Over the past few years, whilst building the Sixty and Me community, I have had the pleasure to meet and learn from some amazing, inspirational women. Their writing has made me think and their dedication to women’s issues has inspired me.
Some of these women are speakers and journalists. Others have written blogs, articles or books. While their interests are unique, they share the fabulous qualities of passion, drive and vision.
Each of these fascinating ladies has something to offer women of our generation. It is my honour to share with you how much they have impacted my own journey and I encourage you to get to know each of them.
Please take the time to connect with them on Facebook or Twitter. Visit their blogs and websites. Learn from them. Follow their shining example as they help us to make life after 60 everything that it can be.
Here Are 20 Inspirational Women That Every Woman Over 60 Should Know
Kerry Hannon – Great Jobs for Everyone 50+
Kerry is an expert on personal finance and careers for boomer women. Her best-selling books Great Jobs for Everyone 50+, Great Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working from Home and Never Too Old to Get Rich: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting a Business Mid-Life totally inspired me.
I love her passion, compassion and practical, down-to-earth advice. If you’re looking for a job after 50, I encourage you to check her out.
Sharon Greenthal – The Empty Nesters Community
Sharon is the founder of The Empty Nesters Community, a popular Facebook community for empty nesters and those preparing for the empty nest. She is passionate about real world issues focusing on midlife, marriage, empty nesting and parenting young adults.
An accomplished freelance writer, she has been featured on CNN.com and in the New York Times. Her articles have been published on many websites including AARP, HuffPost, Next Avenue, Purple Clover and Scary Mommy.
Barbara Hannah Grufferman – Best of Everything After 50
Barbara is the author of the fabulous books The Best of Everything after 50 and Love Your Age: The Small-Step Solution to a Better, Longer, Happier Life. She is a recognized expert on healthy and positive aging.
Barbara is a frequent contributor to Growing Bolder, Thrive Global, and AARP. Her video series on the AARP YouTube Channel features ideas for life in your 50s.
Prill Boyle – Defying Gravity
Prill is an author, speaker, writer and TV host. She has spent her career interviewing, writing about and promoting the achievements of hundreds of “ordinary” women who have done extraordinary things in their lives. Her book, Defying Gravity, celebrates late blooming women and has been a huge inspiration to me!
Elizabeth Isele – The Global Institute for Experienced Entrepreneurship
Elizabeth is an author, speaker and passionate advocate of older women entrepreneurs. She builds educational programs for 50+ entrepreneurs starting with ProvStudio.com, a workshop for those wanting to launch business start-ups. She was also a key witness at the first ever US Senate Hearing on Senior Entrepreneurship. Inspiring!
Ellen Dolgen – Menopause Mondays
Ellen is a writer, speaker and wellness advocate for women who are going through menopause. She is a fabulous Huffington Post blogger and encourages discussions on menopause, women’s health, and the modern woman’s life today.
She is dynamic and fun and empowers women with her weekly blog, Menopause Monday – named one of the “Best Menopause Blogs” by Healthline since 2012.
Nancy Collamer – My Lifestyle Career
Nancy Collamer is a career coach and blogger for Forbes and Next Avenue. She is also the author of “Second Act Careers.” Nancy is passionate about providing practical tips on how to make the transition to a new working lifestyle in your 50’s and beyond.
Gretchen Rubin – The Happiness Project
Gretchen is the author of several books, including Happiness Project, an account of the year she spent trying to unravel the mysteries of true happiness. She helps to prioritize things that create happiness in life – her writing definitely sparks new ideas!
Judith Boyd – Style Crone
Judith Boyd is a 70-year-old blogger whose site “Style Crone” celebrates her love for style and fashion in the lives of older women. She is all about creating a unique personal style and helping women over 60 to both adorn themselves and to express their inner-self and beauty.
