S2 E02: Re-envisioning Aging Successfully | Part 2 with Mark Lenhard
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In this episode, Amanda and Mark Lenhard, President & CEO of UMC, continue their discussion recorded at LeadingAge's Annual Meeting in Boston, MA (November 2025), going deeper into Mark's TEDx Talk, "Re-envisioning Aging Successfully," and what it was like to step onto that stage. They explore the power of storytelling in shaping how we understand and communicate about aging, the ripple effect of human connection, and the hope Mark carries for the future of our field and the people in it.
The conversation reflects on what it means to be a "hopeful contrarian," the importance of listening to the people we serve, and why engaging the next generation gives reason for optimism.
Takeaways
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have in changing the narrative around aging.
Being a hopeful contrarian means challenging the status quo with possibility, not cynicism.
The aging population we serve is more vocal, engaged, and expectant than ever before.
Youth involvement in aging services is a genuine reason for hope.
Vulnerability in leadership invites others to show up more fully.
Learning is lifelong — and that's something to celebrate, not fear.
Connection is at the heart of everything we do in aging services.
Action, even when messy, moves us further than conversation alone.
Don't miss Part 1 of this conversation (Season 2, Episode 1) if you haven't already — and check out Mark's TEDx talk!
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Special thanks to Mark Lenhard and LeadingAge for making this first on-location episode possible!
This episode is made possible by LeadingAge Texas' Partners: Communities of Faith, RRG, LeadingAge Texas Health Plan, Inc., Value First, and Ziegler.
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Visit upliftaging.org/episodes for show notes and more information about each episode.
Join the movement as we continue to elevate the conversation on aging by visiting upliftaging.org and following us on our socials @upliftaging.
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The Uplift Aging Podcast is a production of LeadingAge Texas.
coming soon: Transcript - S2 E02 (auto-generated)
Amanda: 0:00
Welcome back to Uplift Aging. If you haven't listened to part one of my conversation with Mark Leinhard yet, I'd encourage you to start there first. But if you're ready to dive deeper, you're in the right place. In this second half, Mark takes us inside his edit experience, from the year-long process of getting there to the moment he stepped on that stage and as he puts it, remembers the first word and nothing else. We talk about the power of storytelling, what it means to be a hopeful contrarian, and what gives him hope for the future of aging. Let's get started. Thank you everyone to watch. Congrats, first of all. And yeah, walk me a little bit through the watch back and the day of.
Mark: 1:21
Sure. Well, you know, talking is a problem for me. Sure, sure. Uh actually the the the the biggest difficulty I think the only thing I really sweated when I heard was like uh it's time limited. Uh-huh. And they'll cut you right off. Sure. And and so um brevity is not the strongest club in my bag. But um it was exciting, and it was it was a process. We you had to make an application, and then it was amongst several hundred people, and then it was then you had to put in an outline, and then and that went through a number of different revisions, and then you had to kind of talk them through it so they could kind of see how you would present. And um uh I love what I do, and I mean I feel very called to it, but I I this this idea of aging well has really kind of stuck with me because um I have encountered so many people throughout my career that have done such amazing things at different times of their lives, and um very humbling. Things that I I don't know that I'll be ever be able to do. Um, we have a number of residents currently that are involved in degree programs, and they're doing it because they want to. And some of them one uh one I was thinking about has multiple degrees and patents in engineering, and they're doing like art history or something, and like because they want to, but how cool is that, right? Um, and so um so the the TED talk came up and and it was this being human and that really resonated. And I said, well, you know, I can throw some facts out there, but I mean, really, my approach is just to really relate to stories of how I've been touched by it. So it kind of came into that, and and that was fun. I kept thinking, like, oh my gosh, it was very difficult to trim it down.
Amanda: 2:53
Yep, that was gonna be my next question. I mean, you have this entire career of content, essentially. How in the world did you spill it down into that?
