Suzanne Newman welcomes the SilverKite team of Jennifer Kulik (founder and CEO), McKenzie Wilson (Intergenerational & Community Program Manager), and Mollia Jensen (Creative Aging Program Manager) on the Answers for Elders podcast, hosted by Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Washington. SilverKite helps older adults stay creative, connected, and confident with engaging creative aging programs, intergenerational arts experiences, and professional development for senior-serving organizations. These programs are designed to help older adults tap into their creativity, maintain cognitive and emotional vitality, and build meaningful social connections—key components of healthy aging.

Jen says, "When I was three years old, my mother caught me in my room with two dolls, one named Purple and one named Orange, and they were talking to each other, and I had voices for both of them. So my mother decided to enroll me in theater classes at the local community college. When I got to middle school, I started having health problems. I lost my hair and I also was having a really hard time digesting food, so I lost a lot of weight. I was very thin and bald at age 11. [She was diagnosed with alopecia universalis.] So if you can imagine, that was a very difficult time in my life. I was bullied quite extensively during my middle school years and into high school. But during all of that time, I kept going to theater classes, I kept acting, I kept going there, and I was part of a community there that helped me to regain my confidence and my self-esteem. And it was a very powerful thing for me.

"So when I went off to college and started thinking about how the heck did I make it through this really difficult time, I realized that it was the arts. That was the thing that kept me going and helped me to recover myself during that difficult time. What can I do to help others who may be having a similar kind of thing happen to them? And so thus began my career in arts education and arts engagement. And I fell into intergenerational programs in 1999 when I was working on my master's degree, and a colleague and I were creating a curriculum for fourth and fifth graders about immigration that was social science and theater combined. And my colleague said, why don't we bring in some older adults from the community into the classroom to share their stories with the students about their immigration experience? And so we did that. And when I first saw this connection happening between these older adults and the youth, and was reminding myself about the great relationship I had with my own grandparents, it opened up a new door to me in thinking about how the arts can be a service to people and the community at large. So that is how I got started."

Mollia adds, "Jen's story inspired me to understand my own even more, which is that I think I was born with a superpower that I didn't know I had, but I just did it, which is whenever life brought obstacles, I turned to the arts, and they just ended up being the healing arts. But they were always just the arts. And the arts are sort of like a portal I could always enter. And still to this day, that's what I'm doing, to be able to work at an organization that is always inviting people to create opportunities for people to enter that portal. Because what I've noticed about depression and loneliness in my own journey, and in others near to me, is sometimes it's as simple as a very small perspective shift, whether that stepping outside or whether that saying yes to come to an activity or a program, and then you're just in a whole new world. You're sitting at a table with people you didn't think you would be. You're on an outing. And I know that sometimes getting from here to there is is challenging for some individuals. But we're here to say say yes, come to the programs."

For the past 30+ years Jennifer Kulik has designed and facilitated intergenerational arts, arts for youth, and arts for older adults programs for retirement communities, schools, theatre companies, and social service organizations. Jen holds a Ph.D. in Theatre for Young Audiences from Arizona State University and an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Washington. In 2012, she was awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching fellowship to travel to Singapore. She received the Joseph F. Wall Service Award from Grinnell College in 2018. Jen presents at conferences worldwide.

McKenzie Wilson is a Seattle-based artist originally from North Carolina. She is dedicated to creating innovative, inspiring, and engaging projects that bring people together. With over 10 years of directing, writing, and performance experience across the country, Mckenzie delights in exploring and uplifting the vibrant cultures, communities, and stories around her, infusing her work with a playful spirit and a sense of wonder. Their work draws on the power of innovative storytelling and devised performance, inviting curiosity and discovery, with the intention to build authentic connection. She is always happy to connect — especially about creative pursuits, outdoor exploration, cats, and reality TV. She holds a BA in Dramatic Art and Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mollia Jensen has been a teaching artist for over 30 years. With roots in the theatre and wings in dance and writing, her path has engaged in leading programming with several arts, educational, community organizations and local creative classes. Mollia loves sharing moments of alchemy with others whether in a creative coaching session, in written words on the page, playing with swirling watercolors, or on the dance floor. She has an MFA in Writing from Pacific University.

Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton. Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders.

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Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement

2 Creative Aging for Seniors: SilverKite’s Intergenerational Programs at Chateau Retirement