Several of our classmates will share their stories of how they’re approaching the next chapters of their lives – second careers, philanthropy, new hobbies, old hobbies, spirituality.
Joe Dempsey: Planning Your Next Chapter
As Joe approached retirement from his long-tenured career in banking, he went on a mission of interviewing other people who had already retired in order to develop a plan for his own next chapter. How did others prepare for the transition? If they had the chance to do it again, would they do anything differently? What were the lessons learned? Joe will share his learning process, as well as where the process led him and how he feels about the decisions he has made.
Steve Baggott: Possibility and Purpose
After taking early retirement from Procter & Gamble in 2015, Steve embarked on his planned next chapter: coaching, mentoring and investing in promising start-ups. In this discussion, Steve will share how being open to something completely unplanned led him to something he never expected at this stage of life -- becoming an entrepreneur himself. Whether or not this venture will be financially successful won’t be known for several years, but this mission-driven team is already helping cancer researchers accelerate therapies that will save lives. Steve will share his insights from the past five years, including learning about a completely new industry, standing up a company from scratch, and leveraging his P&G experience while “making the rest up” along the way.
Anne Blanchard: Starting Over, After Starting Over
At 52 years old, after spending several years out of the workforce, Anne restarted her career with an emphasis on helping her family. Now, after ten rewarding years in tech infrastructure marketing, she realizes that she’s ready to restart her career, again – this time with a greater emphasis on helping to make the world a better place, while still supporting her family. She’s increasingly drawn to the possibility of doing well and doing good. Anne will share her experience and the questions she’s considering, as she prepares to start over, again.
Rabbi David Stern – Looking Back, Looking Ahead
David has served as a rabbi at the same congregation in Dallas for the last 34 years, with the privilege of being present with people through the stages, challenges and insights of their lives. It’s David’s experience that as people reach our age and begin thinking about what’s next, matters of spirituality (broadly defined), purpose and legacy become more important. David will share his perspective on why many of us may be thinking more often about these things, and how we might go about exploring the role that spirituality and purpose may play in our "next chapters."