Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

Joyce Klowden Porter, 73, has been an actor in 60 films, taught college for 30 years and is a non-fiction author. She recently won several awards for the film, Stairs, and continues to act as roles become available.Joyce’s late husband, Paul, gave her occasion to learn many things in relation to his multiple illnesses. Her book, Mastering Senior Life: Thriving and Surviving, is a testament to her resilience and care-taking. In the book she offers tips on how to enjoy your senior years to the fullest and learn ways to protect your family. Joyce also shares important information relative to Medicare, insurance, mobility devices and so much more. Her creative imagination enables her to think outside ordinary convention and find new ways of coping.Make the most of what you can do while you can do it. - Joyce PorterConnect with Joyce:Linked IN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-porter-901aa12/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086241203346Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Senior-Life-Thriving-Surviving/dp/0999511610Website: http://www.joyceporter.com

Francesca James, age 71, from Ingelwood CA, is a full-time intuitive wellness coach and energy healer. After a life-threatening bout with cancer, Francesca gave up high-stress work as a successful Black woman in white corporate America to connect “more deeply with my inner world.”  This journey inspired her book, Resurrecting the Muse: Woman’s Guide to Rising Above Societal Conditioning.  These are Francesca's three non-negotiables. #1. "I am unapologetic in my Blackness," which includes teaching white people about unconscious bias and racism in her class on ‘Deconstructing Racism: Moving from Discomfort to Action.' #2: Listen to and trust your intuitive voice. #3: Honor and nourish your body as a temple.Connect with Francesca:email: francesca@francesca-james.comwebsite: francesca-james.comBook:  Resurrecting the Muse: Woman’s Guide to Rising Above Societal Conditioning

As a voice coach, singer, and songwriter Barbara McAfee’s mission is to ‘midwife’women’s voices. “Tell me your story about your voice” is Barbara’s invitation tohelp aging women break the sounds of silence, express new sounds for healing,and experience singing for the joy of it. Her original music taps into jazz, gospel,and folk roots. In 2007, Barbara founded the Morning Star Singers, a volunteerchoir that sings for people facing illness, end- of -life, depression, or grief. She isthe author of Full Voice: The Art and Practice of Vocal Presence.Connect with BarbaraEmail: barbara@barbaramcafee.comWebsite: https://www.barbaramcafee.com

Edwige Gilbert is French. As founder of New Life Directions, she guides women to reinvent their lives and create fresh starts driven by a purposeful vision. She is passionate about women taking care of their bodies and allowing themselves to feel sexy even as they age. “It is vital that we eliminate stress from our lives and not feel victimized by our age. How are women to age gracefully if age is constantly demeaned?” It comes down to believing in yourselves, in turning stress into success. As a transformation guide she teaches older women to get in touch with their bodies. Edwige asks you to create a vision of who you want to be. What keeps you young is your life purpose, your ability to be excited and interested in keeping your life spark alive, all while experiencing Joie de vivre.Coco Chanel said, “Check yourself in the mirror and take something off.” Dressing is about sophistication and elegance, harmony and balance, finding your personal style. Embellish what you already have. Your appearance should be in sync with who you are. Honor yourself. Allow your mind to create your reality.  There is no expiration date on taking care of your health, your body. You can love your body and be sexy as you age. - EdwigeConnect with Edwige:Email:  edwige@newlifedirections.comWebsite: https://www.newlifedirections.com/

Crowned Ms. Senior World 70’s for 2023, Debbie Watts’ mission is to empower women, especially as they age. Debbie’s talents as an author, educator, playwright, songwriter and performer, and producer of film and stage plays prepared her to enter the world stage at age 70. Currently she can be seen at the historical Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville where she performs historical interpretations of Nashville suffragists. Through her columns, music, stage plays, stories, and public appearances, Debbie encourages women to create their best possible life in the later decades.Connect with Debbie:Email: srtnus@att.netWinners (seniorworldpageants.com)Cheerleading's Debbie Mathis: Where Are They Now? - Lipscomb University (lipscombsports.com)Debbie Mathis Watts. The Ryman Diaries-Reflections and Recipes (2000, Amazon).Information on how/where to purchase your CDs, incl. Music City’s Lady of the Keys

Connie Kiosse is a complex woman. A deep thinker whose life has taken many twists and turns. A lover of women’s literature and the authors who write them. She is always questioning how to use the artifacts of her past and asks, “Art and words - how do they fit together?”Born of immigrant parents, life was a closed book, until at 18, Connie broke free and the world began to open up. She wrote her 1st story in high school and titled it Trapped. Once she tasted the freedom of life, Connie fell in love with writing, travel, culture, books and the women’s movement. Always trying to understand who she was and where she belonged, Connie started many types of groups, her favorite being reading groups and discussion groups with women who, like her, liked to do a deep dive into understanding life.We never get over people who touch us - it’s a connection we never lose. - Connie KiosseCONNECT WITH CONNIE:Email: c.kiosse@gmail.comCurrent Group: Women Aging With Wisdom & Grace discussion group which meets at Women & Children First Bookstore.  Contact Connie if interested. 

