Marc Freedman on Seeking Curiosity and Purpose in Midlife Transitions
Release Date: 10/08/2024
Introducing Long Life Learning Season 2
Long Life Learning
Long Life Learning is back! Join us every Monday this May and June to hear Kavitha Bindra, Executive Director of the Yale School of Management Executive Education, speak with accomplished executives and thought leaders to discuss living with inspiration and vitality. Season 2 centers around leveraging dynamic leadership for global impact, inspired by the voices that come out of the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program (YGELP).
info_outline
Jo Ann Jenkins on Social Change and Lifelong Mentorship at AARP
Long Life Learning
The final episode of season 1 features Jo Ann Jenkins, visionary CEO of AARP for the past 10 years. Jo Ann has revolutionized the mission of this “nonprofit, nonpartisan, social change organization” to help Americans embrace life after 50 as a vibrant time of transformation and connection. Jo Ann joins Kavitha to talk career pivots, lifelong mentorship, and legacy-making whose benefits extend to people of all ages. She invites us to consider the needs of an ever-evolving present day: one in which the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. is Americans 85 and up, and in which today’s...
info_outline
Bonnie Wan on Being a Misfit, a Vandal, and a Wise Beginner
Long Life Learning
This week, CSO, leadership coach, and author Bonnie Wan shares with Kavitha a moment of crisis that changed her life. Back in 2010, Bonnie found herself devoted to work and saying “yes” to everyone but her husband, her children, and herself. Out of a feverish night of writing, the Life Brief was born: an approach to self-examination, a lifestyle, and, most recently, the title of Bonnie’s bestselling 2024 book. Join this week’s conversation to hear how Bonnie’s rise as a strategist led to her being named CSO of the Year, how she strives to “make the room smarter,” and what...
info_outline
Stephanie Dunson on Writing Your Way to Collaborative Discovery
Long Life Learning
If you’ve ever caught yourself about to correct a spelling mistake on a grocery list, this week's guest has advice for you: Stop! And reflect: Why? Yale School of Management Lecturer and reflective writing practitioner Stephanie Dunson joins Kavitha in the studio for a discussion about how the power of process writing moves us from inward reflection to outward, purposeful action. Stephanie encourages her students—of all ages—to let go of everything they’ve been taught about “right and wrong” in writing and embrace the metacognitive journey of pursuing uncertainty: What’s...
info_outline
Michael Swiatek on Why This Is the Golden Age of Accessibility and Life
Long Life Learning
This week’s guest, Michael Swiatek, is a longtime airline executive and strategist. He also identifies as a blind, low vision individual, and is pioneering new ways to make flying accessible and comfortable to all travelers. Mike joins Kavitha to explain how he went from despising the airline industry to embracing it as a vocation, and why he’s excited, at age 61, to boldly step into a dual role as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Accessibility Officer for Abra Group. Listen to take part in discussions of Mike’s incredible international experiences, what he’s seen change in the...
info_outline
Joanna Lohman on Why She’s Refiring, Not Retiring
Long Life Learning
This week, Kavitha is joined by legendary pro-soccer player-turned keynote speaker and human rights activist Joanna Lohman. Together they discuss why Joanna says that she has “refired” rather than retired from professional sports, and why, as a Yale ELI Advisory Board member and upcoming cohort participant, she would encourage other ELI Fellows to do the same. Join us to learn about Joanna’s journey from a celebrated career with the Washington Spirit and the U.S. National Women’s soccer team to her “second act” pivot into her current roles as a performance coach, sport...
info_outline
Marc Freedman on Seeking Curiosity and Purpose in Midlife Transitions
Long Life Learning
In our first-ever episode of Long Life Learning, host Kavitha Bindra (Executive Director, Yale SOM Executive Education) is joined by Marc Freedman, Founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate. Marc is dedicated to championing intergenerational projects for the greater good, and will serve as Faculty Director for the forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative (ELI) provided by Executive Education at the Yale School of Management. Together, Marc and Kavitha lay the groundwork for a dynamic first season, untangling myths around aging and celebrating the joy of embracing the second half of life. Join...
info_outline
Welcome to Long Life Learning!
Long Life Learning
Long Life Learning host Kavitha Bindra introduces the premise of Season 1: how to center purpose and meaning in the context of midlife transitions. Just like participants in Yale SOM Executive Education's forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative, guests on the show are embracing their personal and professional milestones with dynamic leadership and tenacity! Featured voices include upcoming guests Marc Freedman, Joanna Lohman, and Michael Swiatek.
info_outlineIn our first-ever episode of Long Life Learning, host Kavitha Bindra (Executive Director, Yale SOM Executive Education) is joined by Marc Freedman, Founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate. Marc is dedicated to championing intergenerational projects for the greater good, and will serve as Faculty Director for the forthcoming Experienced Leaders Initiative (ELI) provided by Executive Education at the Yale School of Management.
Together, Marc and Kavitha lay the groundwork for a dynamic first season, untangling myths around aging and celebrating the joy of embracing the second half of life.
Join us as Marc and Kavitha unpack questions like: Why are so many professionals who are nearing or new to retirement now seeking adventure and a re-examination of what brings them meaning? What are the ways we can nurture connection and purpose amidst personal milestones and professional transitions? And why is it more urgent than ever that we actively work to build collaborative relationships across generational lines?
Links and Resources
For More Information on ELI and Yale SOM Executive Education:
For Resources Mentioned in today’s Episode:
- The Purpose Prize, today run by the AARP
- Gary Maxworthy’s Purpose Prize-winning plan to supply California food banks with fresh produce
- Road Scholar (formerly ElderHostel), founded by Yale alum William Berkeley
- Bill McKibben’s “Senior to Senior” voter registration program
- The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
- The Other Significant Others, by Rhaina Cohen
- An interview with Mauro Guillén, author of The Perennials
- An interview with Arthur C. Brooks, author of Strength to Strength
For More of Marc’s Work:
- A Morningstar interview in which Marc makes the case for “Encore Careers” (Feb. 2024)
- PBS NewsHour’s “Brief But Spectacular” segment showcasing Marc’s multi-generational work (March 2023)
- “Reimagining Your Next Chapter,” a Yale SOM Exec Ed webinar (Aug. 2024)
About Today’s Guest
Marc Freedman, Yale SOM ‘84
Founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate; Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management
Marc Freedman is the founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate and Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management, where heis Faculty Director of Yale’s new Experienced Leaders Initiative (ELI). Freedman is one of the nation’s leading experts on our increasingly multigenerational future and the author of five books. The Wall Street Journal named his most recent book — How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations — one of the year’s best books on aging well. Originator of the encore career idea linking second acts to the greater good, Freedman spearheaded creation of Experience Corps, the Purpose Prize, and Encore Fellowships. He has been honored with numerous awards and fellowships, including the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation/World Economic Forum.
A high honors graduate of Swarthmore College, Freedman holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife, Leslie Gray, and their three sons.
Transcript