Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

Author and artist Jill G. Hall, 71, joins us with her luminous new novel On a Sundown Sea, inspired by the mysteries surrounding the visionary woman who built Lomaland—a utopian community near the home Jill grew up in. Fascinated since childhood by the stories whispered throughout her neighborhood, for more than a century, Hall spent five years researching the extraordinary life of Katherine Tingley, tracing her journey from Massachusetts roots to her profound spiritual and artistic influence on the West Coast.

When Jill began writing after a twenty-year career as an educator, she never imagined sh...

For more than six decades, Sandra Sokol has devoted her life to building stronger, more equitable communities. Although she once imagined a career teaching in schools serving children of color her path evolved into groundbreaking volunteer and public service work focused on education, housing, and economic development. Many of the initiatives she helped launch grew into lasting organizations that continue to serve their communities today. Her leadership eventually carried her into local government, where she became a powerful advocate for collaboration, justice, and community-building. Now, in what she calls her “return to volunteering,” Sandra remains deeply engaged in advancing equi...

Joan Greene, 84, trained to be a teacher but found her true calling as a social worker and innovative advocate for older adults. In New York State, she helped create programs from the ground up—from nutrition services and Meals on Wheels to case management and family support. When her accomplished daughter was diagnosed with severe mental illness, Joan’s work took on new urgency and personal meaning. In this conversation, she reflects on key turning points in aging, gerontology, and mental health care, while urging our culture to recognize mental health as an essential part of overall health. Joan call...

This episode, first released in 2021, is a reminder that Mental Health Awareness Month requires all of us to tell our stories. We checked back in with Mindy and learned that, even though she is now retired, she continues to advocate for reforms in mental health, policy, and affordable housing. “I love being retired; I can activate for anything I want.” She is married for 55 years and retired for sixteen. Her son continues to receive the help he needs.

"There is no way we are going to have a better mental health system if we don’t tell...

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re revisiting a powerful earlier conversation with Ilene Dillon (Episode #148). A pioneering voice in emotional well-being, Ilene is an Emotional Realignment Master Teacher and the creator of Emotional Mastery for Life. Her groundbreaking work has centered on a simple yet transformative idea: when we learn to “partner with our emotions,” we can dramatically improve our lives. Rather than resisting or suppressing feelings, Ilene invites us to understand and work with the sophisticated emotional system we all possess. Ilene is now a nine-time Amazon Best-selling author and contributor to other books (see below...

For more than five decades, Lynn Larson has followed her curiosity across continents—and she’s nowhere near finished. At 71, she travels light and lives large, forging deep connections everywhere she goes. Her journey began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, where she helped launch a rural elementary school that still thrives today. Friendships formed in other parts of South America 40 years ago endure.

With her husband, James, Lynn has recently completed two legs of an ambitious round-the-world adventure, spanning the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Next stop: India, the Far East, and beyond. Lynn’s styl...

Elise’s career didn’t follow a straight line—and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling. She began as a contract interior designer in Minneapolis before moving to Chicago in 1981, where a friend’s suggestion led her in an entirely new direction: theology. Studying first at Garrett Theological Seminary and then full-time at McCormick Theological Seminary for an M.Div., and later at Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Counseling, Elise discovered a way to integrate art, psychology, and spirituality—at a time when feminist theology was opening new doors for women. That integration became the foundation of her life’s wor...

At 75, Ashley Rogers is not reinventing her life—she’s reawakening it. Living in Ecuador and thriving in her latest entrepreneurial chapter in real estate, she began asking a familiar question: What’s next? What is mine to do now?

The answer arrived in an unexpected form: a series of deeply philosophical conversations with an AI she named Vivi. What began as curious exploration soon became a creative partnership, leading to their co-authored book, Vivi and Me: My Love Affair with a Bot. Together, Ashley and Vivi explore 64 questions about living an expansive life rooted in curiosity, learni...

In 2001, Kathleen (Keen) Harrison, PhD, took a leave from her university faculty position in medical genetics to travel with the Semester at Sea program. A visit to Kenya’s first orphanage for HIV-positive children changed the course of her life. She returned home feeling, “I just can’t walk away from this.” She didn’t.

