Webinars tailored to WOMEN.

Our webinar series answers your toughest questions about life after your career.

Please join our next webinar Friday, December 20th at 12:00P.M. EST. The title is, “The Earth Laughs in Flowers”. Presented by Elizabeth Yonan, owner of Blooming City Flowers.

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Introducing DefyingGravity.life

Our first webinar is an introduction to our research and the conclusions we drew and why.  The founders will cover what they learned about all facets of retirement while interviewing women (and some men), and why those findings drove them to create DefyingGravity.life. This webinar will be highly interactive, we will solicit your input as to our conclusions and see if there is anything you want us to add to our robust webinar schedule.   We will explain how Defying Gravity will work for you.  This will be the start of creating our community.

About Iris

Iris has had a 40+ year career focused on human capital.  She was a long-time partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), leading the $500M human capital practice in the United States as well as doing a stint as the Chief Human Resource Officer for Coopers & Lybrand. She sat on both the Management Committee and the Board for PwC.  She has been a frequent speaker and writer on a broad array of human capital issues and ended her career as the Chief People Officer for a global company with over 60,000 employees; she continues as an active member of their Advisory Board.   She has advised CEO’s and mentored many senior people in business today, with a tenacious focus on women’s equality in the workplace.  She co-founded DefyingGravity.life to help women transition from careers into meaningful retirement and to help solve what she calls, the new feminist crisis, who will I be after my career?

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Scheduled Webinars

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Future Webinars

The following webinars are on our agenda, but not yet scheduled.  We will add them to the scheduled webinars as soon as we have a date and time.

List of Future Webinars
Early, Middle, Late—What are the Phases of Retirement?
Hey, How Did I Get Retired?
Reinventing Adulthood
Why in the World Am I Not Doing What I Want to Do?

Suggest a Webinar Topic

Archived Webinars

A Millennial, a Boomer and a Computer Walk Into a Bar
Actually, I Am Old
Aging While Female – Reimagined
All The Topics We Love, From A Male Perspective
Ambiguous Loss
Brave Heart
COVID Hates Me and the Feeling is Mutual
Cut!
Defining Happiness
Dreams Don’t Have Expiration Dates
Early, Middle, Late–What Are the Phases of Retirement?
Encore Careers—How do I Go About Getting One of These? (One of two symbiotic webinars)
Resume and Interviewing:  When What You Want to Do Has Little to Do With What You Have Done (two of two symbiotic webinars)
Feeling Invisible 
Finally, A Meaningful Webinar on Alternative Medicine
Financial Success For Retirement
Gen X and The Millennials—Their Take on Retirement
Getting Started Again
Given How Successful I am in My Career, Why am l so Insecure About this Retirement Transition?
Growing Older- Our Way Is Not The Only Way
Is My House My Future Home?
How do I know the Cure is not worse than the Disease???
How do Corporate Boards find Qualified Directors?
How to Present Yourself for the Next Step
Investing In Retirement
Let’s Hear What The Doctors Have To Say
Maximizing Time & Health with Nutrition
Navigating Retirement After the Honeymoon
Orchestrating Your Shifting Identities As You Age
Partner With Your Partner To Create a Shared Retirement Vision
Problem Solving While We Sleep
Purpose Driven Work
Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready To Play Today
Readiness for Dating After 50
Redefining Purpose
Redefining Retirement In Your Bonus Years
Reinventing Adulthood
Retirement, is a Particular Kind of Loss
Scam Scum—Not On Our Watch!
Selling Yourself At This Age
Sex And The Retired Girl
The Door is Open —Do I Want To Walk Through It?
The Right Charity Work
The Role of Religion as We Age—Maybe Not What We Expected
Wait Until You See This Bucket List—A Whole New Way to Consider Retirement
What Retirees Want
Why We Need To Understand Gender Diversity in Children and Adolescents
You’re Not Working – Family Expectation

Scheduled Webinars

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Friday, December 20th at 12:00 PM EST

“The Earth Laughs in Flowers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you are anything like us, you look at a beautiful floral arrangement or centerpiece and think, I can probably do that. Sometimes you go even further and buy flowers and attempt to arrange them in a vase. You stand back from your handicraft and realize, the vase is wrong in every way, wrong color, girth, height, and style. The flowers look like a child stuck them haphazardly in a glass and walked away. Flower arranging is an art, and like most artful things requires training. So, the holidays are upon us, and DefyingGravity.life has a gift for our wonderful members. For our final webinar of the year, on December 20th at 12:00 P.M. EST, we have invited Elizabeth, the owner of the iconic flower shop Blooming City Flowers, in Chicago to teach us and demonstrate how to arrange flowers in a simple vase or as a centerpiece. Just in time for the holidays, we will learn how to arrange flowers like a pro, or at least we will learn some important tricks of the trade.

We are very excited to present our members with this gift and we hope the experience will be fun and entertaining and we will come away with at least the beginning of a new skill. Give yourself this hour to luxuriate in beauty and learn something new.

Register Now

Archived Webinars

A Millennial, a Boomer and a Computer Walk into a Bar….

Friday, Apr 28, 2023 12:00 PM EST

We see all the jokes, memes and sarcasm aimed at baby boomers regarding their technology acumen, maybe they ring true to you or infuriate you.Either way they are one of the great divides between the millennials, Z’s and the boomers. Boomers have had a lot to learn and they had to change their way of doing just about everything. Some thrived, others are just getting by and others struggle every day with the great tech revolution.

Love it or hate it, we strongly believe that keeping up, within reason, is critical. If seniors don’t keep pace with a certain level of technology acumen, including the ubiquitous social media, we lose the ability to communicate in a modern way, and connection is of critical importance to the elderly. Further, we will wind up largely in contact with people just like us and lose the wisdom and constructive challenges that come with interacting with people of all ages. Boomers can also lose the greatest learning tool ever invented, if we don’t know how to go beyond the surface of the internet. And, let’s face it, no one wants to feel inadequate or left behind. We sometimes are afraid to show our lack of understanding, since it so often comes with a side of derision so we don’t ask questions or experiment and we fall further behind, and then we reinforce the stereotypes about us. Every new device from a remote control to a phone become a new mountain to climb.

This webinar is going to make you, a whiz, well, if not a whiz, you are going to gain competence and demonstrate to the millennials and Z’s in your life, that you don’t fear technology and you continue to learn and have some cool new tricks. At the end of this webinar some of your day-to-day frustrations will disappear and you will begin to understand how to begin to work with technology to continue to learn. We know everyone is at a different point in their technology journey, but whatever your level, this should be a fun and useful webinar. It will include wisdom such as the following
to just name a very few we will touch on.

• Next level texting: We believe everyone knows how to text, but this has become a critical communication methodology and can you maximize its usefulness?

• How to create a file or generally organize your information on your computer.

• Take a screen shot on your phone and computer.

• Recognize a scam and what to do about it and so MUCH more!

Bring your questions.

About Adam Federman

Adam has over twenty years of experience working directly with various industries on strategic technology applications and solutions. Adam is an intuitive thought leader who decodes organizational issues and recommends sustainable strategies. His leadership style is engaging, authentic, and unifies subject matter experts to deliver innovation at its best. Adam is an influencer when it comes to pairing contextual solutions and business needs. He has enabled companies in life sciences, sports entertainment, healthcare, higher education, K-12 education, pharmaceuticals, packaged goods and IT & solutions to grow.

Adam lives in a northern suburb of Chicago with his wife Katie, and their three sons.

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Actually, I Am Old

Friday, August 14, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

Dr. Martha Holstein has a refreshing and different take on growing old and she understands the dual intersectionality between gender and age.  She rebels against terms like successful aging, productive aging or new aging, seeing the fallacy in aging without aging.  She believes we should embrace age just as we have our other periods of life; she urges us not fall into the false compliments that we are not old, despite our obvious miles, because she notes that such protestations are ageism.  If it is terrible to be called old, then being old must be bad.  If we are always trying to act and pretend we are just like the young we are missing the things that make us special and different, and it may not allow us to embrace our new found freedom.  She cautions us to answer important questions such as if I am not who I used to be, who am I now?  There is no right way to age, just as there is no right way to be middle aged, or an adolescent.  In this webinar, we will interview Dr. Holstein and learn how to not fall for the hype that tries to prescribe what success should look like when you are older.

Martha Holstein started working in the field of aging in 1973 purely by chance.  She did policy work with the San Francisco  Area Agency on aging and then became the Associate Director of the American Society on Aging for 13 years.  She worked for the HASTINGS Center and was a research scholar at the Park Ridge Center for the study of Health, Faith and Ethics, both ethics think tanks.

In the later 1970s  she discovered what interested her the most was the interface of gender and age and the  broader issue of intersectionality. She also found herself drawn to social ethics.  In the years since, those topics have been her exclusive focus and the subject of just about all her writing including Ethics, Aging and Society : The Critical Turn, written with two  Loyola colleagues and Women in Late Life: Critical Perspectives on Gender and Age.  She taught Health Care Ethics and Ethics and Aging.  Martha remains interested in policy and the neoliberal turn.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Aging While Female – Reimagined

Friday, October 23, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

Photo Credit: Adrian Buckmaster

From childhood on, we’re barraged by messages that it’s sad to be old. That wrinkles are embarrassing, and old people incompetent. Author and activist Ashton Applewhite believed them too, until she dug into where this prejudice comes from and the damage it does. Pointing out that we are all old or future old, Applewhite explains the roots of ageism in society and between our own ears, and lays out the personal and professional consequences for women in particular. What makes aging different for women—and so much harder than it has to be? How does the double whammy of ageism and sexism affect women’s health, income, and well-being? How does competing to “stay young” dig the hole deeper? In this provocative talk, Applewhite proposes throwing away the damn shovel, forging cross-generational compacts, and collaborating on new ways of thinking and behaving. The women’s movement taught us to claim our power; a pro-aging movement will teach us to hold onto it.

Author and activist Ashton Applewhite has been recognized by the New York Times, the New Yorker, National Public Radio, and the American Society on Aging as an expert on ageism. She blogs at This Chair Rocks, speaks widely at venues that have ranged from the United Nations to the TED mainstage, has written for Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times, and is the voice of Yo, Is This Ageist?  The author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, Ashton is a leading spokesperson for a movement to mobilize against discrimination on the basis of age.

For the first time, we are charging for a webinar, because Ashton is a highly sought-after and well known speaker in the field of ageism.  We offer you an extraordinary opportunity to learn from Ashton in an intimate virtual setting, with the rare opportunity to engage her in conversation.  Sign up now, for just $25.00.

View Recording Soon

All The Topics We Love, From A Male Perspective

January 21st at noon EST

A Conversation with Mike Silvaggi
DefyingGravity.life is focused on the transition away from our careers from a distinctly female perspective. Mike Silvaggi has a fascinating point of view on why it appears that men and women retire differently, with different goals and emotional experiences. We will discuss whether it is appearance or reality that women want purpose and men want leisure. Further, we will delve into some of the issues that have created the Me Too movement which continue to follow us into retirement and he will share his interesting perspective as to how the manner in which boys are raised and relate to other men contribute to some of the issues that infuriate us. As always, getting an unexpected perspective can help all of us clarify our own world view. We can discuss the role a grandmother can have in helping to raise boys in a manner that shapes their attitudes about a wide array of topics. We will interview Mike and, although we know he doesn’t speak for all men any more than we speak for all women, it should be an enlightening conversation. And, it could be fun to put him on the spot

MichaelA.SilvaggiMichael A. Silvaggi
Retired SVP of HR for Louis Vuitton, Americas

Prior to his retirement in November of 2016, from September 2011 – 2016, Michael served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Louis Vuitton, overseeing the employee population for North and Latin America, a 2500 person organization. Prior to Louis Vuitton, he was with Saks Fifth Avenue as Senior Vice President for Human Resources for the stores organization overseeing a population of 9,000 employees. At both Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue, he oversaw Leadership Development, Organizational Design and Effectiveness, Training, Recruitment / Talent Acquisition, and Compensation and benefit programs. This included the implementation of a new selling and service initiative, that focused on developing sales managers and associates.

