Meet the Guests!

Susan Douglas grew up in New Jersey, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Elmira college and then earned her MA and Ph.D. in American Civilization at Brown University. After a brief stint as an historian at the Smithsonian, she began teaching media studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. In 1996 she joined the faculty of Communication and Media at the University of Michigan. Her research has focused on two broad areas, the history of broadcasting with an emphasis on radio, and the representation of women in the media. She is the author of seven books, including Where the Girls Are, which was named one of the top ten books of 1994 by Entertainment Weekly and NPR, her prize-winning Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination, Enlightened Sexism and In Our Prime. She has appeared on mutiple radio and television shows including Fresh Air, All Things Considered, the Today Show, and the Oprah Winfrey Show, among others. She served on the Board of the George Foster Peabody Awards …

I’m Australian by birth and have lived in NYC since 2004. I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Professional Portrait Photographer. Turning 60 in 2017, I noticed a great sense of invisibility amongst older women —both in society and within myself. This experience inspired my ongoing work, @women.60.plus, which focuses on amplifying and empowering, the presence and voices of older women in a culture that too often overlooks them. Through photography and storytelling, I’ve captured the essence, inner-beauty, and wisdom of extraordinary women—sharing their personal journeys through aging, loneliness, freedom, resilience, and joy. It’s in these honest, heartfelt connections that I’ve found purpose, healing, and inspiration.
I specialize in working with older women (and across generations), offering photographic experiences rooted in self-awareness, personal empowerment, and mutual respect. I believe that through genuine connection, self-trust and inner validation naturally emer…

Born in the Midwest in the 50's. I escaped to discover the world at age 17. Traveling to Texas for college was the spring board for my life. I tried out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in 1977 and had no idea what was to come. I'm a confirmed, confessed and proud Gypsy. I haven't let fear stop me when my soul wants to explore. The Universe has given me the gift of adventure, and I'm extremely grateful that I had parents who helped me believe I could do anything I put my mind to. I believe age is something to brag about. Especially after 65!!

Victoria Tomlinson FRSA is 68, founded her second business Next-Up five years ago and has developed an online platform to help employees coming up to unretirement, as well as running workshops for pre-retirement partners in professional firms. Victoria’s TEDx talk on a Generation of Wasted Talent has had 20k views. A former director of EY on the London leadership team, she ran an award-winning comms and digital business for 30 years. She was founding chair of Women in Leeds Digital, now rebranded to WILD Digital, increasing the diversity of digital teams. She chaired the management division advisory board for University of Leeds and sat on Northern Ballet’s board for eight years. She is on HMP Askham Grange employment advisory board to help ex-offenders, is a Teaching Fellow of Lancaster University and a Fellow of the RSA. Victoria is an Amazon bestselling author, blogger and BBC expert woman commenting on news. She has coached chief executives and directors, mentors start start…

Walt Hampton, J.D. is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Success International, a global personal & professional development firm; and the Acquisitions Director at Summit Press Publishers, a premier publisher of expert positioning books. Walt is a business coach, management consultant, leadership trainer, motivational speaker & ordained interfaith minister. He is the bestselling author of Journeys on the Edge: Living a Life That Matters, named a Top 10 Non-Fiction Book and a two-time recipient of the North American Book Awards; as well as the author of The Power Principles of Time Mastery: Do Less, Make More, Have Fun. A 1984 graduate of The Cornell Law School, Walt was managing partner of a law firm for nearly 30 years with a practice focused on commercial litigation and criminal defense. He was trained as a Results Coach by Robbins Research International and worked directly for Tony Robbins as one of Tony’s elite-level certified business coaches. W…

Wendi Knox is an author, artist and uplifter. In her past life, she was the only female Senior Vice-President/ Creative Director at one of the largest advertising agencies in Los Angeles, creating and supervising multimedia ad campaigns for brands like Honda and Acura. At 50, she lost her “Don Draper-esque” job and found a new purpose thanks to a miraculous encounter with hundreds of red dragonflies. Now, this award-winning brand storyteller is helping women change the stories they tell themselves. Especially about age. Through her “Breaking Out of the Age Cage” illustrated talk and transformational workshops, Wendi’s on a mission to “rebrand aging” as a process of becoming More of Who We Are. Not Less of What We Were.” Like the dragonfly, she has grown new wings later in life, having her first book, “From Muck To Magic” published and her first solo art show at 65. Now at 70, she’s working on her second book, “The Way of The Dragonfly: A Process For Transforming Mu…

Wendy Leggett is a Professional Certified Coach and owner of Conflux Retirement Coaching, specializing in non-financial retirement life planning. With 25 years of corporate sales leadership experience, she guides clients through a fulfilling retirement transition, focusing on well-being, identity, feelings of purpose, connectedness, and positive aging. Wendy holds advanced credentials from the Retirement Project, Retirement Life Plan, and Positive Intelligence and co-authored the book “The Retirement Collective”.