George Shannon

After building elevators for Westinghouse elevator Company for several years, Georg Shannon started acting in commercials in Chicago and for nearly 30 years, he worked as an actor on stage, in films, and on television. In 1995, after frequently playing parts in dramas that explored the need for greater social responsibility in society, he decided that he needed to accept the challenge presented by those acting roles, that is, to commit his life to the service of others. It was time for him to enter the third act of his life, just as millions of "Baby Boomers" were about to turn 60, he returned to college, earning a Bachelor's, Masters, and Ph.D. in Gerontology - the last two from the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California (USC). While still in undergraduate school, he found Gerontology, or, perhaps, more appropriately, Gerontology found him. He took a class entitled "Women and Aging." Aging issues and public policy, particularly long-term care, became the focus of his life just in time to help guide a generation of Americans through the third act of their lives. George has spent over a decade researching the problems associated with long-term care. George's achievements since age 55 argue against the notion that it is unrealistic to think that one can change direction at mid-life and be able to maintain a strong presence in the workforce. While earning a Master's degree and Ph.D. at USC, he was nominated to Phi Kappa Phi, the All-University National Honor Society and Sigma Phi Omega, the National Gerontology Academic Honor Society. He has authored or co-authored seven peer-reviewed articles in peer-reviewed professional journals. In addition to his research skills and academic credentials, George worked as an actor for nearly 30 years. He studied acting for two years at Second City in Chicago and for 7 years with Lee Strasberg in his private classes and at the Actor's Studio in New York and Los Angeles. His experiences as an actor - over 50 plays in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, half a dozen features, contract roles on three daytime series, and recurring roles on two others, co-starring roles on several nighttime series - as well as having been a teacher of improvisation (five years at with an acting workshop in Los Angeles) and theater director - all of these experiences have enhanced his teaching and presentation skills. He proposes to encourage improving the public perception of the possibilities that accompany aging by promoting a positive agenda for aging adults. He sees what heretofore has been described as a mid-life crisis, rather, as an opportunity for a man or woman in mid-life or beyond to take a deep breath, look around at the possibilities and say, "In a perfect world, what would I do now?"