Episode 4: Generation Z and Caregiving

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

We typically think of caregivers as middle-aged or older, but more than ten million millennials and members of Gen Z are caregivers to family members.  In this episode, we hear the story of Libby Brittain, who was 24 years old when her mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. We are joined by Jean Accius from AARP and Amanda Cavaleri from Connect the Ages – who share insights on how younger caregivers can find their way. 

CAREGIVER: LIBBY BRITTAIN

LIBBY BRITAIN is a caregiver, technologist, and founder of her own company, Quilt. Prior to founding Quilt, Libby worked for Facebook in both the Menlo Park and New York City campuses. During her tenure at Facebook, Libby became the primary caregiver for her mother, Carol, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2017. Libby decided to start Quilt because she knows first-hand how difficult it is to care for an aging parent, especially when one is balancing a caregiving role with other responsibilities at work and at home. When her mother got sick, Libby found herself faced with many important legal, financial, and emotional questions that doctors were not in a position to answer. Now, she provides personal, flexible, and consistent support to other people facing the same challenges with caregiving.

EXPERTS: JEAN ACCIUS, AMANDA CAVALERI

JEAN ACCIUS, PhD, is a senior executive and nationally recognized thought leader on aging, longevity, health and long-term care policy. He is a tri-sector leader with deep knowledge and a wealth of experience having served in senior level positions across private, public and nonprofit sectors. Dr. Accius is the Senior Vice President of Thought Leadership and International Affairs. In this role, he provides strategic direction, leadership and technical expertise championing new ideas, framing thought-provoking perspectives and driving bold solutions to change systems and improve the lives of all as they age both domestically and internationally. Dr. Accius has been quoted by or appeared in numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, TIME Magazine, USA Today, Reuters, Politico, Next Avenue, ESPN’s Undefeated, Congressional Quarterly’s online arm and the Huffington Post. The National Academy of Social Insurance recognized him as one of the new generation of social insurance leaders in the country.  In 2018, Dr. Accius was recognized as a Gerontological Society of America Fellow, one of Black Enterprise magazine’s 2018 Modern Man of Distinction and a recipient of the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund 40 under 40 Award. In 2019, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded him with the prominent “Sharecare Award” for his groundbreaking work on male family caregivers. The Maryland Daily Record recognized him as a 2019 Influential Marylander for sparking innovation and progress, shaping and enriching his community and knowing how to get results that better the state and serve the needs of residents of all ages. Dr. Jean Accius has held a variety of board and advisory positions including Justice in Aging, the American Society on Aging, Leadership Maryland, the Florida State University Alumni Association, the South Florida Institute on Aging Policy Council and the Editorial Advisory Committee for Generations, the journal for the American Society on Aging. He is an Executive Leadership Council Fellow and holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality administration and a master’s degree in aging studies from the Claude Pepper Institute at Florida State University, and a Ph.D. in public administration from American University.  Dr. Accius is also a member of the Vanguard group at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Corporate Innovation program.  

AMANDA CAVALERI is an entrepreneur at the intersection of emerging technology and shifting demographics. Founder of Connect the Ages, a wisdom platform on a mission to transfer the value of wisdom across generations, she seeks to evolve out interaction with data, information, and knowledge to build a more resilient future. Cavaleri’s passion to explore and share wisdom has lead her around the world researching and filming how other cultures gain value from multigenerational communities and traditions. Further gaining insight into how technology can be a tool to bridge the generations, Cavaleri worked alongside world-renowned cryptography and opensource entrepreneurs. 

Cavaleri advises consumer electronics companies, real estate developers,  startups, and investment funds on technology commercialization, investor relations, go-to-marker strategy and global growth. She has been involved in academic business and product development as a Thought Leader with Carnegie Mellon University & UOMC’s Quality if Life Tech Center and as an Innovation and Business Partner with University of Denver’s  Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging. She was recognized as a Top 50 Influencer un Aging by PBS’s Next Avenue and was an Enterprise Strategy and Innovation Fellow with AARP where she worked to solve skills and generational gaps within the 50+ workforce. 

Her work has been featured nationally and locally in publications ranging from the Colorado Health Institute and American Society on Aging to The Daily Beast. Cavaleri has been a speaker on the TEDx stage, a lifestyle feature in The Denver Post, and a PBS NewsHour segment and has guest lectured at the University of Malta, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Colorado, and University if Southern California.