Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

Chris Ruys, 81, has never been one to resist an interesting fork in the road. A lifelong lover of art, words and people’s stories, she follows her curiosity into activism, creative pursuits and unexpected adventures. What others might call taking risks, she sees as making choices—with her mother’s example as an enduring inspiration.

Her activism took root during her early 20s, from protesting the Vietnam War at UC Berkeley to a fledgling activist group at Illinois State University. As editor of the university student newspaper, she discovered the power of print to inform and influence. Later, her work with the Women’s Business Development Center and Chicago-area NAWBO gave her opportunities to tell entrepreneurs’ stories and champion women business owners.

Today, her curiosity continues to serve her community. Through the League of Women Voters, Chris registers voters, shares nonpartisan voting information with the public, educates its members, and, through participation in a League Study, helps research the history of how Chicago has chosen its mayors. Along the way, she has found both worthwhile causes and close friendships.

Ten years of chronic back pain have brought challenges and an ongoing search for relief. Learning, friendships and creativity remain central to her life—from a “Stage and Screen” class at Fourth Presbyterian Church to exploring autodidactism and experimenting with gel printmaking.

Once accustomed to helping clients set goals and make marketing plans, Chris now welcomes personal discovery as it unfolds. Gel printing captures that spirit perfectly: you never quite know what you’ll get until you lift the print—and that’s part of the pleasure.

“You knew what you wanted when you took a look at what you got.” - Chris Ruys

At 76, Magda Bogin describes herself as an “a-typical international,” drawn

to the sounds of languages, the cello, and the power of words. A poet,

novelist, journalist, teacher, librettist, translator, and cellist, she has devoted

her life to exploring how we make meaning and express what we know.

For 25 years, through her retreat center, Under the Volcano, in the heart of

Mexico, Magda has brought together world-renowned teachers and

accomplished and emerging writers from English- and Spanish-speaking

countries. In this intimate setting, participants deepen their craft in poetry,

fiction, bearing witness, and investigative journalism—while forming bonds

that enrich both their work and their lives. Growing older, Magda reflects,

has given new meaning to “living in the moment.” It is less about holding on

to what is familiar and more about embracing more.

“I love the sounds of languages, the cello, and words—and helping

others find their own ways of knowing and expressing truth.” - Magda Bogin

Connect with Magda

Email: magda@underthevolcano.org

Website: https://underthevolcano.org

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan

organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how

they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP

volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger

communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

For Liz DiCarlo, 77, activism isn’t something separate from everyday life. It is how she lives—seeing a need, stepping forward, and working alongside others to create change.

Now retired after a long career as a registered nurse and community organizer in central North Carolina, New Bedford, and throughout Cape Cod and the islands, Liz and her wife of 38 years, Bev Baccelli, are creating a new chapter together. Retirement has simply given Liz more time to continue the work that matters to her.

Liz grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, in a community where Italian families lived alongside people with different traditions and backgrounds. Her mother was her earliest role model, demonstrating how people could respect their differences while working and playing together. Liz carried that lesson into a lifetime of community action: “I’ll play whatever role needs to be done.”

And she has.

Combining her nursing experience with her skills as a community organizer, Liz helped establish the first street outreach program in her community to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. A grassroots effort to unite women and men against sexual violence grew into a rape crisis center. Decades ago, she organized a campus drop-in center where students could obtain birth control.

Liz has also long been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ equality. When she and Bev first became a couple 38 years ago, they chose to be open about who they were. Liz came to see herself as an ambassador for the lesbian community, helping create understanding through visibility, conversation, and action.

Her belief in bodily autonomy extends through the end of life. Active with Compassion & Choices, Liz advocates for medical aid in dying and for legislation that would make it available in Massachusetts. Affordable housing is another focus: “Everyone is entitled to secure housing,” she says, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and

respect.

Her activism can also be wonderfully practical. Today, Liz contributes to the development of South Coast Massachusetts bike trails and has helped provide more than 400 bicycles to area children.

Liz knows there will come a time when she can no longer do this work herself. So she is already preparing the next generation—encouraging younger people to recognize the issues that matter to them and helping them discover how they, too, can step forward.