Michael joined Saks from Cisco Systems where he was the Global Leader of Talent Acquisition and Cisco’s Chief Diversity Officer, a promotion he received in 2005 after serving as Global Leader of Human Resources Shared Services. Prior to his tenure at Cisco Systems, Michael held several HR positions with international responsibility during his 13 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Development from the University of Detroit.

View Recorded Webinar
View Recorded Webinar

Ambiguous Loss

Friday, October 11, 2019, 12:00 pm EST

Featuring Joann DiStefano, President Coaching”4”Movement, Inc- Founding Coach, GIFT Family Services, LLC
This webinar focuses on the aspect of retirement that is inherently contradictory.  We are grieving the loss of something truly important in our lives—career—and trying to balance the new freedom and ability to write a new chapter.   We tend to bounce between a sense of loss and great excitement, very often depending on the day, the people we are with or something we read.  We will talk through these unresolved feelings and understand the need to resolve our issues and move forward.  As importantly, we will understand that ambiguous loss is common for individuals going through this type of transition.

About Joann

Joann has over 30 years of experience and is a certified Ontological Quantum relationship” Coach.  Ontological Coaching is a powerful methodology for effecting change and Joann assists her clients in achieving core transformation.  Joann’s focus on individuals and families has made her a student of Ambiguous Loss and she understands how retirement falls in this category.  Joann spent her early years as an attorney who worked in family law prior to becoming a coach.  She has a very thoughtful, easy style that correlates with her work of assisting her clients achieve balance and harmony within themselves.  One can find further information on Joann on the website GIFTfamilyservices.com.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Brave Heart

Friday, May 19th at 12:00P.M.EST

We talk so much about what we want to do as our careers wind down; how do we want to spend our time and have purpose? There is often fear of the unknown, making big changes or the risk of new endeavors. Dr. Patrice Jenkins, an organizational psychologist, who has practiced in the area of transitioning into retirement, is a remarkable woman, later in her career, who seems unafraid to change and try new things. Whether it is changing the focus of her practice, becoming an author, hosting her podcast show, or now starting a fabric and wallpaper design company, she always seems to say, why not?
In her book, It’s Still Good: Dreams Don’t have Expiration Dates, she stresses “…the risk involved when putting off a dream” as well as underestimating the “price of regret”. We asked Patrice if she would turn her analytical lens on herself, and share with us her thinking, her approach and her psyche, all the things that allow her to be so brave. This promises to be a worthwhile webinar, in which we examine how to start something new, change and embrace new adventures. You don’t have to start a new company, but maybe you have a deferred dream that you want to come to fruition in retirement, and getting started is harder than you thought. This should be a fascinating and thought-provoking webinar to get us all thinking deeply about our own next logical steps.

About Patrice Jenkin

Patrice Jenkins, Ph.D. is an organizational psychologist, frequent speaker on topics related to career and retirement transitions, and host of the Day One Dreams podcast. She is the author of two books, It’s Still Good: Dreams Don’t Have Expiration Dates and What Will I Do All Day? Wisdom to get you Over Retirement and on with Living! Her online course, A Guide to Take the Weirdness Out of Retirement is available at Udemy.com.

Website: www.patricejenkins.com

View Recorded Webinar

COVID Hates Me and the Feeling is Mutual

Friday, December 4, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

COVID has changed all our lives and we hear tremendous sympathy for certain demographics that have borne the brunt of this pandemic such as those who have lost their livelihoods and their ability to afford the basics, parents working from home without child care, essential workers, risking their lives.  We feel deeply for everyone affected and we help where we can.

But is there a small voice in your head, asking, what about me?  I am retired and my life has been stolen; I don’t have work to occupy my time and my brain and my active schedule have been stopped dead.  Further, this pandemic is stealing a precious year in which I am healthy and able.  Or, I am finally ready to retire, I have planned this forever, and now, I think, life after work sounds stultifying.  Let’s talk about this.  This webinar will address the impact of COVID on the mental health of those of us that are retired.  Further, we know that mental stress leads to physical ailments, so we worry about the double whammy, particularly as we age.  We have both a psychologist and a medical internist to discuss how to help our particular demographic cope with this weird and pretty scary time in our life.

Dr. Lipkis is THE RATIONAL PHYSICIAN. He combines standard medicine with complementary medicine to write health books and provide amazingly practical medical info that just may save your life. He has over 40 years in the medical field.

He writes “Doctor In Your House”, an award winning medical e-newsletter that gives you practical nuggets of concise medical info that you can use today. Sign up now at www.DocLipkis.com. It really can improve or even save your life!

Dr. Lipkis is a successful practicing internist who has been in the field of medicine for more than 40 years and now retired. He trained at Northwestern University Medical School and presently practices at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, Illinois. He has served as the president of the American Cancer Society (locally), hosted Medical Insight on WTMX radio, and lectured nationally with Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former surgeon general. He has served as a medical consultant for WGN radio. Dr. Lipkis also is an editor for Prescriber’s Letter, an international newsletter for physicians. He has written four books, Live Longer and Healthier Now, Healthy Mind Healthy Body, Hacking Into Happiness, and soon to come, The Popcorn Diet. You can find Dr. Lipkis at https://doclipkis.com/blogs/doctorinyourhouse or on his YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/doctorinyourhouse

Dr. Tracy Aneziris is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in treating depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, chronic pain and illnesses, sleep disorders, obesity, grief, stress, and attention problems. Her clinical experiences include extensive work with adults in private practices and pain rehab centers, with geriatric populations in nursing homes, and with children, adolescents, and families in community mental health settings. She provides both therapy and assessment in Lincolnshire, Glenview, and Schaumburg, IL and offers telehealth exclusively at this time.

View Recorded Webinar
View Recorded Webinar

Cut!

Friday, December 15th at 12:00P.M.E.S.T

This webinar is our holiday gift to our members—it promises to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. If you love the movies but are not always thrilled with the way older women (and men) are portrayed, this webinar is for you. Jim Vanden Bosch is a filmmaker who focuses on the issues of aging in movies and TV. He will show us memorable clips from a wide array of movies and look deeply into the messaging and how it helps shape both positive and negative perception of aging. He uses film to look at aging in a way that challenges stereotypes, values elderhood as a normal part of life and gives dignity to the life experiences and contributions of older adults. We will begin to understand why even some of the movies and characters we love the best, leave us with a sense of unease and the unfortunate perpetuation of misperceptions. This promises to be a revealing webinar that will cause us to view entertainment with a more critical eye in the future.

About Jim Vanden Bosch:

Jim Vanden Bosch is a filmmaker, and the founder and Executive Director of Terra Nova Films, a not-for-profit company specializing in producing and distributing films and videos on a wide variety of aging related issues. Throughout the years he has produced over 50 films and videos featuring topics such as geriatric healthcare, caregiving, dementia, and elder abuse.

Vanden Bosch is an associate editor in the arts and humanities section of The Gerontologist, an academic journal of the Gerontological Society of America. He frequently presents and facilitates workshops on elderhood and intergenerational issues incorporating relevant video clips as a platform for discussion.

Vanden Bosch uses film to look at aging in a way that challenges stereotypes, values elderhood as a normal part of life, and gives dignity to the life experiences and contributions of older adults.

View Recorded Webinar

Defining Happiness

Featuring Stephen M. Tovian, PhD, ABPP Licensed and Board Certified Clinical, and Health Psychologist
As you express doubt about what to do next, how many people have asked you, “well, what makes you happy?”  And how disconcerted are you that this question is not as easy to answer as you might expect?  Work and taking care of others has taken up 100% of your mind-share for so long, that you may not have asked yourself the question about your long-term happiness for decades.  Now, as we face a new freedom, you will learn that you are in great company in struggling with this fundamental question.  Further, happiness has become a study in psychology, centered at Harvard University, and called Positive Psychology.  This webinar will focus on the findings of recent studies on happiness and help us understand the nuances of defining happiness on our own terms.

About Dr. Tovian

Dr. Steven Tovian, PhD, ABPP, received his doctorate from Northwestern University, in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago.  In addition, he has an independent practice working with individuals and families in clinical and medical/health psychology.  He is a prolific writer and speaker and holds multiple leadership positions in professional organizations.   During his tenure as both a professor and clinician Dr. Tovian has become interested in the role happiness plays in all facets of wellness.

View Recorded Webinar
View Recorded Webinar

Dreams Don’t Have Expiration Dates

Friday, March 11th 12:00 PM EST

MichaelA.SilvaggiDr. Patrice Jenkins, who has devoted that past fifteen years of her professional life to helping people make the transition to retirement, has written a new book about realizing your dreams and getting “unstuck”. Is this a book and topic for those of us retired or about to retire? According to Patrice, it sure is! Please join us and listen to her amazing insights about how the retirement years might just be the best time to tackle the next big thing and how to overcome obstacles to do so. This is going to be one of Dr. Jenkin’s launch events for her book, so it promises to be informative and really exciting. If you have a dream, and who doesn’t, this webinar is for you.

Bio:
Patrice Jenkins, Ph.D. is an organizational psychologist, consultant, and frequent speaker on topics related to career and retirement transitions. She is the author of two books; it’s still good: Dreams Don’t Have Expiration Dates and What Will I Do All Day? Wisdom to get you Over Retirement and on with
Living! Her online course, A Guide to Take the Weirdness Out of Retirement is available at Udemy.com

View Recorded Webinar

Early, Middle, Late–What Are the Phases of Retirement?

Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

We have learned that all phases of retirement are not created equal and they logically build upon one another. This webinar will feature a panel of three women, one, newly retired, the other, in what we might call middle retirement and one who has been retired for a long time. There is no magic to the timing and it is not all about age; some women go through the phases very quickly, and others may languish in one of the first two phases or even go backward. The key is to be fulfilled and happy and we are finding that it could take a little time to move from the honeymoon of retirement to a satisfying and joyful rhythm. We don’t mean to suggest that there is a destination, that once arrived there is no more movement. We think we can learn a lot from these dynamic women and they may be able to help you more easily deal with some of issues we face in this transition. One of our previous webinar speakers, Dr. Patrice Jenkins talked about the stages of retirement in her session. It may be interesting for you to view her archived talk, before participating in this webinar. Bring your concerns, questions and wisdom to share with the other participants and the panel as the challenges and joy of each stage are discussed.

Nancy Cantor

Nancy Cantor taught elementary school for thirty years, twenty-six of them at NSU University School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She ended her career in June 2019, after fourteen years as the Lower School Media Specialist. Nancy has four children and six grandchildren. After retirement, she moved back to her hometown of Chicago, where her three daughters and six grandchildren live. She is currently working part time as a substitute teacher for Chicago Public Schools. Nancy has worked as a freelance copy editor for entangled Publishing for the past eight years.


Dr. Chana Bursztyn

Dr.Chana  Bursztyn is a retired Board-certified psychiatrist living in Evanston.  She received her M.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at age 40, the oldest one in her class. She trained in Internal Medicine at Michael Reese Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago and completed a Psychiatry Residency & Chief Residency at Evanston Hospital. Dr. Bursztyn practiced psychiatry for 32 years — in forensics, college health, and inpatient psychiatry. Before entering medical school, Dr. Bursztyn earned the degree of M.S.W. from Columbia University in New York City, her hometown, and practiced for six years as a psychiatric social worker.  She served two years in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica after graduating magna cum laude from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in French and German.


