Sequoia Living Brings Back Bestselling Author Ryan Frederick to Help Bay Area Adults Plan Ahead

Longevity expert and bestselling author Ryan Frederick returns September 10, 2026, to deliver a presentation on how where we live can shape health, connection, and quality of life as we age.

Living longer brings new possibilities, but also important questions about where and how we want to live in the years ahead.

On Thursday, September 10, Bay Area nonprofit Sequoia Living will welcome bestselling author and longevity expert Ryan Frederick to the Mill Valley Community Center for The Art & Science of Place Planning, a complimentary presentation designed to help people think more intentionally about their future.

Frederick, author of Right Place, Right Time: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Home in the Second Half of Life, developed Place Planning as a framework for examining four interconnected areas: environment, health, community, and finances. Rather than beginning with whether someone should move, the process considers how well their current “place” supports their life today and how their needs may change over time.

“Place Planning aligns naturally with Sequoia Living’s belief that healthy, joyful aging looks different for everyone,” Paula Rathgaber-Gomez, Chief Experience Officer, said. “After seeing how Ryan’s approach helped participants explore their options with greater clarity and confidence, we knew this was a conversation worth continuing.”

For Barry N. and his wife, those questions became increasingly important after attending Sequoia Living’s first Place Planning presentation in the spring. The couple had already begun exploring their future but approached the subject from different perspectives.

After attending Frederick’s seminar and later participating in a four-week Place Planning workshop with him, Barry said they gained a broader understanding of their options.

“Each moment built on the previous one,” Barry said. “We could see the value of the process itself.”

The experience introduced possibilities they had not previously considered and helped them evaluate their future without prescribing a particular outcome.

“It clarified what my vision for the future could and should be,” Barry said.

The couple ultimately decided to remain in their current home for the time being while continuing to explore their options, illustrating an important aspect of Place Planning: planning ahead doesn’t necessarily mean taking immediate action.

Attendee feedback from the spring session was strongly positive — 95% of respondents would recommend Place Planning to others. Those engaged in the four-week facilitated Place Planning process, like Barry and his wife, uniformly praised the value of a structured framework for improving decision-making about where and how to live, culminating in an actionable Place Plan.

As a Bay Area nonprofit serving older adults since 1958, Sequoia Living is bringing Frederick back in support of its mission to inspire healthy, joyful aging through education and resources.

“I’ve spent 20 years studying how place shapes health, relationships, and longevity. The pattern is always the same: people who think ahead have more options, less stress, and better outcomes,” Frederick said.

Event Details
The Art & Science of Place Planning with Ryan Frederick
Thursday, September 10, 2026 | 10:00 a.m.
Mill Valley Community Center
Cascade Room
180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941

The presentation is complimentary and open to the public. Advance registration is requested at SequoiaLiving.org/PlacePlan

About Sequoia Living

Founded in 1958, Sequoia Living is a Bay Area nonprofit organization that provides older adults from all economic backgrounds with stimulating, joyful living environments and services that enrich their lives. Sequoia Living serves 7,000 adults annually through its four Life Plan Communities, three affordable housing communities, two senior centers, and Community Services programs. To learn more about Sequoia Living, visit www.sequoialiving.org

About Ryan Frederick

Ryan Frederick is a bestselling author, longevity expert, founder of Here, and author of Right Place, Right Time. His Place Planning framework explores the relationship between where we live and our health, relationships, finances, and well-being. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, among other outlets. He serves on the Advisory Council of Stanford University’s Center on Longevity and has spent over 20 years studying the intersection of place, aging, and longevity.

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