“My work wasn’t done in isolation. I worked alongside others who cared about the same

issues.”

Perhaps that is the heart of Liz’s story: activism is not only about standing up. It is about standing with others—and leaving behind people who are ready to continue the work.

"Everybody has a right to quality health care. You must advocate for yourself and advocate for one another.” - Elizabeth (Liz) DiCarlo

THANKS TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR, AARP ILLINOIS a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Ann Jones, 75, has never been afraid of change. Curiosity and courage have carried her from teaching on a remote Native American reservation to a demanding career with Andersen Consulting/Accenture, and later to gardening, real estate, and a new life in Asheville, North Carolina.

That first teaching assignment, 90 miles from Gallup, New Mexico, taught Ann something important: she could handle hard things. Teaching wasn’t her calling, but the experience gave her the confidence to keep moving toward what came next.

Ann sees life as something she can help design. When one chapter no longer fits, she is willing to close it and begin another. In Asheville, she discovered a new outlet for her curiosity through OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where she both takes and creates classes. Her first course? Get Your Kicks on Route 66.

As a solo ager without children, Ann is equally intentional about planning for the future. She is building an “alternate kin” network and has arranged for professional healthcare advocacy should she need it. For Ann, preparing for aging isn’t about fear—it’s about taking responsibility for the life ahead.

We often imagine life as a straight line. Ann sees it differently: more like a spiral, with each chapter bringing us somewhere new while drawing on everything that came before.

Her guiding question is simple and powerful: What do I want my next chapter to look like?

“Every chapter has a beginning, middle and end. What do I want my next chapter to look like?” - Ann Jones

THANKS TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR, AARP ILLINOIS a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security and stronger communities.

VisitAARP.org/IL to learn more.

Founder and Executive Director Donna V. Werner’s humanitarian journey began in 2016, when she attended a conference in Toronto, Canada, as an international delegate from the United States. There, she met a gentleman from Kenya who had recently started a school and invited Donna to help support the children. She traveled to Kenya in June 2017 to see the needs firsthand. Upon returning she noted, “I am no longer the same person. Visiting Kenya changed me.”

Donna soon established a 501(c)(3): Dorcas Destiny International. DDI has since grown from one relationship with one school into an organization with Kenyan staff and programs serving communities in several parts of the country. Today, DDI coordinates daily feeding for more than 700 children and also provides educational enrichment, social work and home visits, scholarships, and emergency assistance.

DDI's scholarship program helps students continue into high school, with the larger vision of helping young people not only complete secondary education but have the opportunity to pursue university, vocational training, and productive futures.

One of DDI’s most significant next steps is the development of Beloved Destiny Children’s Home in Lodwar, Turkana County where DDI currently supports 36 vulnerable children, many who experience life on the streets, hunger, abandonment, or severe family hardship. The vision is to establish a safe, stable home while working with local authorities and families toward education, care, family tracing, and reunification whenever possible.

What began with one invitation to visit one school has become a growing international ministry—and Donna continues to ask others to find their place in the story.

Dorcas Destiny International (DDI) is a thriving nonprofit providing tangible support to children and women in Kenya, East Africa, since June 2017. DDI serves hundreds of children and families living in extreme poverty through daily nutrition, education, scholarships, crisis assistance, community development, and other programs designed to create lasting impact.

Website: https://DorcasDestinyIntl.org.

You can reach Donna directly by calling her at 773-505-3378

or via email at Donna@dorcasdestinyintl.org.

THANKS TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR, AARP ILLINOIS a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security and stronger communities.

VisitAARP.org/IL to learn more.