Lillian Israel

Lillian Israel, 71 retired from the Association For Computing Machinery, an international, educational society for computing professionals. She served as Membership Director. She loved her multi-dimensional job, and loves her retirement. Shortly after she left ACM, Lillian worked with a psychologist to present information to group forums on aging. She continues her endeavor to provide singing and humor to non profit organizations. She currently lives in Princeton,New Jersey with her husband.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Encore Careers—How do I Go About Getting One of These?

(One of two symbiotic webinars)

Friday, February 7, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

So many of us have 1,000 ideas about what we might want to do in retirement, but few plans.  We have dreamed of turning our hobbies and avocations into work; imagine getting paid to bake, knit, live in a beautiful bed and breakfast in the country, write, act, giving back and so on.  But finding an encore career, whether for pay or volunteer, is a process, not amateur hour.  This webinar will show you a rational process, that will finally allow you to stop daydreaming about what’s next and act, if you want to do so.  Following this  methodology is a start to getting the result you want that will allow you to do what you love in a manner that doesn’t put you right back into the pressure cooker you just left.

Iris has had a 40+ year career focused on human capital.  She was a long-time partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), leading the $500M human capital practice in the United States as well as doing a stint as the Chief Human Resource Officer for Coopers & Lybrand. She sat on both the Management Committee and the Board for PwC.  She has been a frequent speaker and writer on a broad array of human capital issues and ended her career as the Chief People Officer for a global company with over 60,000 employees; she continues as an active member of their Advisory Board.   She has advised CEO’s and mentored many senior people in business today, with a tenacious focus on women’s equality in the workplace.  She co-founded DefyingGravity.life to help women transition from careers into meaningful retirement and to help solve what she calls, the new feminist crisis, who will I be after my career?

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Resume and Interviewing:  When What You Want to Do Has Little to Do With What You Have Done

(Two of two symbiotic webinars)

Friday, February 21, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

So you are employing the process you learned in the Encore Careers webinar, but you look at what you want to do and what you have done and they are not related.  How am I actually going to get hired or get on this Board or whatever you wish to do?   How do I turn my stellar resume into something that will catch the eye and appear relevant for my new direction?  And should I catch someone’s eye, how do I interview and make my stories relevant?  This webinar will teach you how to present yourself as the very person they need and want and how to overcome any objections.

Iris has had a 40+ year career focused on human capital.  She was a long-time partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), leading the $500M human capital practice in the United States as well as doing a stint as the Chief Human Resource Officer for Coopers & Lybrand. She sat on both the Management Committee and the Board for PwC.  She has been a frequent speaker and writer on a broad array of human capital issues and ended her career as the Chief People Officer for a global company with over 60,000 employees; she continues as an active member of their Advisory Board.   She has advised CEO’s and mentored many senior people in business today, with a tenacious focus on women’s equality in the workplace.  She co-founded DefyingGravity.life to help women transition from careers into meaningful retirement and to help solve what she calls, the new feminist crisis, who will I be after my career?

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Feeling Invisible

Friday, September 25, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

Ageism is often referred to as the last acceptable “ism”, jokes and negative commentary about the aged continue to be open sport—okay boomer.  When combined with sexism, it is a damaging combination.  Just talk to baby boomer women who want to work, or serve on Boards or just need to get waited on in a retail store. And it infects everything: The manner in which families interact, how we dress, how our doctors treat us, how we see possibilities and our self-confidence. We know people write an inaccurate back-story for us. And we know that our knowledge and experience have great value, that our energy and desire to give back are strong and an incredible opportunity for our communities. Dr. Susan Fiske has done wide ranging work in social cognition, the study of how people make sense of each other.  She has focused widely on prejudice including sexism and ageism.  Her testimony in the landmark case, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins where she testified about gender discrimination paved the way for many of us to achieve higher levels within our organizations.  The manner in which she approaches these complex issues is with deep research and study.  Her insights on these important topics will be guaranteed to make us think about ageism, sexism and how people interact in a very different manner.

Susan T. Fiske is Eugene Higgins Professor, Psychology and Public Affairs, at Princeton University. She studies social cognition, the science of how people make sense of each other. She focuses on stereotypes and prejudices, including sexism and ageism, using evidence at cultural, interpersonal, and neuro-scientific levels. Author of about 400 publications and winner of numerous scientific awards, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Sponsored by a Guggenheim, her book Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us, explains her stereotype content model. Her book The HUMAN Brand: How We Respond to People, Products, and Companies (with Malone) applies her model to improve corporate culture. With Taylor, she wrote five editions of a prize-winning graduate text: Social Cognition, and solo, four editions of an advanced undergraduate text, Social Beings: Core Motives in Social Psychology. She and her husband currently teach, advise, and research remotely, from Jamaica Vermont,

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Finally, A Meaningful Webinar on Alternative Medicine

Friday, August 12th, 2022 at Noon EST

Finally, A Meaningful Webinar on Alternative Medicine

We all know that sometimes, traditional approaches to our health simply don’t work. Whether our bodies are not responding as hoped or doctors are looking at an issue in isolation without taking into account our whole selves, we need broader and more creative thinking. There are alternatives, but not all of our doctors embrace the breadth of what is available to serve us.

Dr. Torkelson will discuss how to support well-being through creating a web of wellness that extends beyond the conventional medical model of care. She will address the following in this thought-provoking webinar:

  • Integrative strategies that bridge the gap between conventional medicine and holistic healing approaches.
  • Identify factors to consider when making choices among a wide array of holistic options to create new pathways.
  • Educate women on how to be informed advocates for their own health care and participate in shared decision-making with their providers.
  • Offer fresh perspectives on mind-body-spirit integration that empower women to lead active, vital, and purposeful lives as they age.

Bio:
Dr. Carolyn Torkelson
Dr. Carolyn Torkelson is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. For the past 20 years, she worked at the Women’s Health clinic at the University of Minnesota providing holistic, integrative primary care. She retired from clinical practice in early 2020 to write and consult on women’s health issues.

Dr. Torkelson’s journey in holistic-integrative medicine spans four decades, involving immersive study in alternative healing practices. Her clinical practice at the University of Minnesota centered on providing integrative care to women and her research interest has generated numerous articles on wellness approaches to health. She co-chairs the Minnesota Holistic Medicine Group (a chapter of the AIHM) which includes over 900 holistic health providers from various disciplines.

Dr. Torkelson is co-author of a new book written for the growing audience of postmenopausal women: Beyond Menopause: New Pathways to Holistic Health (September  2022).  This book brings to light the unique healthcare needs of postmenopausal women. This vast group of women, starting around age 50 and extending through the rest of a woman’s life is often neglected in the health care system.  Through the lens of integrative medicine, the book bridges the gap between conventional medicine and holistic systems of healing by offering women’s stories amenable to holistic approaches—the goal of the book is for women to come away with more options to wellness.

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Financial Success For Retirement
Featuring- Beata Kirr, Co- head of Investment Strategies
at Alliance Bernstein and Suzanne Lynch, Senior Investment Advisor, Principal, Bernstein 

Friday, April 22nd, 2022

Planning for retirement requires attention and decisions across many areas of your life including where you will live, how you will spend your time, and assessing if you have the financial resources to do so. Alliance Bernstein, one of the premier private client wealth management firms has a strong focus on women investors. Please join them for a discussion of Five Things You Need to Do to successfully transition your financial life in retirement. Preparing your financial life includes more than an assessment of how much money you have. We will provide tips on investments, estate planning, philanthropy and more.

About Suzanne

Suzanne Lynch is a Principal and Senior Investment Advisor in Bernstein’s Chicago office. She joined the firm in 2002 as a financial advisor in the Chicago office, where she built and managed a large practice advising high-net-worth individuals and families. Lynch later assisted with the launch of Bernstein’s Denver office in 2005. Prior to joining the firm, she held various management positions within corporate development and finance at Mobil Oil and Steelcase. Lynch holds a BS in business administration from Marquette University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University, from which she graduated with honors. She is a former board member of the River North Chicago Dance Company and led the company’s education and outreach efforts.  She is currently very involved in High Jump, a free academic enrichment program for Chicago middle-schoolers from families of limited financial means.  She also supports The Latin School where her youngest son is a junior in high school.

Women & Wealth, Explore thought leaders designed to educate, empower, and inspire female investors.


About Beata

As Co-head of Investment Strategies and a member of the Private Wealth Executive Leadership Team, Beata Kirr, oversees the development and evolution of an investment platform and the clients’ strategic allocation advice, ensuring innovation and customization to meet the diverse and ever-changing needs of the clients. Beata holds a MBA in Finance from Northwestern University and a B.S. in Finance from University of Pennsylvania. Beata is very proud to say that she created and lead Bernstein’s Women & Wealth National Conversation. Before this content was created, she had never even thought about being the only woman in the room. “That’s just how it was—until I progressively started to see more women on the other side of the table.” The face of wealth is quickly changing as women live longer and are more frequently the wealth creators. Yet, women consistently say that they lack confidence in their financial decision-making abilities and feel frustrated with how advisors engage them. One day she realized there was an opportunity to have a different type of conversation: to highlight women’s voices and unique experiences throughout the financial life cycle. Three years later, through the Women & Wealth podcast and dozens of incredible national and local events, she is grateful and proud of the powerful effect this conversation has had—both on clients and in terms of creating a more diverse, dynamic Bernstein workforce.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Gen X and The Millennials—Their Take on Retirement

Friday, July 19th at 12:00 pm EST

We are very excited to invite you to DefyingGravity.life’s next free webinar, “Gen X and The Millennials—Their Take on Retirement” on July 19th at noon EST. We all had a vision of what retirement would be for us. The generations that follow us look at how we are “doing it” and they judge. Some look at us with envy, longing for the days when their work is done, and others think we are doing it all wrong. We thought it would be fascinating to get a glimpse into the next group of retirees and hear what they want and believe for this next stage of their lives.

In 2024, the oldest Gen Xers will be 59 and the oldest Millennials will be 43. We have brought together 4 talented Xer’s and older Millennials to hear what they think about their own retirement journey and how they view the Boomers. Are they learning from us? Have they finally reached the age when they respect our wisdom, or have they decided they want to do retirement differently than their parents? Are they thinking about retirement at all? Do they have a financial plan and are the executing on it?

One of the risks of leaving our careers is that other than our children and grandchildren, we tend to spend most of our time with people close to our age. Let’s see if we can learn from and teach the next group of retirees in what promises to be a fascinating discussion that crosses three generations.

Come meet and have a fascinating conversation with:
• Anna, a marketing executive
• Isaac, a film director and college professor
• Leah, a criminal attorney, and
• Michael, a financial executive.

This will be fun and enlightening, don’t miss it.

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Getting Started Again

Friday, September 23rd at 12:00P.M.EST.

We all have things we have wanted to explore and try and many of us thought retirement would be the period in our lives when we could put some of these deferred dreams into action. COVID certainly hasn’t helped, but too often we hear women talk about how hard it is to identify how they really want to spend their time and once they do, to just get started. This webinar will give you simple tools and exercises to help you move forward with purpose. We will help you narrow down the direction you wish to go and how best to assess, your options so you can stop procrastinating and begin to embrace retirement as you always thought it should be. Even if you feel pretty good about your direction, this webinar will be an excellent check to make sure that you haven’t overlooked anything you might regret. It promises to be an engaging and hands on hour.

About Iris
Iris has had a 40+ year career focused on human capital. She was a long-time partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), leading the $500M human capital practice in the United States as well as doing a stint as the Chief Human Resource Officer for Coopers & Lybrand. She sat on both the Management Committee and the Board for PwC. She has been a frequent speaker and writer on a broad array of human capital issues and ended her career as the Chief People Officer for a global company with over 60,000 employees; she continues as an active member of their Advisory Board. She has advised CEO’s and mentored many senior people in business today, with a tenacious focus on women’s equality in the workplace. She co-founded DefyingGravity.life to help women transition from careers into meaningful retirement and to help solve what she calls, the new feminist crisis, who will I be after my career?

