Melinda Heinz is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Upper Iowa University where she is actively engaged in teaching and research. As a Fulbright Scholar she will conduct interviews with Men’s Shed participants in order to learn more about how shed life contributes to purpose and wellbeing in older adulthood. She will also teach a seminar on successful aging and give several guest lectures to students at the Limerick Institute of Technology. In addition, she will partner with the Limerick City Library to arrange several talks on wellbeing in older adulthood. She is interested in creating and learning more about meaningful opportunities for individuals in later life. Most recently she has been involved with a documentation and photography project focused on understanding more about meaning and purpose in older adulthood. She presents annually at the Gerontological Society of America and has published several articles including one analyzing the oral history narratives of African American centenarians, published in The Gerontologist. She earned her BA in Gerontology from the University of Northern Iowa and Masters and PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University.