Building Age-Friendly Cities from the D.C. Blueprint

Susan Ryan sits down with Gail Kohn, coordinator of Age-Friendly D.C., an initiative undertaken at the direction of the Mayor of Washington, D.C., as part of the broader World Health Organization-structured journey to help cities like D.C. become an easier city in which to grow older. 

Previously, Kohn was the founding executive director for Capitol Hill Village, the second organization in the country formed to organize neighbor-to-neighbor support to enable aging in place. She began her career as the founding executive director of Collington, a non-profit continuing care retirement community in Prince George’s County, Md. 

Kohn talks in more detail about Capitol Hill Village, how it came to be, why it’s important, and what is being done to enable the model to develop in communities across the country. As an avid researcher, Kohn has been instrumental in making sure developing villages have the essential infrastructure from the beginning so that data can be captured to evaluate the impact of these vital supports on its members. 

Kohn further unpacks Age-Friendly DC, describing how the initiative began and where it’s gone over the years since its beginning in 2013. We talk briefly about the pandemic and how this initiative and collaborative leadership were pivotal in addressing the challenges in a timely and effective manner. 

Finally, Kohn is a pioneer and a visionary leader that relentlessly pursues and is at the helm of initiatives that place value on all elders. Don’t miss her call to action, from someone who has her finger on the pulse, and her eye on the ball, in determining what must be done to elevate eldercare.

Find out more about Age-Friendly-DC here: https://agefriendly.dc.gov/page/age-friendly-dc-task-force 

Connect with Gail Kohn on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gail-kohn-9680869/