Meet EJ

Welcome. I'm glad you're here.

If we've found each other, chances are we share something in common.

We believe that growing older doesn't have to mean growing smaller.

I believe our later years can become some of our richest years—filled with continued growth, meaningful relationships, renewed purpose, fresh discoveries, and the quiet joy that comes from living intentionally.

That belief didn't come from a textbook.

It came from a lifetime of listening, learning, and a few unexpected adventures.

For more than forty years, I've had the privilege of serving as a counselor, educator, coach, speaker, and entrepreneur. My work has taken me through hospitals, universities, community mental health programs, private practice, and nonprofit organizations.

But one of the places that shaped me most was western Alaska.

There I worked with Yup'ik communities scattered across a vast landscape with no road system—villages connected by small bush planes, boats, and snowmachines. I fell in love with the rugged beauty of Alaska, the close-knit communities, and yes...those little airplanes that carried us across hundreds of miles of tundra.

But it wasn't the scenery that changed me. It was the people. One of my earliest lessons came during my first village potluck.

I quietly took my place at the end of the serving line. A teenage boy walked over, smiled, and said, "You need to come to the front." I laughed and pointed toward the village elders who were already waiting. "No," I told him. "They should go first."

He looked at me with complete sincerity. "You belong there too. You're an elder." I was sixty years old! It was the first time in my life that my age had been treated as something to honor rather than something to apologize for.

That simple moment stayed with me. I began to see what a difference it makes when a culture values the wisdom, experience, and contributions of its older adults.

Over the years, I also realized something much closer to home.

As I grew older myself, I found that I was asking many of the same questions I'd heard from clients for decades.

What does this next chapter look like?

How do I continue growing instead of simply growing old?

How have the myths I heard about aging affected my beliefs about my elder years.

How do I stay healthy, purposeful, connected, and engaged with life?

Those questions eventually led to the creation of Vibrant Aging books, coaching, workshops, courses, and more.

Today my mission is simple.

To encourage others to see aging not as a season of decline, but as a season rich with possibility.

I believe vibrant aging grows through small, intentional choices—caring for our bodies, keeping our minds active, nurturing relationships, finding purpose, expressing creativity, managing our resources wisely, and tending the deeper parts of who we are.

I hope that this website becomes more than a place to learn about my books and teachings.

I hope it becomes a gathering place where fellow travelers encourage one another to flourish into our 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond, with verve, dignity, and joy.

If that's what you're looking for...

Welcome.

I'm so glad you're here.

— EJ