Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

LIfe is a constant adventure for Michele Kurlander, 79. She lives in Chicago, yet her heart is in France. A fluent francophile, Michelle spends much of her life traveling between Chicago and Paris. There she has met dear friends who live all across the world. When she becomes interested in an artist, an author, a performer, Michele’s obsession with art and music icons takes over and she devotes that period of her life to understanding all she can about the person. Spending years reading and discussing all 7 volumes of Proust is a perfect example. Sometimes that means traveling across the world to meet them, attending their concerts, involving friends in the obsession with her. She is also obsessed with her family.No stranger to challenge, Michele reinvented herself to make every moment count. Through it all she has maintained her love of writing and literature. And, continues to practice law while, somehow, she making it all work. Michelle will tell you, “There is no resemblance today to who I once was.”"Nobody promises you anything in life, except this minute."CONNECT WITH MICHELEEmail: lawmichelle@aol.comWebsite: https://www.kurlanderlaw.com/

Dr. Pamela Meyer is a prolific author, international consultant and keynote speaker, and college teacher whose areas of focus are leadership agility, organizational change, and adult learning.  In her most recent book, Staying in the Game: Leading and Learning with Agility for a Dynamic Future, Pamela draws on her experiences as an amateur, gold medalist ski racer and on extensive interviews with older ski racers who keep coming back. Staying in the game is an apt metaphor for women who strive to remain innovative in their later decades. Pamela identifies play, purpose, passion, and pleasure as key elements of innovative living. And she discusses four interconnected dynamics of staying in the game that are applicable to professional and personal contexts and that are particularly relevant to women as we age: meaningful identity; community; learning; and commitment. Connect with PamelaContact Page: https://pamela-meyer.com/pamela-meyer-contact/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelameyerphd/Website: https://pamela-meyer.comSelected Books by PamelaStaying in the Game: Leading and Learning with Agility for a Dynamic Future.The Agility Shift: Creating Agile and Effective Leaders, Teams, and Organizations

Sheila Solomon’s career in mass media arts spans 50 years. She was among the first African American women to work in the newsrooms of regional and national newspapers. Sheila became a dedicated advocate for affirmative action—bringing people of color into the news business and reporting on race issues in professions outside of journalism. While working as a journalist, Sheila was diagnosed with a very rare, incurable illness that is still being managed. She was allowed to work from home for six months, a unique arrangement in those times. Currently, Sheila volunteers her leadership expertise as Co-Founder/Vice Chair of the Board for Journalism Funding Partners and as President of the City Bureau Board of Directors. She is a proud legacy member of the oldest African American sorority in the United States.Connect with SheilaEmail: Srsolomon52@gmail.com

As the founder of AGEIST Magazine and Super Ager podcast, David Stewart is a passionate champion of the modern 50+ lifestyle. While interviewing David is a departure from interviewing women 70-110+, we feel that what he has to say contributes to our mission of aging reimagined.Women are the ones who are changing things. Men never experienced ageism, while women experienced sexism throughout their careers and understood ageism as a form of discrimination.Super Ager podcast focuses on how we age and live optimally for who we are. We’re all different. The podcast brings on people who have resources for those in this age group. Ageist Magazine is a natural progression from David’s previous work in magazines, with advertising. This mag is for people over 50 and to offer options for peoples’ current lifestyles. We have a poverty of imagination. The magazine helps overcome this.His work is gender neutral. He talks about functional age, not biological. He wants to know, “What can you do?” How can you be as strong as possible? As useful as possible? How are you engaging? Be in touch with yourself. Be centered with who you are. Email:  david@weareageist.comWebsite: AGEIST.com

When Sandy Gordon retired at 70, from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Rosemont, Illinois as Director of Public Relations, a colleague gave her a toast. It said in part: “Sandy has the kind of talent that startles people.  Really.  Her co-workers and colleagues often sit around wondering how she comes up with her ideas.  Ideas that seem to just sort of float out of her brain.  It’s as though Sandy can produce life from a primordial soup that for everyone else is just a bowl full of amino acids.  Sandy has that magic.”Sandy began her career as a special education teacher and immediately became an advocate for people with disabilities. Learning that then President Hubert Humphrey’s grandchild had Down Syndrome, she found a way to approach him and urged him to do something for ‘handicapped’ people. He hired her on the spot to work as Executive Director of Friends of the Handicapped for the Humphrey/Muskie campaign."Getting recognition is less important than getting the job done" - Sandy GordonAll of Sandy’s jobs have come about in similar fashion starting with the National Easter Seal Society. With no background in communication, public relations or HR, she uses her talents and skills to find her way. Her colleague goes on to say “It would be enough to comment on Sandy’s talent and imagination, but that is actually the smaller part of her whole person.  The bigger part is her heart and her humor.  Sandy has the type of personality that makes everyone around her better.  Happier.  Funnier.  Brighter.  Smarter.  She just makes the day better.  Her energy and spirit is irrepressible.”   CONNECT WITH SANDY:Email: Sandy 601@gmail.com