Suzanne Braun Levine – Women in Second Adulthood
Suzanne is a legend in the women’s movement and now an inspiration to midlife women. She is a best-selling writer, editor and authority on issues facing women over 50. I love her book You Gotta Have Girlfriends, which covers the emotional and physical importance of having a trusted circle of women friends.
Lisa Copeland – Find a Quality Man
Lisa Copeland is a dynamic writer, blogger and dating coach for women over 50. With her book The Winning Dating Formula for Women over 50, she provides us mature women with the tools and confidence to understand the mindset of men. She teaches us how to create intimacy and achieve great dating experiences. Lisa has been blogging for Sixty and Me for a few years.
Karen Sands – The Everyday Futurist
Karen is a professional futurist, speaker, author and certified master coach. She identifies major trends that will affect a woman’s personal and professional life in the future. If you’re starting your own business, changing or reinventing your career, or transforming your organization, Karen can provide guidance!
Mary Eileen Williams – Feisty Side of Fifty
Mary Eileen is a career coach, author of Land the Job You Love!: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50 and blogger with Huffington Post. She is also a radio host, and editor of a brilliant site called “Feisty Side of Fifty.” It is a fun and upbeat blog for women over 50.
Mary Eileen helps women dealing with midlife and mid-career transitions in a fun and positive way. Her work is refreshing and entertaining!
Ellen Pober Rittberg – Ellen
Award winning journalist and writer Ellen Pober Rittberg is an expert on grandparenting. She is author of a super helpful book called 35 Things Your Teen won’t tell you, so I Will. Her guidelines apply to grandkids as well. She is a go-to resource for understanding the role of a grandmother and how to build strong family relationships.
Susan Piver – Open Heart Project
Susan is a world-renowned meditation teacher and award-winning New York Times best-selling author. Her books are personal, and impactful. As a Buddhist teacher, she is the founder of the Open Heart Project which aims to teach anyone in the world how to meditate.
Her books include The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships, Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation and The Wisdom of a Broken Heart.
Alexia Parks – 10Traits
Alexia Parks is an intriguing woman who is an author and innovator. In her book Hardwired: 10 Major Traits of Women Hardwired by Evolution That Can Save The World, she explores how she feels women are “hardwired” to be leaders in today’s complex world and working with men in partnership.
Meridith Fiedler Dennes – Project Eve
Meredith helped to found Project Eve, an award-winning content publisher and online community. Project Eve is a content engine for innovative and creative women who are reinventing their careers. The site provides great content and tools and motivates women to think beyond traditional boundaries and support one another.
Carol Orsborn – The Wisdom Collection
Carol is an author and speaker who leads retreats for Boomers in the aging and healthcare communities. She has written over 30 books on quality of life, spirituality and aging with her latest being Older, Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection. Here she explores the relationship between spirituality and aging and the search for meaning and purpose in later life.
Forever Inspiring – A Tribute to two Inspirational Women
Sadly, two hugely inspirational women who make this list every year have passed away, but their legacies continue on. For those who knew or followed them, I am sure they enriched your life and inspired you, as they did for me.
Cindy Joseph – Boom by Cindy Joseph
Cindy was a truly beautiful woman, inside and out, and the passionate and proud leader of a movement she called the “Pro-Age Revolution.” Makeup artist turned super model, she cared passionately about older women celebrating positive aging.
Her Boom skin care and cosmetics line – the first pro-age line for women of every generation – is part of her legacy and the products are just amazing!
Evelyn Hannon – Journeywoman
Evelyn Hannon was a fascinating woman and a celebrated globetrotter and writer. She was the creator of Journeywoman, a website for women travellers of all ages, which continues to thrive. The advice and supportive community are still a go-to resource for me before I plan a trip.
A few years ago, I was able to sit down with Evelyn and discuss traveling and exploring new cultures on our Sixty and Me YouTube Channel. She was a true pioneer in female travel and helped many women follow in her footsteps.
Which women inspire you? Are there any women that you would add to our list of inspirational women that every woman over 60 should know about? Please add your thoughts in the comments below.