Anne fell in love with nature as a young girl spending summerson her grandparents’ farm in north Georgia. Often alone with“nothing to do,” she read books and made friends with theinsects, plants, snakes, and trees. After several decades as anenvironmental justice advocate at the national level, Anne‘retired’ in 2007 to serve as a full-time volunteer. She uses herpolitical savvy to promote clean energy and to protest againstfossil fuels and plastics. Anne’s passion for growing organicgardens and planting trees is in honor of her granddaughter andall children. Her bumper sticker reads, “One generation plants thetree, the next generation sits under it.”I feel a deep moral responsibility to speak on behalf ofspecies who have no voice, that most humans cannot hear. - Anne WhiteConnect with Anne:Email: annewhitetreehugger@gmail.com

A true Renaissance woman, Kathryn Grody is an actor, playwright and activist. She wanted to act since childhood. While born in Los Angeles, she recognized that living there was a cosmic error and never felt at home until she moved to New York City.Well-known in regional theater, on and off-Broadway and, most recently for her 1-woman show, The Unexpected 3rd, a Work in Progress, she is the recipient of numerous awards. Kathryn always tries to see the humor in life. And, she doesn’t buy into stereotypes, recognizing that neither the past nor the future are real. She cautions not to miss the present. She is thoughtful about her own aging. Having had her children in her late 30’s, Kathryn never thought about aging until she bent down to pick her grandchild up from the floor.   "As theater artists we can help people look at what is hard to see, or affirm what has been unseen." Connect with Kathryn:Email: kgrody@me.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci-XojJr1oU/

Karen Egoff realized at a young age that she has extra gifts. She didn’t know what to do with the energy she felt from others until she became a young woman. Through practice, Karen has learned to manifest healing energy and help relieve aches, pains and chronic conditions in those she works with. She believes in natural, spiritual lifestyles, especially yoga and meditation. Older people benefit from these practices. They tend to hold emotion within their bodies, especially in the joints. Aches and pains should not be ignored and can be healed. Karen works with crystals and earth elements that are crucial to our bodies’ well being. Other modalities include Reiki and Craniosacral therapy.“Yoga helps you through trauma and is life-transforming. Breathing opens up your nervous systems and improves sleep.” - Karen EgoffKaren helps others experience self-care through her online workshops, yoga classes and meditation circles.Connect with Karen:Website: https://mysoulbalance.com/What’s App: https://call.whatsapp.com/voice/dlgNff5y6XO41as11oKwloLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?fetchDeterministicClustersOnly=false&heroEntityKey=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAAAZH4NcBpymWEqDmbJy5WHqoFM9Ucg3TfS4&keywords=karen%20egoff&origin=RICH_QUERY_TYPEAHEAD_HISTORY&position=0&searchId=8f8f7911-cc2c-42cb-bcd7-c828aaa01980&sid=Z9g

Sara Paretsky is a lifelong reader of crime fiction. She developed her social conscience early on, realizing that women were so often represented in negative ways, and so often invisible. Years later when she began to write crime stories herself, she turned the tables on how women are depicted through her well-known series of books featuring V.I. Warshawski, a tough, intelligent private detective from Chicago.Among her readership are many women who insist on their right to speech and to take up space in a room. V.I. resonates with women readers, allowing them to find their own voices and feel valued and respected. From Sara’s first book, Indemnity Only, to her most recent novel, Overboard, V.I. Warshawski has relentlessly fought for social justice.The bottom line is that Sara hates to see anyone suffering. Overboard is about for-profit nursing homes and the extremes some will go to for the money and power they can bring. Sara wants to entertain readers yet raise issues of white-collar crime which, inevitably, carries with it political overtones. Prone to depression, what keeps Sara going isn’t some pollyannaish approach to life. She wakes up each morning, gets out of bed, puts one foot in front of the other and believes the day will follow. You might find her singing as she writes today. “Singing lessons, she says, are like meditation. You can’t think about anything else while singing”. " The core issue for me is abortion rights and the right of women to make their own decisions." - Sara ParetskyCONNECT WITH SARA:https://saraparetsky.com/