Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy Presents
Encore! Conference Celebrates Mid-Life Opportunities and Transitions
With Keynote Speaker
Former New York State Supreme Court Justice Laura Safer Espinoza
February 3
LLA Campus at State College of Florida in Lakewood Ranch
This one-day conference features inspirational speakers, life coaches, educators and others who will share how to successfully navigate life’s transitions.
“You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” –C.S. Lewis
Sarasota, FL— Who says there are no second acts in American life? The media abounds with stories of baby boomers who have reinvented themselves after midlife epiphanies—including top execs who ditched high-stress careers to become farmers, stay-at-home moms who ended up working with the Fair Trade industry in third world countries, and even a top Microsoft programmer who left it all behind to become a magician. In the spirit of living happily ever after, Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy is presenting “Encore! Create Your Next Chapter with Joy & Purpose,” Friday, February 3, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at the Academy’s east campus at the State College of Florida in Lakewood Ranch, 7131 Professional Parkway, East, Lakewood Ranch. This daylong conference features powerful speakers who will shatter the myth of mid-life crisis; interactive sessions conducted by life coaches and educators; testimonials by people who have successful transition stories to share; and roundtable discussions. The fee is $99 and includes lunch. For more information and to register, https://thelifelonglearningacademy.com/courses-events/save-date-feb-3-2017-creating-life-transition-joy-purpose/ or call 941-309-5111.
“The so-called ‘midlife crisis’ myth is really a mid-life opportunity,” says Janna Overstreet, executive director of the Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy. “Baby boomers know that midlife is a time for revaluation, positive changes and renewed freedoms and possibilities. Encore! will be filled with stories of those who have embraced this time of transition. Our speakers and coaches offer powerful, life-changing messages of hope and guidance.”
Who should attend this event? According to Overstreet, “Dreamers, questioners and anyone who’s ever asked ‘What do I really want out of life, and how can I get it?’ While we can’t control everything that happens in our lives, an action plan and an adventurous frame of mind can help make our second act a great one.”
The event’s keynote speaker is Judge Laura Safer Espinoza, a former New York State Supreme Court Justice, who is now director of the Fair Foods Standards Council. Safer Espinoza won the 2015 Purpose Prize for her social reform advocacy. The event also features a talk by comedian Gid Pool. At age 61, Pool made the ambitious decision to embark upon a stand-up comedy career. Today he travels the world making people laugh.
Encore! also features two presentations facilitated by Kathy Flora, MA, NCCC, PHR, a certified career counselor and executive coach. In “A Life Reimagined Checkup,” she helps participants explore future possibilities and offers easy research resources. Her second presentation, “Connecting And Committing To What’s Next,” helps participants plan next moves. Debbie Drinkard Grovum, a coach, educator and author who helps people live with meaning and vitality in the second half of life, will present “Create a Beautiful Life,” a seminar offering participants the opportunity to use the four creative dimensions—creative dilemma, exploration, discovery and integration—to create a more inspired and purposeful life.
Karen Bush, Ph.D., and Louise S. Machinist, M.A., co-authors of “My House Our House: Living Far Better for Far Less in a Cooperative Household,” which was featured by AARP and “Life Reimagined Today” with Jane Pauley, will present “Think Outside the Housing Box,” sharing tools to form a cooperative household shared among friends. World traveler Joan Emrich will present “Travel with Meaning,” a group discussion about travel. Other presentations include “Self-Care During Change,” “Here I Am: Now What? Rediscovery After Retirement,” and “Building and Expanding Your Social Network When You Move to a New City.” Additional speakers include Stephen Gillum, Louise Gallagher, David Klain, Andrea Nierenberg, Daisy Vulovich and Janna Overstreet.
About Ringling Lifelong Learning Academy
Ringling Lifelong Learning Academy offers educational opportunities for adults to pursue new interests, expand intellectual horizons and enrich their lives. Courses cover a wide range of stimulating topics and are taught by scholars, retired faculty members and professional practitioners. Courses are taught in an engaging, collaborative manner where learning results in the development of civic awareness, ongoing learning communities of peers and intellectual and cultural connections to our communities. As a private, not-for-profit, LLA has served the Sarasota- Manatee region for the past 18 years growing lifelong learning program offerings in number and variety as the demand for services has grown. The Academy is funded by donations and registration fees and led by an executive director and volunteer advisory board. Visit www.rclla.org.
About Ringling College of Art and Design
For nearly 85 years, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit fully accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in eleven disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College’s rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive, first-year program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers.
