Jan Hively

Jan Hively is a living testament to her personal credo of maximizing productivity and assuring “meaningful work, paid or unpaid, through the last breath.” After playing leadership roles in government and education for more than two decades, Hively received a Ph.D. in education for work and community from the University of Minnesota in the spring of 2001 at age 69. Since then, she has helped found three organizations dedicated to empowering older adults: the Vital Aging Network, a statewide network that promotes self-determination, community participation, and personal enrichment through education and advocacy; the Minnesota Creative Arts and Aging Network, an organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for creative expression by older adults; and “SHiFT,” a community network empowering midlife transitions in life and work.

In 2008, Hively received the Dutch Kastenbaum Award as the Minnesota Gerontologist of the Year from the Minnesota Gerontological Society. She was named a National Purpose Prize Fellow by Civic Ventures in 2006 for her work as a social entrepreneur and was a congressional appointee to the White House Conference on Aging in 2005.

Hively’s focus on aging and work arose from her past professional positions in community outreach, planning, and administration for public and nonprofit organizations. Her professional life has included serving as president and executive director of the Golden Apple Foundation for Excellence in Teaching, founder and executive director of the Minneapolis YOUTH TRUST, deputy mayor of the City of Minneapolis, and director of outreach and a faculty member of the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development.

Hively’s lifetime of community involvement has meant service on more than 30 local, regional, and national boards, including Chicago Art Encounter, Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable, Metro Area Agency on Aging, Dunwoody Technical Institute, United Way Volunteer Center, Minneapolis YMCA, and League of Women Voters. She has presented at dozens of local, state, national, and international workshops and conferences, and her articles have appeared in more than 20 professional publications and books.

In addition to a doctoral degree in education for work and community, Hively holds a master’s degree in organizational communications from the University of Minnesota. She received a B.A. degree in government from Radcliffe College.

To learn more about Jan Hively and her work, visit:

www.vital-aging-network.org
www.mncaan.net
www.shiftonline.org
www.onthecommons.org