AgingINnovation 2026 Annual Conference… Peak Purpose: Redefining How We Live and Age
Peak Purpose: Turning Inspiration Into Action.
The mountains may have provided the backdrop, but it was the people who defined AgingINnovation 2026: Peak Purpose—Redefining How We Live and Age.
Leaders, care partners, researchers, innovators, advocates, and changemakers came together in Denver with a shared belief: the future of aging services should be built around people, not systems. Across the conference, conversations moved beyond theory to explore what person-directed living looks like in practice—and what it takes to create meaningful, measurable change.
From emerging research and innovative approaches to health and longevity to leadership, workforce culture, operations, and person-directed practices, attendees were challenged to think differently about how we support people as they age. Just as important were the conversations happening between sessions: peers exchanging ideas, questioning long-held assumptions, sharing what is working, and building connections that will continue well beyond Denver.
Peak Purpose was more than a conference theme. It was a challenge. Purpose becomes powerful when we put it into practice—when dignity, choice, autonomy, belonging, and meaningful living shape everyday decisions.
The conference may be over, but the work is not.
AgingIN will continue bringing together research, real-world practice, and the people leading change across aging services. Whether you joined us in Denver or are just discovering the AgingIN community, there are more opportunities to learn, connect, and put person-directed living into action.
Keep the momentum going. Visit AgingIN to explore resources, upcoming educational opportunities, research, events, and ways to get involved in redefining how we live and age.
Brain Bytes.
Can you stand on one leg and turn your head without falling?
At the AgingIN Longevity Summit, in Denver, attendees learned that the one-legged stand is a practical snapshot of balance and neuromotor function, not simply a test of leg strength. The exercise challenges the brain to integrate vision, the vestibular system (inner ear), and proprioception (sensory information from the feet and limbs). Adding head turns makes the test more difficult because it introduces movement into the vestibular and visual systems while the foot remains stationary. This helps reveal how well the brain can reconcile potentially conflicting sensory information.
The one-legged stand can provide an indication of fall risk, because poor balance is associated with greater difficulty maintaining stability and can contribute to falls.
The healthy norms for the one-legged stand are approximately 30 seconds for adults under 60, 20–25 seconds for ages 60–70, 10–15 seconds for ages 70–79, and at least 5 seconds for those 80 and older. Importantly, physical therapist Karen Stellick notes that these numbers may underestimate what older adults can achieve: with purposeful training, many people in their 80s can reach 20–30 seconds.
The head-turning version does not have a specific age-based norm in the episode. Instead, it serves as a progression that increases the challenge to the brain’s balance systems. Closing the eyes is an even greater challenge because it removes visual input and requires the vestibular system and proprioception to work harder.
The encouraging message is that balance is a skill that can be trained and improved. A simple test can give us valuable information about how well our sensory systems and brain are working together, and where there may be an opportunity to improve.
For more information about balance, brain health, and healthy aging, we invite you to listen to the Brain Bytes episode featuring physical therapist Karen Stellick.
Education Opportunities.
Build Your Education Team. Grow Your Leaders. Strengthen Your Culture.
Build the Skills to Lead Person-Directed Living
Person-directed living doesn’t happen because an organization believes in it. It happens when people throughout the organization have the skills, confidence, and support to put it into practice every day.
AgingIN offers practical learning experiences designed to help organizations build that capacity—from developing a coaching culture and strengthening nursing practice to leading empowered teams in small-house environments.
Empowered Nursing
Nurses influence nearly every aspect of an elder’s daily life, yet many were educated in a traditional medical model that can make balancing clinical responsibility with individual choice challenging.
Empowered Nursing helps nurses balance clinical excellence with resident choice, relationships, and whole-person well-being. Participants explore four essential roles—Influencer, Partner, Advocate, and Gerontological Clinician—and develop practical skills to lead through influence, strengthen partnerships, and balance resident choice with sound clinical judgment.
The goal: Equip nurses to become leaders in creating a more person-directed experience for the people they serve.
