Thank You to Our Featured Guest:

Jessica Finlay, MA, PhD University of Michigan

Thank Your to Our Forum Host: 

Susi Stader, Architect, Executive Director At Home With Growing Older

Episode Description:

Jessica Finlay has dedicated her research to investigating the qualities of neighborhoods and cities that enable healthy aging and allow people to age well in their communities. Opportunities for community connection are all around, from a neighborhood market to a McDonald’s, and are resources for wellbeing. The goal of Jessica’s research is to identify and raise awareness about these ‘third places’ and to encourage city planning practices and policy measures to actively support their role in the health of older adults.

About Our Featured Guest:

Dr. Jessica Finlay is a research investigator in the Social Environment and Health Program at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. She is a health geographer and environmental gerontologist with an MA and PhD in Geography and Gerontology from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Finlay uses mixed methods to investigate how built, social, and natural environments affect health and wellbeing, lifestyle behaviors, and quality of life. In particular, she focuses on aging in place and cognitive health disparities among underrepresented and underserved older adults. She also investigates psychosocial and behavioral impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on aging adults. The goal of Dr. Finlay’s research is to advance knowledge of society’s pressing health challenges and inform social policy to build more equitable lifelong communities.

The original, live conversation was recorded on:  Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 5:30 PM PST.