090 Get Real: Gail & Catherine Reflect on 2020
As 2020 comes to a close, Catherine and Gail “get real” while looking back on a year of growth for both the podcast and their personal lives. This year has been a reminder of the importance of staying connected: zoom gatherings, podcast club, and other...
088 Julie Percell: Life in Hawaii when you are not Hawaiin
After graduation, Julie Percell visited friends in Hawaii and has lived there ever since. She has enjoyed a rich entrepreneurial career in sales, training and teaching. Working closely with local associations and government to provide resources to startups and...
087 Kate Kunkel: Music Helps Us Stay in Tune
Life in Ecuador lends itself to mindfulness, meditation and music. However, no matter where we live, the quality of our lives and our health is intimately connected to our diet and lifestyle. That is what determines how balanced our gut microbiome is,...
086 Kathryn Haueisen: It Takes a Village to Write a Story
Kathy Haueisen first moved to Houston with her family in 1982. After a brief return to her home state of Ohio, she again settled in Texas in 1996. Already a journalist and published writer, she earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1985, intending to...
085: Celebrating 70 Women Over 70
In this special edition of Women Over 70-Aging Reimagined, we celebrate reaching our milestone of interviewing 70 women over 70. Guests Susanne Dumbleton (Ep #082) and Judith DeVeries (Ep #002), who were our 1st and 70th guests (despite the episode...
084 Linda Randall: Sharing Your Stories: Sad or Happy
Feisty and outspoken! That is how we describe Linda Randall - semi-retired psychotherapist, board member of Village Chicago, active and resilient. Linda does not mince words when it comes to loss and grieving. Loss comes in many forms: physical,...
083 Marie Kisiel: Upstaging Time–Creativity in Later Life
At age 91, Dr. Marie Kisiel continues to pursue her passions as a mentor to people of all ages and as a writer about seasons in human life, centering on food, learning and work. The daughter of immigrant parents who had little formal education, Marie...
082 Susanne Dumbleton: The Power of Women as Forces for Human Rights
Susanne Dumbleton, Ph.D., does the research and then creates courses--e.g., Little Women, Joan of Arc, women leaders of social movements--to enlighten adults about the fight for women’s and human rights in the United States and around the world. She also...
081 Elizabeth (Zib) Hinz: Play Involves Activity, Curiosity and Spontaneity
In early adulthood, small town girl Zib Hinz changed her mind about living life by the script. She set out to direct her own path, guided by curiosity and opportunity. In the late 1960s and early 70s, Zib traveled across Europe, the Middle East, and hiked...
080 Dolly Kennedy: Meet ‘Arizona’s Dolly’
Since 1983, Dolly Kennedy has worked to keep the Dolly Steamboat filled with people. A natural-born publicist, she first worked with her husband, creator of the steamboat. They had a dream to put Canyon Lake AZ on the tourist map. They were so successful...
079 Sara Hart: Prime Spark: It’s Our Time
“The red fuzzy PJ’s stood for everything I lost.” - Sara Hart A PhD and professor of communication, successful head of training in the HR division of Pfizer, author, speaker, and coach, Sara Hart is a model of how women are making a difference even as...
078 Cat Parenti: Living in Afghanistan: An Extraordinary Life of Service
“Building bridges of culture, understanding and respect… I thank you for giving voice to the wonderful history and culture of the region.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton This honor by Clinton is only one of numerous accolades that chronicle Cat’s journey from...
077 Lyn Williams: Love Your Space, Love Your Life, Love Yourself
Lyn Williams has moved 25 times throughout her life. She says it was always fun and gave her a sense of adventure. Her mother made it an adventure, too, and each place they lived turned into home. Home, Lyn believes, is the stage for our lives, and it is...
076 Naomi Paulson: Courage, Curiosity and Grace – A Life Well-lived
Growing up during the depression, Naomi Paulson's earliest memories are of living during wartime and experiencing multiple moves. At 9, she moved from New Jersey, where she loved the outdoors and had the freedom to roam, to New York. Always one to make...
075 Let’s Get Real: Catherine and Gail Remember Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Maintaining social distance, Catherine and Gail “get real” as they reflect on the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The duo discuss the impact Ruth had on America, and reflect on how it personally feels to lose a women's rights icon....
074 Rita Wilkins: Live the Life You Love by Design
Rita Wilkins is a nationally recognized interior design and lifestyle design, expert. Her TEDx Talk, Downsize Your Life, Why Less is More, tells it all. The inspiration for her downsizing journey began in Senegal where for the first time in her life, she...
Julie Cook Downing: Caregivers Comfort – Support, Motivation and Inspiration
“Caregivers give the greatest gift of all, with their love, guidance and direction.” – Julie Cook Downing As the President and founder of Caregivers Comfort Creations, LLC, Julie's mission is to empower and support millions of family Caregivers and...
