Glowing Older

Episode 15:6 Helen Dennis on Education as a Powerful Change Agent

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Syndicated columnist, author, and lecturer, Helen Dennis specializes in aging and the new retirement. Her more than 1,000 “Successful Aging” columns for the Southern California News Group reach 1.2 million readers weekly. 

About Helen

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. She has received numerous awards for her university

teaching at the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology and for her contributions to the field of aging, the community, and literary arts. As one of the nation’s leading experts on preparing for the non-economic aspects of retirement, she has worked with over 25,000 employees at corporations, universities, and religious institutions to do just that. 

Editor of two books, author of over 100 additional articles and frequent speaker, Helen is co-founder of Renewment®: and co-author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, "Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women" (Scribner).  She has been recognized by PBS Next Avenue as one of the 50 influencers in aging. In her volunteer life she has been president of five nonprofit organizations and has been recognized with awards for her leadership.

 Key Takeaways

  • Ageism is the dominant theme in Dennis’ Successful Aging column. Other key themes include loss—of loved ones, physical ability, and jobs—caregiving, and cognitive health.
  • There is a shortage of geriatricians in the U.S.—approximately 7,500 board-certified geriatricians for nearly 56 million people 65 and over in the U.S. 
    • Workplace and retirement are big issues for older adults—finding a new identity and sense of purpose as overarching themes. Dennis recommends taking a breath and thinking about what brings pleasure and joy.
    • Aging is a hard sell. We need to figure out how to make it
      • palatable and aspirational. Aging needs to be framed in both realistic and positive terms with a focus on opportunities.
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      Glowing OlderBy Nancy Griffin
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