Mary Furlong, CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates, Executive Producer, What’s Next Longevity Venture Summit
Amelia Hay, VP Startup Programming and Investments, AgeTech Collaborative from AARP
Mel Barsky, Partner, CABHI Ventures
David Lindeman, Executive Director, CITRIS Health

What trends are shaping the longevity market right now—and where should investors and founders be paying attention? Hear firsthand from a panel of early-stage, seed, and angel investors as they share where they’re placing bets and how they evaluate emerging longevity startups. Gain insight into how these investors go beyond funding to support founders, offering guidance on business development, go-to-market strategy, team building, and sales execution.

Moderator: Paul Stich, Lunada Ventures

Kern Bhugra, Angel investor, TiE Angels
Brian Lang, Founding Partner, Woodlawn Ventures
Julia Rasooly, President and CEO, PuraCath Medical Inc.
Danny Kaplan, General Partner, Equitage Ventures

Solo Agers – Jay Zigmont, Childfree Trust 

Designing for Comfort, Style and Innovation – Lawrence Chalfin, CEO, Samuelson Furniture

United Methodist Communities is one of New Jersey’s most respected continuing care services providers. NuAIg is an AI advisory and implementation firm. Since 2021, they have been on a shared mission to transform how senior care is delivered. Learn how their journey started with a comprehensive assessment and progressively layered in intelligent automation, data-driven insights, predictive analytics, AI agents and LLM-powered workflows. The results: caregivers and back office teams carry less burden, residents experience a more connected and responsive care journey, and quality of care is rising, driven by timely, proactive AI interventions.

Travis Gleinig, Chief Innovation Officer, United Methodist Communities 
Vipin Bhardwaj, CEO, NuAIg

Deal flow is top-of-mind for 2026 and beyond. Meet the late-stage investors in the longevity market and learn what they are looking for in the coming year. They will share trends and insights on who will be the winners and why. You will also learn about the current mergers and acquisitions landscape. This essential panel is a critical “how-to” session for any startup company in the longevity market. 

Moderators: Mary Furlong, President, Mary Furlong & Associates, and Dan Hermann, President & CEO, Head of Investment Banking, Ziegler

This session explores the rise of longevity hubs—integrated ecosystems designed to support not just longer lives, but healthier, more connected ones. These hubs bring together healthcare, wellness services, technology, and community-based resources to create environments where prevention, vitality, and social connection are at the center. Through real-world examples and emerging models, this session will explore why longevity hubs are becoming essential to the health and well-being of older adults. Attendees will gain insight into how these hubs can reduce isolation, improve health outcomes, and redefine what it means to age well—for individuals and communities alike.

Moderator: Mary Furlong, CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates and Ken Roos, President/Co-Founder, VitalPath Advisory, LLC

Paul Downey, San Diego Senior Community Foundation 

Trevor Coxon, Thunderbird Country Club

This session will explore the complex intersection of dementia, brain health, and chronic pain in individuals living with Alzheimer’s. A key focus will be on brain health strategies that support quality of life across the disease continuum. Attendees will also gain insight into pain assessment and management for individuals with impaired communication, including assessment tools and best practices for combining pharmacologic treatments with integrative approaches such as physical therapy, massage, and behavioral interventions. 

Presenters:
Nick Garofoli, Head of Business Development-USA, PainChek
Raj Kalra, Founder, Aroha Memory Care
Allison Sekuler, President and Chief Scientist, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation
Henry Mahncke, CEO, Posit Science

Delivering high-quality aging services in rural communities presents unique challenges. At the same time, these environments are fostering some of the most creative and community-driven models for supporting older adults. This session explores how cross-sector partnerships are transforming aging services in rural areas through innovation, resource-sharing, and locally tailored solutions. Presenters will describe how strategic partnerships are expanding access to essential services and technology solutions, and will highlight collaborative models that integrate services to bridge gaps in care and improve outcomes for older adults aging in place.

Presenters:

Andrew Pillsbury, Director, GoGo Grandparent
Susan DeMarois, Director, California Department of Aging
Michael Kisch, Head of Healthcare Incubation, LG NOVA

In this session, we will explore key strategies for successfully launching and scaling products within the rapidly growing longevity market. Developing a successful go-to-market strategy is crucial as longevity-focused solutions attract increasing attention. Participants will learn about the trends, consumer behavior, and key players shaping the longevity market, and how to identify opportunities for entry; discover which distribution channels are most effective for longevity-focused products and services; and understand what content and messaging need to be included in a sales deck to capture the attention of investors, strategic partners, and potential customers within the longevity space.

Presenters:

Mary Furlong, CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates, Executive Producer, What’s Next Longevity Venture Summit

Courtney Baldridge, Corporate Strategist, USAging

John Reinhart, Serial Entrepreneur & Founder, Commonwealth Leverage, LLC

Join us to recognize exceptional entrepreneurs who have introduced an innovative solution or technology focused on improving the independence, quality, and cost of care for the aging population. The award was created to honor the memory of John Hopper, a true visionary and innovator who inspired growth in individuals, teams and relationships. 

