In this episode, AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan sits down with Bob Kramer to explore a career shaped by purpose, perspective, and a deep commitment to improving the lives of older adults. Kramer reflects on his personal and professional journey—from his early work as a pastor, to leadership roles in government, to founding the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC)—and the values that have guided his work across decades in aging services.

Throughout the conversation, Kramer emphasizes the importance of legacy, listening, and being "multilingual" across sectors, disciplines, and viewpoints. He shares how understanding the language of policy, finance, healthcare, and community is essential for leaders seeking to drive meaningful change in senior living and longevity.

The discussion examines the evolving senior living landscape, including the growing gap between lifespan and health span, the increasing demand for housing and care, and the urgent need for innovation beyond traditional private-pay models. Kramer introduces concepts such as "next stage living," lifestyle-driven communities, and the rise of active adult products, along with the integration of primary care, prevention, and chronic disease management to support longer, healthier lives.

Kramer advocates for greater integration of older adults into the workforce and volunteer efforts, noting their potential to address challenges such as loneliness, caregiving shortages, and community resilience. He calls for a cultural shift that values the contributions of older adults and confronts the ageist assumptions that limit participation.

In closing, Kramer offers candid advice for current and emerging leaders: seek out differing perspectives, challenge assumptions, build operational expertise, and remain open to learning across boundaries. While acknowledging the policy, market, and demographic challenges ahead, he remains optimistic—pointing to collaboration, innovation, and perseverance as essential tools for meeting the needs of an aging population.

In our final replay of 2025's most popular conversations, Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), sits down with AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan to discuss her organization's work to demystify the financial side of eldercare with data.

In what was a clear-eyed forecast of the year, McCracken examines how high-quality, third-party information can inform the next generation of services and supports for older adults.

You can't fix what you can't measure, but far too often, leaders from around the eldercare improvement world are forced to do just that when considering changes to the way we fund, regulate, and develop new care settings.


Learn more about NIC and its research: https://www.nic.org/

Learn more about the NIC Academy certification program: https://www.nic.org/professional-education/

And search for "NIC Chats," Lisa's podcast, on the podcast platform of your choice.

This week's replay, one of the most popular episodes of 2025, features a profound conversation between Barry Barkan, visionary eldercare advocate and Pioneer Network co-founder, and AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan. These longtime friends discuss reimagining aging and the transformative potential of community, spirit, and consciousness.

Barkan shares his journey from founding the Live Oak Institute to helping launch the Pioneer Network, driven by a belief that aging is not a problem to solve but a gift to elevate. He recounts his efforts to create a regenerative, inclusive community at the Jewish Home in Oakland—an idea that initially faced rejection but ultimately gained momentum and global influence, including a successful expansion into 15 homes in Israel.

But this conversation goes beyond history. Barkan offers a deeply reflective vision for a paradigm shift—a movement from a worldview rooted in domination and separation to one grounded in interconnection, kindness, and sufficiency. He challenges listeners to see humanity as one living being, where every person and every creature matters.

Together, Ryan and Barkan explore the concept of "Elder Awesome" and moving beyond traditional notions of "elder care." They also discuss the "Tao of Blessings"—a personal path to leave grace in every encounter

Barkan offers his vision for communities and care environments rooted in equity, dignity, and accountability.

As we continue to replay the most popular episodes of 2025, this week's features an insightful interview by AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan as she sits down with senior living innovator Andy Carle, consultant and founder of UniversityRetirementCommunities.com.

Andy shares his personal journey into eldercare and the bold moves he's made to elevate the field, from founding a 70-community company to creating the first university-level curriculum for senior living executives.

Andy also dives into the concept of "nana technology"—his term for tech that supports aging with dignity—and explores the rise of University Retirement Communities (URCs), a model that merges lifelong learning with purposeful aging. He outlines the five essential criteria for certification and shares how URCs foster mutual benefit for both older adults and students through intergenerational connection, shared resources, and collaborative programming.

This episode takes a deep dive into what's possible when we stop settling for outdated models and start designing for a future that values older adults as engaged, capable, and vital members of society.

More information about URCs here: universityretirementcommunities.com

This week's episode is a replay of one of the most popular of 2025. It features a conversation with policy experts Joe Angelelli and Anne Montgomery as they discuss the EINSTEIN Option (which is now known as Connected Communities), a collaborative effort of eldercare changemakers dedicated to advancing a comprehensive plan to reimagine the entire care delivery system.

The late Alex Spanko, who served as AgingIN's director of communications and marketing at the time, moderates a compelling conversation about how this model could create full care continuums in communities around the country, with services and supports that meet elders where they are—instead of forcing them into institutional settings that do not meet their needs.

Learn more about Connected Communities: https://www.theconnectedcommunities.com/

This week marks our first of four encore episodes this month – the most popular of 2025. As we close out the year, we are happy to present @AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan's interview with Village to VillageNetwork national director Barbara Sullivan.

The Village to Village Network works to create durable webs of support in communities all across the country, organizing volunteers to provide the kind of nuts-and-bolts assistance — transportation, home maintenance, tech support — and social experiences that make thriving in place possible.

Sullivan joins Ryan to discuss her journey through eldercare, as well as her vision for making these intentional villages the norm in neighborhoods everywhere.

Learn more about the Village to Village Network: https://www.vtvnetwork.org/

This week on Elevate Eldercare is an encore episode with former U.S. Surgeon General and current AgingIN Board Member, Joycelyn Elders, MD. In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, we thought this very special discussion, in which AgingIN's Susan Ryan and the late Alex Spanko (who served as director of communications from 2021 to 2024) engage Dr. Elders in a discussion about her trailblazing life and career.

An added motivation for the replay of this episode is that the New York Academy of Medicine recently presented Dr. Elders with the Alma Dea Morani Renaissance Woman Award.

With humor and refreshing honesty, Dr. Elders shares her perspectives on racism, sexism, and all the other "isms" that continue to shape the way health care is provided in the United States. As an elder herself, she also provides insights into what she might want out of the U.S. eldercare landscape and how supports and services might fit into her still-busy life as a widely sought-after and admired public health expert.

Dr. Elders is renowned for breaking barriers and sparking essential conversations throughout her remarkable career. Appointed in 1993 as the 15th Surgeon General of the United States, the first African American and only the second woman to hold that office, Dr. Elders brought unprecedented visibility to issues ranging from adolescent health and reproductive rights to substance use prevention and health education. TIME magazine named her "1994 Woman of the Year" and "One of the 100 Most Influential Women of the 20th Century."

In this week's episode of Elevate Eldercare, AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan welcomes Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller and a global ambassador for human-centered leadership.

Chapman shares how he transformed a struggling $20 million family business into a thriving $4 billion enterprise by embracing a simple but radical idea: leaders have a profound responsibility for the lives entrusted to them.

Drawing on decades of experience across industries—including healthcare, government, education, and business—Ryan and Chapman dive into why empathy, listening, and recognition are not "soft skills," but essential human skills that build stronger organizations and healthier communities.

Chapman walks listeners through the pivotal moments that transformed his views of business and leadership, including making business fun, how business shapes lives, and the fact that everyone is someone's precious child.

Learn about the Truly Human Leadership Institute here: https://www.ccoleadership.com/services/develop/leadership-development-training/truly-human-leader-program