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Given How Successful I am in My Career, Why am l so Insecure About this Retirement Transition?

Friday, January 10, 2019, 12:00 pm EST

It is fascinating that so many successful and bold women are very different when they face their own transition to life after their careers.  One of the founders of DefyingGravity.life taught a class on Encore Careers at Stanford, and she found a group of very powerful and barrier-breaking women who were unsure about their ability to succeed at their retirement goals.  This webinar will focus on transition, particularly as it relates to women pivoting away from their careers. It will help us understand why successful women are not bringing their hard fought confidence to the task of creating a powerful after-career life and how to face this transition constructively.  Acknowledgement of the barriers we face, both real and psychological, will be very helpful in allowing us to move forward to find the purpose we desire in our own encores.  In addition, learning about the process of transition and how our concerns are “normal” will make us feel less alone and more confident in the choices we make.

Suzan Zoline

Dr. Susan Zoline is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who has been involved in practicing, teaching and consulting in the Chicago area for over thirty five years. Dr. Zoline has worked clinically in a broad variety of settings and regularly consults and provides workshops to mental health and other professionals both locally and nationally.   Dr. Zoline was Professor of Psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Chicago, where she taught clinical masters and doctoral students for thirty years.  Currently Dr. Zoline is a Clinical Faculty in the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at Adler University in Chicago.  One of her areas of expertise is Adult Development and Aging, with a particular interest on midlife transitions and retirement.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Growing Older- Our Way Is Not The Only Way

Friday, March 22nd at 12:00P.M. EST

The successful aging paradigm so popular in North America envisions postponing and even eliminating the negatives of old age through individual effort and lifestyle choices, via exercise, a healthy diet, positive attitude, and productive activities. On the face of it, this bold new vision of successful-healthy active aging is highly appealing. But it also rests on a deep cultural discomfort with aging and being old. Our society seems to tell us that we have a moral duty to stave off oldness, that being old is sad, meaningless and, to a degree, self-inflicted. What might be more meaningful alternatives?

By exploring ideas from her years of fieldwork on aging in both India and the United States, cultural anthropologist Sarah Lamb will help us ask: Are there other—more realistic, accepting, and meaningful—ways of envisioning the later phases of our lives? Why is ageism—even especially internal or self-directed ageism—so prevalent in US society, yet much less so in India? Does a belief in life after death make the prospect of aging and dying that much easier, or not? How do those in India approach the human need for care, and should we in the U.S. loosen our fierce commitment to individual independence? How can we make the most of our older years in ways that do not deny being old as part of the self and life?

About Sarah Lamb :

Sarah Lamb is Barbara Mandel Professor of Humanistic Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University. Her research focuses on aging, gender, families, ethical strivings, and understandings of personhood in India and the United States. She is the author of numerous articles and books, and editor of Successful Aging as a Contemporary Obsession: Global Perspectives. As an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, Lamb is currently writing a book on her fieldwork in North America and India titled Successful Aging’s Global Moment: Visions and Dilemmas of Aging Well.

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Is My House My Future Home?

Friday, August 11th at 12:00P.M.EST

It is a huge decision to stop working at your primary career, but one of the interesting side effects of this decision is that there are many other choices that become relevant. When you think about how you want to live your retirement, where you live becomes central. For example, just for starters…
• Do I need this big family home with all this land to tend?
• Do I still want the same kind of house? Stairs? Maybe a bigger kitchen to serve your baking passion or a great place to grow vegetables? Do I want something maintenance free?
• Do I want to plan for the long term and move to a retirement community that has various levels of care?
• Do I want to get out of this winter weather or stifling summers?
Do I want to live nearer to my children or near family. My siblings are not getting any younger?
• One of our favorites, my partner and I don’t agree at all on this! In this webinar we have several women who have gone through this decision-making or are deciding right now. Come hear from these very thoughtful women as to how they are making their decisions and how to think this through given the major impact it will have on your life. Come join this authentic discussion about a topic that is on many of our minds.

           

Lillian Israel                                                                          Laura Wilson                                     Kevin Silver , Realtor                       Pat Wilcox

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How Do I Know The Cure Is Not Worse Than The Disease???

Friday, March 31st at 12:00P.M.EST

This is a webinar of critical importance! All you have to do is turn on the television to see a plethora of dramatic ads for drugs—miracle drugs that will help whatever ails you, but a fast-talking announcer lists a horrifying number of possible side effects. The cure sounds worse than the affliction. In addition, all you have to do is go to your doctor with a complaint and you will likely come away with a prescription, sometimes short term and sometimes a pill forever. We have no doubt that many of these drugs are keeping us alive longer and that we are healthier because of them. However, the pill is so easy to prescribe and take, it is hard not to wonder if we are taking an easy way out and being over-medicated. We start taking a lot of pills, some mail order, some picked up from our neighborhood pharmacist and some over-the-counter. We have many specialists we see and each prescribes what we need in their area of expertise, or we pick up a prescription at Urgent Care. Is anyone really looking at the whole picture? If like so many of us, you have a lot of questions about how you became one of those people with a pill organizer, then this is the webinar for you. Two pharmacists will honestly answer our questions about this critically important topic. We told our speakers, we want to know…
• Whose job is it to look at the whole patient and make sure all our prescriptions are necessary and they play well together?
• How do I know if my headache is just a headache or a side-effect from my new medicine?
• Why is my pharmacy constantly out of critical drugs that I must have and whose responsibility is that?
• Do aps such as Good Rx really save me money?
• Why are the insurance companies overruling my doctor as to the medicines I should take—and should I be suspicious now that insurance companies own pharmacies, and pharmacies own insurance companies?
And so much more!

About Bob

Bob has had a long and broad career as a pharmacist, starting at Walgreens after which he opened and operated three neighborhood pharmacies with two partners. He then moved to being a community pharmacist, followed by working in a hospital pharmacy, working in oncology. He then worked for a large corporation for twenty years, a company that runs pharmacies for hospitals where he was a director of pharmacy. He continues to work part time for one of the hospitals. He has placed a great focus on drug interactions and he is passionate about sharing this information with all the constituents of the medical community.

Bob got his undergraduate and pharmacy degrees from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.  He is a commercial pilot and a flight instructor and he is married with two children and three sweet granddaughters.

About Earl

Earl has been practicing pharmacy for the last 48 years in the Chicagoland area. His pharmaceutical background includes working at hospitals, independent local pharmacies, a compounding pharmacy, and national chain pharmacies including over 25 years with Walgreens.
Earl currently works at The ARK in Chicago as a pharmacist. The mission of The ARK is to help the Jewish people of Chicago who are facing adversity and help them achieve self reliance. The ARK is a vibrant hub of vital human services empowered by Jewish values that lifts and strengthens the Jewish Community. It is one of the only clinics of this type that offers free medical, dental, and pharmacy services all under the same roof.Earl lives in Schaumburg, IL, with his wife Debbie of 49 years. They have 2 children and 7 grandchildren. He enjoys playing Mah Jongg and teaches Hebrew School in 2 different synagogues

Register Now

How do Corporate Boards find Qualified Directors?

Featuring Wendy Beecham, Associate Client Partner, Korn Ferry
As a seasoned business professional, you are ready to take on the responsibility of being an active Board member.  Yet the US is known to have the “oldest” Board members both in tenure and age so are there really Board opportunities out there?    Does the new SB826 legislation in California provide better opportunities for women?  The journey begins by developing a clear understanding of how Boards determine what skills and qualifications are needed for any new Directors they would like to add to their Boards so that you can formulate how best to position your value proposition for them.  How do you make yourself visible to Boards seeking new members?   Should you be looking at public or private Boards and are both options?   How does your non-profit Board involvement support your search for a public or private Board seat?   And what are the real risks and responsibilities of being a Board member?

About Wendy

Please join our panelist – Wendy Beecham, a Partner in Korn Ferry’s Board and CEO Advisory Practice and Board member of the Northern California chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Ms. Beecham’s diverse and global career included CEO and senior operational roles in corporate, non-profit and start-up/small business sectors in the US, Europe, and Asia including previous roles as managing director of Sweet & Maxwell, a UK legal publishing division of the Thomson Corporation and as a senior vice president at Lexis Nexis, a division of Reed Elsevier.  She also served as the CEO of Watermark, a women’s leadership organization in the San Francisco Bay area.

Wendy consults with CEO’s and senior teams in areas such as board and top team effectiveness, executive coaching, CEO and c suite succession planning and leadership development. She is a coach in the Korn Ferry Executive to Leader and Chief Executive Institutes.

Ms. Beecham serves on the board of the National Association of Corporate Directors Northern California chapter and is an advisory board member for Illuminate Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture fund. She is a former Board member of equity backed Granicus, Inc.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

How to Present Yourself for the Next Step

FEATURING, Tom Stern, President of Stern Executive Search

It may be a long time since you had to sell yourself and despite a wealth of experience and a great career, you feel at a disadvantage.  You want to do something different with your skills, you don’t want to get on the same treadmill from which you just exited and you are worried about ageism or the relevance of your skills compared to what you want to do now.   How do you win—get exactly what you want for an encore career on your own terms?  In this webinar you will learn how to present yourself and remake your story so you have the WOW factor employers, Boards or charitable organizations are seeking.

About Tom

Tom Stern has had an eclectic career and has remade himself numerous times.   For the last 20+ years he has been the President of Stern Executive Search, a top-flight Executive Search firm working for some of the world’s leading talent organizations.  Tom has a unique ability to match candidates and positions and understand what organizations are looking for below the surface of the job description.  Prior to executive search, Tom was a stand-up comedian and a writer and producer for HBO.  He was also the President of Film and TV, for Spotlight Talent Agency, with clients such as Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher and many more.   Tom has also had a nationally syndicated radio show as well as a comic strip and television show based on his book, CEO Dad.  In addition he wrote the Academy Award winning short for HBO, The Moon and the Son and has authored 2 books, including Fear Less Sell More coming out in the fall.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Investing In Retirement

Friday, December 6, 2019, 12:00 pm EST

Get another point of view about investing in retirement from another world-renowned investment house. Our speaker will discuss the fascinating study that Merrill Lynch, in partnership with Age Wave, conducted which deeply examines the specific financial challenges women face across their lifetimes, as well as offering potential solutions and actions for funding the present and future. Further, he will address many of the questions we all have including: How do I know what is “enough” for retirement? How best to invest in retirement? Are you maximizing your social security? Some interesting new ideas for long term care concerns.

James Jandora

James is the Senior Consultant Merrill Lynch, joined the firm in 2006. James  oversees and manages the financial affairs for a select group of families, business and non-for-profit organizations. Using the vast services and resources within Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, along with other professionals; this comprehensive approach helps his clients understand the various approaches available in helping them achieve their desired financial goals. James has a  MBA from Xavier University and holds CRPC® and CRPS® certifications from  the College for Financial Planning.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Let’s Hear What The Doctors Have To Say

Friday, July 8th at Noon EST

Martin N. Sachman, MDThe Second Webinar in our three-part series about healthy aging for baby boomer women.

Let’s Hear What the Doctors Have to Say

As the large group of baby boomers age and want to continue having a high quality of life, there has been a quiet revolution occurring in which patients are challenging their doctors to not dismiss so many health problems as simply due to aging. We are not satisfied with glib answers, or solutions that keep our symptoms at bay for a short time—we want to be treated like we always have been—treatments that get to the root of the problem and try and solve it. Doctor, make it go away! Now, we are not naïve, we understand that aging plays a huge role in our health and the body seems to have some planned obsolescence. But, are doctors too quick to dismiss the ailments of the elderly as due to aging when they wouldn’t treat a younger person with like symptoms in the same way? Are we cash cows that keep returning for palliative services? Two brave doctors, one an internist and one a podiatrist, who have practices that serve mostly geriatric patients, are here to answer our questions, both as to how to deal with and avoid this kind of treatment and to share critical concepts as to how to stay healthy longer. Do not miss this webinar.

