Eric J. Schneidewind has served as AARP’s national president for the past two years. As head of the advocacy group for Americans who are 50 and older, Schneidewind, 73, travels the nation, talking to members and volunteers about AARP’s positions on everything from health care to housing. A native of Michigan, he graduated from the University of California Berkeley and earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He is a retired partner of the law firm Varnum LLP, where he specialized in energy law, and was a longtime Michigan state official. Schneidewind, who lives in Lansing, Mich., spoke with Globe reporter Robert Weisman on a recent visit to Massachusetts.
1Schneidewind, who has a background in telecommunications and renewable energy, first got involved with AARP’s chapter in Michigan about a decade ago, when the organization hired him as an outside attorney to help fight to lower telecom rates.
“They hired me to do a little bit of work. And then the state director, who’s much smarter than I, persuaded me to join AARP as a volunteer and I would do for nothing what I previously charged for. I fell for that hook, line, and sinker.’’
His wife, Ann Elizabeth, who died in 2012 from a rare cancer, also urged him and their two sons, Brian and Jimmy, to find activities they were passionate about that would allow them to make contributions to others. Brian, 37, is now a high school teacher in North Carolina, and Jimmy, 33, works for a nonprofit that supports health programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
2As tens of millions of baby boomers move into retirement, Schneidewind believes the new generation of older Americans will transform US society in multiple ways. He seeks to use his bully pulpit to urge them to stay active in issues that improve people’s lives.
“From a health and a demographic standpoint, something different has occurred with this generation. We’ve been given, on average, another 10 healthy productive years, thanks to medical science. The question is: Will we use that 10 years productively to not only enjoy our own lives but to make lives better for other people, to shape our communities so they are more hospitable, to offer opportunities to age in place?’’
3In sports-crazed Michigan, home to Big Ten college football and basketball powerhouses, “our family was a house divided’’ when it came to athletic loyalties, Schneidewind says.
A native of Dearborn, he attended law school at the University of Michigan. But his wife graduated from rival Michigan State University, where her father was a professor. Both of their sons attended Michigan State, as well, but younger son Jimmy later went to graduate school at Michigan. “He’s the one I call the good son,’’ Schneidewind says, jokingly.
4Schneidewind was a runner for years, but never a serious one.
“I was a guy who was never going to train or be super competitive. I would get all wound up working and didn’t sleep as well as I could have. But I found that the running was a good way to unwind.’’
His sons, however, are more diligent runners. They plan to run in the Boston Marathon in 2019. “They really wanted to do it together, and they will. And I’ll be there.’’
5When it comes to advocacy, AARP under Schneidewind is sticking to the basics: lobbying for government programs that assure the health and financial security of older Americans. “Right off the bat, you have to focus on Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid,’’ he says. Among the organization’s new areas of focus: reining in the cost of prescription drugs.
“For most Americans, the things they worry about the most is not only health care, but it’s the cost of health care. And obviously, Social Security is right at the top. And for those who have insufficient funds for health care or who may some day need nursing care, Medicaid is a critical program that provides support, as well. So on the federal and state level, our priorities will always be to ensure the solvency and adequacy of those programs.’’
Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeRobW.
