The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority presented “America’s Aging Workforce: A Fairfax County EDA Symposium,” a thought-provoking conference that examined one of the most important issues facing every company and organization in the nation: the aging workforce.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2018 almost one out of four workers will be 55 and older, up from just under one in five several years ago. This creates opportunities for organizations and companies that start to plan for this older workforce today.

The symposium addressed the critical needs of businesses and organizations that are being challenged to transform their strategies, workforce management, marketing and product development to prepare for a rapidly aging population.

Click here to see summaries of the presentations and discussions at the event.

Click here to watch a video summary of the symposium.

Thank you to Capital One, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring this event.

Attendees interacted with distinguished speakers and intriguing panelists, including:

• John Berry, director, United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Federal Government’s “Chief People Person,” who delivered a keynote address on managing workforce transformation. OPM oversees the welfare and development of 2.7 million federal employees.


• John W. Martin, president and CEO of the Southeastern Institute of Research, Inc. (SIR), co-founder and CEO of the Boomer Project and author of “Boomer Consumer,” who presented his latest findings and insights on the aging workforce and how organizations must prepare to meet the needs of the Baby Boomer generation.


• Danny Felty, M.D., healthy-aging expert at HCA Virginia Health System, who documented how we age and how aging can affect how we perform at work.


• Executives from Fairfax County companies Capital One, Volkswagen Group of America and Balfour Beatty, who are managing an aging workforce, introducing younger workers to their workforce and managing any generational culture clash, and developing products and services for an older customer base.