Our Story

At Home With Growing Older, AHWGO, is a nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that brings together professionals, academics and interested individuals to re-envision and improve the experiences of later life.

Our Perspective:

  • We are leaders in a growing movement, believing that interdisciplinary and intergenerational collaboration are key to providing services, infrastructure, and homes that meet the needs and desires of an aging population
  • We focus on the home and its context, more than an institutional environment, to foster healthy aging
  • We’re inspired by good design and believe that joy and delight are integral to any solution to compensate for the sometimes not-so-fun realities of growing older

Our Beginnings 

At Home with Growing Older (AHWGO) is rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration, launched in 2009 by Susanne Stadler, an architect, and Natasha Boissier, a social worker. AHWGO was founded out of indignation about the poor options offered when we reach a certain age, from healthcare to housing, and with the hope that change is possible.

Jean smiling, wearing a pink shirt that reads, “Dull women have immaculate homes.”

Susanne Stadler:

“My inspiration for founding AHWGO was providing more design excellence for the challenges of later life.”

My Berkeley liberal friend and landlady Jean was uprooted from her beloved home and moved to a retirement facility, where she soon passed away. She was deprived of her identity and her new home was not a home at all. I wanted to change this story for other people.

natasha boissier

Natasha Boissier:

“My inspiration for founding AHWGO was my grandmother, who has been the pillar of our family;  and, ensuring people of all ages are valued as resources and contributors.” 

When Susi approached me about founding AHWGO, I immediately jumped on board. I have witnessed what an amazing resource older adults are.

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