Hindsight may be 20/20, but how can your vision of the year 2020 provide you the foresight for a better future? This has been a complicated past few months, compelling many of us to commit to change in our lives. This inaugural week of our third MEA season will be not just a workshop dedicated to the big questions in your life, but also a time for self-reflection on the multiple-choice answers available to you using the design thinking principles Jenn Maer developed in her 13 years at IDEO as a design director, storyteller, and brand strategist. In tandem with MEA founder Chip Conley, this process will help you:
- Facilitate your own “Great Midlife Edit.”
- Determine how to ask better questions of yourself and others.
- Identify how to cultivate and harvest wisdom, gravitas, and levity at the same time.
- Choose your most important transitions along with creating a navigation roadmap.
- Master your life reset while connecting it to the larger body politic.
- Strengthen your capacity for curiosity, adaptability and resilience.
Who is this workshop best suited for?
If you know it’s time for a major transition in your life, this workshop will help you effectively foster the mindset to create the steps needed to navigate it. If you enjoy deep conversations and asking bigger questions, you’ll find this experience to be transformational.
Note: All workshops cover the foundational Modern Elder curriculum and provide a comprehensive set of tools to help navigate midlife, resulting in a Certificate in Mindset Management. Guest faculty bring a unique experience to each week led by MEA staff.
Your workshop leaders

Chip Conley
Chip Conley is a hospitality entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and the founder of MEA. His book, [email protected]: The Making of a Modern Elder, is the foundation for MEA’s curriculum.

Jenn Maer
Jenn is a storyteller and creative director with a deeply held belief that our life’s best work is the result of play and laughter. When she’s not writing or facilitating workshops, you’ll find her in deep conversation with every dog she meets.
Envisioning yourself in a workshop, but have questions?
Set up a call with our admissions team so we can help you through the process.
Tuition
Consider it an investment in your future.
For all workshops, MEA tuition is $5,500 per person for a private room, or $4,000 per person for a shared room. Full-tuition attendees must deposit 50% upon application, with the balance due 30 days prior to arrival.
Please note: In response to Covid-19, for the health and safety of our guests, all rooms will be single occupancy through the end of 2020, unless you are applying with a partner. You can still apply at the shared room rate, but premium rooms with king or queen beds and extra amenities will be given to single room applicants.
Scholarships
MEA is a social enterprise, committed to socio-economic diversity.
We know that our entire society is made stronger when everyone has the opportunity to learn, participate, and grow, no matter how much they make for a living. We offer two levels of scholarship on a need-aware basis and are committed to at least half of our students receiving some form of scholarship.
The scholarship request is included in the workshop application form. Please be aware that we have more scholarship applicants than available spaces—applying for full tuition does maximize the likelihood of getting placed in your preferred workshop.
Scholarship Levels (All scholarships are shared accommodation.)
$1,250 scholarship (Students are responsible for $2750 tuition.)
$2,500 scholarship (Students are responsible for $1500 tuition.)
We announce scholarships within five weeks of our workshops. (See workshop listings for announcement dates.) Scholarship tuitions function as the deposit and are due in full within five business days of announcement.
All scholarships are for shared room accomodation. Exceptions for specific medical or personal conditions may be considered.
Please consider the following scholarship criteria before applying: You must demonstrate financial need, and your application must be received at least six weeks prior to the workshop start date.
Payments and Cancellations
And now for the part about money.
For full-tuition students, a 50% deposit is due at the time of your application. Your acceptance will be confirmed within 3-5 business days. If we’re unable to confirm acceptance, your deposit will be automatically refunded. The balance is due 30 days before the start of your workshop.
Scholarship applicants will be notified of acceptance five weeks prior to the start of the workshop. The remainder of tuition is due in full within five business days of the scholarship notification.
Deposits are non-refundable. But if you give us a reasonable amount of time to fill the spot, we can transfer your deposit to another workshop, within a year, based on availability. We know that traveling right now is a very personal decision.
We cannot provide credit for no-shows, early departures, or program dissatisfaction.
In the event that we must cancel—and in this crazy, “pandemics are a real thing” world, it sometimes happens—we’ll let you know as far ahead of the workshop start date as possible and offer a refund or accommodate a transfer to another workshop, if you’re interested.

