old school

About Old School

Old School curates, creates, commissions and disseminates free resources to educate people about ageism and how to end it. It hosts and facilitates spaces where age advocates around the world can connect. It also 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.

Wondering where to begin? Here are some suggestions.

The Team

Ashton Applewhite

Ashton Applewhite Co-Founder

The author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, Ashton is at the forefront of the movement for age equity. In 2022 the United Nations named her one of the Healthy Aging 50: 50 leaders transforming the world to be a better place to grow older.

Ryan Backer

Ryan Backer Co-Founder

Ryan is an age activist, writer, public speaker, and ‘old person in training’. They facilitate workshops internationally on queering age and exposing ageism within an intersectional framework.

Kyrié Carpenter

Kyrié Carpenter Co-Founder, on caregiving sabbatical

Trained as a therapist, Kyrié teaches for The Eden Alternative, USI and Pacifica Grad. Inst. She authored Healing Dementia and has spoken nationwide, including Dr. Bill Thomas' ChangingAging Tour.

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.

Steven J. Frampton

Steven J. Frampton Events Manager

Steven is the founder of AGE Movement, which fosters an inclusive and positive culture for older workers. He is writing a book on embracing one’s fullest potential and was previously an Ethics & Compliance Leader at a Fortune 500 company.

Dan Visel

Dan Visel Developer & Designer

Dan makes Old School's technical operations work.

David Wilson

David Wilson Facilitator

David is an educator and movement coach. He uses social media and classes in embodied movement to help people see aging accurately, realistically and positively.

A thousand thanks to Paul Belford Ltd. for new logo & look.

Old School’s Origin Story

What people are saying:

This site is pure inspiration for joining the anti-ageism movement. Thank you!

Katie Wright

Content Marketing Specialist for Senior Health & Wellness

What people are saying:

I have signed up to Old School and really look forward to drawing on it for the Global Campaign to Combat Ageism.

Alana Officer

Senior Health Adviser, Ageing and Life Course, World Health Organization

What people are saying:

Old School is a REALLY great resource. I've bookmarked it so I can return for more. The best way I know to become more intentional in my fight against ageism is to learn, learn learn!

Ayana King

CEO, Maximum Communications

What people are saying:

Thank you for all the wonderful material Old School makes available for free. And the zoom sessions that always get me to think about age and ageism in new ways.

Candy Leonard

sociologist and research consultant

What people are saying:

I teach 'ageing and intergenerational relations' to undergraduate and postgraduate students. The extensive information on Old School helps them critique and appraise our approach to ageing and tackling age inequality.

Catherine Elliott O’Dare,

Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin

What people are saying:

It’s a fantastic resource for dismantling ageism and encouraging discussions about growing old!

Cathy Bollinger

Managing Director, Embracing Aging

What people are saying:

I’ve really appreciated the resources compiled in Old School for my students who are studying aging. They find it very helpful and it’s great having these resources in one place.

Clara Berridge

Assistant Professor, UW School of Social Work

What people are saying:

Advocating is a passion of mine. A million thanks for inviting us into the community of change makers!

Cory A. Scurlock

co-creator of "Ageism Affecting Young Professionals."

What people are saying:

We love Old School! We use its treasure trove of trustworthy information to educate homeowners and their communities about the requirements—and evolving options—for the modern lifespan.

Customized Aging

What people are saying:

Old School is a radical, revolutionary undertaking.

CZ Nnaemeka

Chief Innovation Officer

What people are saying:

Old School is a central part of the great movement we need to deal with the longevity revolution and the joy of life until we’re dead.

D Kaganova

Visual Artist

What people are saying:

Old School is new school for everyone to get informed and in front of ageism today.

David Tarr

Founder, Maturious

What people are saying:

We were delighted to learn about Old School, and will be using it to inform our efforts to combat ageism going forward. The website is so rich.

Dr. K. Rao Podhuri

University of Rochester

What people are saying:

I've long felt very uncomfortable when told I didn't look 78, or that my voice on our silver phone sounded so much younger. After I found Old School, I began responding, “How I should look at 78?"

Elke Schilling

founder of Sllbernetz, Germany

What people are saying:

I am so thrilled to see this resource. It has been bookmarked and I look forward to digging into it. Thank you for your work and please please please, keep it up!!

Emily Miller

LMSW, MSW

What people are saying:

I’m delighted to be included in the site and delighted about the project in general. I’m incorporating it into my current course on ageism and ableism.

Erin Gentry Lamb

Associate Professor and Chair of Biomedical Humanities Director, Center for Literature and Medicine, Hiram College

What people are saying:

I worked for the man who invented the term 'ageism' (the late Robert Butler) and I know he would be proud of what Old School will achieve. It will take a long time to dismantle ageism, but the battle has already begun.

Harry R. Moody, Ph.D.

Retired VP for Academic Affairs, AARP

What people are saying:

What a wonderful resource you have created and made available. You're right that the women’s movement could have benefited from a repository such as Old School.

Jann Freed

Ph.D., Leadership Development and Change Management Consultant. The Genysys Group

What people are saying:

It would have been so useful to have access to Old School when I was an undergrad studying gerontology. I am thrilled it exists now!

Joe Quinn

Houston

What people are saying:

Really great stuff on there that can be of so much help to us in our age discrimination cases.