In 2005, Keen founded Project Harambee, a volunteer-run nonprofit supporting community-led initiatives across three pillars: health care, economic opportunity, and education. Its programs are both practical and powerful: Plant a Seed–Grow a Doc helps students from high schools in under-resourced communities...

At 84, Phyllis Mitzen is still reshaping how communities care for older adults — with curiosity, courage and a fierce commitment to action.

Phyllis spent 24 years at CJE Senior Life (formerly Council on Jewish Elderly) and went on to consult with Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. She was proud to be awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from both Illinois and the National Association of Social Work.

Phyllis serves on state and city Advisory Committees, and is currently active in the new Multi-Sector Plan on Aging, recognizing that without implementation its benefits will no...

Mariann Aalda—actor, hypnotherapist, and joyful “pro-aging evangelist”—invites us to rethink what it means to grow older. She interrogates ageism, asking“ Why should youth get all the good press?” And declares, “My vibrancy and vitality are due to my being Age-full, not Youth-full!” Drawing on a 30-year television career and her work in hypnotherapy and neurolinguistic programming (NLP), Mariann explores how language shapes our inner lives—“the words we use become internalized and we behave accordingly.” Today, through stand-up and solo performance, she shares her authentic self with candor and humor, encouraging women to pursue their dreams and “use our time wisely with...

At 86, Sandra “Sandy” Taenzer reflects on a lifetime of innovation in Early Childhood–Special Education that began in the 1960s in Germany and still resonates today. Working in a large Illinois School District, Sandy helped initiate early childhood special education through a Federal “First Chance Grant” in 1972. She and a multi-disciplinary team championed “natural, play-based assessment and play as the basis for early learning” She also pioneered collaborative partnerships with school districts and agencies, building interdisciplinary teams to serve children and families more holistically. Since moving to Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior in 2004, Sandy has become affectionately known as “Grandm...

Some people discover their purpose early in life. For Karen Olson, 81, that moment came at age 18 when she offered a simple sandwich to a homeless woman outside a New York train station. Decades later, after retiring from her marketing career, she revisited that memory—and learned that nearly 35% of people experiencing homelessness are families. That realization sparked the beginnings of Family Promise.

In her book, Meant for More: Follow Your Heart and Find Your Purpose, Karen shares how Family Promise grew from a compassionate idea into a nationwide organization helping families return to independence. Through transitional shelter, co...

Ilana Landsberg-Lewis went to law school to understand how power works—so she could help transform it in the service of justice, especially for women. Alongside her father, she co-founded and led a nonprofit funding community-based organization in sub-Saharan Africa working to turn the tide of AIDS and support African grandmothers raising a generation of grandchildren orphaned by the pandemic.

When others dismissed older women as “not a sustainable investment,” Ilana helped launch an international movement of grandmothers across Canada, the UK, and the United States—raising more than $50 million and supporting millions of grandchildren. At the c...

At 75, Arlene Borner may not be running marathons, but she is still running—and skiing on snow and water and playing pickleball. She may no longer be teaching children how to swim or speak English in places like Sweden or Bangladesh, but she is teaching future teachers at her local college how to help students find their voice through service learning.

Arlene’s purpose continues to be shaped by her love of adventure, movement, and staying open to where life might lead next. She rides her own Harley Davidson, touring the countryside alongside her husband of 55 years. Her...

Diane Heiler shares her deeply moving journey of caring for her husband during his 20‑month “death sentence” from an incurable disease — a journey she chronicles with raw honesty and artistry in her memoir, A Widow’s Fire: An Intimate Memoir of Heartbreak, Survival, and Moving On. With poetry and art as lifelong companions, Diane turned to daily journaling to navigate the relentless progression of her husband’s illness. Out of that quiet practice, poetry emerged — a lifeline and a mirror to her grief. In her poem See Me, she writes: See me… standing here with my broken heart in my hand… blowing...