Tuition
Consider it an investment in your future.
For all workshops, MEA tuition is $5,500 per person for a private room, or $4,000 per person for a shared room. Full-tuition attendees must deposit 50% upon application, with the balance due 30 days prior to arrival.
Please note: In response to Covid-19, for the health and safety of our guests, all rooms will be single occupancy through the end of 2020, unless you are applying with a partner. You can still apply at the shared room rate, but premium rooms with king or queen beds and extra amenities will be given to single room applicants.

Scholarships
MEA is a social enterprise, committed to socio-economic diversity.
We know that our entire society is made stronger when everyone has the opportunity to learn, participate, and grow, no matter how much they make for a living. We offer two levels of scholarship on a need-aware basis and are committed to at least half of our students receiving some form of scholarship.
The scholarship request is included in the workshop application form. Please be aware that we have more scholarship applicants than available spaces—applying for full tuition does maximize the likelihood of getting placed in your preferred workshop.
Scholarship Levels (All scholarships are shared accommodation.)
$1,250 scholarship (Students are responsible for $2750 tuition.)
$2,500 scholarship (Students are responsible for $1500 tuition.)
We announce scholarships within five weeks of our workshops. (See workshop listings for announcement dates.) Scholarship tuitions function as the deposit and are due in full within five business days of announcement.
All scholarships are for shared room accomodation. Exceptions for specific medical or personal conditions may be considered.
Please consider the following scholarship criteria before applying: You must demonstrate financial need, and your application must be received at least six weeks prior to the workshop start date.

Payments and Cancellations
And now for the part about money.
For full-tuition students, a 50% deposit is due at the time of your application. Your acceptance will be confirmed within 3-5 business days. If we’re unable to confirm acceptance, your deposit will be automatically refunded. The balance is due 30 days before the start of your workshop.
Scholarship applicants will be notified of acceptance five weeks prior to the start of the workshop. The remainder of tuition is due in full within five business days of the scholarship notification.
Deposits are non-refundable. But if you give us a reasonable amount of time to fill the spot, we can transfer your deposit to another workshop, within a year, based on availability. We know that traveling right now is a very personal decision.
We cannot provide credit for no-shows, early departures, or program dissatisfaction.
In the event that we must cancel—and in this crazy, “pandemics are a real thing” world, it sometimes happens—we’ll let you know as far ahead of the workshop start date as possible and offer a refund or accommodate a transfer to another workshop, if you’re interested.
You may also like
Mastery Week: Big Life
Dr. Bill Thomas, Chip Conley
One of the WSJ's “top 10 innovators changing the future of retirement in America," Changing Aging founder and author of Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life, Dr. Bill Thomas says Big Life is all about connecting to the growth that happens when we reach a certain age, and celebrating a journey that takes us ever closer to the person we were always meant to be. Join Chip and Dr. Thomas for a big dose of fun and a lot of enthusiasm for the future.
January 25, 2021 - January 30, 2021
Making of a Modern Elder - Core Curriculum
Christine Sperber, Jenn Maer
Join MEA co-founder and CXO Christine Sperber and veteran IDEO brand storyteller Jenn Maer as they guide you through our popular core curriculum on a journey to rediscover yourself and the unique gifts you have to offer the world in midlife. Go deeper into our foundational [email protected] and explore what’s possible in your next chapter.
January 31, 2021 - February 7, 2021
Mastery Week: The Consciously Curated Life
Barbara Waxman, Jeff Hamaoui, Christine Sperber
Join MEA veteran guest faculty Barbara Waxman for one of our most popular workshops. With MEA co-founders Christine and Jeff, Barbara will take you on the journey of a lifetime as you learn how to harness the energy, creativity, and tools necessary to forge a vibrant, exciting path forward on the blank canvas of your life, at the intersection of Middlescence and being a Modern Elder.