The founder and CEO of Second Act Financial Services shares his formula for helping older adults and their families find financial flexibility. Second Act allows people to take their time selling their homes, providing tailor-made bridge loan solutions and comprehensive resources to age well.

About Elias

Elias Papasavvas has dedicated his career to enhancing access to retirement housing and senior living. He is viewed as an authority on tailoring and delivering consumer banking programs for the elder population.

Elias is known for pioneering the concept of elder care loans and point of sale financing for senior living over two decades ago. As CEO of Second Act Financial Services, Elias successfully oversees the Division’s unique lending approach in its understanding of the needs of retirement housing providers, retirees, and their families. 

Elias has been named a “Leader in Elder Care”; has served on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Assisted Living Association, the Advisory Board of the George Mason University Assisted Living Program, the

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The co-founders of Art Against Ageism talk about the alliance of artists and art activists seeking to combat ageism and promote age positivity. Learn how artistic activism can change people's minds about stereotypes around aging and older adults.

About Meg

Meg LaPorte helps aging services entities dismantle ageism in creative ways so that their communities can be the best environments for elders to live and thrive. Having written about and reported on all things aging services for more than 22 years, LaPorte is a communications, PR, and marketing specialist who seeks to advance positive age beliefs and reframe society's perspectives about age and aging.

Since obtaining her MA in Management of Aging Services from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014, LaPorte has been devoted to harnessing the power of storytelling, trend spotting, and idea curation to produce potent and compelling communications and marketing campaigns. She currently focuses much of her energy on Art Against Ageism, a nonprofit organization that identifies, amplifies, and creates artistic activism that confronts and tackles ageism, which she co-founded in 2021.

About Jordon

Jordan Evans is the Co-Founder of Art Against Ageism. He has always had a penchant for creativity and social entrepreneurship. While obtaining his BA in Management of Aging Services at the Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Jordan discovered his passion for aging services, serving the Care Force, and consumers that make this industry so great. He currently serves as HERO Development program manager for KARE.

His passion for advocating for older adults, along with

Key Takeaways

Art has been a common tool for activism, from the civil rights movement to women's rights, to the AIDS movement.

Art Against Ageism installations create visual representations of ageism and bring senior living leadership, staff, and residents together for a common cause.

Senior living trends include migration and immigration reform, fully integrated intergenerational communities, and desegregation in memory care.

Berit Lewis shares insights from her new book Ageing Upward, A mindfulness-based framework for the longevity revolution. Learn how to create more acceptance, self-compassion and mental flexibility while overcoming unconscious negative beliefs and societal discrimination.

About Berit

Berit Lewis is co-founder of Thrive Life, customized mindfulness-based training programs. She is an accredited MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Teacher, trained in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and also trained at Mindfulness in Schools Foundations (MiSP) to teach .B Foundations for teachers.

She is a category 1 member of VMBN (Vereniging Mindfulness Based Trainers Nederland en Vlaanderen) and holds a BA (Honours) in

Recently as part of her master thesis at Leyden Academy for Vitality and Ageing she developed, taught and researched an online Mindfulness Based Vitality and Ageing (MBVA) course for older persons. She has previously also developed a successful mindfulness course for teenagers. 

Before founding Thriving Life, she worked as a communication- and PR specialist in Denmark and Australia – including 10 years as a communications specialist at the Danish Defence. Berit is Danish, married to a Welshman and lives in the Netherlands with two teenage children.

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Nicole Will shares insights from 120+ willGather podcasts episodes about family caregiving, the care economy, and senior living. Learn about her

About Nicole

Nicole Will is a passionate advocate for our aging community, equipping older adults, family caregivers, and eldercare professionals with valuable information and resources. As the founder of willGather, she enlightens and expands people's awareness of leaders and initiatives in the care economy space through the willGather Podcast: Navigating the World with Your Aging Loved One. Nicole Will brings helpful resources, valuable information, and practical tools that will encourage and give hope to caregivers as they navigate the aging journey with their loved ones for a more meaningful and fulfilled life.

In honor of her grandma, she also founded Gigi Betty co. by willGather, a boutique gift shop raising funds and awareness for family caregivers. As a collective, we are a powerful force for good. A portion of all proceeds are donated to support caregivers. With over 20 years of experience in aging and senior living services, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services: Social Gerontology and is actively certified with NCCAP. She spent years as a Director at a well-respected senior living community overseeing the Therapeutic Recreation, Volunteer, and Spiritual Care departments. She also served on the MAPA board and as an adjuvant faculty member at the University of St. Catherine.

Her hands-on approach and advocacy are inspired by her close relationship with her grandma, who came to live with her family giving her a deep understanding of family caregiver needs.