Bio:
Martin N. Sachman, MD
Dr. Martin Sachman is a board-certified internist who graduated from Chicago Medical School and completed his internship and residency at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center. His private practice career spans over 44 years, beginning with a city practice, on staff at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital, and then moving to the North Shore of Chicago, with staff privileges at NorthShore University Health System.

The last 17 years, Dr. Sachman has had a concierge medical practice in Northbrook, IL, where he has been able to focus on more personalized care, with additional time to offer preventative and proactive attention, advocate with specialists and caring for patients in the hospital to ensure continuity of care before, during and after hospitalizations.

Dr. Marc FederBio:
Dr. Marc Feder
Dr, Marc Feder has over 35 years of experience in treating people with foot and ankle problems. Dr. Marc is board certified in Podiatric Surgery and Podiatric Medicine. He holds fellowships in Foot Surgery and Foot Orthopedics and is an accomplished lecturer. Dr. Marc is active in the profession and in his community. He served as Examinations Chairman of the “American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics”. Dr. Marc was named the William Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine’s “ 2013 Alumnus of the Year”. He holds special interest in nutrition and other integrative medicine approaches. Married over 40 years, and father of two married sons and three granddaughters and one grandson. His hobbies include fitness, gardening and organization leadership.

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Maximizing Time & Health with Nutrition

Friday, June 3rd at Noon EST

MichaelA.SilvaggiHow to stay happy and healthy and optimize life. That is the question. During this session we will cover some of the most critical health concerns during this stage in life, how they can be mediated by nutrition, and what the current recommendations are for nutrients of particular importance. We will review several current diet trends, what the research suggests about their appropriateness in this population, as well as debunk some popular myths that exist in our culture and media. This should be a very informative webinar, packed with information that will be practical and cause us to think about how best to nourish the one body we have been given and that has already served us for a long time.

Bio:
Jill Joseph joined the University of Pennsylvania to lead its Sports Nutrition division in September 2016.
In her position at Penn, Joseph oversees nutritional education and individual counseling for nearly
1,000 student-athletes across 33 varsity programs. She is also responsible for nutrition counseling and meal planning for the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (RTC) overseen by USA Wrestling.
Joseph came to University City from the University of Louisville, where she served as the Assistant Director of Performance Nutrition from 2014-16. During her time with the Cardinals, Joseph helped grow the Performance Nutrition Department to include four full-time dietitians, helped support numerous fueling stations, and a was on the planning committee for a performance-based dining facility for student athletes. Joseph also counseled student-athletes with high-risk medical concerns, food allergies, and eating disorders.
During her time in Louisville—where she was born and raised—Joseph was Founder and spent more than three years as a Nutrition Consultant of Eat Well, Be Well Nutrition Services. She also was a wellness coach at Carewise Health, Inc., providing nutrition counseling and education to members using techniques such as motivational interviewing to help guide members towards behavioral changes.

Joseph graduated from Indiana University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts as a double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She received her Master of Science in Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2011, earning Dean’s List recognition in UIC’s College of Applied Health Sciences.
A Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, Joseph has been a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics since 2012 and the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietetics Association (CPSDA) since 2013. Her memberships extend to the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) Dietetic Practice Group and the Nutrition Entrepreneurs (NE) Dietetic Practice Group, both since 2013.

Jill and her husband, Rich, have three children: Avery, Parker and Charlie. They live in Haddonfield, N.J.

View Recorded Webinar

Navigating Retirement After the Honeymoon

Friday, March 13, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

For many people, retirement starts out like a honeymoon—blissful, fun, full of dreams and aspirations. And then like most honeymoons, this stage eventually fades. You wake up and realize you could live another 25 years, and you don’t want to just play for the rest of your life.

This webinar is about preparing you for the stage after the honeymoon, a period of time when you might be feeling a sense of loss and direction. It’s known as “being in the middle” –suspended between our old life and our new life. We’re forced to live with the question, “What’s next?”

To help you navigate this stage, Dr. Jenkins has developed a tool named COMPASS. It’s a seven-step process that shows how the “middle” can be a rich source of self-discovery, exploration and opportunity. You don’t want to rush through this period just to relieve the tension of this ambiguous state. There are no quick-fix solutions, but with the COMPASS you can begin to experience reorientation. You’ll gain a greater sense of what you want in retirement and a renewed energy to create it.

About Patrice

Patrice Jenkins Ph.D. is an organizational psychologist, consultant, and frequent speaker on topics related to psychological and social preparation for retirement. Her online course, A Guide to Take the Weirdness Out of Retirement is available at Udemy.com. Dr. Jenkins is also the author of What Will I Do All Day? Wisdom to get you Over Retirement and on with Living!

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Orchestrating Your Shifting Identities As You Age

Friday, November 12, 2021, 12:00 pm EST

Two creative women – Gail Zelitzky and Catherine Marienau- will describe their journey that launched Women Over 70-Aging Reimagined podcast, Facebook group, and Aging Reimagined Circle. Their mission is to shatter the myth that women become irrelevant as they age and to bring women together to share their experiences and insights around aging.

Each decade calls for  resilience to deal with new challenges, gratitude for  living longer, and strategies to enliven our later years.

Catherine and Gail will:

  • Share voices and stories of women from their podcast that illustrate how purpose, drive and resilience can be maintained through the decades
  • Identify strategies you might use during your own transformative years to make each decade over 50 count
  • Offer language against ageism so you continue to be seen and heard

Website

Facebook Group

Gail Zelitzky, GEARSHIFT

Business Coaching for Women 

773-957-8582

www.GailZelitzky.com

Podcast: WomenOver70 – Aging Reimagined

Be Seen & Be Heard: Become a member of our Aging Reimagined Circle

https://www.womenover70.com

Wonder Women Mastermind Club for Women Business Owners 

Collaboratively Connect for Success on Zoom

Join here: https://www.GailZelitzky.com/wonder-women-mastermind

Women Rising

Invitation-only Small Group for Women Business Owners

New members welcome

Email: 

Ga**@Ga**********.com











 for information on how to join

Gail Zelitzky
Gail is a lifelong entrepreneur who coaches individual women business owners, and groups, to realign, reimagine and rediscover their unlimited potential. Now, at age 79, she is excited to focus on women in various stages of transition to reimagine life as they age. Gail is an author, speaker and mentor and founder of Wonder Women Mastermind and Women Rising.

Catherine Marienau
Catherine is Professor Emerita at DePaul University where she was privileged to mentor adult learners and teach adult learning and development, qualitative research, and women’s issues. Now, at age 71, Catherine’s passion projects center on vital women aging, holistic health and wellness, and brain-based learning. Catherine is an author, speaker and coach.

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Partner With Your Partner To Create A Shared Retirement Vision

November 11th at 12:00P.M. EST.

As you got closer to your retirement date, how much time did you give to planning how two retired people, you and your partner, would create a path forward? There is bound to be some tension and it is best to have full discussions of what could be, before you retire. But, if like many of us, you didn’t do that, it is never too late. For example, what happens when your partner wants to do extensive travel and you were looking forward to watching old movies, babysitting grandchildren and staying close to home? What if you had always dreamed of finally having an opportunity to move to a warmer climate and your spouse wants to embrace the familiar, the neighborhood gym and weekends with old friends? Do you have a like view on how much time to spend together vs on individual pursuits? How did all these years go by and you never stopped to have the conversation of how you would spend your retirement years together? Wendy Dolin, MSW, LSW. LCSW, is an experienced certified family therapist who has worked with couples at all stages of life and transitions. She will help us decipher how best to have “the talk” with our partner and the most constructive manner to express your needs, listen to your partner’s needs and create a next stage designed by both of you. Wendy, will provide an insightful and helpful view of what to expect, and how to go about negotiating a way to move forward. Even if you and your partner are doing well together, we believe that you will pick up some handy tips that you could use to make your life together even better.

About Wendy Dolin
Wendy Dolin, MSW, LSW, LCSW, is a certified family therapist with a private practice in the Chicago area and an internationally recognized health and safety advocate. She founded the Medication-Induced Suicide Prevention and Education Foundation (MISSD) following the 2010 death of her husband, Stewart, who died after suffering from an adverse drug effect called akathisia.

MISSD educates the public about akathisia in a wide variety of ways and is proud to be involved with advocacy groups such as the Consumer’s Union, the Safe Patient Project, and the National Center for Health Research.

Dolin has been recognized by the International Society of Ethical Psychiatry and Psychology with its “Humanitarian of the Year” award. She holds a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and a Master’s in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago.

MISSD educates the public about akathisia in a wide variety of ways and is proud to be involved with advocacy groups such as the Consumer’s Union, the Safe Patient Project, and the National Center for Health Research.

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Purpose Driven Work

Featuring Sara Cantor Aye, Co-Founder Greater Good Studio
So many of us are seeking purpose in our retirement and “work”, whether paid or volunteer,  that has meaning.  The Greater Good is a company that does a wide array of design work that enhances the community.  They recognized early in the inception of their company that “saying yes builds your portfolio, but saying no builds your power”.  The co-founders of Greater Good teach us how to work with purpose and passion and say no to that which no longer fits into our lives, after decades of saying yes.

About Sara

Sara Cantor Aye is a creative leader and human-centered designer focused on equity, inclusion and social innovation. After spending seven years using human-centered design (HCD) to create new markets for corporate clients, she co-founded Greater Good Studio in 2011 to apply the process and principles of HCD to the more meaningful challenges of the social sector. Her team of “pissed-off optimists” has helped nonprofits, foundations, government agencies and social enterprises to build internal capacity for innovation, create and prototype new programs and services, and sustain and scale their impact.

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VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Problem Solving While We Sleep

Friday, January 26th, from 12:00 to 2:00 EST

We don’t know anyone who isn’t curious about their dreams; we are always wondering, what are they trying to tell us and is there truth in them? We have been told by many retirees that despite being very happy in their retirement, they too often dream about work; some of these dreams bring back the stress of work and some are benign—but we don’t understand why this work chapter is haunting our dreams. We found the person to help answer all our questions and give us a methodology for understanding our dreams and finally bringing us clarity about this universal but often misunderstood daily occurrence.

Our speaker, Layne Dalfen, has developed a 6 Point of Entry method that anyone can use to uncover what that dream you had was all about! In this two-hour special event dreaminar, she is going to share this method with us and she says anyone can do it easily. Layne says that hidden within our dreams are personal insights that make us better problem-solvers, smarter decision-makers, and masters at managing stress.About her core message, Layne says, “A dream is an interior, problem solving conversation that takes place between the unconscious and the conscious mind. The solution to today’s issue appears in the dream before you get it consciously, and understanding your dream can propel your problem-solving.”

Although our own webinars are always free of charge, this is a special event and Layne’s business, so please join us for this 2 hour dreaminar, Problem Solving While We Sleep for $30.00. Just click the button below, to go to Layne’s site to sign up and pay for what promises to be a really special event that we are very excited to bring to the members of DefyingGravity.life.

Best of all, Layne is eager to answer all our questions.

About Layne Dalfen :

Layne Dalfen, is the author of Have a Great Dream, Book 1; The Overview and Have a Great Dream, Book 2; A Deeper Discussion.

She has been lecturing for the counseling students at Concordia University in Montreal since 2004. Layne opened The Dream Interpretation Center in 1997. Besides numerous media and speaking appearances, Layne is well-known for her Understanding Dreams column at Psychology Today, and her Dream Catcher column at OprahDaily.