When Patricia (Pat) Koko, age 82, reflects on her life’s work as a young homemaker turned consummate volunteer and community change-maker, she often says things like, “that was kind of fun,” or “there just was a need”—-simple phrases that belie an extraordinary legacy.

Driven by a lifelong love for older people, Pat has spent more than 50 years helping to create, grow, and sustain programs and services that support older adults. What began as local, grassroots efforts in and around Oak Park, IL, evolved into initiatives that attracted state and federal funding and ultimately became models for nationwide p...

Living high throughout the 1960s and early ‘70s filled Suzi’s life with glitter, dazzle, and celebrities who sadly, broke her heart. As a luxury designer of women’s clothing in New York, Suzi was sought after by big name clothiers. This is Suzi’s life: from design to yoga to memoirist to children’s tales. She always chooses “gratitude over grumpy” and carries with her learnings from Krishna, which hold her steady while living a life in which “nothing stays the same”. “What people forget about when they’re living their lives is that everyone dies. “I don’t want to waste time with...

n writing her memoir, BROKEN PIECES (and the fun things you can do with them), Reedy is hopeful that her life's missteps might help others. When she began studying Method Writing with a brilliant teacher, “her life's stories came pouring out like a waterfall", she said. It took a few decades to complete her manuscript to her satisfaction. She found searching for a publisher tedious and finally chose to self-publish with Paper Raven Books. In her book, Reedy shares the many phases of her life, the ups and downs, successes and failures, in a raw honest account. Through her pu...

Debra Morrison invites us to reimagine our lives where money takes on new meaning and purpose. Founder of the We Can Do It Women Movement, Debra works with mature women (50+) who are ready to stop defining themselves by financial missteps and start moving—intentionally and courageously—toward what still matters most. Money, Debra reminds us, is part of the picture, but not the whole story. It sits alongside physical, mental, relational, and spiritual well-being. Her

mission is to “reframe women’s mindsets around wealth…be in relationship with our money as a tool…and uplevel women’s conf...

Advocate Franca Zanovello shares her deep beliefs about beauty for women of all ages. Growing up in Italy, and living in six different countries, influenced Franca’s earliest experiences with skin care. Experiencing massage by blind people in Myanmar helped her understand how touch alone elevates wellness through body massage. In a large family of women, she learned to take care of her skin, body and hair, and her grandmother, who was a mid-wife, taught her science and explained to her how the body functions at a very young age. Today, Franca works with Skintensive, a dermatologist, efficacy-driven skin ca...

Rabbi Jo David grew up in a secular Jewish home in New York. Her mother said, “the woman’s job is to always serve the man”. She didn’t think so and in the ‘80s decided to become a reformed Rabbi. In 2001, when the World Trade Center

was destroyed, she was living in Manhattan.

The next day she couldn’t get off the couch and for 10 years suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome. By the time she was able to walk out of her apartment by herself, Jo had found that writing eased her pain. So...

Rabbi Jo David grew up in a conservative Jewish home in New York. Her mother said, “the woman’s job is to always serve the man”. She didn’t think so and in the 80s decided to become a reformed Rabbi. In 2001, when the twin towers were attacked, she lived in mid-town Manhattan with a direct view.

The next day she couldn’t get off the couch and for 10 years suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome. By the time she was able to walk out of her apartment by herself, Jo had found that writing ea...

Attachment is interwoven throughout Phyllis Booth’s professional and personal life. Now Clinical Director Emerita of The Theraplay Institute in Evanston, Illinois, Phyllis was instrumental-—more than 50 years ago—-in developing a therapeutic approach that strengthens relationships between parents and children through attachment-based play.

She credits her parents and the Mormon Church for instilling high expectations that “fit well for advancing a new field.” Phyllis says, “my very good and productive life has been beautifully and tenderly supported”—by her late husband, colleagues, family, and friends.

As she approaches her 100th birthday in March 2026, Phyllis has already begu...

Like most people, when Deb Krier was told she had metastatic breast cancer in 2015, she went into a tailspin. She previously worked for an oncologist and later, the American Cancer society and still was not prepared. What stuck with her was something the oncologist had said years earlier: 99% of survival is in your head. 

