Edwina Taylor helps uninsured individuals access health care.

The 2009 Purpose Prize fellows are leaders in the Encore Careers movement to invent new ways to solve society’s toughest challenges.

Among this year’s 49 Purpose Prize fellows are a 92-year-old former professor in Connecticut who started a “Gray Is Green” environmental movement in retirement communities, a nurse in Alabama who helps the underserved and uninsured access health services and a former restaurant owner who is inspiring residents of the Pacific Northwest to participate in watershed restoration.

This year’s fellows will be honored at The Purpose Prize Summit at Stanford University and will have access to a rich set of learning, networking and media opportunities. Among the fellows are:

Robert Lane used to teach political science at Yale University. Today the resident of Hamden, Conn., spends 10 hours a day writing pamphlets, planning exhibits and updating a Web site that rallies people 65 and older to address climate change. He has helped residents at 50 retirement communities across the U.S. form the National Senior Conservation Corps/Gray Is Green movement and reduce energy consumption. His next idea: creating “oldternships” for older individuals who want to work with environmental organizations.

Edwina Taylor, 61, of Birmingham, Ala., worked as a hematology and oncology nurse for nearly 30 years and saw the difficulties that uninsured people had getting health care, particularly Hispanic immigrants. She founded Cahaba Valley Health Care to provide vision, dental and blood pressure screenings and case management in locations that are accessible to the Hispanic population, usually churches. During 2008, volunteers donated more than 2,700 to the organization.

Jan Seago, 69, of Yakima, Wash., spent her career running and owning restaurants and bars. “While I was good at what I did, it didn’t have much purpose, except to make money,” she says. When she turned 50, she decided to channel her energy into water issues. As a University of Idaho Extension educator for a four-state region, she educates residents about watershed restoration and management. Videos portraying case studies are one of her most effective tools.

• Read about all 49 Purpose Prize fellows for 2009.