Gather.com. Previously, he was a Vice President at Forrester Research where he analyzed how technology impacted the retail industry and the telecom sector. He has been quoted extensively in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week and NPR. Prior to joining Forrester, David worked for Booz Allen & Hamilton and Northwest Airlines.
David currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Grrasp and CityVoter, two social media companies based in Cambridge. David holds a BS in Consumer Economics from Cornell University.
Wendy Reid Crisp
Wendy Reid Crisp is the editor-in-chief of GRAND magazine, a three-year-old national magazine for grandparents.
She has been in magazine editing for more than 40 years. Among other books, Crisp is the author of When I Grow Up I Want To Be 60 (2006) and the bestselling 100 Things I'm Not Going to Do Now That I'm Over 50 (revised edition, 2006).
She has appeared on hundreds of local and national television programs, including Oprah!, CNN, Today, Good Morning America, and CBS Morning News. She has had editorials published in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and The Oregonian; she has had articles published in More, Family Circle, and Woman’s Day.
Stephen Croncota
Stephen Croncota is the Chief Marketing Officer of Haggar Clothing Co. where he oversees consumer marketing for all men’s and women’s brands, worldwide licensing; concept and creative for the forthcoming Haggar stores; and product development and design.
In 2006, Croncota was named to DNR’s Power 100 list, a ranking of the 100 most influential individuals in men’s fashion. DNR noted that Croncota brings to Hagger "something it had been missing: an aura of cool.
Previously, Croncota served as Head of Worldwide Marketing at Versace in Milan, Italy; Senior Vice President and Worldwide Creative Director at Warner Brothers; Senior Vice President of Marketing for E! Entertainment Television; and Director of Marketing for Details magazine.
Croncota holds BA degrees in both Economics and Political Science from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Bella DePaulo, Ph.D.
Bella DePaulo (Ph.D., Harvard) is the author of Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After.
She is a Visiting Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. DePaulo writes the "Living Single" blog for Psychology Today and is also a contributor to The Huffington Post. Her op-ed essays have appeared in papers such as The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Newsday. Bella DePaulo has discussed the place of singles in society on NPR, CNN, and many other media outlets, and her work has been described in newspapers (such as The New York Times and the Washington Post) and magazines (such as Time and Business Week).
DePaulo also studies the social psychology of deception, and has provided expert analysis of the topic for the Today show and other network news shows. Visit her website at www.BellaDePaulo.com.
Jim Emerman
Jim Emerman directs The Purpose Prize at Civic Ventures which awards $100,000 prizes to social innovators over the age of 60. He also heads the Encore Leadership Network, a group of thought leaders from a wide range of social sectors, who are helping bring Civic Ventures' vision of Encore Careers to fruition.
Prior to joining Civic Ventures, Emerman was Chief Operating Officer at the American Society on Aging, the largest association of professionals working with and on behalf of older adults. While at ASA, Emerman led efforts on issues ranging from older worker employment and corporate eldercare to assistive and information technology, family caregiving, cultural diversity, medication use, and public policy, among many others.
Jane Ganahl
Jane Ganahl has been a journalist, editor, author, consultant and community organizer in San Francisco for 25 years. She is the author of the novelized memoir, "Naked on the Page: the Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife" (Viking), which has been optioned for a TV series by TBS.
For almost five years, she penned the San Francisco Chronicle "Single Minded" Sunday column about the unmarried life, which served as the backdrop for her memoir. Her work can also be found online at Huffington Post, Match.com, Salon.com and Rolling Stone.com. Jane’s edited an anthology of women writers entitled "Single Woman of a Certain Age" (Inner Ocean, Nov. 2005).
Ganahl has won various journalism awards and been named to The Singles Hall of Fame by MSN.
Kelly Greene
Kelly Greene covers retirement planning and living as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where she works for Encore and writes a weekly retirement column. In 2005, she was honored with the American Society on Aging's National Media Award for her body of work. Last year, she received a New York Association of Black Journalists award for her coverage of African-American police retirees' efforts to get the same pensions as their white colleagues.
Ms. Greene joined the Journal in 1996 after working for newspapers in North Carolina and Atlanta. With Glenn Ruffenach, her editor, she co-authored "The Wall Street Journal Complete Retirement Guidebook: How to Plan It, Live It and Enjoy It," which is a New York Times Bestseller.
Ms. Greene grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C., graduated from Wake Forest University and recently moved from Atlanta to New York with her husband and son.
