By Lisa Taylor
“Come to Baja California Sur, Mexico, to reset, restore, and repurpose your life.”
The Modern Elder Academy (MEA) describes itself as the world’s first midlife wisdom school. It offers workshops and sabbaticals to Gen Xers, boomers, and others, providing education and tools to help them find renewed relevance and clarified purpose.
In early 2019, MEA had just been established and its co-founder, Chip Conley, was visiting Toronto to speak to business groups on his latest book, Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder. After successfully establishing, then selling, boutique hotels in California, Chip became an advisor to the founders of Airbnb. Along the way, in addition to supporting the incredible growth and success of one of today’s most recognizable brands, he identified the unique and powerful role of “modern elder.”
Chip and I met briefly in Toronto. Since then, Chip has been a sounding board and an inspiration as he and his colleagues continue to grow MEA from a single destination-based program to a worldwide movement, with hundreds of alumni and spin-off impact that could never have been imagined at the outset. During a pandemic.
On October 9, 2023, my colleague Emree and I will travel to Baja, Mexico, to spend a week at the Modern Elder Academy. Our goal is to experience what it has to offer while collaborating on curriculum that we will deliver as faculty members next year. We look forward to learning from leading thinkers and practitioners focused on intergenerational innovation, and to being part of an exchange of wisdom about all aspects of the second half of life.
Challenge Factory has been invited to participate in this special week because of our expertise and thought leadership on Legacy Careers®, including what we’ve learned in our own experiences working with clients on all sides of the transitions that take place as we age. It is, however, the stories of the individual people we will meet at MEA that has us most excited. During and after our visit, we’ll be sharing our journey by showcasing some of the stories we learn along the way—starting with our own, and how they connect to later life career transitions.
Follow along to get a sneak peek at this unique learning destination and incubator, where wisdom, experience, change, and opportunity are all nurtured.