What can we learn from older adults who maintain remarkable memory and cognitive health well into their 80s and beyond? Dr. Emily Rogalski invites us into the fascinating science of SuperAgers—adults over 80 whose memory performance is comparable to people 20–30 years younger. As leader of the SuperAging Research Initiative at the University of Chicago,

Dr. Rogalski and her team study what allows some people to age remarkably well. She explains emerging findings in accessible language, including intriguing differences between women and men, and explores the protective factors that may contribute to exceptional cognitive health. She also talks about the interplay of genetics, lifestyle, environment, and brain biology—and what SuperAgers may teach us about healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

Connect with Emily

Email: erogalski@uchicago.edu; Elizabeth.addison@bsd.uchicago.edu

Website SuperAging Research Initiative

THANKS TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR, AARP ILLINOIS a nonprofit,

nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to

choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in

Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security and

stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

At 93, Glennette Tilley Turner is still following stories—and still making history visible. For nearly 50 years, Glennette has researched and shared the stories of freedom seekers who traveled the Illinois Underground Railroad, illuminating a largely overlooked chapter of our nation’s history. An innovative educator, author, historian, consultant, speaker, and tour guide, she has brought these stories to audiences of all ages and has earned recognition from universities, historical societies, lawmakers, and artists. But Glennette’s work is about more than the past. By uncovering stories that have too often gone unmentioned in textbooks and classrooms, she invites us to see history—and ourselves—with fresh eyes. Glennette says she is “loving aging,” cherishing connections with old friends while continuing to make new ones. Her latest creative venture? Writing a Kwanzaa skit featuring an imaginary dinner party hosted by Harriet Tubman. Glennette reminds us that courage has no expiration date.

“It’s never too late or you’re never unqualified to be courageous.” - Glennette Turner

Connect with Glennette

Email mzfootsteps@gmail.com

Biography: glennette Tilley turner biography - Search

Selected Books by Glennette

 A Man Called Horse: John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad (2021)

 The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers. (2026)

 The Underground Railroad in Illinois (2001)

Thanks to Women Over 70s platinum sponsor, AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit aarpil@aarp.org to learn more.

Retirement has afforded Ann Stanford, age 75, “unbelievable luxury—the space and freedom to let things bubble up.” She savors this time to reflect on how she really wants to live and what it means to become fully herself. Always a writer, a former mentor to adult learners, and now a spiritual companion, Ann is committed to “telling my own truths”—and helping others express theirs. Psychoanalysis and contemplative practice have opened the door to “profound spiritual experiences,” helping Ann move beyond a difficult childhood and later struggles with depression and addiction. She is deeply grateful for the “mooring” provided by family and community, as well as for the space that silence and solitude have given her to listen inward. Ann lives by a simple but powerful maxim: “Don’t be afraid of the demons. Trust other people to help you. The answers are in you.”

"If ever I lose my intellectual and physical functioning, I pray I will still have a place inside myself that welcomes me." - Ann Stanford

Connect with Ann: astanfor@depaul.edu

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Shining the Light on the Age-Wise Collective: Adriane Berg, host of the podcast, Ageless Traveler—stories from people 50+ who never want to stop traveling. https://agelesstraveler.com/podcasts/

At 89, Cynthia Goren is navigating a profound new chapter. Since the death of her husband last October after 67 years of marriage, she has become more aware of her own mortality—and more determined to live meaningfully. For Cynthia, that means continuing to learn, staying engaged in the things she loves, and, above all, helping others.

“People need favors,” she says. “Physical help, someone to listen to their stories.” Listening and helping have been threads throughout Cynthia’s life.

A lifelong learner and teacher, Cynthia traces her love of learning to her parents. Teaching became a natural extension of her curiosity: she taught English in elementary school and literature at community college, delighting in explaining ideas and sharing what she was discovering. Even today, learning remains an essential part of who she is.

Cynthia’s Jewish faith and traditions have also shaped her sense of responsibility to others. Wanting to pass those traditions on to her children and grandchildren, she wrote Tales from a Jewish Grandmother: A Book of “Bubbe Meises,” using stories, food, Jewish education, family life, and humor to preserve a heritage she treasures.

Now she is turning to another family story: the life of her father, who grew up in a shtetl before coming to the United States at age nine. Using handwritten notes he left behind, Cynthia is transforming his memories into historical fiction—preserving one generation’s story for those who come after.

Her compassion has extended beyond her family. Trained as a para-chaplain, Cynthia met weekly with older adults in a nursing home, using conversations about the Sabbath to create a space where people could talk openly about sadness, loss, and the realities of their lives.

