Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

As an educational leader and mentor, Dr. Helen Benjamin tells stories aboutgrowing up in the segregated South, living and working in two worlds—Blackand White, and helping younger Black professionals navigate their CEO rolesin community colleges. In semi-retirement, Helen leads HSV Consulting, Inc,works with “dozens of colleges, boards, and CEOs to advance student-centered organizational and leadership improvement,” and continues writingto preserve African American history. Helen finds that at age 74 she is in“the best place I’ve ever been in my life—smarter, wiser, thriftier, and morerelaxed.”No one can tell the story of our lived experience better thanwe can.Connect with HelenEmail: hbenjamin91@icloud.comBooks by Helen:● How We Got Over-Growing Up in the Segregated South: A Collection ofNarratives● The Chocolate Truth: An Anthology of Perspectives from CommunityCollege CEOs

Do you want to share housing but find the transition scary? We often live in shared housing when we are single: college, roommates in camp, at conferences, during our early careers. Living with housemates as we age is no different. Annamarie Pluhar, 70, is a well-spoken advocate for shared housing and offers valuable ways of thinking to simplify the process. After receiving her Masters in Divinity, then working in a corporation, facilitating large groups, Annamarie started a non-profit to promote the importance of shared housing. She consults with organizations, housing professionals, the aging network and local officials who are seeking to develop shared housing in their communities. The twin crises of high housing costs and an increase in social isolation combine to render cooperative living arrangements an excellent solution.  "Housemates are not the same as roommates."By providing education, advocacy, and model development she empowers individuals to choose, create and sustain shared housing. She envisions a world in which sharing housing is a commonly accepted living arrangement and individuals feel happy, safe and at peace with home-mates.One idea—a building for seniors with 4 bedroom suites for 3 people. The extra suite might be for guests or caretakers. Everyone shares the kitchen and living space.Last summer (2023) Annamarie lost her partner of 23 years and is currently renovating her home to make it more comfortable for sharing. She lives in southern Vermont.Connect with Annamarie:Book: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good HousematesWebsite: sharinghousing.comEmail:  annamarie@sharinghousing.org

Mary Mitchell, age 74, sheds light on aging and ageism in her occasional column for the Chicago Sun Times, Starting Over. Mary ‘started over’ five years ago when she switched her journalistic authority on race relations in Chicago to concentrate on matters of growing older. She advocates that longevity is a blessing and aging offers an opportunity to do well atsomething else. Mary’s guiding tenets are always equity and fairness when dealing with social isms. When we are equitable and fair, Mary says, “we are doing the best we can.”" I give people platforms to tell their own stories, share their wisdom, and increase awareness of social justice issues."Connect with MaryEmail: mmitchell@suntimes.comhttps://chicago.suntimes.com/starting-over

Ann Anderson Evans, age 82, lives in Vermont. She is a writer, linguist, and former professor. Her first memoir, Daring to Date Again (2014), which tells the story of what happened after she started dating at 62, won multiple prizes. Her sequel The Sweet Pain of Being Alive: A Memoir of Love and Death (Jan. 2024), narrates her attempt to find out why, after 13 happily married years, her husband killed himself. Her questions about his gender dsyphoria and suicide remain largely unanswered. Ann tries to heed the wisdom of the Buddhist saying, “You can’t change the past, the future hasn’t happened yet, so pay close attention to today.” The questions and answers have continued to unfold. Through contemplation about loss, aging, and evolving, I realize every day is an adventure; we must be willing to deal with whatever comes.Connect with AnnEmail: ann@annandersonevans.comWebsite: https://annandersonevans.com

Susan Gangsei, a classically trained tapestry artist from Minneapolis, MN, uses her talent to create images of women aging. Her recent series, The Sacred Journey of Aging, features the “beauty, strength, and wisdom of older women.” Susan treats viewers to her tapestries that represent different passages of growing older—feeling invisible, making mischief, putting the pieces back together, reimagining how to live with a health condition, and recognizing the paradoxes of life. Susan will exhibit selected pieces at the Women Over 70-Aging Reimagined Symposium, October 19,2024, in the Chicago area.Connect with SusanEmail: susangangsei@yahoo.com Website: https://www.susangansei.com

Visionary and disrupter, Jacynth Bassett, is an award-winning, highly sought after consultant and expert in the anti-ageism/ age-inclusive & positive movement. At only 31, she is widely recognized as a leading pioneer and voice, awarded ‘Anti-Ageist Activist’ of 2023, at the inaugural Advantages Of Age Awards 2023. and named one of Evening Standard’s 22 Londoners Changing the World.She is the Founder & CEO of the award-winning global campaign, consultancy & community Ageism Is Never In Style®, and of The Bias Cut – the first age-inclusive independent fashion online boutique.Her whole inspiration came from her Mum; Jacynth witnessed how she was being treated differently, largely due to her age. Jacynth became an activist and consciously began to use her platform to support other people. She was determined to make an impact. She studied law at Cambridge, and after graduating she conducted thorough research and started a blog to spark conversation and develop a community and following. In the last 1-2 years she is heartened to see how many people are joining the movement. Her manifesto has 5 principles, beginning with aging as you wish. It’s your choice.Connect with Jacynth:Email: jacynth.bassett@thebiascut.comWebsite: The Bias CutInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacynthbassett“I’m heartened to see how many young people are taking up the battle to end ageism.” - Jacynth BassettConnect with Jacynth:Email: jacynth.bassett@thebiascut.comWebsite: The Bias CutInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacynthbassett

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