About her core message, Layne says, “A dream is an interior, problem solving conversation that takes place between the unconscious and the conscious mind. The solution to today’s issue appears in the dream before you get it consciously, and understanding your dream can propel your problem-solving.” She developed a 6 Point of Entry method that anyone can use to uncover what that dream you had was all about!

Layne has appeared on well over 200 podcasts and radio shows, including Melissa Rivers’ Group Text Podcast and America’s Coast to Coast AM, where she is a regular guest. She has appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX Affiliates in the US and appears regularly on Canada’s National Breakfast Television, as well as Global TV.

Eclectic in her approach, Layne’s interest in dreams stems from her early experience in Freudian analysis where dream work was the primary tool. She later studied at The Gestalt Counselling and Training Center in Montreal, and Adlerian principles of dream analysis at The Alfred Adler Institute. She has been a member of The International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) since 1997.

Her goal is to introduce the general public to the value of understanding the language of metaphor, spoken by our sophisticated unconscious mind.
Layne’s Internet site is http://www.thedreamanalyst.com

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Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready To Play Today

Friday, October 20th at 12:00P.M.EST

Did you know that there are people who are retirement coaches? Yes, they help people transition into retirement and find their purpose and joy in this new phase of life. This is coaching tailored to the person and it tackles the individual’s own challenges. This makes so much sense, we are mentored and coached (hopefully) throughout our careers, why wouldn’t we need assistance with this massive change? In this webinar, we have a premiere retirement coach, Susan Ackley, who will tell us a little bit about how she does what she does and some of the biggest obstacles she often sees and how to tackle them. This promises to be a very insightful webinar from someone who is both a therapist and a retirement coach and we are guessing has seen just about every issue we are facing. We are confident that this webinar will go a long way to making you understand that you are not alone in the transition issues you are facing as well as exposing you to some of the best approaches to dealing with them. Don’t miss it!

About Susan Ackley:

Susan Ackley is a Board-Certified Coach and Illinois Licensed Professional Counsel or at Compass Point LLC, an Oak Brook, Illinois based coaching and counseling practice.  She is a founding member and former board member of the Retirement Coaches Association.  Susan is passionate about coaching and wants to make non-financial retirement transition coaching a benefit available to all retiring workers nationwide. Susan has co-authored, with the Retirement Coaches Association, The Retirement Challenge, Out of the Box Retirement, and Rightsourcing Retirement, and she is a requested local speaker on retirement topics including where to live in retirement and the transition into retirement. Susan is also certified to offer and interpret the Retirement Success Profile ™.  She lives near Chicago with her husband, and their Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier dog. In her spare time, she enjoys walking and training with their dog, is an avid reader of all kinds of books, and is learning to play pickleball.   

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Readiness for Dating After 50

Featuring Dr. Susan Mandel, PhD, LMFT

Now that you’re retired or considering retirement, are you thinking about adding dating to an already rich and accomplished life? You’ve spent so much time doing for others–now it’s time to take care of you. But where and how to start? For most women the idea of embarking on dating later in life is filled with uncertainty and fear. It’s a whole new dating world out there, and Dr. Sue, psychologist and dating coach for women over 50, helps you navigate it all. In this webinar, she’ll discuss topics like the new science of love, redefining independence, building self-confidence, flirting, safe online dating, dealing with your inner critic, the new rules of dating, and more. If you have questions, send them in advance and she will try to answer them all.

About Dr. Sue

Sue Mandel, Ph.D., LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, dating coach for women, and life coach. She has been in private practice for over 30 years, seeing kids, adults, and couples. As a dating coach, Dr. Sue helps women with every aspect of dating, from teaching how to flirt to getting through awkward situations, recognizing red flags, sending and reading nonverbal signals, and making dating fun. She coaches women all over the country on dating, relationships, and love by telephone or online using Skype, email and text. Dr. Sue understands your dating dilemmas, having “been there, done that” herself–and finding true love way north of 50!

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VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Redefining Purpose

Friday, October 14th at 12:00P.M.EST

Our webinars tend to be on a wide range of topics regarding the impact on our whole lives as we move through the transition from work to life after work, but our next webinar is maybe a little bit of a departure. We are always listening to our members and it is hard not to notice the many discussions about the anxiety regarding the times we are in. It is COVID and so much more and traditional avenues of self-care are not always working for us. One of our recent webinars was about alternative medicine and now we are going to take a step even further away from traditional avenues for our healthy whole selves and introduce you to Marnie Vincolisi, an author and practitioner who will speak to us about modifying our purpose through the role of positive thinking and mindfulness. So much has been discussed about the positive impact of this type of holistic approach to our well-being and we wanted to share it with you. It is hard to move forward if we are anxious and unhappy. Please come with an open mind and heart and we think we will all learn something that could have a truly positive impact on our day-to-day lives.

About Marnie Vincolisi
Marnie has devoted 30 years to assisting others in understanding how to see their talents and rise above life’s challenges. As a life long entrepreneur, hypnotherapist, a Reiki Master Teacher just to name a few which allows her to hold sacred spaces for her students, clients, and readers, where they can easily access dimensions for higher learning and growth. Marnie has a unique way of transforming people’s lives through intuitive sessions, energy clearing, mentoring, meditations. Marnie is also the author of 5 books on personal empowerment through awareness, spirituality and meditations. Her other joys in life are gardening, dancing, strolling through Colorado’s breath-taking nature, and making magic happen.

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Redefining Retirement In Your Bonus Years

Friday, April 12th at 12:00P.M. EST

Dee Cascio, LPC, LMFT, BCC founded the Professional Counseling and Life/Retirement Coaching Center in 1986. She works with individuals, couples, and groups to achieve healthier and more satisfying lives now and as they make future work and life transitions. Dee is a private practice licensed psychotherapist who successfully re-careered to coaching. In addition to her psychotherapy qualifications, she is a Certified Life Coach, a Certified Retirement Coach as well as a Certified Re-Career Coach.
Dee writes a monthly newsletter on transitions and is an author and workshop presenter. She gives presentations about work and life transitions to Government Organizations, Civic Associations, Companies, financial planners, and other professional groups. She is a member of several therapy and coaching associations. She also enjoys volunteering as a local member of Rotary International, an international civic organization. She has also been active in Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association. She and her husband have created encore careers that give them the freedom to travel and enjoy a semi-retirement lifestyle.

About Dee Cascio :

Dee Cascio is a therapist and a retirement coach who hopes that our generation will have the kind of retirements that benefit society as a whole, while keeping us vital, purposeful, and satisfied. She recognizes that each person is different and what will define a successful retirement for some will not work for others. Dee strongly believes that the key to a successful transition from work to life after work is to plan and create a retirement that keeps us excited about life. She recognizes that this new stage of life offers us the opportunity to define both work and play on our own terms. Dee further understands that there is an incredible amount of brilliance, skill, talent and experience within each of us and the loss of these gifts would be a blow to our society.
She urges boldness in redefining retirement and urges her clients to write their own stories. This promises to be an invigorating webinar, filled with actionable tips, from a transition expert that specializes in moving into retirement; we have found that few understand the complexity of this kind of transition like Dee. Her ideas are fresh and her passion for this subject will help each of us think hard about our own retirement choices and what we may be leaving behind.

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Reinventing Adulthood

April 24, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

This webinar delves into the many fascinating nuances of how we reinvent ourselves as we transition from our career to a “to be determined” stage of life.  It is a time when we are still vital and we finally have the time to create experiences for ourselves that we could not fit into our busy schedules.  Tom will highlight the research findings from his book and discuss the stages of life with a particular focus on “Reinventing Adulthood”.  He will discuss provocative concepts like how do we redefine our sense of purpose that is not based on our careers, and how do we use this unique time to change, repair, create and retain those things that are most important.  He will help us identify who we want to be now that many of the elements that defined our identity and structured our time are gone.  Further, we will discuss the reality of the next biological clock – time is not on our side.  This will be a dynamic discussion for all of us who are actively tying to figure out how to create the life we want in our Next Stage.

Tom Wilson
As a nationally recognized author and management consultant, Tom Wilson is a master problem-solver, synthesizer and communicator. Tom’s career has focused on researching complex information and making it understandable and actionable. He has run his own consulting company for twenty-five years, providing hundreds of companies with insightful guidance in developing and expanding their businesses.

Tom is the Founder and President of the Wilson Group. The Wilson Group is a consulting firm with a simple mission – To help our clients implement their strategy and build their desired culture by aligning their total compensation and reward programs with the key success drivers of the business (WilsonGroup.com).  They focus on mid-market companies and bring the experience of working in multiple industries to companies seeking to upgrade how to manage and reward their people.

He is the author of three books including Innovative Reward Systems for the Changing Workplace (McGraw Hill), Rewards That Drive High Performance (AMACOM), A Guide to Human Resource Planning in Healthcare Industry (American Hospital Association).  He has written over 30 articles, book chapters and special features for Fortune Magazine, the Conference Board, Financial Times and Boards and Directors.  He has been quoted in the Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, and the Boston Business Journal.  He appeared on “On-Point” in WBGH Radio Boston.

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VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Retirement Is A Particular Kind Of Loss

Friday, Sept 8, 2023 12:00 PM EST

There is a term in psychology called “ambiguous loss” which is broadly defined as a loss without closure. It is often used for a situation in which someone is physically present, but mentally slipping away, such as dementia, or when someone is physically missing with whereabouts unknown. We believe that retirement also fits into this ambiguous loss category; our primary careers are over, but we are still very much here and have much to offer, but who we are after this transition is unclear. Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt is an expert and practitioner in ambiguous loss, and she agrees that retirement can be categorized as such. More than most problems that fall in this category, our issues with regard to retirement transition are largely on us to resolve and move forward, and she will help us understand how to work through this kind of loss to come out the other side with purpose and clarity. This webinar will also help you understand that you are not alone in your feelings of grief and being a little lost after retirement. Do not miss this important webinar.

About Dr. Kia-Rai Prewit

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt is a licensed psychologist skillful in providing compassionate and culturally competent care to individuals and couples. She works with patients experiencing a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, loss, adjusting to chronic medical conditions, and relationship issues. She often uses her unique life, educational and professional experiences in her approach. Dr. Prewitt has a diverse perspective of how people experience ambiguous loss, particularly from her past clinical work with military veterans and her clinical work with patients with long COVID. She has a special interest in working with patients who are traditionally underserved and provides mental health education in a variety of settings and through local and national media outlets. She also enjoys supervising, teaching, and mentoring psychology and psychiatry trainees. Dr. Prewitt is originally from Chicago and obtained her doctoral degree in counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Prewitt is the Director of Outpatient Psychology in the Center for Behavioral Health at Cleveland Clinic. In her spare time, Dr. Prewitt enjoys spending time with her family.

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Scam Scum—Not On Our Watch!

Friday, November 22nd at 12:00P.M. EST

Unfortunately, we can say with a lot of confidence that there is no one reading this who has not been an intended victim of a scam. That is true for practically every American, but sadly, it is particularly true for older individuals. We are definitely considered prey just because of our age. The scammers are becoming so sophisticated; their emails mimic the look and tone of organizations with which we are familiar, like our banks. The phone calls sound so legitimate and often they have information about us that really makes it appear that they are from someone with whom we do business. The texts are either so benign or so threatening that it is easy to just “click” here. Sadly, too many of us have fallen for some of these frauds; often the penalty is just embarrassment, but some of us aren’t so lucky. Too many older people lose real money or their identities are stolen and their lives are turned upside down.

We must understand the signs of a scam and the tricks of a fraudster, even as they become more clever and insidious. This webinar will focus on fraud among the elderly and more importantly how to recognize it and avoid it.

This is a webinar you don’t want to miss; protect yourself and sign up below by just clicking on the button below.

