Annual Symposium on Positive Aging

POSTPONED, future date to be determined

8th Annual Symposium on Positive Aging: Conversation on Connection and Community

The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan Wechsler Center for Modern Aging is pleased to announce its Eighth Annual Symposium on Positive Aging, to be held on Monday, October 30, from 10 am to 3 pm. This signature event will explore the timely topics of connections and their importance to our happiness and physical and emotional health.  With backgrounds spanning show business to community activism to the arts, four extraordinary individuals will bring to life ways that active engagement, connection, and friendship serve the person and the community. The day will also include a movement segment, lunch, and a presentation by guest speaker Elaine O’Brien, Ph.D., who will focus on creating new friendships and relationships, along with an interactive experience.


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Josh Sapan was CEO of AMC Networks for 26 years, during which he was credited with building some of television’s most influential shows, including AMC’s The Walking Dead, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul; BBC America's Killing Eve; IFC’s Portlandia and Documentary Now!; and SundanceTV’s Rectify and Top of the Lake.

Sapan serves on the boards of The American Film Institute, The Museum of the Moving Image, New York Public Radio, The New School, The Public Theatre, and People for the American Way. He is the author of Cable TV, The Big Picture: America in Panorama, and Third Act, and RX, a book of poetry to be published by Red Hen Press in 2023.

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Hope Harley served as President of the Board of Directors for Bronx Children's Museum from 2010 through 2021, where she still serves. She has also held positions on the boards of . The Harlem School of the Arts, the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Audubon Partnership for Economic Development, and Hearts and Hammers, as well as on the Jackie Robinson Foundation scholarship selection committee. 

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Jamal Joseph founded IMPACT Repertory Theater Performance Company after retiring from a faculty position at Columbia University at age 62. He is a filmmaker and author, most notably of Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention.  

 

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Bill Persky is a five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director, and producer for programs such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby, and Kate & Allie and the creator of the Marlo Thomas classic, That Girl. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers Guild of America; a Giant of Television Award from The Radio and Television Executive Society, and a Doctor of Humane Letters from New Haven University, where he taught and was the commencement speaker in 2015. He is a guest lecturer at NYU Film School, Yale University, and Columbia University.

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Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez is the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Aging, and previously served as the 65th Secretary of State of New York, appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer.

 

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Elaine O'Brien's, Ph.D., MAPP leadership and research advances Positive Aging, and the role of the body and appreciative movement in helping people achieve flourishing mental health, physical fitness, and positivity through the lifespan. Elaine is co-author of The Power of Play: Optimize Your Joy Potential. 

*Register at the supporter level to have your name listed in the event program, secure priority seating at the live event, a free voucher for a Wechsler Center program, and help make the magic happen! 

Please email Arienne Pelletier at apelletier@mmjccm.org with any questions.


Apsley logo

The 8th Annual Symposium on Positive Aging is generously sponsored by The Apsley and The New Jewish Home.

Help us continue to ensure accessible programming for everyone. Please support The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.