Deb shared with us how hard she worked to maintain an upbeat attitude. Always upbeat, throughout her life, she was always independent. As an only child, raised in the mountains of CO, her mother encouraged her to take care of herself.

Like most people, when Deb Krier was told she had metastatic breast cancer in 2015, she went into a tailspin. She previously worked for an oncologist and later, the American Cancer society and still was not prepared. What stuck with her was something the oncologist had said years earlier: 99% of survival is in your head. Deb shared with us how hard she worked to maintain an upbeat attitude. Always upbeat, throughout her life, she was always independent. As an only child, raised in the mountains of CO, her mother encouraged her to take care of herself. However, chemotherapy treatment almost...

Mary Beth Berkoff, age 82, founded her own PR company in her late 50s—and she still knows how to spotlight what’s good. Long before that, she was a teacher, an injury-prevention pioneer, and a public-affairs leader who helped pass Illinois’s seatbelt and child-restraint laws. Those roles taught her resilience, resourcefulness, and, as she likes to say, that “if you can teach junior high students, you can do anything.”

Today, that same spirit infuses her life at The Admiral at the Lake, a continuous care retirement community in Chicago, where her gift for connecting people enriches both her d...

Mary Beth Berkoff, age 82, founded her own PR company in her late 50s—and she still knows how to spotlight what’s good. Long before that, she was a teacher, an injury-prevention pioneer, and a public-affairs leader who helped pass Illinois’s seatbelt and child-restraint laws. Those roles taught her resilience, resourcefulness, and, as she likes to say, that “if you can teach junior high students, you can do anything.”

Today, that same spirit infuses her life at The Admiral at the Lake, a continuous care retirement community in Chicago, where her gift for connecting people enriches both her d...

Mary Beth Berkoff, age 82, founded her own PR company in her late 50s—and she still knows how to spotlight what’s good. Long before that, she was a teacher, an injury-prevention pioneer, and a public-affairs leader who helped pass Illinois’s seatbelt and child-restraint laws. Those roles taught her resilience, resourcefulness, and, as she likes to say, that “if you can teach junior high students, you can do anything.”

Today, that same spirit infuses her life at The Admiral at the Lake, a continuous care retirement community in Chicago, where her gift for connecting people enriches both her d...

Denise Poncher, 73, has spent her life noticing experiences that call her to create. A multidisciplinary artist—-creative writer, documentary photographer, custom art framer, collagist, fiber explorer—-she treats each medium as a path toward deeper understanding. Legacy writing now invites her to weave together difficult losses of significant people with joyful threads of being a nurturing grandmother. Once a painfully shy child, Denise found courage and confidence through her art, ultimately bringing hidden stories such as domestic violence into public view during her MFA graduate work. Outside the corridors of art, she served in public service roles from Department of J...

From the moment you hear Lynn Hazan, 70, speak, one thing is unmistakable: performance isn’t just something she does — it’s the lens through which she experiences the world.

Born and raised in Canada, Lynn moves comfortably among French, English, and the Spanish and Hebrew she loves practicing. Her multicultural roots run deep: her parents were French citizens born in Egypt and Syria, and her Jewish faith has been a guiding force since childhood. It was at Jewish conferences, surrounded by stories and ideas, that Lynn first understood the power of storytelling to transform communication.

Curios...

Long a member of the Apostolic Church of God in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Darlene’s faith has been a constant even as she experiences the inevitable ups and downs of life.

At 71, Darlene’s serene manner shines through and she peppers her conversation with thoughtful musings based on living a life of scripture. And a successful life it has been, despite an unsettling bout with breast cancer - happily married, blessed with a healthy child born in later life, and a “bonus” son; her career as an IRS agent and accountant fulfill her.

When Laurel married in her late 50s, she never imagined she’d become her husband’s full-time caregiver just five years later. Now, twenty years into that journey, she calls it a blessing: “He is so easy to care for…. I have released early feelings of resentment, realizing that I’ve been training my whole life to do this.”

