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For more than twenty years, I have taught existential psychology to university students in Ecuador. For the past five, I have also taught a course called "Navigating Your Uncertainties." And for many of my seventy-nine years, I have navigated my own uncertainties and searched for meaning in life. During the last 10 years, I noticed something that surprised me. The young people in my classroom and the older people in my life are asking the same questions. They are simply askin

10.27.26 Transformation Tuesday - Tell Their Story, Protect Their Rights: Honoring Residents' Rights Month with Ruth Minnema Safety Matters. So Does the Right to Live. When does keeping someone safe become a way of taking away their freedom? It's a difficult question, particularly when the person we're trying to protect is older, vulnerable or living in a long-term care community. We want to prevent falls. We want to avoid injuries. We want to protect people from harm. But wh

When people picture someone living in a nursing home, they often imagine an older adult. But where does that leave younger residents whose disabilities or complex medical needs have brought them into long-term care? My son, Lynn Ray, is one of those residents. At 38, he brings his own interests, relationships, preferences, and expectations to the place he calls home. His need for care does not erase his adulthood or his right to shape his daily life. Bringing Lived Experience

Recognition puts the New York grassroots nonprofit in the first U.S. edition of an international social media marketing awards program. Gray Panthers NYC is pleased to announce that Month of Maggie designed by Emily Trask, who leads the organization’s digital communications, assisted by Laura Bolaños, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Social Day Social Media Marketing Awards USA. The 2026 ceremony is scheduled to take place in New York City on November 5, 2026. The recognit

I was so deeply honored to be a recipient of the 2026 Gray Panthers Above and Beyond Award! Being blessed with the community and friends I have made with the Gray Panthers of New York City has been amongst the most rewarding moments of my life and I am privileged to share with you all what I have been up to following my journey with the Gray Panthers! First and foremost, I’d like to share with you that drawing from the deep inspiration I was blessed through with the Gray Pa

What happens when we stop treating generations as separate groups and start creating opportunities for them to learn, create, collaborate, and lead together? That was the question at the heart of Gray Panthers NYC’s September Transformation Tuesday, “Co-Generational Innovators: A Showcase of Voices Building Bridges.” Facilitated by Gray Panthers NYC board member and CoGenerate Voices Fellow Meg LaPorte, the conversation brought together a remarkable group of innovators workin

Ageism is often quiet. It shows up in a headline’s framing, in a policy nobody questions, in the assumption that an idea belongs to the young. Gray Panthers NYC board member Meg LaPorte has spent her career getting it into view, and lately she has been doing that through art. Meg is co-founder and president of Art Against Ageism, a nonprofit that uses public art, interactive installations, and creative activism to challenge harmful stereotypes about older adults. In two recen

The 2026 Ministerial Declaration reinforces the case for placing older persons at the centre of sustainable development As the international community prepares for the 2026 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), attention is turning to progress on water, energy, cities and partnerships. Yet one essential question remains: how can sustainable development succeed if it does not fully include older persons? Population aging is reshaping societies worldwide. Across all regions, the n

Most families don’t plan for aging, they react to it. A parent falls and breaks a hip, and suddenly the question isn’t whether Mom can stay in the home she’s lived in for decades. It’s what happens next week. Gray Panthers NYC board member Ron Roel has spent years trying to break that pattern. On a recent episode of Many Voices, One Community on hmTv, he sat down with host Gaitley Stephenson Matthews, a longtime friend from the Glen Cove community, to talk about aging in plac

By Dr. Jane Barratt Image from Giovanna via Pexels Ageism is Visible. Accountability is Not. Look around. Ageism exists in every society. With the young and the old. I see it in policy. In practice. In everyday life. In the way older people are spoken about, and spoken over. It sits inside systems where decisions are made about the box you belong in, and who gets to stay out of it. My focus here is on what that means for people in later life. What I have noticed over many yea

Imagine living on $50 a month. Not for rent or food or medicine, but for everything else that makes a life: a haircut, a birthday card for a grandchild, a phone plan to call the people you love, a new pair of shoes. That is the reality for New Yorkers living in nursing homes. When a resident's care is paid for through Medicaid, nearly all of their Social Security goes toward the cost of that care. What they keep is called the Personal Needs Allowance, or PNA. In New York, it

The death of Gloria Steinem is more than the loss of an icon. It is a warning. Women like Gloria Steinem and Maggie Kuhn spent their lives challenging a world that was perfectly comfortable telling women where they belonged, how they should behave, what choices they could make, and when they should become quiet. Neither woman was very interested in being quiet. Gloria Steinem challenged sexism and the systems that kept women from power. Maggie Kuhn challenged ageism and the

What does it take to change the future of aging? Sometimes, it starts with a young person who discovers a movement and decides to carry its mission forward. Sometimes, it starts with a caregiver who realizes just how much power they have to protect—or diminish—a person's dignity. Sometimes, it starts with an artist, an advocate, a student, or a community leader who simply refuses to accept that “this is the way things are.” On August 25, Gray Panthers NYC's Transformation Tue

By Medha Lalani and Reshma Lalani, Co-Founders of Tech Buddies Our grandparents were the first people who showed us the problem. They struggled with things we had never thought twice about, like sending a text, joining a video call, or figuring out why an app suddenly looked different. We realized quickly that this was not a personal failing. It was a design problem, and they were far from alone. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where we live, 20.5% of residents are 65 or o

We are thrilled — and deeply proud — to share that our VP, Carrie Leljedal, has received AgingIN's 2026 Alex Spanko Memorial Award. This award means something special. It's named for Alex Spanko, who served as AgingIN's director of communications with alacrity, intelligence, and dedication until his tragic passing in March 2025. The award honors early-career professionals who carry forward Alex's steadfast commitment to eldercare — people who lead with compassion, advocate re

After meeting Legacy Project CEO and co-founder Arielle Galinsky at the ASA conference this year, in April, Gray Panthers NYC joined The Legacy Project, Inc. for a Global Intergenerational Week webinar, our first public collaboration and the start of what we hope is a long one. The Legacy Project is a national nonprofit that connects younger and older adults through storytelling and multigenerational friendship, working to combat social isolation and document life stories wor

By Dr. Jane Barratt What nineteen years of disability rights advocacy reveal about making a UN convention on the rights of older people matter I haven’t been close to disability rights work for more than ten years now. But I was, once, and I still watch it from the side lines the way you watch a sport you used to play. I notice things others may not. So when I read the International Disability Alliance’s latest annual report, I wasn’t looking at it as news. I was looking at i

By Manasvi Sharma _______________________________________________ Manasvi Sharma is a 16-year-old student researcher and youth public health advocate focused on the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, and healthcare policy. She is the founder of The Mind Initiative (TMI), a youth-led organization advancing preventative mental wellness and brain health education and advocacy. Through her work, she seeks to improve people’s health and dignity by strengthening the socia

Aging is not something to reverse. It’s something to understand, adapt to—and live fully. What does it really mean to age well? That was the question at the heart of Gray Panthers NYC’s July 2026 Transformation Tuesday conversation with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, geriatrician, educator, and author of Honest Aging: An Insider’s Guide to the Second Half of Life. In conversation with Gray Panthers board member Ron Roel, Dr. Leipzig offered a refreshingly direct perspective on aging: n

Remarks by Jack Kupferman at the High Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council, 38th plenary meeting, 07.16.26 Think globally. Act locally. The Stakeholder Group on Ageing offers concrete examples where local authorities, working with civil society, result in programs and policies accelerating the SDGs. Addressing the concerns of older persons is of great importance, yet progress and understanding is slow. Through an age lens, impactful solutions are currently being