072 Susan Stall: Advocacy for Community Development
Susan Stall highlights transformative experiences that shaped her path as a Community Sociologist and advocate for women’s equity and empowerment and grass-roots community development. While on the faculty at Northeastern Illinois University, Susan taught...
071 Susana Stoica: One Woman’s Story of Healing Brain Injury
Susana was born in Romania, worked in Canada and now resides in the United States. She has a Ph.D. in Computer Design Engineering and over 30 years of experience defining and using advanced technologies. During this time, she experienced two traumatic...
070 Karin Crilly: The Story of the Blue Satin Nightgown
At 85, Karin has been widowed twice, always has a man in her life, and lives out her dreams with passionate reality. She is gutsy and game! Her 2nd husband had passed away from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. After retiring from a career in...
069 Harriett Cholden: Everything to Help and Nothing to Hinder
As a young adult, Harriett visited Chicago from her home in Waterloo, Iowa, and never looked back. She got a job teaching 5th grade at an independent school based on the progressive philosophy of John Dewey and stayed for 40 years. Upon retirement 16...
068 Bobbi Wilsyn: Leaning, Learning & Leading: Music with a Message
Jazz/Blues performer, educator, actress and Professor Emerita at Columbia College Chicago, Bobbi Wilsyn, 72, has lived a life of purpose. Now in her 3rd act, she is redesigning her career and looking forward to new adventures and opportunities to serve,...
067 Martha Holstein, Ph.D.: Own Your Own Age
Dr. Holstein, a vocal advocate for women aging, speaks both to individuals and the larger politic. She urges women to own their age—if you are old, acknowledge it. Live by your norms, not those for people far younger: Intergenerational conversations are...
066 Sallie Reynolds: An Uncommon Life
From childhood, Sallie longed to communicate with creatures different from her - human and otherwise. Her difficult upbringing and early adulthood influenced the paths she chose in her life. A white woman growing up in the south, guided by a black...
065 Diana Appell-Kassler: Life is a Puzzle – Families are a System
Living in 9 places in 11 years taught Diana how to adapt as a young woman. She had to figure things out. First an art therapist and then a school adjustment counselor, Diana realized she would need multiple degrees to further her career and provide her...
064 Nancy Reid: Born to Sell – How Natural Ability Drove Her Career
Nancy Reid started her career as a greeter at a television executives conference in Miami, FL. The executive who hired her was so impressed by her innate ability to sell that he asked if he could professionally mentor her. That launched her into 30 years...
063 Lydia Denworth: Friendship The Best Remedy for Aging
Lydia Denworth shares stunning revelations about the importance of friendship for humans and other species, drawing on her recent book, -Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond. Science tells us that...
062 Emily Axelrod: Appreciating Life Through Multiple Lenses
These days, Emily Axelrod, age 77, uses the camera to record significant aspects of life, from photos of birds in natural habitat to survivors of the holocaust. She looks for new ways, whether guiding transformational change in large organizations,...
061 Sandy Rogers: From Adoption Reform to “Ask Sandy Rogers”
Pregnant at 15, Sandy gave up her baby for adoption. 20 years later, she and her son were reunited, in no small part due to her advocacy efforts and work with Concerned United BirthParents and American Adoption Congress. "My joy comes in working with...
060 Let’s Get Real: Disruption, Time and Connection
Maintaining social distance, Catherine and Gail “get real” as they reflect on their lives in light of the global pandemic. They discuss what disruption looks and feels like, the meaning of time left, the need to connect with family and friends, and the...
059 Susan Halverson Westerberg: Using Professional Know-How for the Social Good
Susan, age 71, reflects on the life steps that brought her from farm life in Minnesota, to advanced degrees and licensures in Virginia, to a faculty position in Oregon—a new Ph.D. at age 50. While on sabbatical from her work in marriage and family...
058 Marion Giles: Adventure, Independence & Social Connection at Any Age
Marion, age 103, is a long-time resident of Plymouth Place Senior Living in LaGrange Park, IL. For her 100th birthday, Marion threw a cocktail party for 100 people and 3 animals from the Brookfield Zoo. She also gave up her car that year. Marion reflects...
057 Lydia Manning: Gerontologist, Educator and Entrepreneur on Aging
Lydia Manning’s formative years include fond memories of relationships with elder members of her family. Her experiences put her on a path to create a unique set of skills to work both in academia and entrepreneurship to help people think about aging. “I...