Mark: 3:03
It was originally going to be I'm about to violate HIPAA hard. I mean, like, like I'm like, okay, I'm gonna violate HIPAA. No, uh, it was not a contender title, but it felt like that. Um so 18 minutes is the max, and so I'm thinking, like, okay, well, depending on the cadence, maybe I should book it at about 16. And like, I mean, that was tough. And so some things had to go. But the opportunity was looking at uh I've been asked to come back and talk about it in other areas, and so I've been able to take those things and say, Oh, well, I wasn't able to talk about was this. Um, but it was also a moment to remember just how rich it's such that's the coolest part of what we do is these incredible stories that we would not otherwise been able to have. Um, maybe I didn't enjoy it or value it as much at the time, but I do now. Sure. And so uh anyway, so it came into this thing, it was 16 minutes and 23 seconds. I don't know how it I uh the edit wasn't much of an edit, so it's like right in there about 16 minutes. Um, and um, but I don't remember anything of the time. So uh, you know, it's about a year process, the application, and then they start reviewing it, and then you do the application, the outline, and then you're about six months out, and you're kind of refining it. And what I would say is I kind of got to like 99% of what it was, and I was rehearsing it four to five times a day for 45 days straight. Because you had to memorize it.
Amanda: 4:18
Yeah, yeah.
Mark: 4:19
Um, and I didn't want to just sound memorized, I wanted to sound conversational. Um, I wanted to have some fun in it, but not be too, you know, not snarky kind of be authentic to you. I mean, like, yeah, I can't imagine you just like I don't know, saying words and to the graphs person, you know, but so I threw a little bit of that in. But it was it again, it was about how to tell the stories that were relevant to what we were talking about. And so um, so it was there, and uh my wife was on the front row, and I had a couple of my cousins there, and some of my teammates and some residents from one of our communities, and uh, I went up there and they said my name and it started. I remember the first word, and then I don't remember anything else. It was wild. Oh, it was bizarre, and and also you had like a dot that you had standard before?
Amanda: 5:01
Like, can you remember?
Mark: 5:02
No, because I mean I'm a I I prepare, yeah, and so I always have like kind of notes to the side, and then this I didn't, and I just like okay, well, and I can go back. I saw it really for the first time when I got the edit. Yeah, and I'm like, huh. And of course, I don't I don't I don't feel like I sound like I am. I right which when I get maybe nobody does. Uh but I I enjoyed it, and um Karen's tearing up and about this one thing, and I'm like, oh, you know, and then I send it to family and um some of the family who are their aging and they're kind of redefining themselves and how they're like, oh, I want to be that person and I want to be you know to change. I was like, okay, well, this is more than just this event, this is more than that. And um since then I've been asked to I'm going to a uh a Catholic prep school who wants me to present it to their graduating uh uh class and talk about the youth board and and different things, and uh been asked to do come up a couple other segments on it, and um it's cool. And then the really cool thing is I hear from other people like, oh, I have a similar story, but it's this, and so it's just more and more and more. Um so it's been a it's it's been an experience, but no, I don't remember anything of it at the time. So that's wild. Um and I got to, you know, I was in the green room as they were prepping it, and um uh so it was it was an it was a wonderful experience. And then the people the all the work the people do behind the scenes, you know, it's incredible. It it's it's it's so finely timed and timed and and the intentionality of the people that you're there. And there was a comedian who was before me, and then there was an AI engineer after me. I mean, so uh I had always spoken to people who were in or around our industry, whereas this was just people.
Amanda: 6:36
Yeah.
Mark: 6:37
So it was cool.
Amanda: 6:39
How has it resonated with your staff and with your residents?
