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Encore's Marci Alboher & Aanchal Dhar on Intergenerational Collaboration and Why It’s Important Right Now
02/12/21 • 33 min
Today, Debbie talks to Encore.org's Marci Alboher and Aanchal Dhar about intergenerational collaboration: how it works for them as a GenX and Millennial pair and how connecting different ages can address some of the biggest issues this country is facing right now, from pandemic loneliness to the political divide to the climate crisis.
Marci, Encore's Vice President of Narrative Change, is 54. Aanchal, Encore's Communications Strategist for Programs, is 39. The two have been collaborating for seven years in their work for this well-known nonprofit, which is partially responsible for the midlife reinvention movement.
Encore originally focussed on the second half of life. More recently the group has turned to a focus on bridging divides and connecting generations to create a better future. That's a big goal. Encore calls it a movement. So Debbie asks Marci and Aanchal, in turn, why it's so important to bridge the demographic divide in the workplace, in communities, in our personal lives. The answer: connecting different ages, races, and genders creates value. Younger people bring a fresh perspective, seeing things for the first time. Older people have lived through crises and challenges (the unrest of the 60s, for example) and they bring a different lived experience. Together they can solve big problems.
They also talk about "perennials," a term Debbie loves. It means people with a mindset of being hungry and curious and always wanting to learn regardless of age or generation. Curiosity is key to conversations with those who are different from you. And they talk about civic community, what that means, and why the virtual program Aanchal started has been so important during the pandemic.
Be sure to check out the links to articles Marci and Aanchal have written, as well as to Encore's many resources and programs.
USEFUL LINKS
- Encore.org
- Marci Alboher on Twitter
- Aanchal Dhar on Twitter
- Sophia Loren's New Film Shows the Power of Age by Marci Alboher (Next Avenue, Dec. 9, 2020)
- Find Purpose By Connecting Across Generations by Marci Alboher (Greater Good, July 20, 2020)
- How I'm Finding Purpose and Connection in a Pandemic by Aanchal Dhar (Greater Good, May 1, 2020)
- Ten Organizations Connecting Generations During the Pandemic by Aanchal Dhar (Thrive Global, July 15, 2020)
- Meet champion for civic community Aanchal Dhar: "turn anxiety into action"
- Civic Saturday
- How people in their 20s swap clothes with people in their 70s (Marci's clothing swap written up in the Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2019)
- S1-EP12 of the podcast: Interview with Marc Freedman, Encore's founder
- The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life by Marci Alboher (Workman Publishing, 2012)
Partial List of Encore's Programs and Resources:
- Encore's list of pandemic resources (including volunteer opportunities connecting young and old)
- Encore's Gen2Gen Innovation Fellowship
- Encore's 2020-2021 Public Voices Fellowship
- Encore's Gen2Gen Prize
- More Encore resources
Mentioned:
- A Dedicated COVID Vaccine Corps (Newsweek, Jan. 8, 2021)
Today, Debbie talks to Encore.org's Marci Alboher and Aanchal Dhar about intergenerational collaboration: how it works for them as a GenX and Millennial pair and how connecting different ages can address some of the biggest issues this country is facing right now, from pandemic loneliness to the political divide to the climate crisis.
Marci, Encore's Vice President of Narrative Change, is 54. Aanchal, Encore's Communications Strategist for Programs, is 39. The two have been collaborating for seven years in their work for this well-known nonprofit, which is partially responsible for the midlife reinvention movement.
Encore originally focussed on the second half of life. More recently the group has turned to a focus on bridging divides and connecting generations to create a better future. That's a big goal. Encore calls it a movement. So Debbie asks Marci and Aanchal, in turn, why it's so important to bridge the demographic divide in the workplace, in communities, in our personal lives. The answer: connecting different ages, races, and genders creates value. Younger people bring a fresh perspective, seeing things for the first time. Older people have lived through crises and challenges (the unrest of the 60s, for example) and they bring a different lived experience. Together they can solve big problems.
They also talk about "perennials," a term Debbie loves. It means people with a mindset of being hungry and curious and always wanting to learn regardless of age or generation. Curiosity is key to conversations with those who are different from you. And they talk about civic community, what that means, and why the virtual program Aanchal started has been so important during the pandemic.
Be sure to check out the links to articles Marci and Aanchal have written, as well as to Encore's many resources and programs.
USEFUL LINKS
- Encore.org
- Marci Alboher on Twitter
- Aanchal Dhar on Twitter
- Sophia Loren's New Film Shows the Power of Age by Marci Alboher (Next Avenue, Dec. 9, 2020)
- Find Purpose By Connecting Across Generations by Marci Alboher (Greater Good, July 20, 2020)
- How I'm Finding Purpose and Connection in a Pandemic by Aanchal Dhar (Greater Good, May 1, 2020)
- Ten Organizations Connecting Generations During the Pandemic by Aanchal Dhar (Thrive Global, July 15, 2020)
- Meet champion for civic community Aanchal Dhar: "turn anxiety into action"
- Civic Saturday
- How people in their 20s swap clothes with people in their 70s (Marci's clothing swap written up in the Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2019)
- S1-EP12 of the podcast: Interview with Marc Freedman, Encore's founder
- The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life by Marci Alboher (Workman Publishing, 2012)
Partial List of Encore's Programs and Resources:
- Encore's list of pandemic resources (including volunteer opportunities connecting young and old)
- Encore's Gen2Gen Innovation Fellowship
- Encore's 2020-2021 Public Voices Fellowship
- Encore's Gen2Gen Prize
- More Encore resources
Mentioned:
- A Dedicated COVID Vaccine Corps (Newsweek, Jan. 8, 2021)
Previous Episode
Diane Feldman on Bridging the Political Divide in the U.S., the Problems with Polling, and Contributing to Your Local Community
Today Debbie Weil talks to Diane Feldman, an old friend and a veteran political consultant, to get her take on an issue that Debbie has been chewing and stewing over: the deep political divide in this country.