Christine Holt
Christine Holt, Vice President, spearheads the qualitative research for C&R's BoomerEyes division. Christine is responsible for the design, execution, analysis and management of focus groups, ethnographies, shop-alongs, and in-depth interview moderation relating to the Boomer market, as well as the general market.
Christine also heads up C&R's ShopperEyes™ division. She is a seasoned research professional with extensive experience in both quantitative and qualitative research on the supplier and client sides of the business. Before coming to C&R, Christine most recently held the position of Senior Group Manager at Frito Lay Convenience Foods (formerly Quaker Oats Convenience Foods) overseeing all research activities for the division's Chicago-based businesses. Christine also held positions at Kraft Foods and Philip Morris International, where in addition to an overseas assignment, she oversaw large multinational qualitative and quantitative research projects.
Christine also has extensive experience with advertising and communications development; strategy; evaluation; brand image assessment; positioning; and new product development. Christine's career began with NFO Research, where she was a project director in the Multi-Client Services group managing two syndicated tracking studies.
Christine holds an M.A. in Audience Research from the College of Communications at Ohio University, and a B.A.C. in Audience Research and Television Production from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Phil Klafta
Phil Klafta spearheads consumer intelligence for thirdgear, a marketing communications firm that reaches out to the large, economically powerful, and all-too-often ignored 40+ segment who are entering the third stage of life, or "third gear." The company is a division of Two by Four, a fully integrated agency offering advertising, design, promotions, direct response and event marketing.
Phil has worked in marketing communications for more than 20 years with a roster of clients that includes State Farm, Alltel, Tyson Foods, and USG. In 2006 Phil founded Antfarm Consulting, Inc. an account planning and research services agency. Phil lives with his wife and children just outside of Chicago.
Ann M. Mack
Ann M. Mack is Director of Trendspotting at JWT, overseeing global trendspotting for the largest advertising agency in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world. In the position, she combines insatiable curiosity and a keen intuition with observational and listening skills honed during nearly 10 years as a journalist. Ann follows trends related to everything from digital technologies, gaming and globalization to retail, philanthropy and the environment. She has worked on strategic projects for Unilever, Estée Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg's and Kimberly-Clark, among others.
Ann has appeared on The Early Show on CBS, Fox and Friends, Bloomberg TV and Sky News; has been interviewed by numerous radio outlets, including the BBC and NPR; and has been quoted in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, The New York Post, Detroit Free Press and International Herald Tribune for her thought leadership.
Before joining JWT in 2004, Ann spent five years at Adweek, where she led print and online coverage of the interactive advertising industry as Interactive Editor. She started her career as a crime reporter for the Mansfield News Journal in Ohio. She graduated magna cum laude from Ohio State University with a BA in journalism.
Mike Meyers
Mike Meyers is the Director of Fundom (fun + freedom) at thirdgear, a Chicago-based consultancy focused primarily on marketing, advertising and product development for the booming 40+ market. Thirdgear's clients include innovative brands from the RV industry, entertainment, apparel, nutraceuticals and automotive aftercare.
Born in 1957, the highest birth-rate year of the Baby Boom, Mike Meyers grew up in an age of consumption—from shiny cars with big fins to lamps that glowed with oozing lava. That’s why he went into the creative side of marketing and helped build brands like McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch, Discover Card and The Home Depot. Now, he gets to build relationships as well as brands with people who are his peers.
Steve Patrizi
Steve Patrizi leads the advertising sales and operations teams for LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network with over 20 million members. His team works with leading brands and advertising agencies to help them connect with LinkedIn's audience of affluent, influential, and ambitious professionals.
Steve joined LinkedIn from Microsoft Corporation where, as Manager of Advertising Sales, he led a team tasked with delivering cross-platform digital marketing solutions for Fortune 500 accounts based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to Microsoft, Steve spent 10 years with Dow Jones & Company in various roles, including 5 years as Director of West Region Advertising Sales for The Wall Street Journal Online.
Steve sits on the board of the Bay Area Interactive Group and is a graduate of Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in Communication.
Joe Pine
Joe Pine is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor to Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial start-ups. He is co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, a thinking studio dedicated to helping businesses conceive and design new ways of adding value to their economic offerings.
Mr. Pine authored the best-selling books The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage (1999) and Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want (2007). Published in ten languages, his newest book—demonstrating how customers today want experiences and memorable events that engage them in a personal way—was recently featured in a special series by TIME/World News titled, 10 Ideas That Are Changing The World. Check out Time's full series on What's Next in 2008 or go directly to the profile highlighting Pine's synthetic authenticity.
