Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

We love all our interviews. However, meeting Betty Werrenrath in person, and interviewing her in her apartment at the Presbyterian Homes in Evanston, IL was a unique experience that we would not have traded. Betty is inspiring, positive, upbeat and interesting. She was born January 28, 1914 in Harrisburg, PA. The daughter of a progressive preacher’s kid, she says, “I had to act decently because he was so well-known”."“Be more interested in others than you are in yourself. Listen.” - Betty WerrenrathAn athlete, she played field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, tennis and golf in high school and college. With a full athletic scholarship that included a job in the alumni office, she graduated from Wells College with a degree in art history in 1935.  Betty and Reinald married in 1937 and remained married for 82 years. They have three children. They moved to Presbyterian Homes in Evanston in 1998. Reinald had a stroke at age 103 and passed away in 2019.Betty's multiple passions and drive for advocacy have stayed undiminished throughout her life. When she sees changes that need to be made she takes action. In addition to church and community volunteer efforts, after Reinald retired they collaborated on over 100-16mm educational films distributed nationwide, staying for weeks in eight different countries to research and film. In the Presbyterian Homes, Betty enthusiastically pursues new friendships and activities. 

Patti Temple Rocks has had a long, successful, and immensely rewarding career in marketing and communications and still she is not done. Her work and her articles and books have been written about in major publications such as Fast Company, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal. Inc.Patti started her career at Dow Chemical in 1981. It was not until many years later that she became obsessed with making sure that age inclusivity is on every company’s D,E&I agenda and that everyone gets to end their career when and how they want to – not when ageist stereotypes say they should. Author of I’m Not Done: It’s Time to Talk About Ageism in the Workplace, she wrote a second edition of the book called, I’m STILL Not Done because she is not, and ageism unfortunately, is still widespread.Every workforce should mirror the population at large.- Patti Temple RocksConnect with Patti:Website: https://www.pattitemplerocks.com/Book: https://www.pattitemplerocks.com/im-still-not-doneLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattitemplerocks/Email: Patti@PattiTempleRocks.com

Dr. Susan Mazer is a full-time performing jazz harpist and former President, Co-founder, and CEO of Healing HealthCare Systems, producers of The C.A.R.E. Channel, the only evidence-based, 24-hour relaxation channel for patient television. Now in its 30th year, C.A.R.E. is being broadcasted in over 1,100 hospitals nationally and internationally including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Australia, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, and many other locations. The discipline of health care led her to study how we can help patients heal faster. The answer is music.  And this led her to create The C.A.R.E channel and, recently, C.A.R.E VRx™ which extends the reach of C.A.R.E., providing a healing virtual environment for pain relief, reduction of anxiety, and increased comfort, through access to stunning natural spaces and places in the virtual world.Dr. Mazer is a national and international speaker and in 2019 was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Virtual Reality in Healthcare Conference in Dublin, Ireland. Her publications and presentations focus on the patient environment. She is also a blogger for The Huffington Post and has her own blog.  She is a Fellow of the Center for Social Innovation at The Fielding Graduate University.Connect with Susan:Website:Book Chapter: “Applied Virtual Reality in Healthcare: Case Studies and Perspectives"Book: Patient Privacy: When it MattersBlogger: Huffington Post; blog at www.susanmazer.com

When nearing 50 years of age and recently widowed, Judy sold everything,bought an around-the-world airline ticket, and set off alone on a year-longjourney without a planned itinerary. “The outer journey serves as acontainer” for Judy’s inner “struggle to find her way as a sober, single,independent woman.” A master teacher and published author of fiction,poetry, and nonfiction, Judy’s journey led to her first published memoir,When Your Heart Says Go: My Year of Traveling Beyond Loss and Loneliness(October 2023)."My year-long around-the-world travel adventure became an innerjourney to knowing myself."Connect with Judyemail: jareeves@mac.comWebsite: https://judyreeveswriter.comSelection of Judy’s books:When Your Heart Says Go (2023)Wild Women, Wild Voices: Writing from Your Authentic Wildness (2015)A Writer’s Book of Days: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for theWriting Life (2010)

Through Top Sixty Over Sixty, Helen writes articles and speaks at conferences to encourage a reframed narrative of aging, one that reflects the age realities of the 21st century. She emphasizes the need for a longevity focus, encourages an entrepreneurial mindset, and cautions against internalized ageism which undermines the potential of older adults. Top Sixty Over Sixty also provides programs and courses for older adults as well as businesses and companies to help everyone benefit from our aging demographic.Connect with Helen:Email: helen@topsixtyoversixty.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-hirsh-spence-a029a010/Website: https://www.topsixtyoversixty.com

