Jeanette Leardi

Jeanette Leardi is a social gerontologist, community educator, writer, editor, public speaker, and aging wellness leader who has a passion for later life empowerment and finds special personal fulfillment helping older adults identify and share their wisdom with others. Her decade of experiences as the primary caregiver to both of her parents inspired her encore career goals of changing perceptions about the aging process and helping people appreciate elders’ inherent dignity, wisdom, and unique value as mentors and catalysts for social change. She accomplishes this through her publications (including her Ageful Living blog), appearances on numerous podcasts, and engaging presentations and classes in journaling, spiritual writing, memoir writing, brain fitness, health literacy, ageism, intergenerational communication, creativity, and caregiver support to people of all ages. Leardi has a master’s degree with honors in English from Rutgers University and a graduate certificate in gerontology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her journalism experiences include positions at Newsweek, Life, People, Condé Nast Traveler, Sesame Workshop, and The Charlotte Observer. Her articles on aging have appeared in national print and online publications.