Generation Reinvention 38: Boomers and the Challenges and Opportunities of Caregiving

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This edition of Generation Reinvention brings together two of the nation’s most respected leaders in the field of caregiving. They share common interests and motivations that spring from the heart. Both men have been personally touched by the liabilities and opportunities of modern caregiving; they’ve taken action as entrepreneurs; and they are now changing the caregiving industry with their leadership.

Andy Cohen is Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of Caring.com. He oversees the company’s operations and finances, with the goal of establishing Caring.com as the premiere website for people taking care of their parents and other aging loved ones. Andy has launched four successful web businesses, taking them from start-up to tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

In a 20-year career before founding Caring.com, he held leadership positions in management, marketing, and sales with S.C. Johnson Wax, Intuit, Peapod, Instill, and SuccessFactors. He serves on the board of directors of the National Alliance For Caregiving (NAC) and the MVLA High School Foundation. Andy holds a B.A. in history from Stanford University and an M.B.A. in marketing from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

While caring for his mom during her losing battle with lung cancer, Andy realized there wasn’t a comprehensive website that helped people figure out how to handle in-home care, choose products to help with daily living, and make the right financial and legal decisions. Caring.com was founded to meet those needs, and to make a difficult journey a little bit easier

Jack York founded It’s Never 2 Late in the summer of 1999 after spending 14 years in the Silicon Valley. He retired from that industry as vice-president of strategic sales for Vishay Intertechnology. In 1998, he began donating computers to assisted living centers in California. This endeavor became a labor of love, and the enthusiasm that the seniors showed in jumping into the computer world motivated him to establish It’s Never 2 Late. Jack speaks internationally on how adaptive technology should be accessible to all older adults in senior living communities.

It’s Never 2 Late specializes in constructing adaptive computer labs for older adults in all stages of life. Their unique combination of adaptive technology, plus ease-of-use software, allows individuals, regardless of any physical or cognitive disabilities, to be able to take advantage of the health and connectivity benefits of the Internet. They have set up over 450 programs in 47 US states, Canada, Australia and Northern Ireland. Their work has been recognized by Fox News, National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal, and multiple senior living publications.

WEBSITES:

Andy Cohen: http://www.caring.com/

Jack York: http://www.in2l.com