Kathleen is the Entrepreneur behind Bellicchi’s Best Biscotti, a story that honors her late husband and their love for baking together.  She turned that shared hobby into a successful, full-time home food business, selling products in New England stores and aligning with large chains such as Whole Foods. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Alzheimer’s Association, honoring the memory of her husband, Eric, who died of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2013.  Kathleen emphasizes using local ingredients, including Rhode Island eggs, Cabot butter, and she sells her goods at farmers’ markets.

Kathleen remains active, vibrant, teaching presentation skills to executives and entrepreneurs while maintaining physical fitness, and planning new products like “Nona the Stonah’s Cannabiscotti.”

• Turn a passion into a business.  Resources, networks, and tools are out there; get connected.
• Entrepreneurship is a viable outlet for talent, interest, income, and the development of new skills.
• Home businesses contribute mightily to local economies, + employ family and local talent.
• Entrepreneurship honors family expertise, ingenuity while meeting current market demands.
• Personal passion provides new purpose which is especially true as other markets dissipate.

Website: https://www.myfuturepurpose.com/posts/the-joy-of-baking-biscotti/

Founder Christine Crosby is the brains, spark, and energy behind GRAND Magazine since its birth in 2004. The magazine transformed how society views grandparenting.  Her mission has remained constant through ups and downs of the Pandemic, the impact of COVID, and even a hurricane that destroyed Grand’s headquarters. Through it all, GRAND continues to celebrate the joys and challenges of the grandparent role in today’s bewildering and tech-savvy world.

Christine is a firm believer that grandparenting is life-changing. It opens new chapters of renewed purpose, love, and diverse needs, while the flipside is also true. Each grandparent has his or her own needs, navigating the transitions that come with elderhood. Exploring these crucial roles is the essence of GRAND, and kudos to Christine Crosby for her leadership and devotion that keeps GRAND in the limelight.

• GRAND provides the help to stoke and transmit new trends, stories, and wisdom to generations.
• GRAND  is a bridge to intergenerational dialogue, bonds, and deepened understanding.
• GRAND stays future-focused by drawing content from experts in positive aging and beyond.
• GRAND honors experience and stories while balancing lessons learned with new perspectives.
• GRAND invites new, emerging topics along with creative ways to engage with grandchildren.

Website: https://www.grandmagazine.com/author/christine/

Larry Jacobson authored five books devoted to transitions, post-career planning, a children’s book on sailing the world, drawing from personal experience, and his newest book, Beyond the Meeting Room Mastering Communication in a Remote World.  Larry is a sought after and seasoned business/personal coach and mentor to aspiring leaders. With 20 years of business experience, including work as a CEO, he embarked on a six-year sailing adventure around the world as a model to clients to reach identified goals.

He excels in navigating entrepreneurship and his work is used in business schools and higher ed institutions.  From rich experience, he speaks about leadership, visioning, goal setting, managing fear, risk taking, decision-making, perseverance, and leading with passion.  Larry was  the recent recipient of the Retirement Catalyst Award by the Retirement Coaches Association for his contributions to the life planning field.

• Get away from your desk; engage face-to-face with acquaintances, allies, and advocates.
• Gain comfort with remote communication tools: texting, email, phone, video conference, and document collaboration. Your future may depend on it.
• Connect with your purpose, and how to fulfill it; then set your course, and stick to it.
• With added longevity, create a plan with purpose, fulfillment, and fun at its core.
• Identify your passions, look for consistent themes, and gather what it will take to get there.

Website: https://larryjacobson.com/retirement-coach/

Major General (ret.) Lorraine Potter was the first female chaplain commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and the first woman to serve as the Air Force Chief of Chaplains.  She served our country from 1973 to 2004, breaking numerous gender barriers throughout her distinguished 31-year career.  After earning a Master of Divinity degree, Lorraine learned that applicants for Air Force chaplaincy had to be male. She questioned that restriction and the gender requirement was dropped. Lorraine was commissioned in 1973, making history for breaking numerous barriers.

She served at every command level and was the Command Major General and the most senior chaplain in the Department of Defense. In retirement, Lorraine remains active and The American Baptist Home Mission Societies established the Lorraine K, Potter Military Chaplaincy Merit Award in her honor.

• Open doors for others to leadership roles; break gender barriers with conviction and respect.
• Step up to champion the rights for all faiths to practice religious freedom freely in the military.
• Provide emotional, spiritual, moral support and pastoral care to 850,000 Air Force personnel and families; n retirement, continue lifelong service to new constituencies.
• Advise on ethical matters and quality of life as part of the Armed Forces Chaplains Board.
• Practice lifelong deep-seated beliefs and faith to serve country and God.

Website: https://www.veterans-in-blue.af.mil/Veterans/VetLib/Article/1361611/lorraine-k-potter/

Thelma is a retired professor of English and Education with a lifelong interest in language.  She organized the World Symposium on Family Literacy in Paris at UNESCO, created the advisory council for Hooked on Phonics, and served as spokesperson in the 1990’s.  Thelma was Director of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Literacy and was a frequent media presenter. She was instrumental with Philadelphia Young Playwrights and chaired the Board of Children’s Literacy Initiative. Thelma Co-authored three books on healthy aging and founded the popular blog. Elderchicks, exploring reinvention in later life. Recently, Thelma launched Seriously Senior on Substack.  Now a nonagenarian, Thelma is a mother, grandmother, and resides in Philadelphia with her husband, Harvey, an artist and author. She is engaged in several organizations and lends legitimacy to issues being discussed. When Thelma speaks, those gathered listen.