Mark: 6:43
I had one of my senior leadership teams goes, he goes, Boy, don't take this the wrong way, but that was really good. I was like, okay. And they're like, well, no, they seemed really comfortable. And they were very kind. So at my birthday, at my birthday, uh I did a practice run through with the the home office team. Uh and um and it was still a little choppy. And I mean they were all very supportive, but I mean it was still wasn't there yet. Yeah, it just wasn't there. Um, but um, no, they liked it. And I think um, you know, I think there's um you can talk all you want about being called to this industry and what you want to do and how you want to do it, but it's what you end up doing that really makes all the difference. And this was an opportunity to talk about what I love without it being like a pitch for work or a pitch for the communities per se. This is just about how we as an organization feel about this and how I've been crafted and shaped and um and just why everybody is a part of it. I mean, there was a there was a at the end, there's this kind of this request that we all need to be a part of it because as strong as we are in what we do and the wonderful colleagues that we have, it's really gonna take the family members and the residents and our legislators and us all working for a common good. Um, and that's hard and it's messy, but it's possible. And that's what I loved in it. It was it created possibilities I didn't think had existed before. And so, so from the team, um, I think they felt that. And so as fast as we've been moving, it was kind of like this is cool, we can be in alignment with this. And um, and again, I give all credit to them. The the the stories that I came across and the work that we've done is have all come from the people that I've worked with, and so um thankful for them every day, it just makes it possible. And so um, if I could, I would have brought other people up to be a part of it, but that's not how it works. But yeah, uh but yeah, no, it was good. And oh, my uh my daughter said um she's 19, and she said, uh, oh that was good, Dad. Um, yeah, no, it's actually really good. I mean, like I didn't feel like I was getting like a lecture, and I'm like, oh, that's cool, I really appreciate that. And um, and then uh I made her watch it a handful of times, and and she's like, Yeah, that's good. I'm like thinking, like, okay, if if a 19-year-old like watched it and like didn't pick up their phone, I'm feeling okay.
Amanda: 8:53
Uh-huh. I think that is the win.
Mark: 8:55
Yeah, it was like, okay, you know, I'm not sure too. I know, right, right. Being like, okay, she can tell you like it is, right? I figure you, yeah. No, no, no, no punches pulled. So um, so that was nice.
Amanda: 9:07
That is lovely. Have any of the residents seen it thus far?
Mark: 9:10
Uh, outside of the ones who are they have, and they did some watch parties and we kind of posted it on on different stuff. And so uh we do a thing called uh food for thought, which is where uh our leadership team goes in, and I have my um our our senior vice president for people and culture for HR, and then our VP of operations and our CFO, they uh do breakfast, they bake breakfast, they do breakfast tacos, and they do um oh gosh, our HR guy does this amazing like orange zest on muffins. But anyway, we then have this thing called Food for Thought, and we'll bring different departments and they'll cook breakfast and the exchanges, we'll give you food, and we want you to just tell us what's going on. And so we talked to a couple of our um kind of like a town hall with some of our teammates about it, and so we're just going around. So we just started that process.
Amanda: 9:49
That's great.
Mark: 9:50
Yeah, pretty exciting.
Amanda: 9:51
I love also that you spoke about how it's opened up other opportunities so far. And you're so used to speaking, you know, to people within the field of aging services, but you were speaking to the people in the world. Because we're all aging, right? I think you know that's at the heart of this podcast, right? Like we're uplift aging. The whole point is to just elevate the conversation on aging. Let's just talk about it. Thank you for doing that. And I love that that resonated enough with them out of the however many applications that they received to do that. I think that speaks to, I mean, to you, of course, but that speaks to our industry and our field, and maybe people are are really realizing that, like you said in the beginning, we are all aging.
Mark: 10:28
We're all a stake in this, right? And it can be uplifting. I love I love the name of the podcast too, because I think the issue is there's really more good. But there is always challenges. And and I think about many of the people who probably start to listen to this, our colleagues, we are geared to fix the problem and to deal with whatever the case is. But really, at the end of the day, that is so small in comparison to the amazing things that are happening. And and or that could happen, right? And it just takes an idea. It's wonderful. I you know, I I refer to myself in the in the uh lecture as a hopeful contrarian, and I do like challenging different things, but it is with hope. It is because there is a possibility of doing it differently. Um, and um, and I like the fact that it's contrarian. I kind of like the f I like the fight a little bit. It does, it does right. Um, but but the idea of it uplifting people and bringing people to a new level. Yeah. It's what we should be doing. It's exciting.
Amanda: 11:22
Well, my next question was gonna be what gives you hope for the future of aging? I feel like we've touched on a few things, but yeah.