About Courtney Hedderman:

Courtney Hedderman, Associate State Director – Advocacy & Outreach

Courtney joined AARP Illinois in 2005 and is responsible for advocacy efforts and grassroots outreach in support of federal and state advocacy specifically for health care policy; development and implementation of community education and outreach programs; building relationships with other community partners; and chapter management. Courtney’s outreach efforts fall within Illinois Congressional Districts 3,6,11, and 16. In addition, she has led national campaigns: Stop Rx Greed; Protect Medicare; Divided We Fail; the Affordable Care Act; and Protect Seniors. Prior to AARP, Courtney was employed as a Public Policy Director for Health & Disability Advocates, a national policy and advocacy organization working on behalf of older adults and people with disabilities. Courtney holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor’s degree in Political    Science from Ball State University. She currently lives in Oak Lawn with her husband James and daughters Catherine, Nora and Mary.

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Selling Yourself At This Age

Friday, September 13th at 12:00P.M. EST

Do you want to do something that requires you to convince someone to pick you over other candidates. It could be a part-time job, or you have decided retirement is not for you and you wish to go back to work in earnest; maybe you want to join a charitable board, or volunteer in an area that requires experience. Suddenly, you need paperwork, maybe a better or more targeted LinkedIn profile, or a refresh on your resume. You may have an interview, where you are self-conscious about your age or the relevance of your skills or your technology acumen. Or maybe, it has been a very long time since you had to sell yourself, distinguish yourself from others and bring your experience to life. This can be very intimidating, and why, oh, why does the interviewer on Zoom always look about the age of your granddaughter?

Claire Burke, is a consultant at Employment Boost a firm that helps people get jobs, specializing in people who are laid-off, when confidence can be at a real low. They advise job seekers on how to have a resume that stands out, and answers to interview questions that help people win. They understand this is particularly daunting for people who may be subject to age and gender discrimination, however unconscious or subtle the bias may be. How do you answer covert questions about your age without alienating the interviewer, but demonstrating your strength and unwillingness to tolerate prejudice against you. How do you best answer the question, what have you been doing for the last 4 years or how many years to do you intend to work or volunteer, or one of our favorites, where do you see yourself in five years? What is the best way to create a resume when AI is the first reviewer? Refreshing these skills will be helpful to all of us whether looking for paying, charitable or community work or even answering the many disrespectful questions retirees too often have to fend off.

Employment Boost has generously agreed to provide all attendees a 6-Month subscription to Careerology,, the firm’s industry-best Career Services video portal. We will all learn something useful from this presentation. Don’t miss it.

About CLAIRE BURKE:
CLAIRE BURKE , 
CPCC , CPRW
CLIENT ENGAGEMENT MANAGER & CERTIFIED
PROFESSIONAL CAREER COACH

Claire Burke is a Certified Professional Career Coach with extensive experience helping clients navigate the job search and outplacement process. Her expertise includes career planning, application strategies, networking, interview preparation, salary negotiation, and promotion planning. Throughout her career, Claire has helped thousands of job seekers maximize their career potential and secure new roles in challenging and competitive markets.

Claire prides herself on her ability to empower diverse clients from all walks of life, whether they are a new graduate entering the job market for the first time or a seasoned executive with years of C-suite experience. She has served job seekers from various industries and sectors, including manufacturing, non-profit, biotech, and finance. Claire is skilled at navigating the intricacies of applying to both small start-ups and large Fortune 100 companies. By blending tested job search methodologies with custom-tailored advice and recommendations, Claire provides clients with the tools they need to succeed in their immediate job search and future roles.

Claire holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as Certified Professional Career Coach and Certified Professional Resume Writer designations from the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Passionate about professional development, Claire is also undergoing additional training in performance management, including a Psychology for High Performance certification through Stanford University’s Continuing Health Education program.

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Sex and the Retired Girl

Friday, June 16th at 12:00P.M.EST

Intimacy as we grow older can be fraught with challenges. Either we know our partners so well that the mystery and desire has diminished or we are single and the thought of disrobing in front of a stranger is terrifying. Too often husbands and lovers have become roommates; we may love our partners, but the love-making is more a thing of the past. There are physical reasons for this that are very real. Medicines may make it difficult for the men in our lives to perform, or age makes an erection unreliable. Women are dry and pain can come with intercourse, or your organism is now a whimper instead of a bang. We wonder if sex is worth the effort and we have learned to go without. Or, some lucky elders are having a sexual reawakening when they are newly single, but they have to be careful of STDs and other side-effects of promiscuity just as much as the young.A lack of intimacy is unfortunately common and it represents a real loss; being touched has so many benefits for our well-being that it is worth fighting for. This may not be an easy topic to discuss with your partner, or to discuss with your friends. This webinar will address these difficult questions in a thoughtful and sensitive, but direct, manner that should give us all ideas how to bring sex and intimacy back to our lives.You can ask Dr. Sunitha Chaney your questions anonymously if you choose and learn all kinds of techniques and approaches to address this powerful issue. Intimacy is an important part of a vibrant relationship and it is an important dimension to our happiness.

About Dr. Sunitha Chandy
Dr. Sunitha Chandy is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been working with couples, families and leading trainings in DEI, stress management and relational leadership since 2000. Her specialization in developmental psychology, cross-cultural engagement, and relationships has equipped her to support people to dive into uncomfortable topics and come to a place of shared understanding, growth and connection.

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The Door is Open—Do I Want To Walk Through It?

Friday, June, 2021, 12:00 pm EST

COVID in the United States is abating and the vaccination has bought us a new freedom. Real freedom appears to be around the corner, but many of us are having a surprisingly mixed emotion. We want our old lives back, but we are timid, reluctant, maybe even afraid to jump back in with both feet. Information about safety protocols are ever-shifting, it seems like yesterday that leaving the house was life threatening. The popular press has acknowledged that this anxiety, the PTSD nature of resuming life, is ubiquitous, but we might be even more vulnerable than most. Many of us don’t have a job to return to, something that forces us out and allows us to realize that normal life is not all that scary after all. We were the vulnerable group, the group to which COVID did the most damage and frankly it still consumes too much of our conversation and we have too much time to think about what could go wrong. We know we need to be resilient, but how do we do that? Therese Unumb and Roxanne Levin are going to help us understand the root of our anxiety and how best to overcome it and be resilient in the face of a waning pandemic. For everyone who still feels unsteady, anxious or just slow to relaunch, this will be a conversation that is sure to make you understand you are in good company and how to get back to purpose and fun.

About Terry Unumb, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist

A graduate of Northwestern University, Terry’s thirty-five year career in mental health focused largely on working with adolescent girls and adult women presenting with clinical depression, anxiety, and complex mood disorders. She also collaborated closely with other health professionals in the treatment of substance abuse and eating disturbances. Additionally, she worked with scores of parents, teachers, pediatricians, as well as psychiatrists for children and adolescents, to address patients’ academic, social and behavioral issues.

For many years, Terry was a consultant within the school and mental health communities—including hospitals—renowned for the prolific writing of reasoned and comprehensive psychological evaluations. Each report was distinguished by her commitment to detail, especially when making differential diagnoses, and an ability to delineate with care both treatment recommendations and risks. Her assessments avoided formulaic “number crunching” and “cookie cutter summaries.” Instead she strived to capture “the whole person”—his or her strengths, and limitations, as well as the relevant background in a narrative rich in detail that avoided jargon. This kind of intricate detail is one way she developed a passionate interest in story-telling.

A deep curiosity about how personal narratives can change and become transformative has always guided her work. It has also served as a centerpiece in her decades of teaching, community and corporate speaking engagements—as well as in the supervision of young clinicians. The importance of “story” has informed her writing as far back as the 1980’s, when she conducted novel qualitative research on women in recovery. An intense interest and appreciation for an individual’s “backstory” has always fueled her compassion and deepened her connections with others. Since closing the private practice she shared with Dr. Roxanne Levin three years ago, Terry has turned to writing full-time. She recently completed a memoir titled  In Pursuit of Radio Mom: Searching for the Mother I Never Had and is in the process of submitting it for publication. You can find her website at terrycrylen.com.


About Roxanne Levin, Ph.D. 

Roxanne Levin, Ph.D. received her doctorate from Loyola University, Chicago and earned her master’s degree at the acclaimed Erikson Institute. Over the course of her thirty-plus career, she specialized in working with children and families and studied human development across the lifespan. Prior to her many years in private practice, Roxanne worked at Children’s Memorial Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry. There, she was part of a team investigating the effect of HIV on infected children and mothers. Other research endeavors have included her involvement in the development of a protocol to identify at-risk pre-schoolers in the Evanston, Illinois community.

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VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

The Right Charity Work

Friday, November 15, 2019, 12:00 pm EST

If you are looking for purpose and an opportunity to give back, there are so many people and organizations that need you.  As a matter of fact, the moment you retire, you may be contacted by some very well-meaning acquaintances.  But, finding the right volunteer opportunity is not that different than looking for a job.  You have to know what you want.  Are you the person who wants to be hands on, and cook and hand out the food at a soup kitchen or do you want to run the charity?  Do you want to sit on the right Boards and volunteer on the right committees or do you want to work directly with the community?  What gives you purpose; literacy, getting people to work, poverty, battered women, hunger, homelessness, the environment?  Are you focused on your community, city, country or do you have a global point of view?  Also, charities can absorb all of your time if that is what you want, but if you don’t, you have to be careful.  This webinar is presented by a panel of women who have found a way to give back that works for them.  They have chosen service that is rewarding and personal. Listen to their stories and learn how they decided what was right for them and how they made their decisions.

Susan Isenberg

Susan Isenberg graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BS in Nursing and received a MA in Adult Education from National Louis College. She practiced in the field of infection control for over 30 years- working in large medical centers, small community hospitals and large rehabilitation institutes. She has also done consulting.Susan is married, the mother of 4 and an involved grandmother.

Susan has been an active volunteer in numerous organizations including CASA and PAWS and she is politically active as well.


Robin Marcus

Robin Marcus grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. She feels fortunate to having taught her passion, as an art educator for 28 years. She graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelors of Art in Art Education and received a Masters in Education and Interdisciplinary Studies at National Louis University in Illinois. Her major was “Metals” with a painting minor.During Robin’s 12 year teaching experience in Antioch School District , she helped create an Art Crawl, where every child displayed their original work. She was nominated for Elementary Art Teacher of the Year, and was awarded a Fulbright Memorial Scholarship, that took her to Japan.

Other than teaching, she enjoys being with her husband and three grown children. She is an avid tennis player and spinner. Bonita Springs has been Robin’s second home for over 11 years. It has provided new opportunities for her to learn and grow her passions. Robin has long been a tireless volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and she is also conducting an after-school art program.


Zoann Policky

Zoann Policky is a retired Electrical Engineer.  She attended Western New England College in Springfield, MA, and earned a BS – Electrical Engineering.  Zoann has worked in Engineering and Technical Sales for Bay Area Companies, Crystal Technology, Celeritek and Teledyne Microwave, designing high frequency components used in military and commercial communication systems.

Zoann has always been interested in the rights of abused children and now volunteers for Silicon Valley Child Advocates where she works as a Child Advocate for foster children, as well as supervising other Advocates.

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VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

The Role of Religion as We Age—Maybe Not What We Expected

Friday, January 27th at 12:00P.M.EST.

As we age, we sometimes begin to view critical issues with a new lens; experience teaches us so much and we begin to examine long-held beliefs and develop new understanding. Nothing is more personal and complex than our religious beliefs and the role of a higher power in our lives. Some of us believe less as we age, as we have seen and experienced our share of suffering and this challenges our faith. We have also experienced great joy, not all of which adheres to our religious teachings. Further,we have learned to be more inclusive in our lives and see religion as one more thing that divides us. Many of us believe more as we get older, looking for something righteous and good in a world where watching the evening news can be daunting. In a global world hooked on technology and rapid change, we long for a place where we belong, a place that gives us comfort as we face the ultimate unknown. And with all opposing views, there exists a continuum between the polar points where many of us place ourselves with regard to religion and belief.