Cynthia’s story reminds us that meaningful living doesn’t require standing still when life changes. It can mean adapting, remaining curious, listening deeply, preserving the stories that matter—and continuing to ask, “How can I help?”

“Helping others is the Jewish way of life.” - Cynthia Goren

Connect with Cynthia:

Book: Tales from a Jewish Grandmother: A Book of “Bubbe Meises

Email: cyngoren@gmail.com

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

For much of her life, writer Melinda Blau, 82, was curious about older women. Now she is discovering what it means to be one.

Melinda began her career in educational publishing, where writers don’t have to worry about word count. Later, working on her first magazine piece for New York, her editor, T. George Harris challenged her: “You skip through life. Why are you lumbering on paper?” It was one of many lessons in a lifelong writing career—and a reminder that there is always something new to learn.

That same curiosity eventually drew Melinda to nine older women whose friendships profoundly influenced her life. They became the inspiration for “The Wisdom Whisperers.” Henrietta, legally blind and living to 99, into her 100s, became Melinda’s model for courage. Zelda still played tennis at 99 and walked three miles a day into her 100s. Marge, who might have been New York’s oldest Wall Street investor, was still managing her own portfolio at age 104. Melinda affectionately called them “my old ladies.” Each showed her something about resilience, independence, courage, and finding pleasure in the everyday. Their examples stayed with her as she faced her own losses, changes, and “nexts.”

And then came the moment that stopped her: someone said to Melinda, “You are my old lady.” In this conversation, Melinda reflects on what these women taught her, what she is learning now that she is 82, and why aging well may have less to do with grand accomplishments than with drawing on what we already know, remaining curious, taking pride in the little things—and continuing to look for the good.

“There are challenges in aging. Look at what is, use your skills, draw on past experiences for strength—and look for the good.” - Melinda Blau

Connect w Melinda:

Substack: Melinda Blau

Email: melinblau@aol.com

Book: The Wisdom Whisperers-Golden Guides to a Long Life of Grit, Grace, and Laughter

Meet Our Platinum Sponsor

AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Shining the Light on the Age-Wise Collective:

Adriane Berg, host of the podcast, Ageless Traveler—stories from people 50+ who never want to stop traveling. https://agelesstraveler.com/podcasts/

As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Paula, 77, understood early what it meant to live with absence. Her parents each lost their entire families eventually meeting after the war and emigrating to the United States with Paula.

Paula read every book she could find about the Holocaust, asking herself: Why do people do this to one another? Her parents' understanding of history, trauma, and survival, as well as a distinct way of seeing the world, helped shape the direction of Paula’s life.

Growing up in a lower-income neighborhood, Paula saw injustice everywhere. She tried to talk with people about her parents’ experiences, but their lack of engagement strengthened her determination to change the way people respond to inhumanity, illness, and suffering.

Married in 1970 and a mother at 21, she and her husband supported each other as they completed their education while raising their son. Paula eventually earned a Master of Social Work degree and worked for 27 years teaching at a community college. Throughout her career, she has worked as a social worker, advocate, and community organizer. She advocated for housing for people with disabilities and her work at a community college allowed her to help people one-on-one—an approach grounded in her belief that empowerment is essential.

Paula has been retired for six years and has not slowed down. She leads hospice and bereavement groups; works with formerly incarcerated people and individuals in prison, ia a Reiki practitioner, and after retiring became a massage therapist to serve underserved communities.

And now an author! One day, while riding the train, Paula imagined a woman who seemed to embody everything she had experienced and witnessed. That woman became the central character in her novel, Among Us. With the support of writing groups, Paula developed the character’s story and brought the book to life.

When asked how she feels about aging, Paula says, “I feel like I am all ages.”

"If I can understand the human condition, surely there is a solution." - Paula Nesoff

Connect with Paula:

Email: pnesoff@gmail.com

Book: Among Us

AARP Logo

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

At 71, Terry Craig reflects on a life shaped by creativity, curiosity, movement, and reinvention.