Mark: 11:29
I would say it's two things. I think I think we have an incredibly savvy and engaging aging population, the particular part that we serve, uh 55, 65 plus, um, that are confounding us in new ways. That it's not just we want this, that you know what, we want to feel secure, but we don't know what we want yet. We want to do pickleball or we want to be um a group I was talking to, they're um online gamers. They're all over the age of 70, which I think is fantastic. I love that idea. Very cool. And so the issue is um, so it isn't that I'm I'm hopeful because it's a very vocal uh have sometimes a problem with the word opinionated, but they have a strong opinion about what it means to be living well and vibrantly and successfully and with abundance, and uh and they're gonna ask for it. So I I love that because we are subject matter experts in what we do, uh, but we aren't subject matter experts in everybody. Everybody has a different need in how that's fulfilled, and the fact it's a it is a two-way street. We need to to provide it, but we also need to listen for it. And I think there's a I think there's a much much more engaged population we're serving. And I would say I'm so hopeful because I'm seeing more and more youth that are coming into this with a sense of engagement of um, what does it mean to serve? What does it mean to be on a board? What does it mean to be a part of a nonprofit? How am I the architect of the world that I want to see come into existence and not just the one I'm inheriting? And putting aside all the whatever on either side. How can we not have hope when we have people that want to have good discernment and be intentional about where they're going, not just what I need now, it's not just survival, but it's thriving and realizing it won't be easy and still wanting to do it. I I mean, I I just um beautiful, Mark.
Amanda: 13:25
That got me a little bit.
Mark: 13:26
Well, I this is why I've loved this idea of the youth board. And I see this in my own, and my believe I've talked to my kids have want to have nothing to do with the field that I'm in. I mean, honestly, only one of them probably can explain what I do, probably because I don't explain it very well, right?
Amanda: 13:40
They'll have to watch the TED talk like over and over.
Mark: 13:42
Sure, sure, right, right. If they watch it once, again, Ching Chang. But um so uh, but as I've met other people, we've had some interns come in, they've talked about, you know, hey, I haven't thought about this, but I want to. And people are actually interested in what I have to say, and the answer is yes. I mean, we should be. Um, and I think providing the freedom, like just because I've been doing this for 30 years, doesn't mean I have the answer. I may have had an answer at one point in time, and maybe I have some in the future. I would say that's a smaller percentage to all the bad ideas. Um, but no, I want to hear. And I'm like, the fact that you want to be here, to me, that's 90% of it, right? I mean, you want to be here and you want to be a part of it. And and so it was um again, I was surprised, but I have hope for it because I don't, I mean, that's what I want. I want someone to be thinking creatively. I don't want to be stuck in a box. I want it to be a unique experience, whatever that looks like. That's hope.
Amanda: 14:35
We need hope.
Mark: 14:36
We do.
Amanda: 14:36
Yeah, thank you for reminding me of that.
Mark: 14:38
Yeah, no, it's out there.
Amanda: 14:39
Yeah, I feel like we can get so um, I don't know, it can get it can get hard and it can get heavy, not just within our field, but with the world and and everything happening and politics. It feels it feels heavy. So um thank you for adding some levity to that.
Mark: 14:58
Uplifting.
Amanda: 14:58
We're uplifting.
Mark: 14:59
We're uplifting. Yeah.
Amanda: 15:01
Well, one of my favorite podcasts to listen to is The Diary of the CEO with Stephen Bartlett. And he ends his podcast with asking, you know, what is the most important thing that we haven't talked about today?
Mark: 15:13
Oh. I I think we hit on it just a moment ago, but I think it's it's our intrinsic ability to care for others. I think we just need to focus on that. Uh the analogy to the technology, sometimes we don't embark on something because maybe we feel like it's so many people that need, if we just do it for one, it it multiplies. So just keeping that at the heart of if you just reach out to an individual, you never know what that sparks. I think we saw the what was it, ripples today was in the conversation for the for the keynote, and we see that in other areas. And what we do in the in the specifically in the industry was where we get to touch the lives of so many people, the grandchildren that are taking care of their grandparents and kids, and those without kids, and you know, and and um uh anyway, all the people that we touch, it's just such an opportunity. We shouldn't let that go. Every day is an opportunity. Every day is every day is an opportunity. We don't know what it is, and we gotta be open to it.
Amanda: 16:05
Yeah.
Mark: 16:05
But you know, that's the that's the that's the fun, ex you know, unexpected part of the journey.
Amanda: 16:11
What are you still learning about yourself?
