Richard Adler
President
People & Technology

Richard Adler has been a leader in the field of aging and technology for more than a decade.  He is principal of People & Technology, a consulting firm based in Cupertino, CA, and serves as a Senior Advisor to Civic Ventures. 

Recent projects include designing a new training curriculum for older volunteers; acting as lead U.S. consultant to the Smart Senior Consortium, a multi-national initiative to develop business strategies for the mature market; and directing a year-long policy project on “The Future of Aging” for the State of the World Forum. His clients include the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, InfoWorld, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Verizon, the Seniors Media Lab, and Xerox PARC.

From 1990 to 1997, Richard was Vice President for Development at SeniorNet, a national non-profit organization whose mission is to provide adults aged 55 and older with access to computer and telecommunication skills. Richard was responsible for SeniorNet’s business planning, fundraising and research. He was also responsible for building a network of more than 100 SeniorNet Learning Centers around the country (there are now more than 225 in operation). At SeniorNet, Richard conducted the first national survey of computer use by older adults, launched the organization’s first Web site, and developed and directed the MetLife Solutions Forum on SeniorNet, an award-winning project that enabled older adults to participate in online discussions of important national issues.

Before joining SeniorNet, Richard was a director at the Institute for the Future, where he created and led a research program in new information services.  His clients at IFTF included corporations such as Aetna, American Express, Apple Computer, AT&T, Chase Manhattan, Gannett, IBM, and Kodak.  Richard has also taught communications at Stanford and UCLA and was a Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Richard has written and spoken extensively about aging and information technologies. His recent publications include “Engaging Older Volunteers in After-School Programs” (Civic Ventures, 2002); “The Age Wave Meets the Technology Wave: Broadband and Older Americans” (SeniorNet, 2002); “Looking Ahead: Older Adults, New Technology and Learning” (The Older Learner, American Society on Aging, Winter 2001); and “Media Use by Older Adults”(Seniors Media Lab, 1999).

Richard holds a BA from Harvard, an MA from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA from the McLaren School of Business at the University of San Francisco.