Growing up as the second of six siblings, Terry learned early how to resolve conflicts and bring people together. Her mother sewed clothing for the family, and Terry soon discovered her own love of sewing and creating patterns. Over the years, she expanded into quilting and fiber art, including painting with wool and learning wet felting. Always eager to try something new, Terry embraces projects that keep her engaged and inspired.

After studying interior design at the Art Institute, Terry realized she wanted a career centered on people and moved into human resources, and later into sales, after relocating to Florida. Upon returning to Chicago, she again worked in HR. Wherever Terry lives, she brings her sewing machine and seeks out community. Local community centers offer groups and classes where she can play Scrabble and connect with fellow stitchers.

Physical movement has always been important. Terry began cycling after high school and met her future husband through the sport. Together, they explore multi-day rides, and they are now preparing for a five-week, self-guided e-bike tour along the canals of Paris, ending with a week on the Riviera. Today, she and her husband split their time between Chicago and Scottsdale, AZ where she teaches sewing to a group of 167 people. The group also completes charitable projects, including Easter baskets, pillowcases, and activity totes for children.

Terry stays active through hiking, pickleball, cycling, and walking—10,000 steps barely faze her. She believes age is a state of mind and encourages others to overcome fear by starting small and celebrating tiny successes.

For Terry Craig, reinvention is a lifelong way of living.

“Age is a state of mind and you can overcome fear by starting small and celebrating tiny successes.” - Terry Craig

CONNECT WITH TERRY:

Email: teresalcraig@gmail.com

AARP Logo

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor, AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Recently, at 95, Ruby Hill spends time reflecting on her life. Two principles stand out: “I cared deeply about the needs of others, and the results were better than I could have imagined.” She also believes that much of her life was shaped by others, beginning with her father’s decision that pharmacy should be her career. Ruby married the young man who sat behind her in Dr. Paytash’s Chemistry 101 class, when classroom seats were assigned and attendance was taken by name. A year after earning her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and passing the State Board exam, they married. By the end of that decade, they were raising three thriving children. Decades later, inspired by the values of a small Unitarian Universalist congregation, Ruby responded to George Floyd’s murder by helping launch a STEM initiative for Black girls that combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with self-care, leadership, and community care.

"Beginning with love for ourselves and each other, we can keep learning, know that we all belong, and create hope for future generations." - Ruby Hill

Connect with Ruby

Email: hoopbab@hotmail.com

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Drawing on decades of experience in psychiatric mental health and a wide range of health care settings, Maureen Rafa now runs her own business as an elder care coordinator. She also actively volunteers to improve coordinated care, build livable communities, and promote thoughtful end-of-life planning. In this conversation, she challenges common misconception about aging—from the fear of dementia to the expectation of simply “dying in one’s sleep”—and urges older adults, especially women, to recognize and confront the “rampant ageism” embedded in our society. Maureen encourages women to become informed self-advocates and models that philosophy in her own life. At 72, she has downsized to an independent-living community, planned financially for future care, and remains intentional about avoiding isolation.

“Always keep your female friends.” - Maureen Rafa

Connect with Maureen

Email: maureenrafa10@gmail.com

Maureen Rafa | LinkedIn

Women Over 70 Welcomes our Platinum Sponsor

AARP Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they wish to live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

What if aging could become a time of deeper meaning, connection, and personal transformation? Writer and baby boomer Abbie Rosner explores that possibility in her new book, Psychedelics and the Counterculture of Aging. Drawing on hundreds of clinical studies, authentic stories, and an overview of safe practices and the evolving legal landscape, she examines how psychedelics are being used to support the psychospiritual journey of becoming an elder. Abbie emphasizes that maturity matters: yesterday's risk-taking has evolved into today's thoughtful, intentional exploration. She invites us to consider whether a growing movement of conscious elders—committed to connection, compassion, healing, and purpose—might reshape how we think about aging. Whether you're curious, skeptical, or simply interested in new perspectives on aging, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at one of the most unexpected developments in later life.

