In the United States, century-long lives are here. As a nation and as a global society, we are not prepared. Our institutions, economic policies, infrastructure, and social and cultural norms have not evolved to meet this enormous demographic shift, despite warnings from forward-thinking leaders about the dramatic implications of this change.

In April of 2024, Sunnylands co-hosted a convening with the Annenberg Foundation and Wallis Annenberg GenSpace, bringing together some of the best thinkers and leaders in government, business, non-profit, philanthropy, and academia to ignite action to prepare for a radically older U.S. population. This impressive group of participants included then-U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, AARP Chief Public Policy Officer Debra Whitman, senior representatives of Los Angeles County and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, as well as the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and the managing director of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging.

Various key topics were examined, including technology and aging, combatting social isolation, equity and aging, financial security, our multigenerational workforce, and ageism in popular culture. The group used its newfound cohesion to fuel long-term collaboration that included the Century Summit led by the Stanford Center on Longevity and co-sponsored by Wallis Annenberg GenSpace, and to launch CoGenerate’s study of cross-generational attitudes.