Feather in Our Cap: GPNYC Presented at ASA in Atlanta

On April 23 in Atlanta, I had the honor of presenting at the 2026 ASA conference alongside Carrie on a topic that feels both timely and deeply personal to long-standing advocacy organizations: Reviving, Rebranding and Rebuilding: GPNYC for the 21st Century. We titled our session as a reflection on what it means to evolve without losing identity, history, or mission.

For organizations like ours, longevity is both an asset and a challenge. We carry the vision of Gray Panthers founder, Maggie Kuhn, with over five decades of memory, relationships, campaigns, and credibility. And we don’t wish to risk being seen as “frozen in time”—relevant to the past, but not legible to new audiences, funders, or emerging generations of activists. The question we explored in Atlanta was simple, but not easy: How do you refresh without diluting what you stand for?

Carrie and I framed the conversation around tension points many nonprofits will recognize. The first is identity vs. perception. Gray Panthers NYC has always been rooted in intergenerational activism (it was originally called the Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change) and a refusal to accept ageism as inevitable. Rebranding, we feel, is not about changing the mission—it is about sharpening the lens through which others can see it today.

The second tension is legacy vs. accessibility. We shared how digital presence often carries unintentional barriers. A new generation may not have heard of an organization that was more vital 30 or 40 years ago. At the same time, our history is not something to bury—it is something to translate. In our case, that means telling stories through webinars like Transformation Tuesday, highlighting lived experience, and making our archive feel alive rather than archival.

We also discussed the emotional side of renewal. Renewal, we suggested, is not erasure—it is stewardship. It is how we ensure that the values Maggie and others before us have fought for continue to travel forward in a world that communicates differently every decade.

One of the most energizing parts of the session was interaction with attendees. We met thought leaders from around the country, and in the evenings we mingled with many colleagues– including Arielle Galinsky and Jordan Evans, who are part of our Gerson Rising Leaders group.

Looking back on our conference experience we see the value of acknowledging that staying relevant over time—without losing your core—is itself an achievement worth naming.

For Gray Panthers NYC, this conversation is ongoing. Renewal is not a one-time project. It is an ongoing practice of listening, adjusting, and re-articulating who we are for the present moment. Atlanta gave us both affirmation and challenge, and we are carrying that forward with gratitude—and with purpose.