Leading Empowered Cultures
Empowered teams require leaders who know when to lead, when to coach, and when to resist the urge to simply provide the answer.
Leading Empowered Cultures helps leaders shift from directing and solving to coaching and developing others. Participants build practical coaching skills that foster trust, accountability, engagement, and ownership while helping employees think critically, consider different perspectives, and make values-based decisions.
And yes, participants meet their “advice monster”—that very human tendency to jump in with the answer rather than helping someone discover it for themselves.
The goal: Help organizations create and sustain a collaborative coaching culture where empowerment and accountability go hand in hand.
Leading Small House Living
Leadership Essentials for Empowered Teams and Person-Directed Living
Leading in a small-house or decentralized environment requires a different approach than leading within a traditional hierarchy.
Leading Small House Living prepares leaders to create environments where the people closest to elders have meaningful voice, ownership, and responsibility. Participants strengthen skills in shared decision-making, teamwork, coaching, and accountability while learning to recognize organizational practices that may unintentionally get in the way of empowerment.
The course connects leadership practices directly to quality of life and quality of care, helping leaders translate the principles of small-house living into everyday operations.
The goal: Develop leaders who can sustain empowered teams and make person-directed living real in daily practice.
Which Learning Experience Is Right for Your Team?
Whether you’re developing a stronger coaching culture, supporting nurses as leaders in person-directed care, or strengthening leadership within a small-house environment, AgingIN can help identify the learning experience that best fits your organization’s goals.
Explore Learning Opportunities → Learning Opportunities – AgingIN
AgingIN Focus…Where national awareness meets AgingIN’s work.
AgingIN Launches Green House Advisory Council to Strengthen Innovation and Advance the Green House Model.
As AgingIN continues to expand its Solutions Portfolio and accelerate innovation across aging services, we are proud to announce the launch of the Green House Advisory Council—a strategic advisory body that will help shape the future of the Green House model through collaboration, shared expertise, and real-world operational insight.
The Green House Advisory Council brings together experienced leaders from organizations across the country with deep expertise in developing, operating, and advancing Green House homes. Working alongside the AgingIN team, Council members will provide strategic guidance, identify emerging opportunities, and help ensure AgingIN’s solutions continue to reflect the evolving needs of providers and the people they serve.
The Council represents an important component of AgingIN’s broader growth strategy—connecting experienced practitioners with innovation, education, and solution development. Insights from the Council will help inform future programs, educational offerings, leadership development, quality improvement initiatives, conference content, and other resources that support organizations seeking to strengthen workforce stability, elevate daily experiences, and improve organizational performance. This directly supports AgingIN’s commitment to delivering practical, evidence-informed solutions that help providers address today’s most pressing challenges.
Serving in an advisory capacity, Council members will also act as ambassadors for the Green House model, sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and helping expand awareness of person-directed living across the aging services field.
“The Green House model has always been driven by innovation and collaboration,” said Susan Ryan, CEO of AgingIN. “The Green House Advisory Council strengthens our ability to listen to the field, learn from experienced operators, and continue developing solutions that help organizations deliver exceptional care and quality of life.”
The inaugural Council represents a diverse cross-section of Green House organizations from across the country and will meet regularly to provide strategic insight that supports the continued growth, sustainability, and impact of the Green House model.
Each month, AgingIN Focus will highlight a national recognition or awareness effort. We share why these issues matter to aging services ad how person-directed values help move awareness into action.
Elevate Eldercare Podcasts: New Episodes Now Live!
Catch up on the last few weeks of powerful, thought-provoking conversations with host Susan Ryan, AgingIN™ CEO. Tune in every Wednesday for bold insights, honest dialogue, and fresh perspectives on transforming eldercare through the AgingIN model.
August 5 – Empower US Nursing Homes Group podcast
What happens when residents, frontline caregivers, administrators, and researchers come together to improve elder care? In this episode of Elevate Elder Care, the Empower U.S. Nursing Homes team shares how person-centered research is creating more meaningful innovation in long-term care. Learn why listening to the people who live and work in nursing homes every day leads to better ideas, stronger partnerships, and ultimately, a better quality of life for older adults.
