Keynote Speakers
Judy O'BannonFormer First Lady of Indiana, Honorary Chairperson of ICCA
It Ain't Over 'til it's Over
Judy O'Bannon is the Honorary Chairperson of the Indiana Collaborative Conference on Aging. She was the First Lady of Indiana from 1997 until September 2003, when her husband Governor Frank O'Bannon passed away unexpectedly. An Indiana University graduate with a degree in social work and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Judy O'Bannon was the first woman to attend the Louisville Theological Seminary as a Rockefeller Theological Scholar. A leader in her own right, O'Bannon promotes the arts, community development, and historic preservation throughout Indiana. She chairs the Indiana 2016 Task Force, helping communities statewide take stock of their roots as they work toward a better future. She currently hosts Communities Building Community, a new WFYI public broadcasting series devoted to telling the stories of the creativity, determination, vision, and hope Hoosiers have when they build community.
Jeff Taylor
Founder of Monster.com and Eons.com
Eons: Baby Boomers Taking Control
As the founder of Monster.com, Taylor forever changed the way the world networks and builds careers. His “monster idea,” conceived at the dawn of the World Wide Web, quickly became one of the first dot-com companies (454th registered domain on the Web) and has grown into the world’s leading online career site.
A restless big picture entrepreneur, Taylor always kept an eye to market trends and has tapped into the burgeoning generation of boomers. After stepping down as CEO of Monster.com, he once again harnessed the power of the Internet and launched Eons.com, an innovative media company that challenges boomers and seniors to live the biggest life possible. By offering a spirited online community, experts, tips, and information created specifically for adults age 50 and older, Eons.com challenges boomers to tackle their life dreams and adventures, celebrate their accomplishments and make the most of today.
Paul PetersonAging Advocate, Author, former child actor
Intergenerational Programs
The Only Answer to Our Seniors' Growing NeedsPaul Peterson has led an amazing and full life. From an original Mousketeer on the “Mickey Mouse Club,” to roles in films including “The Monolith Monsters” and “Houseboat” with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren, to the role of Donna Reed’s son on “The Donna Reed Show,” Peterson seemed destined for a life in show business.
However, when “The Donna Reed Show” ended in 1966, Peterson’s All-American teen typecast didn’t fit the bill as the dissonant Vietnam counterculture took hold. Though he made movies and had many TV appearances, audiences couldn’t get past his TV character, Jeff Stone. So he enrolled in college and started writing adventure novels, publishing 16 books in all. For 10 years, he ran his own limousine service.
Today, he hosts “Aging in LA,” a television show produced by the Los Angeles Department of Aging. He is also a delegate to the California Commission on Aging and was appointed by President George W. Bush as a Delegate-At-Large to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.
Indianapolis Media Personality
Hope to Tell: Stories of Hope & Faith in Every Day Life
Anne Ryder, owner of Ryder Media LLC, is a television journalist, writer, and speaker. She is affiliated with NBC in Indianapolis and writes monthly columns for regional and international magazines.Ryder has reported from war zones around the world, from Bosnia to the Kosovo-Albanian refugee camps. She has also interviewed peacemakers, including the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa. When she traveled to Calcutta, she was the only American reporter in more than a decade to be granted a sit-down interview with Mother Teresa. It was the final interview Mother Teresa gave before her death.
Passionate about sharing stories of hope, faith and resilience of spirit, Ryder created and produced “Hope to Tell” and “In an Instant,” the latter of which is the subject of her first book, currently in process, based on life changes that happen “in an instant.”
Ryder earned 15 regional Emmy Awards and five national honors, including two Edward R. Murrow awards. In 2004, she received a Sagamore of the Wabash award, the highest citizen award the bestowed by the state of Indiana.