LeadingAge Announces 2025 Award of Honor Winner

WASHINGTON—LeadingAge, the United States-based association of nonprofit and mission-driven aging services providers, announced that Marcus Riley, chairman of BallyCara, is the organization’s 2025 Award of Honor winner. 

Bestowed by LeadingAge annually over the past 60 years, this year celebrates Riley’s more than two decades of leadership across local, national and global efforts in health, aging and senior living. BallyCara is an Australian charitable organization offering accommodation, health and care services for older adults throughout the state of Queensland and the city of Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

In addition to his work with BallyCara, Riley is a founding director of the Booming Ageing Agency, author of “Booming—A Life‑Changing Philosophy on Ageing Well,” and host of the Booming podcast. He served on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People, is a past chair of the Global Ageing Network and is currently Focal Point for the Stakeholder Group on Ageing in the Asia-Pacific region. Riley has served numerous international organizations, as well as government boards and peak bodies on a national level.

“Marcus Riley exemplifies the visionary leadership and deep compassion that define the very best of aging services,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “His unwavering commitment to inclusive, person-centered care and his global advocacy for older adults have elevated our field and inspired countless others. Through his influential role at the United Nations, where he championed the creation of a binding international convention to protect the rights of older adults, Marcus has helped shape global policy and amplify the voice of aging services providers worldwide. We are proud to honor him with this award—not only for what he has accomplished, but for the values he embodies and the future he continues to shape.”

Riley will be recognized at LeadingAge’s and Global Ageing Network’s Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass., on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.