Mark: 16:14
So many things. Like a lot of things. Um first I would be very sad if I stopped learning. I have learned I have learned that my like my oxygen is learning. Without a doubt. Um which has allowed me to be more comfortable in saying I don't know things, which is great. I feel like I've learned more because of that. Now, um some of that comes with being comfortable with what I already do know, but also reminding myself to be challenged that it has a shelf life. I'm still learning that I really enjoy learning and that there's a lot to to learn about. That's probably the biggest thing. Um the the fear of being wrong and the fear of of not getting it right, I do you think you ever had that fear?
Amanda: 17:00
Okay, you did. Hugely. I have seen you as someone who doesn't have that fear, and I wonder as someone who has that fear of myself, will that get better with is it is it as we age? Well, you know, I have friends who've like just turned 40, I'm approaching that soon, like and they're like, Amanda, when you hit 40, you are gonna care about nothing and you're just gonna do what you want to do, and it's great. I mean, honestly, I feel like in my mid 30s and as I'm in my late 30s now, it has started to become true more and more. And I wonder, you know, is it just that I am aging and I'm at that point in my aging journey? Or is it and that I also like you, I I think of myself as a lifelong learner. I'm constantly wanting to know more, to understand more, learn more from others, to have conversations with others. That's why I'm doing this. Um tell me the secret if you have it.
Mark: 17:52
No, I think it's a combination.
Amanda: 17:54
Yeah, yeah.
Mark: 17:55
I I mean, really the only thing I regret is that I didn't come to that level of comfort earlier. And I'm not sure that it was always healthy to be able to come across as confident in it. I think maybe if I was willing to be a little bit more vulnerable, knowing I've had wonderful mentors, wonderful colleagues, maybe they've said, gosh, you look like you're struggling, what can I help with? And that's not to say they didn't.
Amanda: 18:16
But maybe you didn't hear it.
Mark: 18:18
But maybe I didn't. Maybe I wasn't open to it. And and you know, there's there's ego and there's wanting to be successful, and there's um sometimes you build up, you're like, Well, you have to know this. Well, no, you you you don't. I mean, you you don't. Uh there's gonna be a whole breadth of things that I will never know well, that I won't be a subject matter expert. That's fine. I'm okay with that now. Um, but uh age has helped. Age has helped with that. Um, and when you you know, you kind of spend your time and you establish yourself with people, at some point in time it's kind of like, well, this is this is what it is. I I think there has to be a confidence level. I think there has to just be the comfort of the fact that it's okay to be wrong and to learn. And you know, whatever I was adamant about before, I don't have to be about now. I mean, I can be convicted in it, and that's fine, but I'm always good going to be like, okay, change my mind. You know, and so I I think I see I look at my kids, I think our my kids are better at it than I was. I think they bec they are more discerning and they they're they're okay to reach out and to to reach out to others, like, oh man, you do that. I love that. Because and I will say, as a young man, I mean, I I was I was licensed at 22. So I mean, I think about it like I probably would not have hired me back when I was my right like now. I'm like, oh my gosh, I had responsibility for all those lives and everything else like that. And you take the test and you do the nab and you get your license, and you're like going, wait a minute, that wasn't in chapter four of the Miller book or whatever, you know. Wait, wait, what version was that? And I remember the the regulatory standards and how I had like the little tab, people remember this little tabs, little sticky notes to go through all the code of federal regulations and everything else. And I I remembered at the time you had to have 22 inches of hanging space in Texas, but if it was new construction, but old construction have 20. I mean, it's not important.
Amanda: 20:01
Yeah, yeah.