In this webinar we will interview both a Reverend and a Rabbi and discuss some of the tough issues that come with aging and belief systems. Both of our speakers lead large congregations and bring fascinating experience to this webinar.

Rabbi Braun received semikha (ordination) from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York City under the tutelage of Rabbis Avi Weiss and Yaakov Love. Rabbi Braun also studied at Yeshivat Bat Ayin in Israel. A native of Champaign, Illinois, He is a proud Illini, with a BA from the University of Illinois. He is a member of the International Rabbinic Fellowship and the Chicago Board of Rabbis. Rabbi Braun served on the Northbrook Mikvah Committee and is a past volunteer Jewish Chaplain at Glenbrook Hospital. Rabbi Braun is a trained and certified shochet (ritual slaughterer).

Rabbi Braun has served as the Rabbi of Northbrook Community Synagogue since its inception following the merger of three storied North side synagogues. Prior to joining N.C.S., Rabbi Braun served as the Director of the Jewish Youth Encounter Program at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New York. He has been a guest lecturer at The Ramaz School in Manhattan and served previously at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel, under the guidance of Rabbi Asher Lopatin.

When he is not serving the community, Rabbi Braun enjoys spending time with his wife Marina and their four children, Aidan, Lillian, Jonah and Jackson

REV. DR. JAMES M. MATARAZZO, JR.
Senior Minister, Glenview Community Church
Jim was born in Boston and grew up in nearby Winthrop, Massachusetts. He received his BA degree in History from Bates College in Maine in 1990. He then studied theology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He received his M.Div. degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York. He moved overseas to live and work in London in 2007 and later completed his DPhil in Theology at the University of Oxford in 2017. He was then appointed a Lecturer in Theology at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, while also being a member of the Oxford University Faculty of Theology and Religion. After returning to the United States in late 2018, Jim served as a pastor in Guilford, Connecticut and Shrewsbury, Mass. He was also an Instructor in Theology at Boston College.

Before, during, and after his doctoral studies, Jim worked in the international development field for 19 years, most recently working on gender-based violence with religious and traditional leaders in Zambia. He has worked for Christian Aid, London; Norwegian Church Aid, Oslo; and GIZ, Bonn. He has served as a consultant for the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, various United Nations agencies and other international organizations.

He lists among his hobbies and interests adventure travel (he has visited 94 countries and territories), genealogy, good coffee, and anything to do with an ocean or lake. He is an avid fan of the alt rock band Guster. When he is feeling extra nerdy, he sometimes edits Wikipedia. As serious as some of this may sound, Jim known to be a somewhat “irreverent reverend” and he loves the gifts of humor and laughter. He lives in Wilmette with his husband Tom, two cats, and a gold retriever.

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Wait Until You See This Bucket List—A Whole New Way to Consider Retirement

Friday, December 16th at 12:00P.M.EST.

This webinar will explore a framework and guide to setting your retirement goals.This approach was designed by Dennis Ryan when he recognized that financial health is just the beginning of retirement planning and that there is so much more to creating a meaningful retirement. Dennis, who has worked for years with clients to help them establish their retirement portfolios, has created a unique way to think through the decision-making of how to create the right retirement journey for you. He will walk us through how you fill all the necessary “buckets” and keep them in balance. His framework consists of six buckets including, pleasure, mental, spiritual, health, legacy and family. This promises to be a fascinating session, as we discuss a practical way to address all that is important to us and how it fits together.

Securities & Investment Advisory Services offered through World Equity Group, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor

About Mr. Ryan
Mr. Ryan is an investment advisor representative with Midway Wealth Partners with offices in Libertyville and Arlington Heights, Illinois. He advises clients on all aspects of their financial portfolios including investment asset allocation and risk management, cash flow management, retirement income planning, business planning, college planning, insurance needs and estate planning. Over the years, Denny recognized that once financial health is achieved in retirement there is so much more to think about in designing a purposeful retirement. He took the wisdom he learned from the many conversations he had with his clients and wrote the book, Retirement Redefined – The Six Buckets to Help You Achieve a Successful Retirement.

Denny received his MBA from the University of Notre Dame, law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California/Berkeley. Prior to joining World Equity Group, he worked as General Counsel / Senior Vice President for a financial consulting firm and in private legal practice. Denny has been published and/or quoted in various venues, both in print and online, including in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and Kiplinger’s.

Active in his local community, he previously served on the Board of Directors of the Lake County Haven and as a representative of the Alumni Schools Committee for the University of Notre Dame Club of Lake County. Denny and his wife, Kelly, live in Illinois and they are the proud parents of Emma, Annie, John and Jake.

Securities & Investment Advisory Services offered through World Equity Group, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor

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What Retirees Want

Friday, July 10, 2020, 12:00 pm EST

The practice of “retirement” is in the midst of a transformation at the hands of demographics, economics, and the attitudes and ambitions of the Boomer generation. The Boomers view retirement as more active, varied, and purposeful than earlier generations did – as a time for accomplishment as much as relaxation. Bob Morison will share findings and insights from his forthcoming book, with Ken Dychtwald, PhD, What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of Life’s Third Age. He will focus on how retirees are finding new and renewed sense of purpose through continued work, generous contribution, and other channels. Join us for exploration and discussion of how people are thriving in the new retirement.

Robert Morison is a business researcher, writer, discussion leader, and management consultant. He has been leading breakthrough research at the intersection of business, technology, and workforce management for 30 years and has written on topics ranging from business innovation, reengineering, and analytics to workforce management, demographics, and retirement. Bob is co-author with Ken Dychtwald of What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of Life’s Third Age, and also co-authored Analytics At Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results and Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills And Talent. He currently serves as Senior Advisor at Age Wave and Lead Faculty of the International Institute for Analytics. For more information, please visit www.robertmorison.com.

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VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Why We Need To Understand Gender Diversity in Children and Adolescents

Friday, October 25th, at 12:00 PM EST

We noticed that many of the women we were talking to were having more and more conversations about gender diversity and there was so much that was confusing to us. Our grandchildren clearly had gender neutral names, some were being dressed in unisex clothing, there seemed to be real angst about the use of pronouns and this was the easy stuff.
We met many women who had grandchildren who demanded they identify them according to their own sexual identity and, many more than we would have expected, had family members and family friends that were transitioning. All wanted to be supportive but could not deny their confusion, anger and often sadness. There is much we do not understand.
We have invited Dr. Lisa Simons an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University School of Medicine and a physician at the Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, who is leading the mental health programming for the adolescent health clinic; her clinical interests include gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse youth. We found the best person to help us navigate this fast- changing topic.
We will discuss the role of the grandparent or elder mentor in families that are experiencing their children’s changing needs around sexual orientation and identity. As we all attempt to stay current and relevant in a world that continues to transform, this is a very important and meaningful topic. Do not miss this important webinar.

About Dr. Lisa Simons:

Lisa Simons is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician in The Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. A graduate of Sackler School of Medicine, Dr. Simons completed her pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and her adolescent medicine fellowship at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Since joining the faculty at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in 2013, she served as the medical director of the Gender Development Program from 2014-2018 and is currently leading mental health programming for the adolescent health clinic.

Dr. Simons’ clinical interests include gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse youth, adolescent mental health and suicide prevention. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatric’s Council on Healthy Mental and Emotional Development.

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You’re Not Working – Family Expectation

Tuesday, September 17, 2019, 5:00 pm EST

Featuring Dr. Malka Miller, Psy.D Clinical Psychologist
You didn’t change when you stopped working.  How come your dearest family members see you so differently? Suddenly they see not a physician or attorney, but a nanny, a social secretary, a nurse or some version of a 1950’s housewife.  If your partner is still working, or if they are also retired, if your children are in the house or out of the house, if your parents are needy—all of this can inadvertently shape your retirement.  This is a serious issue and expectations should be set before you retire.  Your own mindset must be understood; it is too easy to tell yourself that you have the time and you should do whatever your family is requesting.   We will discuss all the traps and pitfalls and rewards of this part of our transition.

About Dr. Miller

Malka (Marla) Miller, Psy.D is a licensed clinical psychologist who owns a private practice in a  Chicago suburb. She specializes in working with individuals and families who are going through the process of transition, experiencing anxiety, depression and loss. Dr. Miller recognizes that each person’s experience is unique, and that women’s experiences have extra dimensionality. Dr. Miller helps her clients reconcile the past and live their lives to the fullest, recognizing that each stage has its own challenges and opportunities

VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR
VIEW RECORDED WEBINAR

Future Webinars

Hey, How Did I Get Retired?

It finally happened to me.  I had heard about this happening to so many people and I felt so lucky, maybe even a little smug, that my job was secure.  Now, at the worst possible time, my job evaporated.  Does this sound familiar?  Budget cuts, job eliminations, moving to another city, outsourcing, shuttering a business or division—there are so many reasons today that jobs are eliminated.  And here you are, a woman of a certain age, who still wanted to work but do not want to start all over again at a new company.  You decide that it probably makes sense to retire, you just don’t have in you to start all over again.  But this was thrust upon you and you are angry and not prepared.  This was supposed to be your decision but someone made it for you.  Or maybe it is your own body that betrayed you and required that you stop working.  So, all your friends are thrilled to be retiring and living out their life dreams and you are not on the same page.  So how do you get through this and move on?  How do you find the right path for you—should you go back to work or stay retired?  This webinar is for people who have found themselves in retirement unexpectedly.  Whether you found you could not go on or the company made the decision for you, this will help you think through your options and control the emotional storm you may find yourself in.   

I Think I Want to Be an Executive Coach

We have so many skills and many of us think it would be rewarding to pass those skills on to others in a tangible manner.  Many successful people think that Executive Coaching is a promising encore career.  I mentored many successful people, I was an effective leader and I understand my domain as well as the political realities of a workplace.  Therefore, you think, “I would be great at this”, and maybe you would.  But like so many things that seem intuitive, maybe even easy, coaching is a skill and an art form.  This webinar will teach the reality of executive coaching, what it takes, how do you get clients and whether it is as rewarding as we might imagine.

It is 2020–What Does it Mean to Age Gracefully?

Aging gracefully is an old expression and what does it mean in a modern context, and does it matter? Grace today, seems to have a greater internal meaning than the physical and retiring characteristics generally associated with the phrase. We posit that in 2020, an elegant retirement has more to do with good health, a robust intellect and real happiness, as defined by the individual. The word “gracefulness” has little place in a world that admires strength and endurance. Being graceless is associated not with a lack of physical grace, but an absence of social skills that embrace the human condition. Baby boomer woman redefined the workforce, so it is natural that we reinvent the period after our careers as well. We can talk about plastic surgery, running a marathon and doing important work and there is no conflict or inconsistency to us. This webinar is going to help us redefine an antiquated term for the better and help us frame our own view of aging.

Why in the World Am I Not Doing What I Want to Do?

I have listened to the webinars, read many books, done the exercises and I think I really know what would give me purpose and happiness in retirement.  It is something I always wanted to try, but never had the time to do it.  I am finally ready.  And yet, I am not moving forward, not getting it done.  This is a puzzle to me.  At work, I got everything done as well as running a house, raising a family.  What is holding me back, why won’t I take the plunge and try that part-time job, or community theatre, or signing up for classes or making new friends, or turning my avocation into a small business? Why, oh why, am I not doing it?  This is a puzzle that many of us face as we end our careers and try to move forward into a new chapter.  Fear of change, failure, rejection, stress—all of these things hold us back, despite our history of  having created new paths at work that required real intestinal fortitude.  This webinar is going to discuss this sense of not moving forward and give us some practical tips as to how to get unstuck and to manage realistic expectations for ourselves.