Melissa Eamer, the former COO at Glossier and VP at Amazon, founded Modern Age, a longevity care company on a mission to add millions of years of healthy life expectancy to the world.
Recently, there has been a notable change in perspective regarding aging. Society is veering away from perceiving it as an unavoidable deterioration and instead embracing the potential to take control of health and vitality. At Modern Age, we're at the forefront of this shift, advocating for increasing healthspans, the length of time that people are healthy—not just alive. Our mission is to empower our patients with the knowledge and tools to proactively manage their health by leveraging the latest scientific developments and personalized care.
One notable trend is the growing interest in proactive care. On average, people only spend about 15 minutes a year with their primary care physician. Patients know this isn’t enough anymore and are going out to find their own solutions for preventative care. This proactive care helps people focus on what is in their control now to help them live healthier for longer.
Growing up, I watched my mother go through a pretty rapid decline in her health after she turned 50. Unfortunately, she ended up passing away in her early 60s. I felt helpless and frustrated t, and it left me with a lot of unanswered questions. When I became a mom myself it weighed pretty heavily on me – would my daughters have to go through that same experience with me? So I began researching how people age and what I found was really encouraging. What I learned about aging and longevity would have helped my mom have a different outcome, so I started Modern Age to help prevent others from going through the same thing we did.
One indispensable quality that has helped me throughout my career, including my journey at Modern Age, is resilience. Throughout my professional endeavors, including my time at Amazon and now leading Modern Age, I've encountered numerous challenges that demand grit and adaptability. For instance, one of my pivotal experiences at Amazon involved spearheading a project to build something entirely new within an ambitious timeframe. This endeavor required navigating uncharted territories, encompassing new technologies, an intricate legal framework, and cross-functional dynamics. By translating this experience to my role at Modern Age, particularly in launching our flagship Aging Wellness Assessment, I've applied the same tenacity by breaking down complex problems into manageable components.
Megan Rapinoe. She’s not just an incredibly gifted athlete but someone who used the platform their gift gave them to help advocate for other female athletes.
Aside from my wonderful family, one thing I can’t live without is exercise. Engaging in physical activity, whether swimming laps in the pool or cycling through back roads in the Pacific Northwest, isn't just about staying fit—it's my personal time for processing and introspection. Some of my best ideas and creative breakthroughs have occurred during these moments of movement.
There’s been a cultural conversation that’s been growing over the past few years about longevity that I think is really coming to the forefront this year. Books like Lifespan by David Sinclair and Outlive by Peter Attia, as well as shows like "Limitless With Chris Hemsworth" and "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones," have played a significant role in raising awareness about the science and strategies behind healthy aging. Yet, there’s been no clear way to apply this knowledge. That’s where Modern Age steps in - we are giving people the tools and making it easier than ever for people to live their longest, healthiest lives.
