Glowing Older

Episode 10:6 Dr. Kerry Burnight, Ph.D. on Creating a New Culture around Aging

The Founder of The Gerontologist Inc. talks technology, elder abuse, and the need to create autonomy for older adults.

About Kerry

Kerry Burnight, Ph.D., is a nationally renowned gerontologist and the founder of The Gerontologist, Inc., an advisory firm that helps companies understand and meet the needs of older adults. She is an aging expert determined to help others improve the second half of their lives.

 
Burnight spent 18 years at the University of California, Irvine, as a professor of geriatric medicine, where she developed a greater understanding of the tragedies and triumphs of growing older. There, she co-founded and directed the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center and the national non-profit, Ageless Alliance: United Against Elder Abuse, which works to eliminate elder abuse through awareness and advocacy.
 

She has served on the executive leadership team of GrandPad—a technology firm that developed a user-friendly, custom-engineered tablet that has connected over 100,000 adults to their loved ones. As chief gerontologist, she assembled a team of colleagues, ages 82-106, who uncovered thousands of frustration points and identified elements required for a successful product.

 
Her work has been featured on CBS News, The Doctors, Money Matters, The Dr. Phil Show, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. White House.

Key Takeaways

  • Elder abuse is a $37 billion business—older adults duped by devious, savvy methods of control and financial exploitation.
  • Legacy and autonomy are older adult developmental imperatives. “Taking care” of older adults is the opposite of what they are hungry for.
  • We have been filled to the brim with lies about aging, fueled by a multibillion-dollar anti-aging industry.
    • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Glowing OlderBy Nancy Griffin and Katherine Lord
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    11 ratings

    More shows like Glowing Older

    View all
    On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

    On Being with Krista Tippett

    10,313 Listeners

    Your Yes Life Now by Petra Kolber

    Your Yes Life Now

    67 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    108,779 Listeners

    Not Born Yesterday by NEXT Village SF

    Not Born Yesterday

    32 Listeners

    Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lemonada Media

    Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

    10,545 Listeners

    A Heart That Beats for Home by Nikki Smith

    A Heart That Beats for Home

    88 Listeners