Janis Clark Johnston is a family psychologist, speaker, and author of several books, most recently Transforming Retirement: Rewire and Grow Your Legacy. When she experienced 9/11, Janis says, she became more sensitive to other’s pain and loss. Planning rituals to honor the person you lost helps you to grow during the grieving process. Keeping a gratitude journal, for example, is a process that is creative by nature and becomes a daily ritual. Janis believes that recognizing the difference between a ‘Growth Mindset’ and a ‘Fixed Mindset’ helps us to understand our own personalities. Life is better if we are more flexible. And when we can develop grit, purpose and passion, with energy as the driver, we are able to live in the present moment, which is the only time we have to make something happen. Our personalities are plastic, not plaster.  Living is a gift - this being alive in the present moment. When that’s your daily approach, everything flows from there. Attitude is really important in life.Janis applies her beliefs to her own aging. Exercise, meditation, gardening and learning something new every day form the basis of her self-care routine. Society needs to re-identify aging. It applies to everyone at every age. Janis finds life challenging and invigorating. She loves learning. It’s a wonderful way to age. There are always new things to learn. She has recently written a picture book that deals with bullying.Connect with Janis Clark Johnston, Ed.D.Author: Transforming Retirement: Rewire and Grow Your LegacyMidlife Maze: A Map to Recovery and Rediscovery after LossIt Takes a Child to Raise a Parent: Stories of Evolving Child & Parent DevelopmentWebsite: https://janisjohnston.comBlog: https://janis-johnston.com

Emily Clionsky, MD, and Mitchell Clionsky, PhD, are a physician and neuropsychologist couple who have cared for their own parents with dementia, created a test used by doctors to measure cognitive function, and treated more than 25,000 patients with cognitive impairment. They partner at a private practice, Clionsky Neuro Systems, Inc., based in Springfield, Massachusetts.  They are frequent public speakers, podcast guests, and workshop presenters for general and professional audiences.In their recent book, Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain, published earlier this year by John Hopkins Press,  they combine the most current scientific findings about Alzheimer's disease and other dementias with their experience to present a practical guide that empowers you to improve your brain's future. The authors guide you through a science-based tour of dementia, including how your brain works and how its function is affected by everything from blood circulation and blood pressure to sugar levels, medications, vision, and hearing. Dr. Emily explains: “So many people who came to my practice, above the age of 55, were having major problems in how they were thinking. I decided to do a 2nd residency concentrating on dementia. They have a full clinic. Mitch does neurological testing. I do comprehensive medical evaluations, which give me a full picture of how that person is thinking. Treatment is incredibly complex. The sooner you start, the more you have to work with.” “Eight out of 10 of us are worried about getting dementia. And that's because most of us don't know that half of the dementia cases can be prevented." Connect with Drs. Emily & Mitchell Clionsky:Book: Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your BrainContact: rebekah.clough@braindoc.com

Diane Slezak, CEO of Age Options, talks about the pressing issues facing older adults, such as home-delivered meals and awareness of scams. She discusses the importance of advocacy for older adults and caregivers and highlights efforts to address scams targeting older adults. Diane also shares insights into promoting independence for older adults through various housing options and assistance programs. In an interview, she reflects on her caregiving experiences and emphasizes the need to change the conversation about women aging.

Since becoming CEO of The Village Chicago in 2019, Darcy hasoverseen the growth and vitality of The Village—including over500 comprehensive programs that focus on social, emotional, andphysical well-being. She promotes improved quality of life forolder adults and intergenerational collaboration at work, at home,and in the community. Darcy and colleagues delve into the rootcauses of ageism and age bias, including internal and externalageism. She advocates that age must be included in diversity,equity, and inclusion policies and practices. Darcy is committed tojoining hands and voices to empower individuals and enrichcommunities.Connect with Darcy:Email: Darcy@thevillagechicago.orgWebsite: https://thevillagechicago.org

For much of her life, Susan Cartland-Bode has shared her gift ofmusic-- as a soloist and choral singer, voice teacher, player ofpiano and violin and, most recently, fiddle. A resident of PlymouthPlace in LaGrange Park, IL, Susan performs solos, sings with thePlymouth Place Singers, and directs the Singing Sages, a groupthat offers sing-along programs for residents in the upper levelsof care. The joy of music has sustained Susan throughchallenging times in her life; she is writing her memoir in fouracts. Susan and her husband, Hank, have been living happily atPlymouth Place since 2019—"the best decision we ever made.” Intheir spare moments, they enjoy sharing time with their“blended” family - 5 married kids, 10 grandchildren (3 married)and 2 “Greats!”"I believe in the power of music for the aging mind." - Susan Cartland-BodeWomen Over 70 thanks Plymouth Place for sponsoring this episode.Connect with Susan:Email: susancbode@me.com