After 30 years in banking, Emilia DiMenco joined the Women’s Business Development Organization (WBDC) - first as a board member and then as CEO. WBDC serves all entrepreneurs and particularly women and underserved communities. Emilia understands and communicates the importance of managing cash and risks, how best to build capacity and, most importantly, to provide quality products and service while competing fairly on price.WBDC works with entrepreneurs from start-up to succession, helping them to gain certification and pursue procurement opportunities, access capital and networks, and continue to learn. Emilia looks ahead to more free time to focus on health and wellness, travel adventure, more time with her son’s family, music lessons and digging deeper into world history. “Allowing a younger generation to take over allowed me to use my skills to benefit an underserved population.” - Emilia DiMencoCONNECT WITH EMILIAEmail: edimenco@wbdc.orgWebsite: https://www.wbdc.org/en/WBDC Phone: 312-853-3477Thank you to Wells Fargo for their Support of Women Over 70:Aging Reimagined 

Carol Offen and Betsy Crais know all too well the exhilaration, separately, of being a living donor and a 2-time organ recipient.Carol’s adult, college-age son was in need of a kidney. Carol became his donor. Betsy Crais’s evaluation for gastric problems in her thirties revealed polycystic kidney disease. When she was in her fifties she became the grateful recipient of a kidney donation from a living donor. Many years later, she required a 2nd kidney and, to everyone’s surprise, a liver. Again a living donor stepped up to donate a kidney but because she needed a liver at the same time, she needed a deceased donor. Not receiving them would have committed her to dialysis indefinitely while also risking death from liver failure.These two expressive women knew each other since their daughters childhoods. They came together again after their own kidney experiences when they decided to collaborate on authoring a book that would lay bare the plight of recipients and the path of becoming a living donor."There is a 6-8 yr. wait for a deceased kidney donor and 90,000 people on the waiting list."CONNECT WITH CAROL & BETSY:Carol: carol.kidneydonorhelp@gmail.com; her website: www.kidneydonorhelp.comBetsy: bcrais@med.unc.eduBook: The Insider's Guide to Living Kidney Donation: Everything You Need to Know If You Give (or Get) the Greatest Gift

Barbara Ellison always wanted to have a TV show. Since waking up from her widow’s fog after her husband died when she was in her early 60’s, she has not stood still. She says, “I had no idea who I was, or what I was meant to do. The labels attached to me - mother, daughter, wife, those I understood but who was Barbara?” The Ultimate Game of Life coaching program gave her a lifeline and she has not stopped since. From traveling via RV to co-hosting a radio show and streaming live on Linked In, Barbara is a motivational speaker who opens her heart and shares her wisdom. Today she is the co-host of a TV show, coaches new retirees and knows exactly who she is. " I love being in my 70’s. Age is just a number. "Connect with Barbara:Email: inspeakermode@gmail.comLinkedIn Live: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-ellisonwellnessplayroom2024/Time to Shine Happiness Show: https://www.youtube.com/live/ZdIhuyltJew?si=YMspxN8qrM6lapw4People4People Community: www.people4peoplenow.com/referral/ZBkCwbmRlZJW?utm_source=referral_program

Jane Seskin, a licensed clinical social worker, is a prolific poet who, at age 80,published a collection of 89 poems in the book OLDER WISER SHORTER: TheTruth and Humor of Life After 65. With humor and insight, Jane observeshow she is learning to acknowledge, accommodate, and accept thevulnerabilities and new-found joys of aging. Early in her career as a therapistfor crime victims, Jane witnessed people’s resilience to survive. As a therapistand writer, she advocates “talking to each other rather than being alone withour scary thoughts.” For older women, one area of interest might bediscussions on health fantasies and fears. Jane is at work on a new bookabout aging, focused on Taking Inventory: what’s past, dealing with thepresent, and planning for the future. She also explores “what brings onecomfort when the sky is falling.”Connect with Jane:Instagram: @oldershorterwiserWebsite:https://www.olderwisershorter.com/

Jan Shaw King, 71, is a strong, resilient woman whose courage led her to create illustrative works that live on in all of our memories. Her first mentor was her grandmother who taught her to see colors and shadows and be brave enough to follow her path. You may remember Ranger Bob and How the Big Bad Wolf Saved Christmas. Children’s stories make up a major part of her portfolio. Jan’s company, Wyld Blue Entertainment, develops imaginative art for theme parks and major movie studios. "My impressionistic paintings of sea turtles are dedicated to the awareness of these magnificent endangered species." - Jan Shaw King What she is most proud of is beating an extremely rare form of cancer that only 3% survive. Her book, Life Lines, Verses for Reflection and Recovery is a treasured collection of inspirational verses of love and hope drawn from her personal healing journey as a 27-year cancer survivor. More recently, Jan has nurtured her love of sea turtles, all 7 species, and uses her creativity and activism to create public awareness of the plight of these creatures due to climate change.Connect with Jan Shaw King:Email: Jan@WyldBlueEnt.comWyldBlue Entertainment | WyldBlue Digitalwww.WyldBlueEnt.com | www.WyldBlueDigital.comWyldBlueProduction | www.WyldBlueProduction.comWyldBlue Digital PressWBDigitalPress@gmail.comwww.WyldBlueDigitalPress.comjan@SeaTurtleRock.comwww.SeaTurtleRock.comjan@JanShawKing.comwww.JanShawKing.comLIFE LINES: Verses for Reflection and RecoveryLIFE LINES: Metamorphosis of Change: Guidelines for Recovery Workbook

