Women Who Inspire Us
Internet

Mary Furlong

Mary Furlong is founder and chairman of ThirdAge Media, a leading Internet media company for first-wave baby boomers, providing content, community and commerce for the growing population of adults over 45. She is a recognized authority on the baby boom generation as it moves toward and beyond 50 and is considered an expert in the field of high technology and aging.

In 1985 Furlong started SeniorNet to help bridge the generational gap in the emerging computing revolution. She founded ThirdAge in 1996 and, as its CEO, helped the company raise over $104 million in funding and increase the staff to nearly 100 employees.

Furlong currently holds a presidential appointment to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences and provides counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging. She is also the author of several books, including the "Grown-Ups Guide to Computing," and has appeared on CNN, National Public Radio and the "Today Show."

Furlong has been recognized by Time magazine as one of its Digital 50 of 1999, by Upside as one of its Elite 100 and by Interactive Age as one of its 25 Unsung Heroes of the Web. In 1998, she received a Momentum Award from the AdTech Conference and has been cited by the International Federation on Aging for significant contributions to the lives of older adults.