State of Change…Advancing person-directed living across the states.
At the AgingINnovation 2026 Annual Conference, the session Building Stronger State Coalitions: Partnerships, Sustainability, and Tools for Collective Impact explored how statewide coalitions can bring diverse partners together to advance person-directed living and transform aging services.
Attendees heard real-world perspectives from state coalitions at different stages of development, including long-established networks and newly revitalized efforts. The conversation highlighted the importance of strong partnerships, shared purpose, sustainable infrastructure, education, and opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.
The session also introduced AgingIN’s Developing a State Culture Change Coalition: A Toolkit and Step-by-Step Guide, a practical resource that walks leaders through building a founding team, establishing mission and vision, listening to stakeholders, launching a coalition, setting priorities, funding the work, building awareness, and creating an ongoing meeting cadence.
The takeaway was clear: meaningful change does not happen in isolation. Strong coalitions create the connections, shared learning, and collective voice needed to move person-directed living forward—one state and one partnership at a time.
Ready to strengthen your coalition—or start one in your state? Visit the AgingIN websiteNational Coordinating Center for State Coalitions to explore coalition resources, access tools and guidance, and learn how to connect with the growing network of leaders working to advance person-directed living nationwide.
Interested in joining an existing coalition or starting a coalition in your state? Visit: National Coordinating Center for State Coalitions.
AgingIN Solutions Portfolio.
Introducing the AgingIN Solutions Portfolio.
Aging services organizations face increasing challenges—from workforce shortages and leadership transitions to evolving resident expectations and operational pressures. Finding the right solution shouldn’t be complicated.
That’s why AgingIN has launched the AgingIN Solutions Portfolio—a curated suite of proven solutions designed to help organizations address their most pressing challenges and achieve meaningful, lasting outcomes.
Rather than offering stand-alone programs, the Solutions Portfolio connects organizations with practical expertise, coaching, assessments, consulting, education, and implementation support tailored to their unique goals. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your workforce, develop leaders, elevate the daily experience, or improve organizational performance, AgingIN provides solutions that meet you where you are and help you move forward with confidence.
Built on decades of experience advancing innovation and person-directed living, the Solutions Portfolio reflects AgingIN’s commitment to partnering with providers to create stronger organizations and better outcomes for older adults.
Explore the AgingIN Solutions Portfolio at Aginginnovation.org/solutions/.
Longevity Summit from Annual Conference.
Living Longer Is Only Part of the Story.
What if the most important question about longevity isn’t “How long will we live?” but “How well will we live?”
That question was at the heart of AgingIN’s Longevity Summit: Living Longer, Living Better, held as a pre-conference event during AgingINnovation 2026 in Denver. The Summit brought together global perspectives, emerging research, and practical strategies to explore one of the most important conversations shaping the future of aging: closing the gap between lifespan and healthspan.
Featuring Dr. Shelly Chadha of the World Health Organization, the Summit challenged attendees to think beyond longevity as simply adding years to life. The greater opportunity is helping people maintain the function, independence, connection, and sense of purpose that make those years meaningful.
One framework explored was the World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) approach, which emphasizes preserving functional ability through attention to areas including mobility, cognition, nutrition, vision, hearing, and emotional well-being.
For aging services organizations, the implications are significant.
Healthspan isn’t simply a clinical initiative or the latest wellness program. It asks us to consider how the entire living environment—from daily routines and social connection to nutrition, movement, technology, care practices, and organizational culture—can support people in continuing to do what matters to them.
Ready to Turn Longevity into Action?
The conversation doesn’t end with the Summit. AgingIN is continuing to explore how healthspan, functional ability, and person-directed living can be translated into practical strategies for aging services organizations.
Interested in bringing this work to your organization? Connect with AgingIN to explore what’s possible.