Helena Plater-Zyberk
Helena Plater-Zyberk leads Condé Nast Portfolio's Business & Consumer Insights Group, which provides actionable insights on the attitudes, behaviors, and purchase motivations of key reader segments to the brand’s advertising partners.
Ms. Plater-Zyberk is the former Managing Editor of Columbia Business School's Chazen Web Journal of International Business. Prior to this role, she crisscrossed the globe as a management consultant and freelance journalist. As Director of Research for McConnell International, she advised foreign governments on technology policy development. She has interviewed over 100 leading business and political figures, including four prime ministers, and has published 60+ newspaper and journal articles on global business, political, and social trends.
Helena holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics & International Relations from American University.
Jonathan Pontell
Jonathan Pontell, Executive Director of The Jones Group, is a widely-acclaimed generations expert, social commentator, and marketing consultant. A frequent guest on national TV and radio talk shows, he “connects the dots” between new political, business and cultural trends for organizations ranging from top Fortune 500 companies to The White House.
Pontell is credited with identifying and coining the name for “Generation Jones,” the lost generation between the Baby Boomers and Generation X. As Executive Director of The Jones Group, he helps a wide range of industries better target Jonesers. Pontell is proud of his strong formal academic background at Cambridge University (U.K.).
Glenn Ruffenach
Glenn Ruffenach is editor of The Wall Street Journal’s Encore report, the paper’s guide to retirement planning and living. Mr. Ruffenach joined the Journal in 1982 and has reported and written about retirement since 1997, when he was asked to develop a new publication about later life for Journal readers. In March 1998, Encore made its debut, offering articles about personal finance, travel, health and lifestyles. The following year, Mr. Ruffenach created a column about retirement, also titled Encore, for The Wall Street Journal Sunday, which now appears in more than 70 newspapers around the country.
Mr. Ruffenach is a graduate of West Point and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He and his wife live in Atlanta.
David Silver
David Silver is an entrepreneur and angel capitalist to rapidly-emerging companies. He has raised more than $1 billion for 350 companies in industries ranging from mobile social networks to health insurance. His book Smart Start-ups: How Entrepreneurs and Corporations Can Benefit by Starting Online Communities (2007) reveals how social networking will change the face of business over the next decade.
In addition to authoring 30 books on entrepreneurship and finance, he has contributed numerous articles to business publications including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. George Gilder, author of Wealth & Poverty, calls Silver "our leading student of the psychology of entrepreneurs" and USA Today writes, "If entrepreneurship is a religion, then Silver is its high priest."
Silver's books have been recognized by the MacMillan Business Book Club and Fortune Book Club. The New York Public Library gifted Silver's book, Entrepreneurial Megabucks, to the 1986 valedictorians of New York City's 119 high schools--along with Faust and The Bible.
Silver holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
M. Isabel Valdés
M. Isabel Valdès is a pioneer in "emotional marketing," author and public speaker. For more than 25 years, she has consulted with corporations in the U.S. and abroad. Her extensive client list includes corporations, government and non-for-profits.
She founded Hispanic Market Connections, Inc, an award-winning marketing research firm, in 1987. Presently, she heads Isabel Valdés Consulting (IVC) and advises clients on "How to transform HeartShares™ into MarketShares©.
Ms. Valdés is a member of PepsiCo/Frito-Lay's Latino Advisory Board and the Advisory Board of Scholastic, Lee y Serás, a Trustee of NCLR, (National Council of La Raza) Washington D.C., and the Latino Community Foundation, San Francisco.
She has received numerous honors and awards, including being selected by Fortune Small Business in 2001. In March 2000, she was named by American Demographics magazine as the "21st Century Star of Multicultural Research."
Her fourth book, "Hispanic Consumers for Life, A Fresh Look at Acculturation" (Paramount Market Publishers, Ithaca, NY) was published recently.
Ms. Valdés holds two graduate degrees from Stanford University. She resides in San Francisco and is the proud mother of Gabriel Aranovich, MD, and Clara Aranovich.
Anne Wall
Anne Wall, Senior Vice President, is currently leading C&R's BoomerEyes initiative. Anne has been heavily involved in researching Boomers for a number of years. As the Boomers have headed toward the end of their first careers and into second careers and retirement, C&R has launched a division to help their clients understand and market to this complex and very significant segment of adults.
In addition to her BoomerEyes experience, Anne has managed a wide range of consumer and business-to-business quantitative projects including strategic studies, brand equity, concept evaluation, consumer and occasion segmentation, needs assessment, competitive assessment, new product evaluation, product positioning and testing, advertising tracking, and customer satisfaction tracking.