Mark: 20:03
So, you know, I I that that vulnerability I think is important. And I hopefully we're we are reinforcing that people can ask those questions. I do see that in the sessions. I do too. And it's okay that if you're older too. I was just talking to a consultant, she's like, I just started learning about this, and she's this is a last generation career. I'm 54, I'm gonna be 55, I'm going to do this, and I have to learn it. I'm like, hey, that's fantastic. Does it make you happy? Yeah, I'm like, win. Yes. It doesn't have to be my win. I mean, it may not be what I want to do, but I mean that's great. Right. Do it for you. We were talking about this university-based retirement community. I'm like, someone should build a community around like baseball camp or you know, uh a culinary arts thing, or you know, I mean, there's there's stitches for everybody to kind of find our connectivity. When we look at this, when we talk about aging, and the reason why it's important is we do talk about the expansion of our services to serve people. We've got to remember that our teammates are part of those. So I often say we have to celebrate and we're committed to the people with we that we serve and the people with whom we serve. Because if you're not doing both, you're doing neither well. And so, you know, as we're as I'm talking with organizations, as we look at building CCRC, we're talking about we should have workforce housing with it. We should be talking about what we can do to make things more accessible. Even what are we doing to help to make it affordable for people and not just healthcare people, but teachers and emergency services. And I mean, you think of all these people that are lost in the middle. And what are we doing to find? I mean, you think about it, a lot of organizations they can serve all those who have money, and they can they're in places to serve people who have no money. But what about the people that are in the middle? We got to crack that nut. I mean, we're trying to take a and and everyone's kind of just like, well, how do we do it? Like, okay, well, whatever we do, let's try something. It may not be perfect, but let's take an attempt at it instead of just talking about it.
Amanda: 21:42
That's so true. I feel like that has been a topic in conferences like this for I mean, the last however many years I've been coming. And um, it is very refreshing to see something being like, you know, an actual answer being tried. Like you're just you're trying it out, right? Like, And it will be messy for sure. But it is so refreshing to to hear, you know, your story of that. And I'm thinking of, you know, some of our members in Texas who are that is, you know, what they're what they're working on right now, what they're building right now. And um that is very exciting because I do feel like you're right. It has been talked about, talked about, talked about, talked about. We knew it was coming, the middle market, all of these things. And it's like, okay, you know, what are what is the action that we need to put?
Mark: 22:27
How do we transition from a white paper to we hear this in the in all the conferences is they have really uh uh uh migrated to the sessions that they're not telling you to do 12 things, but they're telling you to do two things and how to do them.
Amanda: 22:40
The how, right?
Mark: 22:41
The how is huge. It's really moving. And I and I get a lot of this feedback from our sessions, and we've we're like, I know this doesn't seem like a lot of content, but we want to talk to you about how to actually do it. And it actually you end up finding it's still not enough time, but it's actionable.
Amanda: 22:56
To have the impact on the people, which is the whole point, right? That's the whole point.
Mark: 23:00
And start it now, even if it's messy, at least you're one inch, one foot, whatever you're I mean, you've you move it forward. You know, and I'm not against research. I think research is fantastic, and we we need to be doing it. And then also, then how do we operationalize it? Let's look, there are phenomenal journal ideas out there. Like, well, let's try some.
Amanda: 23:17
Yeah.
Mark: 23:17
If we fail, then other people won't have to fail, right?
Amanda: 23:20
Right, right. Lessons learned from all of us collectively. It's great. Thank you for bringing that to the table. I feel like that's important. Okay, my my actual last question, I promise. Okay, finishing the sentence. I uplift aging by oh wow.
Mark: 23:39
One word?
Amanda: 23:40
No.
Mark: 23:41
Have I ever said anything in one word? But you know, I was thinking I was thinking connecting. Connecting.
Amanda: 23:47
That's great.
Mark: 23:48
Yeah.
Amanda: 23:48
I think that sums it up pretty well. Well, thank you. Thank you.
Mark: 23:51
I love this. This is great. First of all, connecting, but also just um I love what you're doing here, and it's so it's important. It's the uh nothing nothing bad comes from the conversation. Always, always good. Always good.
Amanda: 24:03
Thank you. I hope this conversation left you with as much to think about as it did me. From the TEDx stage to the future of our field, Mark has a way of reminding us that there is so much good happening, and so much more possible when we show up with intention, curiosity, and a willingness to connect. If you haven't already, go back and listen to part one, and don't forget to check out Mark's TEDx talk. We've linked it for you in the show notes. It is worth every one of those 15 minutes and 36 seconds. Thank you to Mark for his time, his openness, and his hope. I'm your host, Amanda Wiedenfeld. We'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to Uplift Aging, a production of Leading Age Texas. Check out this episode's show notes for more about LeadingAge Texas, today's guests, and the Uplift Aging movement. Until next time, join us on social at UpliftAging as we continue to elevate the conversation on Aging.