• Whatever project is undertaken, make sure it has academic foundation, credibility, and visibility.
• Find and develop your voice to promote what matters to you; media presence is an imperative.
• Literacy education is fundamental and must be recognized and supported.
• Engage youth in creative writing/literacy through playwriting; the skills will be used for life.
• If a cause is important and matters to a specific population, stand up and speak out!

Website: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thelma-Reese/author/B00EKNJEXM?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Jan brings 30+ years of experience to her workshops in resilience, coaching, successful aging, and life transitions in mid to later life. She works in both public and private sectors, focusing on the needs of Baby Boomers, redefining aging in midlife. In addition to coaching, Jan facilitates discussion groups to promote successful aging to midlifers. She hones in on health and wellness, social connections, life transitions, and strategies to cultivate positive aging.

Jan is an active community member, having served as Co-Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of Life Planning Network, Chair of the Bux-Mont Neighborhood Community, and developed the Sandwich Generation Series, providing support to Baby Boomers in caregiving roles.  She brings unmatched sensitivity, resourcefulness, and diligence to her coaching and workshops.

• When you become resilient, perspective shifts to manage issues that once were impossible.
• Practice gratitude as a key strategy for physical and emotional health and well-being
• Rid yourself of “busy” handcuffs to find out ”Who am I?” and “What do I want?”
• Set priorities and boundaries; both are important and use them daily as your guide.
• Identify your reciprocal support system; be there for them as they are here for you.

Website: https://coachingresilience.com

Syble’s background includes gerontology, executive coaching , and earlier expertise in education. She focused on skills in money personality and financial planning across the age spectrum to where she is an expert on the psychology of money. Syble is founder of LifeWise, and creator of the Money Habitudes (MH) card deck. The MH card game and accompanying manual assists individuals to learn how their habits and attitudes about money support or sabotage relationships, career, and goals. Her firm, LifeWise, promotes financial education and the psychology of money,

Syble garnered numerous awards for Money Habitudes, including Educator of the Year Award from The Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education and Book of the Month selection by the Washington Post.  She has been quoted on financial education in publications such as USA Today, Bankrate.com, and MSN Money.

• When individuals understand their habits/attitudes around money, better choices are made.
• Increasing your knowledge of money habitudes helps to manage spending behavior.
• Recognize red flags to avoid financial abuse and maintain financial safety/wellbeing.
• Help to develop positive financial habits in youth so they realize they can manage money.
• Understand origins of money habits from family, culture, events to provide necessary insight.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/syble-solomon-6550534/

Helen is a nationally recognized leader in the field of aging, employment, and the new retirement which she calls Renewment. Her LA Times bestseller book, Project Renewment, outlines issues faced by most with thoughtful questions. She edited two books, has written over 100 articles, and penned well over 1,000 columns on Successful Aging for the Southern California Newspaper Group.

Her specialty is non-financial aspects of retirement, where she has assisted over 25,000 individuals in future preparation. She has been quoted in numerous newspapers and was named by PBS Next Avenue as one of the 50 top influencers in aging. Helen served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging and remains involved in five non-profit organizations. Helen has been recognized with numerous awards for her teaching at USC’s Davis School, Andrus Gerontology Center, plus contributions to the community, the field of aging, and literary arts.

• When transitioning to renewal, refresh yourself and become the best version of you.
• Maintain strength, balance, and engage your mind. Stay active; don’t give in to frailty.
• Staying flexible and adaptable are key; adjust to physical changes, and learn new technologies.
• Be open-minded, resourceful, and take initiative. Opportunities are out there; seek them.
• Connect with peers for mutual support; view elderhood as a purpose-filled adventure.

Website: https://www.helenmdennis.com

An underwater enthusiast for 30+ years, Kramer is a scuba diver and scuba ‘instructor, while growing his company, Dive Tours International, LLC. He is committed to preserving Black maritime heritage, mentorship, marine science, and outreach to underserved youth. Kember teaches people of all ages to scuba dive and enjoy the water. He is a prominent African American in the mostly white diving community so part of his message addresses need for diversity. Kramer volunteered with five nonprofit organizations, works with youth in New York City, and has achieved over 3,000 dives into water around the globe. He is a dive instructor for Dive With a Purpose (DWP), an underwater Archaeology Survey program to teach coral restoration, preserving valuable future resources and documenting shipwrecks from Atlantic Slave Trade to honor people who were lost and preserve their heritage.

• Humans are all part of a larger ecosystem; treat it respectfully with a keen eye to conservation.
• Weave Black stories/ heritage into marine conservation to inspire broad, diverse participation.
• Cultivate a support system to help overcome fears, negativity, and life’s inevitable challenges.
• Practice skills for survival and success; add fun to continually enjoy adventures throughout life.
• Volunteer to give back; find causes to help community and enrich your own life.

Wesbite: https://divingwithapurpose.org/interview-with-kramer-wimberley/

Accomplished businesswoman, educator, author, social entrepreneur, and convener of intergenerational collaboration, Barbara applies her skills to empower others to create social change. She founded Champions of Caring, a non-profit organization empowering over 10,000 youth in Philadelphia and South Africa to become leaders and engaged citizens. She wrote the book, Live Your Legacy Now, and empowerment guide, to encourage youth and adults of all ages and backgrounds locally and internationally, to embrace and live their legacies. A documentary film, The Coral Ring Legacy, traces her story and serves as a call to action for global change makers to create a kinder world.

• Never stay silent or indifferent when facing injustice.  Speak up; your voice matters.
• Cultivate your interests and live your legacies NOW, don’t just plan for the future.
• Gather diverse ages/ backgrounds in community service to build allies and reduce prejudice.
• Involve people of all ages. It is never too early or too late to make a positive difference.
• Cultivate and train youth to act beyond good intentions. Every action matters to someone.

Website: https://www.championsofcaring.org