Coleen T. Murphy, Ph.D is Director, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics,  James A. Elkins, Jr. Professor in the Life Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, and LSI Genomics, Princeton University. She is also Director, Paul F. Glenn Center for Aging Research at Princeton and Director of Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain. As a researcher, Coleen studies aging and the quantitation of “quality of life with age,” including the decline of cognitive and reproductive capacities with age. She is author of How We Age: The Science of Longevity. It is surprisingly readable and understandable. Coleen has had her own lab since 2005. She finds society’s obsession with nutrition and dieting limiting for her research and has, instead, questioned what else can we do to preserve our health and cognitive aging. She has won numerous awards for her research including being named a Pew Scholar. Coleen was awarded the New Innovator, Transformative R01, and two Pioneer awards from the NIH Director’s office. Effective research stems from knowing the right questions to ask. Coleen MurphyConnect with Coleen:Email: ctmurphy@princeton.eduPrinceton: http://www.molbio1.princeton.edu/labs/murphy/ ORCID: 0000-0002-8257-984XBook: How We Age: The Science of Longevity(AddLink)

Dr. Tracey Gendron is an internationally recognized gerontologist with almost 30 years of experience as a grant-funded researcher. She speaks to audiences globally about the real world impact of age bias. She is determined to change people’s negative views about aging. “Ageism, she says, is complicated - more nuanced than most people think it is. Anytime we discriminate against a person based on age, it is ageism. And, since we are all aging all the time, it can be a younger or older person who is being discriminated against.”Tracey serves as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, and as Director for the Virginia Center on Aging.As a child, her grandparents were an important part of her life and she believes that influenced her decision to enter gerontology. “Aging is beautiful, aging is living”, she says.  We shouldn’t talk about it as older people, aging is what everyone is doing.External and internal ageism are equally discriminatory.  Internally, if we have dread about getting older, it affects us physically, mentally, and socially. Internalized ageism is a risk factor for suicidal ideation among older people And younger people who have dread of aging, and carry that with them, are more likely to have a cardiovascular event.Dr. Gendron has a master’s degree in gerontology and psychology and a Ph.D in developmental psychology." Aging is Living. Think about how we can continue growing through all stages of our life." - Dr. Tracey GendronCONNECT WITH TRACYEmail: tlgendro@vcu.eduWebsite: TraceyGendron.comBook: Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Bias and How to End It1)- "will most likely have a cardiovascular event" - please change to are more likely to have a cardiovascular event.2) "there is a higher rate of suicide in older people who fear aging" - please change to "internalized ageism is a risk factor for suicidal ideation among older people"

Carol Stitzer, 80, lives life in the moment. All you have to do is listen to her and you immediately understand that she is positive, talented, energetic and happy. From early childhood education to development professional, fundraiser, artist and volunteer, Carol never lacks for the next big thing. She fine-tuned her skills at the Center for American Archeology and learned early on that planning travel for the Board of Directors offered her unique opportunities to tag along. This applied to her work at the Chicago History Museum,The Admiral at the Lake, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Along the way, she developed her own unique opportunity: her vision for producing art. Never satisfied to be ordinary, Carol thinks outside the box and is an asset to all who come in contact with her. Still teaching family workshops at Lill Street Art Center, she makes time to volunteer as a participant in other’s art and personal projects, fundraise for The Boulevard (a respite care facility for Chicago’s ill and injured homeless) and spend quality time with her husband of 43 years.I live very much in the moment, always asking Why Not? - Carol StitzerEMAIL:  carolstitzer@me.comWEBSITE: https://carolstitzer.wixsite.com/mysite

A life of social service requires a deep commitment to reaching out, helping out and finding those paths that have meaning to you. Throughout Nancy Hanson’s entire life, she has been doing just that. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Nancy knows no other way of being.Early on, she joined the League of Women Voters and in each of the cities in which she lived, when she and her husband moved multiple times, Nancy found causes she could learn about, study  and advocate for through the League. Growing up in the 60s, Nancy believes her story is no different from others in her generation. They were the transitional generation that blazed the trail for women to come.“Social work embodies advocacy - helping the underserved is how I live my life.” - Nancy HansonNancy remains active . She volunteers for the Boulevard, a shelter for unhoused people who have been hospitalized and have nowhere to go when they leave the hospital; has created a community garden so the Boulevard can cut costs and serve residents healthy meals;  used her social work experience to change public policy and fights for civil rights and climate change.She recognizes how lucky she is to have health insurance that covers serious illness. "I could be right there with all these people I advocate for.  Stereotypes wash away and disappear." CONNECT WITH NANCY:Email: nashanson@gmail.comThe Boulevard of ChicagoChicago League of Women Voters: https://www.lwvchicago.org/

Catherine (Kate) Saccany was born to run. She took up jogging and ran barefoot for her first 30 months because there were no running shoes for women. A career banker, Kate joined LaSalle Bank. Coincidentally, LaSalle sponsored the Chicago marathon. She bought her first pair of running shoes, qualified for the marathon and has not stopped since. Yes, long covid has cramped her style. And, she is now 72. Kate believes it's never too late to become a runner. With the proper coaching and the right pair of shoes, anyone can learn. There is now a group for marathon runners over 100.QUOTE: Just getting here is a privilege not to take lightly or abuse.Kate’s interests are wide and varied. From ham radio to learning Spanish, her drive and perseverance are inspiring to all who know her.CONNECT WITH KATE:Email: cdsaccany@aol.com