Purpose: 

To provide opportunities for networking, collaboration, education, and dissemination of research and best practice among life story practitioners, researchers, and others with interest in the Life Story field.

Inaugural Meeting Summary: March 5th, 2025

Fifteen life story enthusiasts participated in our inaugural meeting. Participants were from across the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan representing 5 time zones. The group consisted of academic researchers and educators, clinicians, ethnographers, and product and service innovators. A needs assessment was conducted to assess participants areas of interest and goals for participating in the collaborative. Participants shared interests for professional development in life story approaches to enhance health outcomes in older adults including end-of-life, safe practices with culturally diverse and underrepresented groups, networking and resource sharing, and disseminating work to advance and draw attention to the field.  Suggestions for future meetings included specific guest speakers and topics such as use of artificial intelligence, brain research, practice methods, and funding mechanisms. Positive comments were shared about the meeting and future directions for this group.