Looking Ahead with Alliance Board Chair Michele Markus

Show Notes

As we channel the lessons learned from years past into actions that shape equitable futures, we at the Alliance are grateful for such a passionate Board of Directors to help amplify our mission. Joining us on today’s episode of This is Growing Old to reflect on the year ahead is our Board Chair, Michele Markus.

Episode Transcript

Sue Peschin:

Hi everyone. Happy New Year and welcome to This Is Growing Old, the podcast all about the common human experience of aging. My name is Sue Peschin and I serve as president and CEO here at the Alliance for Aging Research. It’s hard to believe that 2023 is over already. As we embark on a new year, we want to channel the lessons we learned and resilience gained into actions that shape a more equitable future. Joining us to usher in the next chapter here at the Alliance is none other than Michelle Marcus, a relentless advocate, expert strategist, and our new board chair. Michelle, thank you so much for joining us.

Michelle Markus:

Thank you so much, Sue, for having me. That’s quite the introduction, but I always find that anything that is involving the Alliance and you specifically is always an honor. So thank you.

Sue:

Of course. So in September you officially became the Alliance’s board chair after serving as a member of the board for seven years. What initially drew you to us and why have you stayed, and tell us a bit about your priorities for your tenure as chair.

Michele:

It’s so interesting. I was reflecting on this myself, which was the journey to getting to the Alliance and it was actually from someone we both know and love really well, Kirsten Axelson. In her time in government affairs at Pfizer, she and I happened to attend a meeting in a summit together. We were chatting afterwards and she was talking with such passion about the work that the Alliance does, about how much it has meant to her as a professional and as an individual. And then we got all excited talking about it together.

And I think soon after that I met you and I spoke with Dan, and it just became so obvious to me that here was a group who not only was committed to their mission and their values as you hope so many organizations working on behalf of individuals is, but was really deeply invested in evolving as an organization and making sure the experience of aging was one that would be accessible to everyone, that individuals would understand how to thrive at all moments of their life.

And I think, Sue, you had said something really interesting to me, which is the moment we’re born, we are aging. And that just struck a chord in me because usually we don’t think about the experience of aging until much later, until it comes upon us in various different ways. And it’s really our responsibility as individuals and responsibility to others as individuals that we think about that much earlier. So right away I was struck by the personalities and the passion of everyone on it. I could see clearly what Kirsten had meant about a strong and mighty and committed group, and I wanted in.

Sue:

Just tell us a little bit about some of the things you hope to accomplish as our chair.

Michele:

I think for right now, it’s really interesting. I’ve always seen that this is a group, as we mentioned, that punches above the weight of just the amount of members that it has and the amount of individuals on the team. So as a chair, I just look to help focus that passion, help amplify it, help support the people who are involved on the team every day, and really draw attention to in all the right ways, all the amazing work that the team is doing and all the impact that they are having. And so anywhere that I can be a support mechanism and a guide or an avenue for that, I think that is my main aim.

Sue:

Well, you are hitting it out of the ballpark, so thank you. And I am super excited because I’m actually working with Kirsten right now on an abstract for conference. So we would be on a panel together and I hope we get picked. So we’ll see.

Sue:

So as head of Global Markets at Omnicom, you have quite a track record for success in communications. What are some of the communication goals you might have for us here at the Alliance?

These are major communication moments. How we do it, where we do it, when we do it, and with what are are really important communication principles.

Michele:

So what the Alliance has always done beautifully and I discussed was really impacting the patient at the heart of everything. Really keeping that in mind that every single thing, every single initiative, every single issue that is taken on, even when it’s not comfortable, is helping patients face that, is helping regulators acknowledge that and make changes that are always in line with patients.

And I think it’s really, for me as a communicator, all about creating spaces for important narratives. And that’s really one of the missions and values currently driving the organization. I think it’s so important, drawing more groups in and having deeper discussions, taking up mantles that others won’t do because perhaps they’re difficult or they’re complicated and simplifying them and making sure that the issues are recognized by patients and the impact that different changes in policies are going to have on their lives. What they need to be really mindful of that is going to actually either negatively or positively impact them.

And then calling groups to get involved or make the necessary changes, or quite frankly, pointing out where they’re going wrong and making changes that will not benefit patients. These are major communication moments. How we do it, where we do it, when we do it, and with what are are really important communication principles.

