A national expert known for “disruptive aging” will challenge perceptions about getting older in an Aging Reconsidered Workshop addressing “Louisville’s Aging Revolution: Becoming an Age-Friendly City.” The one-day event will be held at the Brown & Williamson Club of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 8 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

The event is free to the public and hosted by the University of Louisville Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging. Reservations are requested at ann.burke@louisville.edu.

This event is part of Bill Thomas’ national Age of Disruption2015 Tour. A medical doctor, Thomas is traveling to multiple states throughout the southeastern United States to spread what he terms his highly disruptive understanding of aging with the mission to inspire positive change for the communities he reaches. In Louisville, Thomas will be featured in four events throughout the day of Oct. 8; another event in Louisville includes a “non-fiction” theatrical performance at the Kentucky Center for the Preforming Arts at 7 p.m.

At the afternoon workshop, participants will learn how to challenge community leaders and members to have a voice and to take charge in making changes to better support livable aging. The afternoon forum will feature a dialogue about age-friendly cities, with participants sharing expectations of what an age-friendly city looks like. The community will be invited to engage with Thomas to develop an action plan in the development of an age-friendly city map for Louisville and surrounding communities.

Thomas’ presentation will be followed by a panel discussion of area aging leaders who have been identified by the institute as community change agents. Panelists include:

• Keith Knapp, President/CEO, Christian Care Communities
• Keisha Deonarine, Economic Development Manager, Louisville Forward: Lifelong Wellness & Aging Care
• Barbara Gordon, Executive Director, KIPDA
• Hannah Ruggles, Western Kentucky University student

“Thomas’ message is invigoratingly simple – the transition into our elder years should not be spent in frenzied disharmony,” said Anna Faul, D.Litt., director of the institute. “To successfully ‘play life’s most dangerous game’ – aging – we need to reimagine and create a clear and satisfying purpose to how we spend the rest of our lives.”

“Everything we think we know about getting older is wrong,” said Thomas, a Harvard-educated physician and author of the book Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life. “It’s time we shake ourselves out of the misery of aging and repurpose and restore the wonders and integrity of the second half of life.”

For more information about the Aging Reconsidered Workshop and the Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, call 502-852-5629.