Ken Dychtwald

Dychtwald grew up in the Weequahic section of Newark, New Jersey and graduated from Weequahic High School in 1967.[5][6] He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Union Graduate School. In 1973, at age 23, he became co-director of the SAGE Project.[7] Funded by the National Institutes of Health, SAGE investigated how newly popular mind/body disciplines, such as yoga, meditation, nutrition therapy, and biofeedback could improve the health and well-being of older adults. At age 27, he published his first book, Bodymind,[8] based on his doctoral thesis. In 1982, Dychtwald joined a panel created by the Office of Technology Assessment, a think tank for the US Congress, to examine how population aging would impact America in the 21st century.[9]

In 1986, Dychtwald founded the California Bay Area-based company Age Wave, an advisor to companies and government groups regarding product and service development for men and women aged 50+.[10]

In 2004, Dychtwald, Tamara Erickson, and Bob Morison wrote the article “It’s Time to Retire Retirement”, which tied for the first place McKinsey Prize as the best article of the year in the Harvard Business Review.[11]

Dychtwald produced and hosted the 2007 two-hour PBS special, The Boomer Century: 1946-2046.[12] His most recent PBS special With Purpose: Going from Success to Significance In Work and Life aired nationwide in 2009 to coincide with the book release of the same title.[13][14] His new Public Television special, which Dychtwald created and starred in,in 2020, is titled Life’s Third Age.

Dychtwald is involved in activities including the Alzheimer's XPRIZE, which he co-envisioned with XPRIZE Founder Dr. Peter Diamandis in 2012. The Alzheimer's XPRIZE team is now preparing to globally crowdsource a new approach to ending Alzheimer's disease.[15]

In 1983, Dychtwald married Maddy Kent Dychtwald, a professional lecturer, author and co-founder of Age Wave.[16] They have two children, Casey and Zak.

• Bodymind, Tarcher Putman, 1986[18][19]
• Wellness and Health Promotion for the Elderly, Aspen Pub, 1986[20]
• Age Wave: How the Most Important Trend of Our Time Will Change Your Future, with co-author Joe Flower, Bantam Books, 1990[21][22]
• Healthy Aging: Challenges and Solutions, Aspen, 1999[23][24]
• Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old, Tarcher Putnam, 2000[25][26]
• Leaving a Legacy: The Essential Resource for Financial Professionals, with co-authors Mark Zesbaugh and Catherine Fredman, Age Wave Press, 2006[27]
• The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life, with co-author Daniel J. Kadlec, Wiley, 2005[28][29]
• Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent, with co-authors Tamara J. Erickson and Robert Morison, Harvard Business Review Press, 2006[30][31]
• Handbook of the New American Workforce, with co-authors David Baxter, Tamara Erickson and Robert Morison, 2006[32]
• Gideon’s Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings, co-authored with Maddy Dychtwald, Grace Zaboski, and Dave Zaboski (who also illustrated the book), HarperCollins 2008[33][34][35]
• With Purpose: Going From Success to Significance in Work and Life, with co-author Daniel J. Kadlec, William Morrow, 2009[36][37]
• A New Purpose: Redefining Money, Family, Work, Retirement, and Success, with co-author Daniel J. Kadlec, Harper Paperbacks, 2010[38][39]
• What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of Life’s Third Age, with co-author Robert Morison, Wiley, 2020[40]

• Age Power! With Ken Dychtwald: How the 21st Century Will be Ruled by the New Old, PBS, 2000[41]
• The Boomer Century: 1946-2046, PBS, 2007[12][42]
• With Purpose: Going from Success to Significance In Work and Life, PBS, 2009[43]
• The Arc of Life: Huston Smith on Life, Death & Beyond, mondayMEDIA, 2012[44][45][46]
• Life's Third Age, Public Television, 2020