B. Rosemary Grant, PhD, Research Scholar Emerita at PrincetonUniversity, is world-renowned for 40 years of pioneering fieldwork, with herhusband, Peter, on two uninhabited islands in the Galapagos archipelago.Their studies of Darwin’s finches in their natural environment have madeenormous contributions to evolutionary biology and ecology. In her memoir--One Step Sideways, Three Steps Forward--Rosemary chronicles heramazing journey: teaching in the Finnish fashion; marrying and forming aresearch partnership; earning her PhD at age 49; raising two youngdaughters in the Galapagos; teaching and writing; receiving numerousinternational awards; and advocating, world-wide, for advancing youngerwomen’s careers in science. Rosemary’s research and publications havesignificant applications for broader areas, such as medicine and culturalcooperation.Quote Following your passion does not mean everything has to go in astraight line; sideways steps can lead to huge leaps forward.Connect with RosemaryEmail: rgrant@princeton.eduOne Step Sideways, Three Steps Forward: One Woman’s Path to Becoming a Biologist40 Years of Evolution: Darwin's Finches on Daphne Major Island, New Editionby B. Rosemary Grant and Peter R. Grant

Holly Zeinfeld, 79, has moved 22 times and lived in 8 states during her marriage to Steve. They were partners in life and in work until he died a little over a year ago. Holly cared for him in home hospice for 7 years with periodic help from her son. Everywhere Holly goes, she finds meaningful work to do and makes lifelong friends. She calls herself the Director of Intangibles. No fitness center for pregnant women? She buys one and learns Lamaze to teach it and improve women’s lives. Employees disgruntled? Create a plan to build a cohesive and happy staff. School in Israel is not working for two of her grandsons? Bring them to Chicago to attend high school and live with her for several years.Even today, living at Plymouth Place in La Grange Park IL, she continues to organize, participate in and build a strong community for herself and her neighbors. No seder? Run one for anyone who might come - 30 people showed up. Thoughts become things. Say the good ones.Resilience, tolerance, a deep caring and willingness to put herself out there for others - that is Holly Zeinfeld. CONNECT TO HOLLY:Email: nanuholly@yahoo.com

Suzanne Rowen, age 72, has been climbing mountains in the Pacific Northwest for the past 30 years. Leading self and others are cross-over skills between mountaineering and working in high stakes crisis communications on Wall Street, Suzanne’s earlier life on the East Coast. She finds climbing mountains to be “equally intense and marvelously expansive.” As a dedicated mountaineer, Suzanne peaked all the volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest and led numerous climbing expeditions. Now she prefers climbing solo and finds that “being in nature keeps us sane; you never outgrow it.” Suzanne mentors young women in mountaineering and is turning to fiction writing set in nature and mountains."The mountains meet you where you are; you can express who you are any time in life"Connect with SuzanneEmail: suzannerowen@gmail.com

Wendy Cole, age 76, was 67 when she decided to live out in the world as the femaleshe was born to be. As a young person, Wendy was informed by ‘authorities’ that shewas a male with a psychological condition that was untreatable and uncurable; she was “a freak.” Wendy tells her story of living 45 years of repression while hiding her secret from the outside world. On the brink of suicide in 2014, Wendy learned her diagnosis had changed back in 2012. It is now treatable by therapy, hormones, and surgeries. And people are born transgender: “Gender is between the ears, not the legs.” In 2015, Wendy transitioned and began living fully as her authentic self. Currently, she is a transition mentor who guides individuals through significant life changes. She shares her story to “open minds and possibilities…to show others the beauty and possibilities of living authentically…It is never too late!” "I was born female but assigned male based on my physical anatomy; now, I live freely and fully as a woman."  - Wendy ColeConnect with Wendy: She invites you to ask her anything!  Connection website: https://MeetWendyCole.com Email: wendycole212@gmail.com Website: https://wendycolegtm.net Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wcole212/@wcole212 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm YouTube Channel:  https:www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326@wendycole8326 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm Private Facebook group, Demystifying the Transgender Journey, Open to anyone curious to learn more about being born transgender and livingwith it from childhood.

Cynthia Bargar, 76 is the author of Sleeping in the Dead Girl’s Room (Lily PoetryReview Books), selected as a Massachusetts Book Awards 2023 Honors Poetry Book. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming  in Sugar House Review, Ocean State Review, Lily Poetry Review, Verse Daily, On the Seawall, The Last Milkweed Anthology, and elsewhere. Cynthia is associate poetry editor at Pangyrus LitMag.  She lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Cynthia has had 3 careers. First, teaching video and photography to teens; then, she worked in fundraising for 30 years, with nonprofits focused on grassroots activism and social services. When she became sober 44 years ago, she found her voice and started writing. Cynthia’s father was 28 when she was born. It was the same year his 18 year old sister, also named Cynthia Bargar, died of uncertain causes. As a newborn she occupied her aunt’s room. Throughout her life, nobody ever talked about it and she never understood exactly what happened to her father’s sister.  Many years later, as a practicing poet, Cynthia began to explore the unspoken, her aunt’s mysterious death. Her debut collection, Sleeping in the Dead Girl’s Room, is the result.  CONNECT WITH CYNTHIAEmail: cynthia.bargar@gmail.comWebsite: www.cynthiabargar.com/Book: Sleeping in the Dead Girl’s RoomOrder from Bookshop.org