She has also conducted a number of qualitative studies primarily among business professionals. Some of the industries she has worked with include: consumer packaged goods, financial services, utilities, media, advertising, quick service restaurants, health and beauty products, professional services, health insurance, and industrial supplies.
Anne holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Illinois and an MBA from DePaul University.
Sharon P. Whiteley
Sharon P. Whiteley is the CEO of ThirdAge Inc., the leading online media, marketing and consumer insight destination exclusively focused on baby boomers, aging mid-lifers, and premiere marketers. An award-winning entrepreneur, Ms. Whiteley was formerly President and Chief Creative Officer of Contempo Colours Inc., a $50 million manufacturer of consumer products; and earlier, founder of Peacock Papers—the innovative social expression company credited for creating the "positive aging" gift category.
Ms. Whiteley is the recipient of Ernst and Young's regional Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Champion Paper's The Creative Imagination Award, and a distinguished merit award from the Society for Social Communications Research for advancing ThirdAge's social networking initiatives. She is also the author of The Old Girls' Network (Basic Books), a "how-to" book for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Ms. Whiteley is a member and former board director of the Committee of 200, the World Presidents' Organization (WPO) and a member of the International Women's Forum. She is the past Chairwoman of the National Center on Women & Aging at Brandeis University, and recently invited to join the prestigious Council on Competitiveness.
Robin Wolaner
Robin Wolaner is a noted entrepreneur and author. She made publishing history when she founded Parenting magazine in 1985. After Time Inc. purchased Parenting, Robin joined Time Publishing Ventures as vice president for development where she helped launch Vibe and test the concept for Martha Stewart Living.
Robin became president and CEO of Sunset Publishing Corporation in 1992. In 1997, Robin was the founding non-executive chairman of the company now known as PlanetOut Inc. She then joined CNET Networks where she oversaw the launch of their groundbreaking user reviews of consumer electronics.
Robin left CNET in 2003 to write Naked in the Boardroom: A CEO Bares Her Secrets So You Can Transform Your Career (Simon & Schuster, 2005). She founded TeeBeeDee, a social network for those age 40 plus, in 2007. Robin holds a B.A. from Cornell University. She is based in San Francisco.
Jenna Woodul
Jenna Woodul is co-founder and Chief Community Officer of LiveWorld, Inc., a social marketing agency with over 20 years of experience creating, operating and moderating online communities for companies like Apple, eBay, AOL, MINI, HBO, QVC, Campbell's Soup, and many others. As an executive sponsor and consultant for company clients, she works closely with clients to envision and plan online social venues. Then she oversees the LiveWorld community management and moderation teams as they implement and manage growing communities.
She began her online career in 1984 as part of AppleLink (Apple's business communications service) and AppleLink Personal Edition (which later became America Online), and later headed up community for eWorld and Talk City.
Sarah Zapolsky
Sarah Zapolsky has worked with AARP since 1996. She is author and contributor to numerous AARP studies and research products, including the Boomer Briefing Books (2008 version out soon), the 1999–2000 Membership Demographics studies, and several of the "Life at 50+" publications.
In keeping with AARP's emphasis on lifelong learning, her training is endless, including stints with the Joint Program in Survey Methodology and the Institute for Social Research in Michigan.
Sarah is past president of the Board of Directors of COPAFS (Counsel of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Clark University and a Master of Science from Florida State University.
David Zellhart
David Zellhart manages a National Public Media (NPM) sales team in Los Angeles, covering the western United States. Formerly National Public Broadcasting, NPM represents underwriting sponsorship of NPR affiliate stations, PBS television affiliates, PBS.org, "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (nationally) and the NPR network (on-air and online).
Zellhart opened the West Coast office of National Public Broadcasting in 1998 after spending 5 years at HRP, a national spot commercial TV rep firm. Previously, he sold local television advertising and promotions for KCBS-TV, the Los Angeles CBS owned-and-operated affiliate.
Past Speakers Include:
- Tom Asacker, Author, A Clear Eye for Branding
- Brenda Saget-Darling, Publisher, More Magazine
- John Erickson, CEO/Founder, Erickson Retirement Communities
- Les Garland, Senior Executive Vice President, MTV Network
- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP Group
- Emilio Pardo, Chief Brand Officer, AARP Services, Inc.
- Joel Peresman, CEO/President, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
- David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer, CBS
- MaryLee Sachs, Chairman, US, Hill & Knowlton
- Marian Salzman, Futurist and Author, Next Now
- Linda Tischler, Sr. Writer, Fast Company Magazine
- David Wolfe, author and thought leader
