Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

Marsha Borders, 76, met early life challenges with tenacity and resourcefulness, including her mother’s mental illness and her own experiences of racial discrimination. An African American lesbian committed to social justice, Marsha believes in building bridges through respect, kindness, and purposeful action. Currently, she co-chairs the Environmental Committee of the League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois. Today, her priorities are clear: “saving our democracy,” protecting voting rights, and caring for the environment. "Genuine respect, caring, and kindness help us get things done and make positive changes possible for everyone." - Marsha Borders Connect with Marsha Email: [email protected] Special 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.

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: [email protected] 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.