Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined

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 [email protected]. 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: [email protected]; [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] to learn more.