AGE BOOM ACADEMY 2023
Raising the Roof: America's Housing Crisis and Our Longer Lives
Raising the Roof: America's Housing Crisis and Our Longer Lives
APPLICATIONS FOR 2023 ARE NOW CLOSED.
THE DEADLINE TO APPLY WAS JULY 21, 2023.
To view the detailed RFA announcement, click here.
IMPORTANT: We will confirm receipt of applications by the end of business on Monday, July 24, 2023. If you do not receive a confirmation on or before that day, please email us immediately at columbiaagingcenter@cumc.columbia.edu
You will be informed of your status before August 7, 2023, when invitations to successful applicants will be extended.
THE DEADLINE TO APPLY WAS JULY 21, 2023.
To view the detailed RFA announcement, click here.
IMPORTANT: We will confirm receipt of applications by the end of business on Monday, July 24, 2023. If you do not receive a confirmation on or before that day, please email us immediately at columbiaagingcenter@cumc.columbia.edu
You will be informed of your status before August 7, 2023, when invitations to successful applicants will be extended.

Thank you for your interest in the 2023 Age Boom Academy, a signature program of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and the Columbia Journalism School. The focus of this invitation-only online forum is to assist journalists in deepening their understanding of the complex health, social and economic issues facing an aging population, and specifically in 2023 our focus will be on housing for an aging population. Applicants from all media (print, broadcast and online) are welcome to apply below. Roughly 30 Fellows will be selected to attend. Last year’s Academy was a terrific success and produced well over 100 pieces of coverage. Because the 2023 Academy will be similar in format, please review last year’s program to learn more.
The Academy will feature national voices from the frontiers of healthy longevity and issues relating to the affordable housing crisis; included will be researchers, policy experts, housing developers and activists. Led by Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, Dean, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and Bruce Shapiro, Director, Dart Center, Columbia Journalism School, our sessions will be moderated by a team of journalists from the aging beat including New Old Age New York Times columnist Paula Span and New York Times editorial board member Michelle Cottle, MarketWatch “unretirement” columnist and former managing editor at Next Avenue Richard Eisenberg, Public Media’s Marketplace journalist Chris Farrell, senior columnist Yahoo Finance and New York Times contributor Kerry Hannon, and former editor Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal Carol Hymowitz.
The 2023 Academy on America's housing crisis and healthy longevity will take place on the following dates with a time commitment roughly as follows:
The Academy will feature national voices from the frontiers of healthy longevity and issues relating to the affordable housing crisis; included will be researchers, policy experts, housing developers and activists. Led by Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, Dean, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and Bruce Shapiro, Director, Dart Center, Columbia Journalism School, our sessions will be moderated by a team of journalists from the aging beat including New Old Age New York Times columnist Paula Span and New York Times editorial board member Michelle Cottle, MarketWatch “unretirement” columnist and former managing editor at Next Avenue Richard Eisenberg, Public Media’s Marketplace journalist Chris Farrell, senior columnist Yahoo Finance and New York Times contributor Kerry Hannon, and former editor Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal Carol Hymowitz.
The 2023 Academy on America's housing crisis and healthy longevity will take place on the following dates with a time commitment roughly as follows:
PANEL SESSIONS:
• Thursday, October 19, 11am-1pm ET | 8am-10am PST • Friday, October 20, 11am-1pm ET | 8am-10am PST • Thursday, October 26, 11am-1pm ET | 8am-10am PST • Friday, October 27, 11am-1pm ET | 8am-10am PST MIXERS, STORY CLINICS, SOURCE INTERVIEWS: In addition, there will be roughly 4-5 additional hours of time commitment for story clinics, meet-the-changemaker breakouts and 1:1 interviews with expert sources on the following dates: • Wednesday, October 4, 7pm-8:15pm ET | 4pm-5:15pm PST • Wednesday, October 18, 7pm-8:15pm ET | 4pm-5:15pm PST • Tuesday, October 24, flexible times for 1:1 interviews with expert sources • Wednesday, October 25, 7pm-8:15pm ET | 4pm-5:15pm PST • Tuesday, October 31, flexible times for 1:1 interviews with expert sources |
We gratefully acknowledge that the 2023 Age Boom Academy is made possible by funding from the RRF Foundation for Aging.
For questions or information, please contact:
Caitlin M. Hawke, Associate Director, Programming & Age Boom Project Lead, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
Email: ColumbiaAgingCenter@cumc.columbia.edu.
For questions or information, please contact:
Caitlin M. Hawke, Associate Director, Programming & Age Boom Project Lead, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
Email: ColumbiaAgingCenter@cumc.columbia.edu.
THE AGE BOOM ACADEMY 2023 APPLICATION PROCESS
Before beginning your application, please read carefully: If you are accepted to the Age Boom Academy, please note our expectations in the first two questions of the application form at the link below. If you are an on-staff journalist, you will need prior approval from your employer to attend all sessions and meet our reporting expectation. Please obtain that prior to filling out the form below. For freelancers, you should enter the Academy with a clear sense of where you will place your pieces.
The goal of the Academy is to generate new reporting on America's housing crisis from the perspective of increased life expectancy, increased numbers of older adults forced into precarity and the solutions necessary to ensure safe and secure housing options as we age. We require a commitment that Fellows produce 2-3 pieces relating to the Academy's general topic in the six (6) months following the Academy. When possible, the Age Boom Academy should be credited in Fellows' pieces.
In questions 1 and 2, please acknowledge that you agree to the Academy expectations. If you have an editor, indicate if you have received provisional approval to participate and to produce stories on housing following this Academy.
The goal of the Academy is to generate new reporting on America's housing crisis from the perspective of increased life expectancy, increased numbers of older adults forced into precarity and the solutions necessary to ensure safe and secure housing options as we age. We require a commitment that Fellows produce 2-3 pieces relating to the Academy's general topic in the six (6) months following the Academy. When possible, the Age Boom Academy should be credited in Fellows' pieces.
In questions 1 and 2, please acknowledge that you agree to the Academy expectations. If you have an editor, indicate if you have received provisional approval to participate and to produce stories on housing following this Academy.
* IMPORTANT NOTE: A red asterisk on the Google form indicates a required field. Once you have completed questions 1-26 in this application, make sure to click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the form. (Please examine your responses carefully to make sure you have not omitted a response.)
Please email columbiaagingcenter@cumc.columbia.edu to let us know that you have applied and to confirm receipt of your entry. We are happy to troubleshoot if you encounter any issues!
Please email columbiaagingcenter@cumc.columbia.edu to let us know that you have applied and to confirm receipt of your entry. We are happy to troubleshoot if you encounter any issues!
LINK TO APPLICATION FORM HAS BEEN DISABLED AS THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED.
SAMPLE SHORT BIO

Lauren J. Mapp is a journalist based in Southern California working as the caregiving, senior care, and Indigenous communities reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune. She aims to improve the lives of seniors and caregivers in the region by connecting them to important support resources through her reporting. In 2021, Lauren participated in the Columbia Age Boom Academy focused on senior isolation. She is a board member for the Society of Professional Journalists San Diego Pro Chapter, and member of the San Diego Association of Black Journalists, San Diego Press Club, and the Native American Journalists Association. Prior to the Union-Tribune, she was an investigative reporting intern at inewsource. She previously wrote for Times of San Diego, The Daily Aztec, and The Mesa Press in San Diego, and Indian Time and The People's Voice on the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory of Akwesasne. She graduated from San Diego State University in May 2019 as the School of Journalism and Media Studies’ Outstanding Graduate.
Twitter: @laurenjmapp
Twitter: @laurenjmapp