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www.willgather.com

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Podcast on Apple & Spotify

www.gigibettyco.com

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/WillGather-1132074970266544

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YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/user/myEventConnect

Key Takeaways

Paula Hertel and Nancy Schier Anzelmo had a dream to support individuals with mild cognitive decline and their care partners through the magic of horses. Learn how their passion for horses and senior living collided in 2015 with Connected Horse, how research from Stanford and UC Davis shows a reduction in depression, improved sleep and increased feelings of hope and connection, and their plans to expand the ground-breaking programs nationwide.

About Paula

Paula Hertel, MSW, is a co-founder and President of Connected Horse, and she has spent the last 25 years focused on improving service delivery systems for

About Nancy

Nancy Schier Anzelmo, MSG, is a co-founder and Educational Director of Connected Horse and is a widely known, highly regarded gerontologist and Alzheimer’s/dementia care specialist, consultant, speaker and trainer. As principal and founder of Alzheimer’s Care Associates LLC, she strives to enable her clients to achieve excellence in dementia care. Whether the environment is assisted living, adult day programs, skilled nursing or home care, Nancy is

Key Takeaways

Katherine Lord promotes aging well and intergenerational connection through her work as Director of Community Operations at Club Management Association of America. She talks industry disruption, inclusive wellness, and the opportunity to support people at all stages of life.

About Katherine

Katherine Lord is a marketing, communications, and programming enthusiast who loves to bridge the gap between the strategic and tactical. She received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, and her master's in social work from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Currently, Katherine is the Director of Community Operations for the Club Management Association of America, where she curates educational programming and engagement opportunities for association members. She is dedicated to helping people, companies, and communities find and share their greatest gifts.  

Key Takeaways

With degrees in design, gerontology, environmental psychology, and community planning, Esther Greenhouse brings a unique perspective to housing and communities. Learn about Silver to Gold’s Enabling Design Approach that eases the staffing crisis by creating environments that support independence and allow people of all ages to flourish.

About Esther

Esther Greenhouse, CEO of Silver to Gold Strategic Consulting, is a strategist and environmental gerontologist bringing a unique constellation of experience and expertise in design, gerontology, environmental psychology, and planning, to help organizations and communities excel at meeting the needs of those 50+ and enable them to THRIVE!

Her unique Enabling Design Approach informed AARP International’s Equity by Design initiative, as well as the design of the nation’s first elder-focused Emergency Room at the request of Dr. Bill Thomas. Esther co-authored the American Planning Association's Aging in Community Policy Guide, is an industry scholar for the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures and served as the Strategic Director for one of the nation’s first Age-Friendly Centers for Excellence. The International Well Building Institute has appointed Esther to their newly formed Investing for Health Advisory.

For 10 years she was the primary caregiver for her mother.

Key Takeaways

Jennifer is the co-host of the Biophilic Solutions™, a podcast about the human connection to nature, and faculty advisor at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics and Brain Health Initiative— a collaborative effort that launched with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital. 

 About Jennifer

Jennifer is a 26-year serial entrepreneur in the wellness, beauty, and retail landscape. She created the first omni-channel beauty brand in the US in 1997, Beauty Bar sold to Amazon in 2010. Her retail concept became the first in America to incorporate biophilic design where she understood the connection between nature and the beauty space. Jennifer grew her business until she sold the

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The “Ambassador of Elderhood” talks about approaching aging as a “Team Sport.” His newest venture, PLAYING TO WIN, is a Global Symposium on Aging

About Dr. Bill

Dr. Bill Thomas is a physician, professor, entrepreneur, playwright, and performer whose wide-ranging work explores the terrain of human aging. His dedication to culture change and innovations for well-being led to him being named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the nation’s “Top 10 Innovators changing the future of retirement in America. He was also included in US News and World Report list of “America’s Best

Dr. Thomas is currently the Chief Independence Officer at Lifespark and the founder of PLAYING TO WIN, a Global Symposium on Aging Magnificently presented by Lifespark in partnership with The Eden Alternative.  Learn more and sign up here.

Key Takeaways

Jeannie Ralston talks about the evolution of NextTribe, the travel and events company for women 45+. Learn about how NextTribe breaks down stereotypes about aging while providing opportunities for community and adventure.

About Jeannie

Jeannie Ralston is the co-founder and CEO of NextTribe, which informs, promotes, and connects women who are determined to “Age Boldly” (NextTribe’s tagline). In addition to publishing articles by top writers, NextTribe hosts events around the country and takes women on trips, both internationally and domestically.

Ralston’s work as a journalist has been published in National Geographic, Life, The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Allure, and many other magazines. Her years growing lavender in rural Texas was the subject of her memoir, The Unlikely Lavender Queen, published by Broadway Books; her e-book, The Mother of All Field Trips, was about the three years she and her husband homeschooled and traveled with their sons.

In 2018, she was named Digital influencer of the Year by Austin Woman magazine, and was a Folio Top Women in Media honoree. She also organized

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