And then having the Alliance recognized for the role of prompting those dialogues. It’s not easy to always go alone, so how do you bring others along with you. But when you have to go alone, how do you do it in a way that really ultimately benefits the end stakeholder? And that has always been the guiding light of the alliance. So as a communicator, that’s an awesome challenge, it’s an awesome responsibility and I think the Alliance has done a beautiful job communicating. I think that my role and my goal is to make sure that that continues, and again, amplify that as best as possible.

Sue:

Terrific. Yeah, and I love what you said about taking complicated issues and simplifying them. I think a lot of the issues that we get into can be quite complex and really it’s a lot of the boring policies, whether it be at a federal agency or at a private payer or wherever it is in healthcare, that can really be the sneakiest. We tend not to pay attention to what’s boring and it’s important to pay attention to it. So the trick of making it understandable and making it engaging, it’s an interesting puzzle and we just really appreciate your expertise in helping us do it.

Michele:

I think what’s really interesting is they always say, right, it is a notion of if you understand something deeply, you can explain it simply. And I think what the Alliance does is try to break it down and explain things simply, even when, to your point, that they’re boring. Because it’s usually the things we don’t pay attention to that trip us up the most. And that’s such a dangerous place to be in. I think that a lot of times, different groups over complicate things because it’s easier to not have individuals understand them. And when it comes to aging, when it comes to the experiences and the situations people will get themselves into with all good faith, with thinking through that someone has their best interests at heart and not realizing that while intents might be great, there’s all these complicating factors and if they don’t understand it deeply, they will actually get caught in a space that isn’t going to amount to anything positive.

Sue:

Absolutely. And so you talked about changing the narrative and you did have a hand in developing our new mission, which is changing the narrative to achieve healthy aging and equitable access to care. What do you see as some of the main barriers to healthy aging?

Michele:

You know what’s interesting, one of the first barriers I think is acknowledging that there are barriers. Really and truly establishing that those are true. And that, it’s kind of the first thing isn’t denial, is looking at it in the face. I think oftentimes we like to think that in progress we are moving past barriers very quickly, but one of the things that is really happening right now is that lack of information, or lack of good information, I should say, is creating more barriers than really what we can anticipate, expect, or even what we know. It’s one of the reasons that individuals are not getting good access to care.

And so I think first acknowledging that there are barriers. The second is, again, breaking them down simply so that individuals understand. And that is a narrative, is to be able to articulate what those barriers are, what they mean, and how to move past them and what some of the solutions are. I think oftentimes we jump from identification in the world to a solution without deeply understanding something. So any solution that is drawn upon is not well-informed. And so we have to have that moment of pause.

And one of the things that I think the Alliance’s new mission explains deeply within it is really going deep in understanding all of the different individual entities contributing to a barrier, knowingly or unknowingly, but also all of the different ways that that problem has to be understood, every facet of it, in order to be able to really get to a better solution.

Sue:

Yeah, I really like how you said it’s like first and foremost, recognizing healthy aging is a barrier. That there are barriers to healthy aging. I think a lot of people see older adults today as the problem. If we didn’t have so many or didn’t have to pay quite so much in our Medicare program or Medicaid program, everything would be better. And so we approach a lens like that with a lack strategy rather than an abundant strategy. And there’s so much I think that we gain as a country by recognizing the value of the aging of the population and not just sort of throwing people away or seeing them as an unproductive cost line item. We miss out if we don’t change the way we view things. So that’s why I appreciate that we added that to our mission. And so in terms of the aging population, what does equitable access to care mean to you?

Without being able to look barriers in the face, we cannot help to address equitable care.

Michelle:

So it goes back to, again, getting that care, getting the right information to get care and understanding at an individual level what is needed in order for someone to age healthily. I think what you just articulated in terms of the value that individuals have as they age to society, we tend to interestingly think about that differently as value and productivity. So when someone is working, we say, okay, they’re being productive. When they are no longer working in the same way, we don’t view them as having that same value. That is absolutely, categorically incorrect.

The individuals who have the time, the temerity, the life experience in order to shape this great nation come from those who have that benefit of experience. And that is at, not only a collective level, but an individual level. And so one of the biggest barriers, I think, to equitable access to care is around understanding individuals at that specific individual contributory level and being able to say what do they therefore need in order for them to be their best selves, in order for them to be able to contribute to society. And being able to take that very specific approach so that we draw and pull forth as much as possible all of the things an individual can contribute and do.

