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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 setb…

Visionary. Connector…

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, publisher…

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 producti…

Writing has been a g…

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 su…

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 ar…

Kathy Bresler, found…

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 wi…

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. Bef…

At 80, Regan Burke i…

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, volunteeri…

For nearly fifty years, Sybil Kolon has devoted herself to protecting 79 acres of family land in Michigan’s Irish Hills. Originally owned by her grandparents, the property was placed under option wi…

For nearly fifty yea…

For nearly fifty years, Sybil Kolon has devoted herself to protecting 79 acres of family land in Michigan’s Irish Hills. Originally owned by her grandparents, the property was placed under option with Legacy Land Conservancy in 1976 with the hope that it would someday become a nature preserve.Now 72, Sybil spent her childhood exploring the farm’s woods and fields, developing a lifelong love of nature. After attending Michigan Tech and Michigan State University, she returned to live on the land with her husband, building a home there in 1983. Over time, she became the family’s caretaker o…

Author and artist Jill G. Hall, 71, joins us with her luminous new novel On a Sundown Sea, inspired by the mysteries surrounding the visionary woman who built Lomaland—a utopian community near the h…

Author and artist Ji…

Author and artist Jill G. Hall, 71, joins us with her luminous new novel On a Sundown Sea, inspired by the mysteries surrounding the visionary woman who built Lomaland—a utopian community near the home Jill grew up in. Fascinated since childhood by the stories whispered throughout her neighborhood, for more than a century, Hall spent five years researching the extraordinary life of Katherine Tingley, tracing her journey from Massachusetts roots to her profound spiritual and artistic influence on the West Coast. When Jill began writing after a twenty-year career as an educator, she never imag…

For more than six decades, Sandra Sokol has devoted her life to building stronger, more equitable communities. Although she once imagined a career teaching in schools serving children of color her pat…

For more than six de…

For more than six decades, Sandra Sokol has devoted her life to building stronger, more equitable communities. Although she once imagined a career teaching in schools serving children of color her path evolved into groundbreaking volunteer and public service work focused on Education, housing, and economic development. Many of the initiatives she helped launch grew into lasting organizations that continue to serve their communities today. Her leadership eventually carried her into local government, where she became a powerful advocate for collaboration, justice, and community-building. Now, in…

Joan Greene, 84, trained to be a teacher but found her true calling as a social worker and innovative advocate for older adults. In New York State, she helped create programs from the ground up—from…

Joan Greene, 84, tra…

Joan Greene, 84, trained to be a teacher but found her true calling as a social worker and innovative advocate for older adults. In New York State, she helped create programs from the ground up—from nutrition services and Meals on Wheels to case management and family support. When her accomplished daughter was diagnosed with severe mental illness, Joan’s work took on new urgency and personal meaning. In this conversation, she reflects on key turning points in aging, gerontology, and Mental Health care, while urging our culture to recognize mental Health as an essential part of overall heal…

This episode, first released in 2021, is a reminder that Mental Health Awareness Month requires all of us to tell our stories. We checked back in with Mindy and learned that, even though she is now re…

This episode, first …

This episode, first released in 2021, is a reminder that Mental Health Awareness Month requires all of us to tell our stories. We checked back in with Mindy and learned that, even though she is now retired, she continues to advocate for reforms in mental health, policy, and affordable housing. “I love being retired; I can activate for anything I want.” She is married for 55 years and retired for sixteen. Her son continues to receive the help he needs."There is no way we are going to have a better mental health system if we don’t tell our stories."Mindy was a state legislator (Minnesota�…

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re revisiting a powerful earlier conversation with Ilene Dillon (Episode #148). A pioneering voice in emotional well-being, Ilene is an Emotional …

In recognition of Me…

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re revisiting a powerful earlier conversation with Ilene Dillon (Episode #148). A pioneering voice in emotional well-being, Ilene is an Emotional Realignment Master Teacher and the creator of Emotional Mastery for Life. Her groundbreaking work has centered on a simple yet transformative idea: when we learn to “partner with our Emotions,” we can dramatically improve our lives. Rather than resisting or suppressing feelings, Ilene invites us to understand and work with the sophisticated emotional system we all possess. Ilene is now a nine-…

For more than five decades, Lynn Larson has followed her curiosity across continents—and she’s nowhere near finished. At 71, she travels light and lives large, forging deep connections everywhere …

For more than five d…

For more than five decades, Lynn Larson has followed her curiosity across continents—and she’s nowhere near finished. At 71, she travels light and lives large, forging deep connections everywhere she goes. Her journey began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, where she helped launch a rural elementary school that still thrives today. Friendships formed in other parts of South America 40 years ago endure.With her husband, James, Lynn has recently completed two legs of an ambitious round-the-world adventure, spanning the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Next stop: India, the Far East, and be…

Elise’s career didn’t follow a straight line—and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling. She began as a contract interior designer in Minneapolis before moving to Chicago in 1981, where a …

Elise’s career did…

Elise’s career didn’t follow a straight line—and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling. She began as a contract interior designer in Minneapolis before moving to Chicago in 1981, where a friend’s suggestion led her in an entirely new direction: theology. Studying first at Garrett Theological Seminary and then full-time at McCormick Theological Seminary for an M.Div., and later at Loyola’s Institute of Pastoral Counseling, Elise discovered a way to integrate art, psychology, and spirituality—at a time when feminist theology was opening new doors for women. That integration be…