The ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing hosted an engaging discussion with the foremost thought leaders on intergenerational living and how to create and sustain communities for all ages.

ULI Housing Interchange Webinar Series Presents:
The Role of Intergenerationalism in Community Development
June 11, 2014, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.  ET

Access the Webinar Archive

This ULI Housing Interchange Webinar Series program explored the demographic trends as well as the designs and amenities that make intergenerational communities successful. The discussion was moderated by Jeremy Sharpe, Vice President of Community Development, Rancho Sahuarita. The expert panel included: Alan Jones, Homebuilding Division President, Lennar Homes; Donna Butts, Executive Director, Generations United; and W. Aaron Conley, President and Managing Principal, Third Act Solutions.

Participants in this webinar:

• Explored how the rapid changes in demographics and consumer preferences—particularly those of the two largest generations of our time, Gen Y and the Baby Boomers—are leading developers and policy makers to rethink how to create communities for the entire life cycle.
• Learned what types of residential development appeal to different generations looking to live with or near one another and how to market to each generation.
• Gained a deeper understanding of the amenities and design features needed for housing and neighborhoods to support intergenerational living.

Meet the Panelists

Jeremy Sharpe, Rancho Sahuarita Company (Moderator)

As the Vice President of Community Development for the Rancho Sahuarita Company, Jeremy Sharpe is committed to working with stakeholders to ensure positive collaborative efforts and to create a sustainable built environment that enriches the community.  Sharpe believes collaboration and connection can challenge the status quo to imagine a better place to live.

As a part of the Urban Land Institute, Sharpe serves on the National Programming Committee, Leadership for Community Development Council – Green, the Formation Committee for the NEXT 100, and is involved with local ULI District Leadership. In collaboration with the Terwillinger Center for Housing, he is involved in a yearlong project studying Intergenerationalism and its impact on Community Development. He also dedicates time serving as a Trustee for St. Gregory College Preparatory School in Tucson and works with disadvantaged youth through the Youth Handball. Sharpe received both his Bachelors in Geography and Regional Development and his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Arizona.

Donna Butts, Generations United

Donna Butts is Executive Director of Generations United, a position she has held since 1997. For more than 30 years, Butts has worked tirelessly to promote the well-being of children, youth and older adults through nonprofit organizations across the country and around the world. She began her career in her home state of Oregon as a youth worker with the YWCA, where she worked one-on-one with teens and saw the positive effects of intergenerational programs firsthand.

Butts has held leadership positions with Covenant House, a New York-based international youth serving organization, and the National 4-H Council. She served as the Executive Director for the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention before taking the helm of Generations United.

An internationally sought-after speaker, author and advocate, Butts frequently speaks on intergenerational connections, grandparents raising grandchildren and policies effective across the lifespan. Her commentary has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal. She has been interviewed on the TODAY Show, National Public Radio and ABC News, and was invited by the United Nations to sit on three expert panels most recently on intergenerational dialogue in Doha, Qatar in 2011.

In 2004, Butts was honored with the National Council on Aging’s Jack Ossofsky for Leadership, Creativity, and Innovation in Programs and Services for Older Persons. She served as a 2005 delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. A respected author, she has written countless articles, chapters and publications regarding the welfare of children, youth and older adults.

Butts received her undergraduate degree from Marylhurst College and is a graduate of Stanford University’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders. She is a former chair of the board of the International Consortium of Intergenerational Programmes (ICIP) and serves on the board of the National Human Services Assembly. She was recognized by The Nonprofit Times as one of the Top 50 most powerful and influential nonprofit executives in the nation in 2012.

W. Aaron Conley

W. Aaron Conley is a real estate professional with significant experience in real estate development, design and construction management, and finance. His career focus has been creating purpose-built operationally sensitive spaces for clients and employers with long term portfolio assimilation and single asset development.

Bell Senior Living and the Steven D. Bell Company, Clinton Memorial Hospital,Retirement Living Associates, The United Methodist Manor of the Pee Dee, Kane Realty Group, Drucker and Falk, British Petroleum, Bloomingdales and Macys, Brambles Limited, US Department of Navy and NAVFAC, and The Scotts Miracle-Grow Company as well as other industry leaders.

Conley has extensive experience working in several real estate sectors including senior housing, student housing, retail, single and multi-family residential, and office. His experience includes all facets of the project development and finance continuum.

Conley has significant senior housing and health care real estate experience specializing in the Southeastern U.S. He has been responsible for the planning of projects that combined, total over 600 senior living units with combined project costs exceeding $500 Million. Additionally, Conley has worked with several Hospital Systems and Medical Practices in the creation of their clinical and office space.

Conley holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Cincinnati. He is a Full Member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) where he currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Senior Housing Product Council and is also a member of ULI’s National Programs and Product Council Strategic Planning committees.

Conley has been a featured speaker at ULI and National Active Retirement Association. Recently, Conley was featured as a Senior Housing Industry expert in Urban Land Magazine.

Conley resides in Greenville, South Carolina and enjoys adventure racing, cooking, playing music, and spending time with his two sons.

Alan Jones, Lennar Homes

Alan Jones is the Homebuilding Division President of Lennar for Phoenix and Tucson. Alan has held various positions over the past twelve years during the time that he has worked with Lennar. For the first six years Alan was the Land Division President responsible for all Land Acquisitions and Development. At their peak, Lennar had 40 active communities in Phoenix and closed over 2,400 homes. Alan became the Regional Vice President of the Phoenix Division for Lennar in February 2006 and was responsible for both Homebuilding and Land Acquisitions and Development. In 2008, Alan was designated as the Homebuilding Division President for Phoenix and Tucson.

Prior to working for Lennar Alan worked for the Ryland Corporation in Phoenix as the Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for a period of four years.Prior to working for Ryland Alan worked for Homes by Dave Brown for approximately four years as the Vice President of Land Acquisitions and Development.

Alan serves on the Board of Directors of the local Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. Alan received his BS degree from Brigham Young University.