Connect with Abbie

Book: Psychedelics and the Counterculture of Aging (Park Street Press. July 2026)

Website: https://www.abbierosner.com

The ELDEREVOLUTION Newsletter on Psychedelics in Older Life.

https://abbierosner.substack.com

Women Over 70 Welcomes our Platinum Sponsor

AARP Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they wish to live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Lifelong traveler, Barbara Winard, 78, has been exploring the globe since she was in her twenties. She loves traveling independently and has taken 8 trips as a solo traveler with Road Scholar— the not-for-profit world leader in educational travel for older adults. Barbara travels to learn, so Road Scholar’s focus on educational travel has been a perfect fit for her. “Discovering new things in your life is wonderful,” she says. “All travel expands your world and helps you understand other people.”

After traveling with Road Scholar to South Dakota, Barbara started writing blogs for the organization and quickly became Road Scholar’s go-to expert on solo travel. Through her work with the organization, she formed a friendship with Road Scholar’s former blog editor (and now PR director) Kelsey Knoedler Perri, 38. They have since traveled on a Road Scholar trip together to Quebec City. They both appreciate that Road Scholar has given them the opportunity to build an intergenerational connection.

Hear about Barbara’s experience as a solo traveler, how travel has changed for her as she ages, and learn from Kelsey about Road Scholar and how working for the organization for over 10 years has changed her perspective on older adults and aging.

“Discover new things in your life. Don’t overthink traveling alone. Take the leap.” - Road Scholar

Connect with Kelsey and Barbara:

Kelsey: Kelsey.Perri@roadscholar.org

Facebook: Women with Road Scholar

Website: www.roadscholar.org

___________________________________________________________________

And, Women Over 70 is pleased to

welcome our platinum sponsor,

AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan

organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how

they wish to live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Visionary. Connector. Builder. Those words describe Katina Strauch, 79.

When we spoke with Katina, she was recovering from a broken leg, talking with us from her bed on her smartphone. Despite the setback, she remains what she has always been: an active writer, researcher, lifelong learner, and trusted consultant to the Charleston Conference—the influential global gathering for the scholarly communications community that she founded more than four decades ago.

What began as a meeting of just 20 people has grown into an annual conference that attracts thousands of academic librarians, publishers, booksellers, vendors, and information professionals from around the world. In the late 1970s, major research libraries had opportunities to meet through the Association of Research Libraries, but there was no place where smaller academic libraries, publishers, and vendors could come together as equals to exchange ideas and solve shared challenges. Katina recognized that gap and imagined something entirely new: an informal, collaborative conference where every voice mattered.

At the time, she was on the tenure track and looking for a meaningful way to establish her professional reputation. Rather than pursuing a traditional academic path, she created a gathering that transformed an industry. By inviting antiquarian book librarians, publishers, vendors, and librarians into the same conversation, she built a community that continues to shape scholarly communication today.

Reflecting on its impact, Katina simply says, "It's had a huge impact."

The Charleston Conference recently entered a new chapter when it was acquired by the nonprofit Annual Reviews, helping ensure that Katina's remarkable legacy will continue for generations to come.

"Smaller academic libraries, publishers, and vendors now could come together as equals." - Katina Strauch

Connect with Katina:

Email: katina.strauch@gmail.com

Book: Doing the Charleston (2025) – Katina's memoir chronicling the creation and evolution of the Charleston Conference alongside her career as a librarian.

Thanking our Platinum Sponsor—AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities.

Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Shining the light on Age-Wise Collective—check out Boomer Banter with

Wendy Green—it’s in a new chapter, with shorter solo episodes focused on her personal caregiving journey and the search for purpose in later life. Going deeper, her Substack, Thriving Through Time, by Boomer Banter is where she really opens up.

Find everything on Wendy’s website, heyboomer.biz.

Writing has been a guiding force in Nancy Morgan’s life, woven together with her love of language, travel, and cross-cultural learning. Across a career in teaching, curriculum design, media production, and study-abroad leadership, writing has remained at the heart of her work.

Now retired, Nancy has turned more deeply to writing as a way to explore life’s complex and difficult questions. Drawing on personal experience, she writes fictionalized accounts about the impact of dysfunction, homelessness, and mental illness on family relationships. Curious about the emotional truths beneath the surface, Nancy strives to “get into the soul of her characters.” Homelessness, a central theme in her writing, is also at the heart of her volunteer work and social commitment.