After running The Feldman Group, a Democratic research & polling firm in D.C. for almost 30 years, Diane shut down her firm two years ago and retired to Jackson, Mississippi. Debbie's first question for her might sound naive: is there a message that President Biden could send that would get us to the unity he calls for in his Inaugural Address? But it comes out of her genuine perplexity about how to unify the dramatically opposing factions in this country: Democrats vs. Republicans, those who voted for Trump vs. those who elected Biden, those who believe in truth and facts vs. those who don’t seem to.
This kind of polarization in America isn't new, Diane reminds us. It's been going on for a long, long time. Think back to the many who opposed Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. What's new, she says, is that 85 million Americans were willing to stand up and vote for equity and anti-racism.
They talk about this and more: the different kinds of political messaging, the Jan. 6th assault on the Capitol, white supremacy, the current echoes of the resistance to the civil rights movement, why people get stuck in their own political bubbles, and Diane’s analysis of why polling is not the strategically effective tool it used to be, which is one reason she decided to shut down The Feldman Group and start a new chapter of her life where she no longer sells her time but is finding ways to contribute in her new community.
Lots to chew on. Be sure to check out Diane’s blog, The View From the Pearl, referring to the river that runs through Jackson.
Mentioned in this episode or useful:
- Diane’s blog: The View From the Pearl
- Diane on Twitter
- The Feldman Group (the firm shut down two years ago)
- Jackson, Mississippi
- MLK/FBI (2020) (The new documentary that uncovers the extent of the FBI's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Note from Debbie
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Connect with me:
- Twitter: @debbieweil
- Instagram: @debbieweil
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- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/debbieweil
- Blog: Gap Year After Sixty
- Email: [email protected]
Debbie
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Credits:
- Host: Debbie Weil
- Producer: Far Out Media
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- Music: Lakeside Path by Duck Lake
Next Episode
Debbie & Sam on Fasting For Five Days and Why They Were Crazy Enough To Do It
Today, Debbie Weil brings her husband Sam Harrington, a retired physician, back on the show to talk about fasting. One year ago the couple completed a five-day fast using a ProLon kit of dried soups and crackers. This year, after packing on the pounds during the stay-at-home pandemic holidays, they decided to repeat the fast.
And this time, Debbie took notes to record the experience. If you’ve listened to the pair kibitz in earlier episodes, it will be no surprise that they experienced the fast differently. They talk about what the fast felt like day by day (it was harder for Debbie) and what the possible benefits are in addition to losing weight.
A month later, both are a number of pounds lighter (about four for Debbie; eight for Sam). And they've mostly kept the weight off. Debbie finds herself eating smaller portions and neither is snacking between meals. Desserts and sweets still call to Debbie but she recognizes that the craving for sugar is not one that can be cured in five days or even a month.
Both agree that the fast led to a successful reset of their eating habits.
They talk about the science behind fasting and about something called intermittent fasting which means shortening the span of hours in the day during which you eat. 16 hours of fasting vs. 8 hours of "eating" is a typical ratio. That could mean skipping breakfast and eating only between 12 noon and 8 PM. And they speculate on whether fasting and intermittent fasting are merely the latest fad. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to fast and why you might want to do it, this is a conversation for you.
Debbie's day-by-day fasting notes:
DAY 1: light-headed and mentally fuzzy.
DAY 2: 8:30 AM weak and sluggish; 1 PM fatigued and sluggish, as if I'm operating at 1/3 speed; 4:30 PM this is painful. Back hurts, muscles ache, dizzy, drowsy, and IRRITABLE.
DAY 3: feeling better, not so achey.
DAY 4: light-headed, fatigued, dreaming of the food I will eat when this is over; this feels never ending.
DAY 5: feel debilitated and so weak; fuzzy thinking is really a problem; NEVER AGAIN. (Of course, I said that each time after giving birth.)
Mentioned in this episode or useful:
- ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet -The 5-Day Fasting Diet
- Definition of autophagy
- Intermittent fasting: Surprising update (Harvard Health Blog, February 10, 2020)
- Can scheduled fasting improve your health? (Harvard Health Blog, May 2020)
- Should you try fasting? (Harvard Health Blog, August 2020)
- The Whole30® Program
Previous episodes featuring host Debbie and her husband Sam:
- S2-EP24: Debbie & Sam on the Gap Year For Everyone, Silver Linings, and Not Should'ing
- S2-EP18: Debbie & Sam on the New Normal, Quarantines, Immunity Passports, and Masks & Gloves
- S2-EP12: Debbie & Sam on the Coronavirus, Magical Thinking, and Aging
- S1-EP10: On Debbie & Sam's Bucket List: Living in France
- S1-EP2: Debbie & Sam on How They Decided to Take a Gap Year at Age 62
PHOTO: Definition of crazy? Debbie and Sam's visiting grand puppy leaping into the freezing waters of a Maine winter.
Note from Debbie
I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than sixty seconds, and it really makes a difference in attracting new listeners and upcoming guests. I might...
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