Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse

Est. 2018

Old School

Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse

What Is Old School?

Old School curates, creates, commissions and disseminates free resources to educate people about ageism and how to end it; hosts and facilitates spaces where age advocates around the world can connect; collaborates with other pro-aging organizations; and shows up for other social-justice movements.

Old School is working towards a world where everyone has the opportunity to live long and to live well. We are advancing the movement to dismantle ageism, and we are leveraging the fact that everyone ages (and experiences age bias) in order to address the intersectional nature of all oppression—and of all activism.

The Team

Ashton Applewhite

Ashton Applewhite

Co-Founder

An internationally recognized expert on ageism, Ashton is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. She speaks widely at venues that have included the TED mainstage and the United Nations, and is at the forefront of the emerging movement to raise awareness of ageism and to dismantle it.

Kyrié Carpenter

Kyrié Carpenter

Co-Founder

Trained as a therapist, Kyrié is a teacher and public speaker, specializing in ageism and dementia. She co-founded the anti-ageism clearinghouse OldSchool.info with Ashton Applewhite and Ryan Backer, is an educator with The Eden Alternative, author of Healing Dementia, and adjunct faculty at USI and Pacifica Graduate Institute. She loves to travel, was a cast member on Dr. Bill Thomas' nationwide ChangingAging Tour, and has been living part-time in a campervan with her family since 2015.

Ryan Backer

Ryan Backer

Co-Founder

Ryan is an age activist, public speaker, and ‘old person in training’. They are aiming to eradicate ageism intersectionally, along with white supremacy, gender bias, ableism, body shaming, homophobia, classism and all other forms of oppression. They are a white, non-binary, anarchist settler who has been circling the sun since 1988.

Dan Visel

Dan Visel

Developer & Designer

Dan makes Old School's technical operations work.

Christina Peoples

Christina Peoples

Social Media Manager

Christina holds a Master of Science degree in Gerontology. She is the creator of Gero-what?!, a blog related to aging. She is enthusiastic and passionate about discussing all things related to aging with others. Christina loves working with Old School and is happy to be a part of the movement to #ExposeAgeism.

Collaborators

Mel Coppola

Mel Coppola

Ageism Activist~Educator/Collaborator

Mel has been educating about Ageism since she first became aware of it in 2012. Using informaiton she learned from Dr. Bill Thomas, Tracy Gendron, as well as others, including Ashton Applewhite, she created local and national presentations on Ageism. Through a meeting with Ashton, she was introduced to and collaborated with the Old School team.

Sheila Callaham

Sheila Callaham

Executive Director, Age Equity Alliance / Collaborator

Sheila is the Executive Director for Age Equity Alliance. She is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subject matter expert and regular contributor to Forbes. Sheila is a passionate educator and equity advocate and believes employers who proactively build diverse, multigenerational teams are in the best position to succeed.

Tracey Gendron

Tracey Gendron

Associate Professor and Chair Department of Gerontology at Virginia Commonwealth University

Tracey's personal and professional goal is to understand, raise awareness of, and disrupt the deeply embedded, normalized, and invisible ageism that is within us all. She is the author of Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It (Penguin Random House, 2022).

Kazuki Yamada

Kazuki Yamada

Project Manager and Administrator of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing Platform, World Health Organization

Kazuki is Project Manager and Administrator for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing knowledge exchange Platform: a digital space designed to help Decade stakeholders find, share, and produce the diverse knowledge they need to foster healthy ageing. Kazuki has supported WHO’s work on healthy ageing and the Decade since 2017 with an emphasis on communications and digital connectivity. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science and an MA in Ageing & Society, and has worked for over 7 years in strategic communications, visual design, and website management.

Kelly Durden Posey

Kelly Durden Posey

Attorney and consultant / collaborator

Kelly is the founder of Inspired Inclusivity Consulting. Her work is informed by her experience as a queer, black, southern, mama of 3. With over 14 years of experience as an attorney, HR Professional, and educator, and a wealth of experience advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, Kelly provides tangible, actionable strategies for embracing inclusion.

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