At the center of Nancy’s life is family. She describes her husband, two daughters, and seven grandchildren as her greatest source of joy and grounding. Today, Nancy says simply and gratefully, “I love the life I am living.”

“Stories can help us understand what families often struggle to say out loud.” - Nancy Morgan

Connect with Nancy

Email: nancybattistamorgan@gmail.com

Thanking our Platinum Sponsor—AARP Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 1.7 million members in Illinois, AARP volunteers advocate for better health, financial security, and stronger communities. Visit AARP.org/IL to learn more.

Shining the light on Age-Wise Collective—check out Boomer Banter with Wendy Green—it’s in a new chapter, with shorter solo episodes focused on her personal caregiving journey and the search for purpose in later life. Going deeper, her Substack, Thriving Through Time, by Boomer Banter is where she really opens up. Find everything on Wendy’s website, heyboomer.biz.

Kathy Bresler, founder of ALTAR Community in Chicago, has created a welcoming space where women of all ages come together to be seen, heard, and supported. ALTAR is a third space for women centered around meaningful gatherings, conversation, creativity, reflection, and authentic connection.

Through conversation, reflection, and shared experience, women discover what feels most true and meaningful in their lives and often experience profound personal transformation.

Grounded in curiosity, creativity, and compassion, Kathy brings together her background in interfaith and interspiritual ministry with years of corporate leadership experience to nurture both the heart and the practical realities of building community.

Kathy believes younger women are hungry for meaningful relationships with older women who embody a different way of aging — women who are alive, engaged, creative, evolving, and unwilling to disappear into society’s narrow expectations of later life. In turn, older women are renewed by being seen, valued, and welcomed into authentic intergenerational connection.

At the center of Kathy’s work is an invitation to cultivate what she calls “Vitamin J” — the practice of nurturing and extending our “joy-span” at every stage of life.

Connect with Kathy Email: kathy@altarcommunity.com ALTAR Community Chicago: https://www.altarcommunity.com

Shining the Light on Age-Wise Collective—Women Over 70 is proud to be part of the Age-Wise Collective, a group of women podcasters championing pro-aging voices. We highlight Beverley Glazer, a transition coach and

strategic thinking partner whose podcast-AgingwithPurposeandPassion.com –showcases the raw, empowering stories of high-achieving women who have navigated the most extreme life transitions with unshakeable resilience.

At 80, Regan Burke is still organizing, advocating, and speaking out.

But her path to becoming a respected activist, columnist, memoirist, and political influencer was anything but straightforward. Before she found sobriety in her twenties, drugs and alcohol shaped much of her daily life. She attended five different high schools, searching for direction until one perceptive nun recognized her talent and changed the course of her future by encouraging her to write.

That spark ignited a lifelong commitment to telling the truth.

For decades, Regan immersed herself in political organizing, volunteering for campaigns she believed could make a difference. A devoted member of the recovery community, she carried the lessons of honesty and accountability into her writing, becoming a blogger, newspaper columnist, and memoirist known for speaking candidly about politics, power, and personal struggle.

Today, despite living with chronic pain, Regan refuses to retreat from public life. She organizes rallies for people with limited mobility, mentors younger political leaders, and works tirelessly to encourage civic engagement. While she may no longer knock on doors, her determination to create change remains as strong as ever.

In this conversation, Regan reflects on sobriety, activism, aging, courage, and why using your voice may be more important now than ever.

And when the work gets hard? She sings. Choir music helps ease her pain, sharpens her mind, and reminds her that community can be one of life's most powerful forms of healing.

"It’s risky to stand up - it takes bravery." - Regan Burke

Connect with Regan:

Blog: ReganBurke.com

Email: Regan.Burke@gmail.com

Shining the Light on Age-Wise Collective—Women Over 70 is proud to be part of the Age-Wise Collective, a group of women podcasters championing pro-aging voices. We highlight gerontologist Sally Duplantier, host of Wellness Wednesdays. These free and recorded webinars feature experts on topics about healthy aging. Visit MyZingLife.com to learn more.