Joyce Collier

attorney and member of the National Employment Lawyers Association

What people are saying:

As a marketing consultant who helps businesses communicate with older consumers, I’ve found Old School very useful. A significant movement is underway, and the site offers a great way to find out more and, in your way, get involved.

Julian Harcourt

owner, Greyafro Marketing

What people are saying:

Old School is sublime! l am developing ways for arts organizations to integrate ageism into their Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, and it has already provided me so much literature for my research.

K.C. Buller

Seattle University, MFA Arts Leadership

What people are saying:

Old School is valuable for my work as a freelance journalist, connecting me with academics, professionals, and leaders in the field of aging. I regularly peruse the site to spot trends and stay abreast of cutting-edge thinking.

Kevyn Burger

2018 GSA Journalist in Aging Fellow, Minneapolis, MN

What people are saying:

Old School is fantastic! Kudos on pulling together a terrific resource. I will continue to utilize it and share it with colleagues and friends.

Kirsten Jacobs

Director, Dementia and Wellness Education, LeadingAge

What people are saying:

Having dived into Old School, I feel so much better equipped to challenge my own bias and shift the way I view, interact and speak to and about people of different ages.

Kylie Patchett

menoPAUSE Self Care Coach and Story Teller

What people are saying:

Thank you so much for assembling such a war chest of valuable tools for all of us advocates to draw on. I plan to use it in my coaching practice and make it available to the aging organizations I am part of.

Larry Steward

Aging-in-place expert

What people are saying:

We’re very pleased to announce the launch of A Site For All Ages, the Israeli home for combating ageism. Our inspiration was the Old School Clearinghouse.

Liat Ayalon

Professor, Bar-Ilan University

What people are saying:

Old School is an incredible resource. I’m thrilled to be able to point people to it.

Marci Alboher

Vice President, CoGenerate

What people are saying:

Before most people knew what anti-ageism was, Old School went public as the go-to archive. Now everyone needs to join the fight. Here are the intersectional resources to help society make progress.

Margaret Gullette

Author of Ending Ageism, or How Not to Shoot Old People.

What people are saying:

I'm so grateful to the Old School Clearinghouse for making my anti-ageist work—and that of many other age scholars and advocates—available in one place! It makes organizational activism easier. Altogether, the site gives us energy to fight the powers that keep ableist/ sexist/ racist/ classist ageism anchored in culture.

Margaret Morganroth Gullette

author of AGEWISE and ENDING AGEISM

What people are saying:

Old School is a game changer. It allows those of us working to change the cuture of aging to connect, learn from each other, and build on each other’s efforts.

Marlene Krasovitsky

Director, EveryAGE Counts campaign, Australia

What people are saying:

What an invaluable resource. I'm always looking for good content to spark deeper conversations and Old School has quite the curated collection!

Matthew Cahill

diversity consultant

What people are saying:

We are sharing Old School with our global PIONeers in 66 countries. An essential source for all! Thank you for leading the way!

Moira Allan

Co-founder & International Coordinator of the Pass It On Network.

What people are saying:

I’m madly building my syllabi and collecting resources and I have to say, the curriculum support on your site — now that I’ve had some real time to sit with it — is FANTASTIC. Big props.

Nancy Nowacek

Artist and Assistant Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology

What people are saying:

It’s clear and straightforward and directs attention efficiently toward the resources themselves.

Pat Sampson

Seattle, WA

What people are saying:

The Old School website is chock-full of thought-provoking content. I’m extremely grateful for it, and have already returned to it several times.

Raymond A. Jetson

founder of Aging While Black

What people are saying:

Wow!! The clearinghouse is fantastic!! Thank you for developing this important web-based resource and curating the content. Happy – and eager- to spread the word.

Risa Breckman

Executive Director, NYC Elder Abuse Center at Weill Cornell Medical College

What people are saying:

As a research officer in an ageing institute in Singapore, it's really wonderful to see so many resources available on ageism. I plan to dive deeper, and hopefully start some kind of ageism-awareness initiative.

Sheena Carlsen

Geriatric Education and Research Institute, Singapore

What people are saying:

Encyclopedic! Unbelievable vast knowledge within! It reminded me of an Old School record store, to which I can return again and again, finding delicious information.

Sheila Malkind

Founder & Executive Director, Legacy Film Festival on Aging

What people are saying:

You have my admiration for Old School. It is a strong gathering of resources to challenge ageism in all its forms.

Stephen Katz

Professor (Emeritus), Trent University, Peterborough

What people are saying:

I dove into Old School yesterday and was practically salivating. There is so much there, and I look forward to sharing this resource with my community.

Sundae Schneider-Bean

intercultural strategist and host of the IN TRANSIT podcast

What people are saying:

When I think I ‘only have’ maybe 15 years left (will be 83 yo), I think what’s the point of pushing myself? I’m wrestling with that. Your site gives me another outlook on ‘getting older’.

Tz

from Dallas, TX

What people are saying:

Come to this site when you’re looking for reassurance that the fight against ageism is alive and well. What a fabulous resource for organizations pursuing quality of life and care for older adults and their families.

Valorie Villela

Director, Well Program Development, On Lok

What people are saying:

Old School exposes ageism’s toxic effects and impresses with all that's fueling the anti-ageism movement. Everything you need to shape your own role in eradicating this prejudice is here. Get informed, get inspired, get moving!

Wendl Kornfeld

Member NYC Gray Panthers, Age activist