Presenters:

Katie Schmitz, Managing Partner, Ziegler Link-Age Funds

Speakers:

Mary Furlong, CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates, Executive Producer, What’s Next Longevity Venture Summit 
Amelia Hay, VP Startup Programming and Investments, AgeTech Collaborative from AARP

Leading analysts will share their perspectives and market intelligence on the longevity market, technology, media, wellness, and investing, illuminating key trends to inform decision-making for businesses of all sizes.  

Mark Mahaney, Senior Managing Director, Evercore  

Dorice Redman, Principal, Operations & AgeTech, National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC)

Ani Harutyunyan, Advisor, Longevity Economy, AARP

Sean Kelly, CEO, Front Porch

This session will provide an overview of the DiME Seal and its role in advancing trust, quality, and transparency in digital health solutions. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of what the DiME Seal represents, including its evidence-based standards for evidence, usability, privacy, and security. The session will also explore how the DiME Seal aligns with and supports inclusion in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare App Library. Participants will learn about the specific requirements developers must meet, how the DiMe Seal can streamline evaluation and procurement processes, and why it is becoming an important benchmark for digital health credibility.

Amelia Hay, VP Startup Programming and Investments, AgeTech Collaborative from AARP 

Ben Vandendriessche, President and Chief Science Officer, Digital Medicine Society (DiME) 

Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as a transformative force in the longevity economy. Beyond the hype, organizations are seeking clear, practical examples of where AI is delivering measurable value today. This session explores real-world use cases of AI in longevity, from early detection of age-related diseases to personalized interventions, predictive analytics, and AI in lifelong learning, speakers will highlight how AI is being successfully applied across the continuum of aging.

Presenters:

Rishik Dhar, Co-founder and CEO, SolidHealth.ai
Lawrence Kosick, Co-Founder, GetSetUp
Rachel Lanham, NewDays

These companies in the longevity market have successfully developed their product or service and are producing revenue and profitability. The next stage of growth is to provide distribution partners that help scale and build their enterprise. Distribution partners are looking for strategic solutions for home care, healthcare, housing, nonprofit, and government. Watch as the companies pitch to the panel, and see which distribution partners are willing to “take a meeting.” 

Panelists:

Courtney Baldridge, Corporate Strategist, USAging
Marco DiGirolomo, Customer Success Manager, AgeTech Collaborative from AARP
Bob Roth, Cypress Home Care
Stephen Samuels, Vice-President, Innovation & Impact Investing, Volunteers of America
Therese Ten Brinke, Executive Director of Innovation & Impact, Eskaton Support Center

Healthcare is undergoing a profound transformation. As populations age and life expectancy increases, the focus is shifting from reactive care to proactive, personalized, and preventive models that extend both lifespan and healthspan. This session explores how emerging technologies are reshaping care delivery for older adults, and will share updates on the evolving reimbursement landscape. Participants will gain insight into how Medicare is adapting to support these innovations through existing and emerging reimbursement pathways. Relevant Medicare codes that enable adoption of digital and longevity-focused care models will be discussed.

Moderator: Richard Lui, Fintech Founder and News Anchor

Christina Keny, Clinical Research Scientist, Samsung Digital Health

Katherine Kim, Senior Scientist for Health, UC Berkeley CITRIS

This annual competition recognizes innovative plans for products, services, and technologies that enable quality-of-life improvements for older adults. The session will kick off with an overview of investor priorities from the panel of judges, composed of leaders in the longevity market and the venture capital community. Then, five entrepreneur finalists will compete for the $10,000 prize by presenting their business plans before the judges. 

Judges:

Dan Hermann, President & CEO, Head of Investment Banking, Ziegler 

Amelia Hay, VP, Startup Programming & Investments, AgeTech Collaborative from AARP 

James Mayer, CEO, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation/CABHI Ventures

Anu Shukla, Co-Founder and Executive Chair, Botco.ai

Aidan Thompson, Chief Commercial Officer, Stead Impact Ventures

Tiffany Yu, Principal, 7wire Ventures

This session explores how companies can successfully scale in the longevity economy through a number of approaches, integrating B2B and B2C growth models, building retail distribution channels, and forming strategic nonprofit partnerships. (add more based on additional presenters). Attendees will learn how to build effective retail and omnichannel distribution models, leverage nonprofit partnerships, and position longevity offerings for diverse customer segments across the aging spectrum.

Ted Fischer, President and CEO, Ageless Innovation
Ishan Patel, Co-founder, Audien Hearing

Mary Furlong, CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates, Executive Producer, What’s Next Longevity Venture Summit

Jeff Zimman, Co-Founder and Chairman, Posit Science