And we tend to think of things holistically instead of at the community level instead of at the individual level and be able to say, okay, what do you, Michelle, need in order to be able to contribute and to understand that what Michelle is able to gain access to is different than another person and another person, based on all of their life experience, the situation that they’re currently in, and being able to address individuals truly. Without being able to look barriers in the face, we cannot help to address equitable care and we cannot look at therefore drawing forth equitable value, and that’s to our own detriment as a society.

Sue:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, very well said. What do you think is the board, the staffs, partners, partners of the Alliances, what’s our obligation to the older generation?

Michelle:

I think our obligation to the older generation, all of us, and it’s incumbent not just on the board, not just on the staff, it’s incumbent upon all of us first and foremost, again, as people really is to recognize the contributions that an older generation can have on society. To be able to take that and say, that is not a question, that is a certainty. And so if we guarantee that as a certainty, then we can begin to do the great work in order to make sure that individuals have the care and the access to the care that they need in the way that they need it. So the first thing is we have to understand value is a certainty. That is our obligation.

When we talk about why I joined the Alliance, there’s a personal component to that too. I was deeply connected to my grandparents and understood them as individuals. My grandmother spent a lot of time in our house by the time she was in the final, if you could call that, years of her life, but she was a spunky individual, so you never knew. Her final years were many and really shaped me as a person through her stories, through her persistence, I learned a lot.

My grandfather who was a World War II veteran and served in our military and had stories about that time, had stories quite frankly about all of the different jobs he took, all of the different life experiences he took across this country in order to not only support his family, but his country and then pass along those lessons and those learnings. And by the end of his life was still hugely mentally engaged. That man was great at understanding a stock market, but physically less able to do so.

And so when I think about obligation, I think in terms of what would make them as individuals able to be their best selves and to be able to do all that they did, not just for me as a grandchild, but really all that they contributed to their communities. How do we make sure that my obligation always is to the memory of them and who they were and what they gave.

And so I think if we think back as each of our individual experiences and think about the individuals who shaped us through their direct contribution in our lives, but also indirectly, and we start there, then we can actually say holistically, we think the aging population and older generations require our support, our guidance, our honesty, our advocacy. But we can also think about, if I think of them of an individual level, I can really humanize it and recognizing that humanity, I can actually put more of myself into making sure they get what is deserved, what they contributed back in kind.

Sue:

Yeah. I just want to add something onto that because I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. We talk about Medicare and social security as entitlement programs, and right now the word entitlement is often used to refer to younger generations feeling like they should get something that people feel they really haven’t earned, trying to grab at something that they haven’t worked for yet. But entitlement is really about inherently deserving something and having a right to something. And when you do work your whole life and you pay into programs, you pay your taxes, you help your community, it kind of goes back to what you were talking about, about what is value and is it just when you’re working or in traditional cost-effectiveness, contributing to society and those types of ways.

And it’s not, we created these entitlement programs and there was a recognition that you get to a certain point in life and you are entitled to be paid back by society for what you have contributed. And so when I think about obligation, I think about upholding entitlements and older adults deserve that. And even if they are, as a population, like they’re doing right now, growing to a large extent that we as a society have to pay attention to, we have to figure it out. You can’t really take the easy way out and just say, well, they’re not worth it anymore. They’ve always known.

When I see all of those around me, when I think of myself, I don’t want to be done at a certain age just because I retire…I have so much in me to give.

Michele:

I love that you talk about that because what is inherent in that notion of entitlement is a promise. We are promising individuals that as they age, we won’t forget them and that their contributions won’t be for naught. And what kind of society would we be if we didn’t want individuals to age? I mean, what would that mean in terms of the future that we’re trying to build? We talk a lot about building, and as we should, for the future generations, but those future generations we hope are going to age healthily and are going to get to a place in their individual lives where, again, they’re now considered the older generation. That should be the basis of the society is that you are building something for the future, that you can contribute towards that future, but then when you reach your future, we recognize that your contribution has been served and continues to serve.

Again, when I go back to my grandparents, when I see all of those around me, when I think of myself, I don’t want to be done at a certain age just because I retire. Heck, I might have more time and more value can contribute than I did just by going in into an office and working in my job and my function. All of that, I have so much in me to give. So don’t think that individuals, just because they hit a certain age threshold, don’t have all of that to give. They have so much to give. I learned so much more from individuals who have life experiences that not only provide me with information and with expertise, but provide me with comfort that there is something to be gained from that life experience. That it’s okay, that things ultimately will be okay because what they’ve lived through and what they’ve done and what they’ve seen have manifested in certain ways. I find that so comforting.

