Episodes

Kimbeth Judge has been writing her entire life. At age 4 she was already fascinated by adult behavior. Understanding human nature has preoccupied her ever since. Putting words to paper enables her to make sense of what she thinks she sees. Her mother encouraged her to use her imagination, her father to stay level headed. As a result, her books include a certain playful pragmatism. Her first book, Mothers and Others is a compilation of short, amusing life stories. Her novel, the Flipside, a stru...

Dynamic duo, Opal Lee, 96 and her granddaughter, Dione Sims, 54 are relentless in their fight for freedom. Opal’s activism started as a home school counselor in South Fort Worth, TX. Opal believed that “access to information and resources is what helps us do better” and she fought hard for all children to be educated and fed. Opal joined the movement, started by the late Dr. Ronald Meyers in 1999, to influence the United States government to make Juneteenth a national holiday. She had worked si...

Catherine Johns found her way to an early career in broadcasting. She thought she went to college to become a nurse. There was this guy in her dormitory……how many stories started out that way in the ‘60s? “You have an amazing voice. You should be on the radio”. So she auditioned for the campus radio station and was hired. She started in smaller markets and ended up in Chicago, anchoring the news at WLS. Catherine learned from some of the best in the business: Larry Lujack and Fred Winston. By t...

Dr. Susan Weininger, age 78, is professor emerita of art history at Roosevelt University, Chicago, where she was Chair of the Department of History, Art History and Philosophy. She concentrates on art from the first half of the 20 th century, delving deeply into the lives of artists in order to better understand their work. For example, Susan is an expert on the life and art of Gertrude Abercrombie whose work she curated for a museum and published a catalogue and later published a book. ...

Eileen Joyce Donovan has been a writer throughout her life. It was not until she had been an adult for many years that she began to pursue writing seriously. Until then, she never felt her stories were “good enough”. It was her late husband who encouraged her to submit them for publication. At heart, Eileen adores historical research, especially on an idea that captures her imagination. She notes, “You have to be fascinated by the subject to do a good job on it”. This approach allowed her to al...

Claudia Cooley: Doing What She Loves Ignited Her Success Claudia Cooley lives in Southern California with her husband of 61 years, one of the many ‘balcony people’ in her life who believed in her ability to make an impact. Self-taught, forward thinking and willing to put herself in uncomfortable positions, Claudia has grabbed at opportunity her entire life. She believes we are here to make a difference in the world. As a certified wellness coach she knows it’s important to live life in balance...

Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus and Professor of Research in the Department of Psychiatry and the Center of Circadian Biology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Her expertise is in the field of sleep disorders and circadian rhythms. She has sound advice for aging adults who experience a wide variety of sleep patterns. Dr. Ancoli-Israel is emphatic that health plays an important role in how well we sleep. You might also enjoy Sonia’s travels. ...

Sara Zeff Geber, PhD, considers the years beyond 65 as the ‘bonus years.’ As a nationally recognized leader in planning for aging and retirement, in 2013 Sara began pursuing solo aging with a passion. The baby boomers--some 15 million--who do not have children and/or are single, Sara says, “are living without a safety net and a script for their future.” Sara offers guidance and hope in her 2018 book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A retirement and aging roadmap for single and chil...

Nora Natof, age 87, now resides in Oak Park, IL, the village that is home to the studio of her grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many of the homes he designed. The summers Nora spent at Talieslin, her grandfather’s ‘almost’ sustainable community in Wisconsin, influenced her strong advocacy for the environment, the arts, education, and civil rights. Nora highlights her years lobbying against nuclear power plants and co-founding a Montessori school as causes most directly affecting her life. Wo...

As a marriage and family therapist in private practice for more than 4 decades, Sally Strosahl (LCPC) has heard countless stories from couples about distresses in their relationship as they move into retirement and get older. She felt called to write Loving Your Marriage in Retirement: Keep the Music Playing (2018). Sally offers an authentic and reassuring voice for couples who face a myriad of changes during this critical phase in their long-term relationship. Connect with Sally sally@sallyst...

Dr. Janice Hooker-Fortman, relationship coach, is a former Chicago Public School educator, motivational speaker, and producer and host of “The Mother/Daughter Relationship Show. and Relationship Matters tv. She is an award-winning author, relationship communication coach, a 50+ model, and was crowned Ms. Senior Illinois America 2022. Dr. Jan believes that communication is the foundation for all relationships, both personal and professional. Her mission is to improve the quality of relationships ...

Alice Matzkin is an internationally known artist whose works fearlessly depict women aging. Alice has 2 paintings in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian and has appeared on Oprah. Her portrait of Chelsea hung in the White House during the Clinton administration, and she is recognized in Marquis Who's Who of American Art. She, and her husband, Richard, a sculptor and award winning author, share a precious love that provides a powerful foundation for their art. Together they authored ...

