Robin Moore
Owner of Robin Moore Communications since 1997, Moore has received industry recognition and numerous awards for her communications work. She has held management positions at Lotus Development Corp (now IBM), Teradata Corp., FileNet Corp. (now IBM), BayBank, Inc., and served as press secretary to Lt. Governor Thomas P. O’Neill III, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; taught at Emerson College in Boston and is an adjunct professor emeritus of Chapman University, Orange, CA. Semi-retired, Moore is an avid tennis and pickleball player, mom of two and several pets, and she is working on publishing a children’s book.
Pauline Abbott
Abbott, MPA, Ed.D., CPG, Director Emerita of the CSU Fullerton Institute of Gerontology has been happily retired for 11 years, making the best of the rest of her life. She is busy and actively involved in many organizations, has a large extended blended family, and she and her husband travel extensively. Prior to this stage of life, she spent 40 years in academic administration, teaching, researching, and publishing in gerontology, the study of aging, where she received numerous recognitions for her achievements at the California State University in Fullerton and earlier at the USC School of Gerontology at the Andrus Center. That is where she first met Helen Dennis over 30 years ago and has had a long and endearing relationship with Renewment since its inception.
Bonnie Gruttadauria
Gruttadauria established an eclectic career as a published author, editor, journalist, news-correspondent, columnist, blogger, public speaker, communications expert, photographer and fashion model. Her work was featured in various publications, websites and ads including MD Magazine and Visit Huntington Beach/Surf City
USA blogs. She received top honors for photography and writing from the National School Public Relations Association. Post-career she thrives on nurturing family/friend relationships, traveling, arts & theater and working on maintaining optimal health.
Lynn Winter Gross
Four years ago, my college roommate and close friend Miriam Goodman and I were invited by a Northern California chapter of the Village Movement to create a podcast about the joys and challenges of aging. With Miriam’s radio and publishing background and my social work and communications skills, we jumped at the opportunity. We hired an engineer, rented a studio, named our podcast https://notbornyesterdaypodcast.org, found our first guest and lined up the major podcast outlets for distribution.
Now more than 110 episodes later, including an early thought-provoking interview with our visionary Renewment leader Helen Dennis, we are still going strong. We have interviewed experts on a broad range of issues, including finding purpose after retirement, combating loneliness, creating community, forming new relationships with our adult children, volunteering, downsizing, travel, managing the challenges of caregiving, dealing with loss, finding new creative outlets, grandparenting and much more.
Co-hosting the podcast has provided me an opportunity to develop a new creative outlet, find intellectual stimulation, and create a new community of support as I work to share information on the challenges we all face as we age.
Connie Corley
Dr. Corley has a long history of teaching and research in the fields of aging and in social work. Professor Emerita at Fielding Graduate University and California State University, Los Angeles, she is balancing continued scholarly writing about resilience and creativity while engaging in new interests. Proficiency in pickleball and learning to play the harmonium are among her latest pursuits.
Laura Soloff-Geller
Laura Soloff-Geller transitioned from a classroom teacher in the 1960s to assistant director of executive placement at Broadway Department Stores to placement director at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising; then a campus director, regional director and financial director; then back to a human resources director at SONY Pictures Entertainment and then to a private college president position. After retirement, Soloff-Geller consulted in the private school industry. Her last consulting position in 2017 was acting vice president of human resources at Otis College of Art and Design.
Janette Brown
Janette Brown taught preschool, high school, and college. She also became a real estate broker managing two offices. At the University of Southern California Career Center she directed two international internship programs, served on USC’s Women in Management board and later led the USC Emeriti Center as assistant vice provost while also serving as volunteer executive director of the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE).
In retirement, Dr. Brown continues career and life coaching, volunteers with the USC Emeriti Center, leads a USC Women’s Renewment group, and serves on the Renewment and Leo Buscaglia Foundation boards. Most important are her six grandchildren, extended family, van camping, and friendships.
Arinna Shelby
Rabbi Arinna Shelby began her career as a psychotherapist and then moved into the field of social service and healthcare administration. While working as a lay leader in the Jewish community, she realized that becoming a rabbi would bring her the fulfillment she was seeking. She was ordained in 2008. For 13 years she worked as a hospice rabbi, chaplain, and bereavement director. Concurrently, she served three Jewish congregations in Wyoming and California. Her book, Jewish Women Speak Out, won a national distinguished publication award from the Association for Women in Psychology.
Currently, Rabbi Shelby teaches adults and children online and officiates at lifecycle events. At this time, she is also pursuing her interest in helping people with their remodeling projects.