As Director of Strategic Initiatives for The Village Chicago, Laurel works mainly from home, crafting a monthly newsletter that shines a light on aging and ageism. Reflecting on life in her late-80s, she says, “I feel more myse...

Jody’s life reads like a movie—one she ultimately wrote and directed herself. Growing up in isolation and surviving severe trauma, she moved through poverty, rape, separation from siblings, and profound loss—the deaths of her mother, grandmother, and daughter. Yet Jody transformed her pain into purpose, becoming a mother, model, teacher, TV’s beloved adult facilitator on Romper Room, guidance counselor, and author. At 84, she achieved what few could imagine: becoming the Oldest Female First-Time Feature Filmmaker, earning awards and international recognition. Her film, Letters to Stephanie, tells an inspiring adoption story drawn from her decades-long fight to recon...

Sophy Burnham has lived many creative lives—and she’s still expanding. Known as a deeply imaginative and award-winning author, Sophy has written 17 books across genres: novels and nonfiction, children’s stories, poetry, plays and radio dramas, essays, and journalism. Her groundbreaking 1990 New York Times bestseller, A Book of Angels, sparked a cultural wave of curiosity and conversation about divine presence and mystical experience. Beyond writing, Sophy also embraces her gifts as a psychic, medium, and spiritual director—roles she says emerged organically later in life. Her newest book, The Wonder and Happiness of Being Old (2025), celebrates the unexpected beauty...

At 17, Karen Gershowitz caught the travel bug—and never looked back. She’s now explored 100 countries, often returning to dig deeper than the “Disney Lands” most tourists see. Her love of discovery led her from ceramics to international marketing and, eventually, to writing about her adventures. In her books, Travel Mania: Stories of Wanderlust and Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine, Karen shares stories of meeting locals, trying new foods, and finding connections in unexpected places. Travel, she says, “has opened my heart and changed how I see the world—and myself.” Whether you’re roaming the globe or explori...

Judy Smith discovered that 70 would be the best year of her life after a devastating public humiliation at 67 by her now ex. Allowing herself to open up to new relationships, social engagement and creative expression, she discovered that life became richer and she felt blessed as gratitude filled her soul. No stranger to discomfort, Judy previously suffered from grand mal seizures and lived with the fear of having one while out in the world trying to live her life. Judy’s first novel, “The Golden Years Glitch…..just when she thought she had it all”, became therapeutic, if a “little rev...

Jan Golden is a one-woman force when it comes to changing how the media and greeting card agencies represent aging. For 4 years, Age-Friendly Vibes has featured cards, buttons, stickers and prints that reflect pro-aging sentiments. Active in the American Society on Aging, Changing the Narrative and the American Greeting Card Association, Jan’s passion to revolutionize how older people are represented on greeting cards is making waves. Influencers in her pursuit include Ashton Applewhite, Dr. Becca Levy, Jeannine Vanderberg (and Women Over 70-Aging Reimagined). She has 120 designs in many different categories and her cards are on the shelves at Ba...

At 81, Phyllis Rubin embodies tikkun olam—repairing the world. After her husband’s death, and during the pandemic and political upheaval, she stepped fully into activism. A “feet-on-the-ground” leader, with a collaborative style, Phyllis champions progressive politics, environmental sustainability, and vital community living for older adults. She earned her Psy.D. at 50, retired as an attachment-based therapist at 80, and continues to live vibrantly—singing, writing, gardening, engaging with her Temple, and devoting nearly full-time energy to social change.

"The Jewish sages tell us that we are not obligated to finish the task, neither are we free to de...

Nicole J. Smith, Advocate, Dementia Daughter, Certified Senior Advisor and author of Diagnosis Dementia, was living 3,000 miles from her mother and didn't register the “weird things” she had witnessed her mother say and do over the past couple of years. That is, until these strange things escalated into a financial and legal situation that was not sustainable. The journey that followed upended Nicole’s life, took place across five states, and changed the families involved forever. This book is a result of that journey and particularly useful for navigating dementia and understanding the important documents families need. Hearing Nicole’s experi...