056 Mary Reckhemmer-Meyer: Life Taught Her to Dream and Visualize
Mary Reckhemmer-Meyer grew up in North Dakota on a farm. Today she lives in Surprise, AZ. Experiences like being divorced after 26 years of marriage and dealing with a serious cancer illness led her on a journey to find herself. “Life sometimes isn’t...
055 Dianne Michels: Possibility Partner Workplaces Where Everybody Matters
At age 76, Dianne Michels continues to reinvent herself, having explored several careers before finding her passion in Human Resources as an HR Futurist. She believes retirement is an outdated concept that implies work is a burden you survive rather than...
054 – Chris Hauri: Bringing Creativity, Fun & Intuition to Life
Chris Hauri lives with the spirit of creativity and fun. As an entrepreneur and intrapreneur, Chris leads individuals and groups—e.g., The Human Company (currently), The Grand Group, Girl Scouts, Crayola -- to tap into their creative and intuitive...
053 – Pat Honiotes: Equal Part Irreverent Rascal and Kick-Butt Coach
A voice for the voiceless, Pat’s life-long career has focused on finding tools she can use to support the voiceless until they gain a voice of their own - children in special education, people with disabilities, the behaviorally disordered and more. From...
052 Sky Bergman: Lives Well Lived: Secrets, Wit and Wisdom of Age
Sky Bergman set out to pay tribute to her very active 99 year-old grandmother. She soon realized that “everyone has a story to tell if we just take time to listen.” Sky’s listening project evolved into a documentary feature-length film starring 40 people...
051 – Mary Gray: Poetic Justice is Sweet Revenge
Active writer, and published author, Mary Gray graduated from Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University in 1955. A long career in public relations, then as a corporate travel agent, led Mary to ghostwriting and worldwide travel. She always...
050 Frances Fuller: Helping Yourself Grow Old
Frances Fuller grew up in poverty. All of her books belonged to the state of Arkansas. Her mother had a 4th-grade education. It is a wonder, then, that Frances became a writer and publisher and left a legacy in the form of an entire body of literature in...
Mari Frank: Conflict Management — Helping Women Win
Master mediator, attorney, author and professor, Mari Frank is a bundle of energy and information. Her primary focus is conflict management and she helps women (and men) get what they want. Mari believes in emotional intelligence and how having it...
048 Rebecca Sive: Women Engaging Civically and Politically
For the past five decades, Rebecca Sive, age 70, has built coalitions—across lines of age, ethnicity, race, gender, and political persuasion-- to address a range of social issues. Her primary focus is advancing women’s rights in all fronts, especially...
047 Dinah Lin: Daring to Follow Your Dream – It’s Never Too Late!
Dinah Lin began life in Shanghai, China. She, along with her mother and two siblings, escaped on the last boat out of Shanghai in 1949, just before the Communists closed the borders. Her father was already in the United States on a research grant. Dinah...
046 Susan Ross: Living Solo with Verve
Sue Ross, age 74, took 8 years to transition from her full-time faculty position in Social Work to “being done” in 2018. Even though Sue taught gerontology and retirement transition, she needed plenty of time to “find my way” through the process. A...
045 Gail & Catherine: The Many Ways We Embrace Our Age
Amid a global pandemic, from separate locations, Catherine and Gail reflect on themes that emerge from the inspiring and provocative stories of our guests. In this retrospective episode, we highlight women who have experienced spiritual awakenings and now...
044 Jennifer Grainger: Reinvention Through Spiritual Awakening
Jennifer is an inspiring advocate of aging. A horrific accident that fatally killed all members of a friend’s family, plus her own bout of unremitting pain from a shingles attack, completely shook her faith. The path she embarked on resulted in authoring...
043 Jackie Walker: Walk Out of Your Closet with a Dose of Self-Esteem
As soon as the conversation starts with Jackie Walker, you are drawn in. Here is a woman who has spent her entire career in mainstream fashion, first on the retail floor, then in HR. And then she had an AHA. She reinvented herself and became known as the...
042 Linda Schaefer: Finding Your Happy Place
Come springtime, you will find 70-year-old Linda Schaefer at the Minnesota Twins ballpark, where she works as an usher about 55 days of the season. Linda’s love of the Twins spans over 60 years, starting in grade school when she listened (yes, listened,...
041 Cordelia Ryan: Retired With A Smile On Her Face
Cory Ryan is a former nun of the Congregation of Maryknoll Sisters in Maryknoll, New York. She saw it as a way to pursue a life of exploration and service. She participated during a period of time when the church began to recognize that sisters were...
040: Ginger Littleton: Bravery is Conscience in Action – We Just Have to Act.
Would you want your claim to fame to be that you attacked a mysterious shooter, at your monthly Board Meeting in 2010, by smacking him in the head with your small (Brahmin) purse? At this Bay District school board meeting, with 300+ people attending,...