Carolyn Austin is the CEO of AgeLinc, the Area Agency on Aging for Linconland. Austin, 56, said she does “a little bit of everything” for the agency, handling the grants management, much of the marketing and other high-level duties. She is also the vice president of the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
Austin encourages people to reach out to AgeLinc with any questions about services for senior citizens because the agency has a lot of resources at its fingertips, and if AgeLinc can’t help, the organization probably knows where to direct people for assistance.
Where were you born and raised, and what was your first job?
I was born in Springfield and raised in Palmyra, Illlinois, in Macoupin County. My very first job when I was 14 years old was pulling weeds out of the greens at the Terry Park Golf Course in Palmyra, nothing glamorous at all.
How did you become involved in the Area Agency on Aging?
I have worked in the nonprofit world for the last 30 years, mostly in nonprofit accounting. I applied for the fiscal manager’s position here because the fiscal manager was planning to retire. As I was training with him the executive director was let go by the board, and because of my experience, I was put in as interim executive director in 2018. I was given the job permanently about a month later; then in 2020 we did a rebrand, and my title was changed to CEO.
How is society changing as the percentage of elderly people keeps increasing?
Not only are we having more people live longer, but the money, particularly the grant funding, hasn’t kept up with the need. We started doing a gala in 2022 to raise money to help people with emergency needs because we get calls on a daily basis for help with things. There were no grant funds available to really help the majority of people with unforeseen emergency expenses.
What role will our senior citizens have in society in the coming decades?
I think we’re going to see people working longer. In the next five to 10 years, one-third of our population will be over 60. With people choosing to have fewer children and more people choosing to work longer, I think that seniors are going to have a lot more impact on government and day-to-day life. One-third of the population is a huge chunk.
What are the newest trends regarding services to seniors?
We’re seeing a lot of people looking for jobs over the age of 60. Part of that is because of the new SNAP requirements, but part of it is that people want and need to work longer. So one of the biggest trends will be more older people in the workplace.
Should senior citizens be concerned about the future of Social Security, and if so, what can be done about it?
I think we should all be concerned about the future of Social Security. We all need to make sure our legislators understand that this is our money that we have paid into the system, so it needs to be there when we are ready for it. We need to be good advocates for ourselves, participate in surveys and take any opportunity we can to make sure our legislators know how important Social Security is. Most of us are not independently wealthy, and we aren’t going to be able to make it without Social Security when we retire.
What should be society’s major concerns regarding our senior citizens?
I’m concerned about housing, the lack of nursing home and assisted living beds and the rising cost of assisted living facilities. It’s going to be very hard for people to afford to live in those places even if they can find a bed. We need to build more facilities that are in reach for seniors on a fixed income.
As more people care for their elderly family members at home, how can we support those caregivers?
AgeLinc has some great programs that we do with our partners to support caregivers, such as case management to help them avoid burnout and get the resources they need. We also need to increase education about who is a caregiver because a lot of people don’t think of themselves as caregivers. They might be sons or daughters who just take care of meals or medications, but that is actually caregiving. So we need to raise that awareness and as a society help to support those caregivers.
There are also going to be more people who need to stay in their own homes longer because of a lack of senior housing, and that might mean living with their kids or having a caregiver live with them. So we really need to raise awareness of those things.
We’ve heard that wisdom comes with age. What other positive benefits are there to growing older?
There’s less stress and less concern about building a career. The kids are out of the house, there is a little more freedom as you age to make choices that make sense for you. So instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses or build a career, you can choose what you really want to do.
What advice would you give to people who want to enter your career field?
Don’t expect to get rich doing this work, but I would love to see more people enter the gerontology field, taking college classes and being part of the aging network. There’s a vast network throughout the United States and the world, yet many people don’t realize we are here. Check out what’s available in your area, talk to people who work in this industry, and get an idea of what’s involved in this very rewarding field. See what a difference you can make in people’s lives.
What may people be surprised to learn about you?
I’m an older learner. I didn’t get my master’s degree until I was 41. I went back to college when I had a child in middle school. I hope that people can take from my experience that it’s never too late to do it.
This article appears in October SBJ 2026.