Robert N. Butler, MD, (1927–2010) was the president and CEO of the International Longevity Centre–USA and a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Why Survive?: Being Old in America and chair of the Council on Ageing of the World Economic Forum, he was a frequent adviser to international agencies, including the World Health Organization, and served as the medical editor in chief of Geriatrics for more than a decade.

Myrna I. Lewis (1938–2005) was a professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as well as a social worker, gerontologist, and writer. She had a special interest in the social and health issues faced by midlife and older women, which she wrote about often with fellow gerontologist Robert Butler. Their work has been published in many highly regarded books and academic journals.