I’m a journalist, editor and communications professional. I do all kinds of writing and have written on many topics, but since the early noughties, I’ve focused a lot on issues relating to health and ageing.  This has qualified me as a ‘gerontologist’ – a person who investigates the physical, social and psychological aspects of ageing.   To prove it, I’m a card carrying Distinguished Member of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) which I joined in 2009. I was Co-Chair of the NSW Division from Dec 2019 to Dec 2024 and am currently the NSW representative on the AAG Board.

The passion about ageing ignited with getting the gig to be founding editor of Australian Ageing Agenda magazine and news website, the most respected mainstream resource on ageing issues and aged care in Australia.  After nearly ten years in that role I had a pretty comprehensive understanding of ageing in Australia and internationally and had met many amazing researchers, advocates, NGOs, service providers and other experts (even politicians), mostly trying to achieve better lives for all of us in our later decades of life.  

Why do we fear and deny getting older? Is it really that bad? Actually, no. Especially if we can stop telling ourselves old, outdated stories about it and start doing it differently.

That’s what we tried to do with the EveryAGE Counts campaign – a campaign I helped establish and remain connected to. Its mission is to end ageism because it is ageism – our negative attitudes and assumptions and prejudices about ageing and older people – that lie at the heart of most of the barriers to a good older life.  While I’m actually quite omnivorous in my interests and directions, I’m still passionate about tackling ageism and in recent years have worked with several organisations as clients, helping them to communicate with and about older people in ways that are accurate, respectful and inclusive.

In 2023 I went ‘back to school’ to get some new skills in radio broadcasting and podcasting which I would like to incorporate into my future work. Some of my interviews and projects I have shared here.

I was thrilled to do my first professional podcast hosting role for the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute in 2024. Check it out here.

Contact me: keryncurtis@gmail.com