Want to connect across generations? Join us:

Purpose Prize

Marc Freedman Portrait

The Latest from CoGenerate

Event Recording: Book Talk: Cogeneration in the Age of AI

Event Recording: Book Talk: Cogeneration in the Age of AI

Simple question: Do you miss human connection when you use self-checkout at the grocery store? Complex question: How is cogeneration threatened by AI, profit-driven “efficiencies,” and automation — and what can we do about it? Allison Pugh, author of the book The Last...

Putting Two Things Together

Putting Two Things Together

On Friday, May 15, I had the great honor to address the 2026 graduates of Drew University, including the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts, the Theological School, and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. I'm very grateful to Drew's remarkable President...

Introducing the CoGen Voices Fellows

Introducing the CoGen Voices Fellows

Across the country, young people and older people are stepping up as civic leaders. But too often, they do this critical work with peers, in age-segregated spaces. Young people work without the benefit of older generations who bring lived experience, networks, and a...

*

Jan Seago

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Program
Purpose Prize Fellow 2009

Seago educates residents of the Pacific Northwest about watershed protection and the critical role of citizen participation in helping government preserve the environment.

Seago believes that people – inspired to protect the land – can work alongside government to get results. She had a made a career in the hospitality industry, but found herself wanting more as she approached 50. So she got a masters degree in natural resource policy. As a University of Idaho Extension educator for a four-state region in the Pacific Northwest, Seago set out to educate and inspire residents to participate in watershed restoration and management. In 2002, local residents were surveyed to find out how they got information and found that they preferred television and Internet over weekend workshops. Based on the findings, she developed a broadcast education program portraying stories of real communities working together – despite varying interests and ideologies – to plan for the future needs of water. Each case study demonstrates how essential public-private partnerships are for “getting the work done on the ground,” Seago says. By utilizing video, Seago saves thousands of dollars in travel costs associated with holding workshops, so she can stretch her limited budget to reach more people. Six more programs in the series have been produced with another in production. In describing her work, Seago says “it is the most inspirational and fun thing I have ever had the pleasure to do.”