Sue:

Yeah, absolutely. And that we’re really kind of all the same inside. I mean, that’s the thing. I think a lot of the perception of burden is fear-based. And so when I think about changing the narrative, the importance of doing that, of recognizing the benefits and the excitement, and the challenges at the same time, but in a way that’s problem solving as opposed to how do we get rid. And there’s actual research that shows that, I mean, probably the biggest factor more than anything else almost, diet, anything else, you name it, that contributes to our length of life and how we age, it’s our attitude towards aging. So if you have a negative, scary attitude towards it, you are not going to age as well. So to me, it’s literally a life and death, it’s a quality of life issue. It’s not just a PR thing. No offense to PR things, but it’s real. It has impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

Michele:

I think it is, sorry, incumbent upon us to make sure that if people want to have a purpose, that they always have a purpose. And so to round out, I guess the thought and the question, our obligation is to make sure, to the degree that every individual wants to be purposeful and wants to add value, that they can do so to the full extent that their lives can give. Or else, in a sense, we’re shortchanging ourselves and we’re shortchanging them, and what we can derive from the specialness of each individual.

Sue:

Yeah, absolutely. Oh, I love that. Okay. So it’s a new year with new possibilities. What are your hopes for the aging population in 2024 on Medicare, Alzheimer’s, drug pricing, whatever you want to pontificate on.

Michelle:

Sure. My hope is, first and foremost, perhaps holistic and esoteric, is that I would love us as a society to recognize, again, the value of the older generation. I think it is really a disservice to us that we pit, in a sense, the narrative somehow in the press and somehow in media about younger generations versus older generations. When everything in my life experience, from everything that we see, there is a true benefit to linking those things.

Sue:

Absolutely.

Michelle:

So first and foremost, my hope is that we move towards a different kind of holistic societal narrative that talks about the red thread that exists between different generations and the value to society that that draws, and the hope that that gives individuals who are younger, that they can see a better future for themselves through the eyes of older generations.

So I hope that everything that we do, policy-wise, every part of what is being put in place for Medicare, everything that we’re putting in place for all our different institutions can actually think about that as a goal, is that our job, our goal, our responsibility, is to support that coming together and not driving it apart.

Sue:

Yeah. Hear, hear. I love it. We’re going to wrap up with two questions that we ask all of our guests. These are favorite questions of ours. When you were a kid, what did you think about growing older? What did you think it would be like?

Michelle:

So what’s funny is when I’ve heard this before on other podcasts from the Alliance, and I think I’m going to echo some of them when I say, I thought growing older would happen at a different time. I pictured myself, when you’re 11 and someone thinks about growing older, you think of yourself as 30.

Sue:

And it moves up.

Michele:

And it moves up constantly. But that’s what’s amazing, right? When you’re younger, you look ahead to your, in a sense, your really experienced happy, you hope, better self. That’s what I thought. And I hope I’m living that life a little bit if I had to go back in time and talk to my 11-year-old self.

But if you think about that, and that again goes to the red thread that hopefully exists between the generations. You want, as a young person, you want your experience yourself when you’re older to be thriving, to be happy, to be healthy. I thought I’d go on lots of vacations. You think you’d live more carefree perhaps than you do. I never thought of myself as having any illnesses or ailments. And so that’s what I hoped I’d be. And in a sense, I strive for that in my every day in doing what I’m doing, and hope to continue to envision myself that as an older adult.

Sue:

Very cool. Well, now that you are an adult, what’s the best part about growing older?

Michele:

The mindfulness of it. I think really having the support around me, both in terms of professionally and personally with yourself, Sue, any lines of being thoughtful about how you age. Mentally taking care of yourself and your body, and really taking care of all that will protect my future in terms of making sure that I can continue to age well, continue to be looked upon as someone who has value. I think taking a mindful view of getting older is the most important thing we can do for ourselves and the most important gift we can give to others.

Sue:

I love that. That’s a great way to wrap. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining us today, Michelle. It was really a pleasure to have you.

Michele:

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It’s been fun.

Sue:

Absolutely. So for everybody listening and watching, thank you for joining us. If you’re interested in listening to more of our This Is Growing Old podcast, you can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Have a good one. Take care.