In her third career, Sally Duplantier, gerontologist and healthspan educator, founded her mission-driven company, Zing, to help older adults live as long as possible without chronic disease and disability. Through Zing, Sally offers Wellness Wednesdays, free educational webinars featuring experts on relevant topics. She is guest faculty with the Be Well program at Stanford University. Sally has added a research component to her mission--to increase diversity in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s p...

Annie Korzen’s career dreams finally came true in her 80’s. At age 83, she is a TikTok sensation with young fans who love her wit and wisdom about living life as an older woman. Annie brings her talents as an actress, writer, storyteller, and teacher to TikTok and other performance venues as she speaks about life’s serious moments. She also takes on ageism for underestimating and underappreciating what older women have to offer. For the first time in her life, Annie is being told that she...

As a queer, biracial woman, Jacqueline Boyd, BA, BS, CGCM, has advocated for her community by offering services that address specific care needs. She is especially interested in how to provide people with continuing care in their homes. Her company, The-Care-Plan, guides anyone over age 18 to plan and coordinate care needs. Jacqueline’s cool and service-oriented demeanor shows in everything she says. When she talks about quality of life it is evident that it comes from a place deep within her h...

Mary Isabel Azrael, age 78, from Baltimore MD, is a poet, editor, and teacher. She is the author of four books of poems, and in her 60s, wrote the libretto for an opera, Lost Childhood, which has been performed in Los Angeles, New York, and Tel Aviv Israel. Mary Isabel is publisher and co-editor of Passager Books and Passager, a national literary journal featuring the work of writers aged 50 and older. When Mary Isabel’s husband left after 40 years of marriage, a collection of poems written duri...

Bett Martinez has experienced more death-defying accidents than most in her lifetime. An auto accident at 33, and again, later in life caused 2 serious head injuries, badly smashed broken legs and ongoing auto-immune issues. But Bett, who began to advocate for others early on, only dug in harder to find the answers that would help her walk again and manage the pain. Bett’s advocacy has taken many paths. She believes our society would do best if children of different ethnicities could learn to ...

As a young adult, Joby Kennedy became fascinated with how different people cope with trauma. This led her into a clinical psychology career during which she worked with adults, some families and school children. She refers to herself as a generalist, serving in many settings with a wide variety of clients. 8 years ago, Joby retired. She thought music might be her way forward until she inadvertently set her childhood accordion on fire. Joby believes (as did Jung) that “synchronicity is a meaning...

As a young adult, Joby Kennedy became fascinated with how different people cope with trauma. This led her into a clinical psychology career during which she worked with adults, some families and school children. She refers to herself as a generalist, serving in many settings with a wide variety of clients. 8 years ago, Joby retired. She thought music might be her way forward until she inadvertently set her childhood accordion on fire. Joby believes (as did Jung) that “synchronicity is a meaning...

As a young adult, Joby Kennedy became fascinated with how different people cope with trauma. This led her into a clinical psychology career during which she worked with adults, some families and school children. She refers to herself as a generalist, serving in many settings with a wide variety of clients. 8 years ago, Joby retired. She thought music might be her way forward until she inadvertently set her childhood accordion on fire. Joby believes (as did Jung) that “synchronicity is a meaning...

Originally from the West Indies, Cynthia Barnett, Ph.D., from Norwalk CT, retired at age 59 to pursue the question--Why Are There So Few Women in the Sciences? Cynthia became CEO and founder of a non-profit program--Amazing Girls Science-- whose goal is to ignite the spark in girls for STEAM (science, technology, art, engineering and math). As a STEAM champion, Cynthia won the Inaugural AARP Purpose Award and the Community Innovation and Leadership Award for the Connecticut Technology Coun...

Originally from the West Indies, Cynthia Barnett, Ph.D., from Norwalk CT, retired at age 59 to pursue the question--Why Are There So Few Women in the Sciences? Cynthia became CEO and founder of a non-profit program--Amazing Girls Science-- whose goal is to ignite the spark in girls for STEAM (science, technology, art, engineering and math). As a STEAM champion, Cynthia won the Inaugural AARP Purpose Award and the Community Innovation and Leadership Award for the Connecticut Technology Coun...

Originally from the West Indies, Cynthia Barnett, Ph.D., from Norwalk CT, retired at age 59 to pursue the question--Why Are There So Few Women in the Sciences? Cynthia became CEO and founder of a non-profit program--Amazing Girls Science-- whose goal is to ignite the spark in girls for STEAM (science, technology, art, engineering and math). As a STEAM champion, Cynthia won the Inaugural AARP Purpose Award and the Community Innovation and Leadership Award for the Connecticut Technology Coun...

Susan Reed, PhD, age 70, has led a life of social-political action since her teens. She campaigned for McGovern and later for Obama; interned with the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union; protested the Vietnam War; worked on social policy for equities in aging and health; and continues to teach adult college students about ways to be civically engaged. Susan is a person who feels “responsible for problems” facing our city (Chicago) and country. She finds other people to be activists with her...