For Esther, loving life begins with paying attention—to beauty, to others, and to her own sense of worth. Her kindness and compassion have deep roots. Esther remembers her parents as gentle people who cared for others, and the women in her family as dynamic, highly educated role models. She carried their example into a fulfilling career in speech and language therapy, helping children find their voices and giving preschool teachers tools to support them. The connections she formed in her private practice endure: families still keep in touch.

Married for 65 years, gratitude, connection, and contribution continue to energize her. She wants to keep doing the things she loves, finding the good, and making life better for others.

Esther embodies the possibilities we celebrate at Women Over 70: a life enriched by curiosity, sustained by community, and expressed through compassion and contribution. Her joy grows from both giving and receiving—and from choosing, every day, to remain fully engaged in life.

"First, matter inside yourself. Giving and receiving brings joy." - Esther Emmerman

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.

At 76, Magda Bogin describes herself as an “a-typical international,” drawn

to the sounds of languages, the cello, and the power of words. A poet,

novelist, journalist, teacher, librettist, translator, and cellist, she has devoted

her life to exploring how we make meaning and express what we know.

For 25 years, through her retreat center, Under the Volcano, in the heart of

Mexico, Magda has brought together world-renowned teachers and

accomplished and emerging writers from English- and Spanish-speaking

countries. In this intimate setting, participants deepen their craft in poetry,

fiction, bearing witness, and investigative journalism—while forming bonds

that enrich both their work and their lives. Growing older, Magda reflects,

has given new meaning to “living in the moment.” It is less about holding on

to what is familiar and more about embracing more.

“I love the sounds of languages, the cello, and words—and helping

others find their own ways of knowing and expressing truth.” - Magda Bogin

Connect with Magda

Email: magda@underthevolcano.org

Website: https://underthevolcano.org

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.

Chris Ruys, 81, has never been one to resist an interesting fork in the road. A lifelong lover of art, words and people’s stories, she follows her curiosity into activism, creative pursuits and unexpected adventures. What others might call taking risks, she sees as making choices—with her mother’s example as an enduring inspiration.

Her activism took root during her early 20s, from protesting the Vietnam War at UC Berkeley to a fledgling activist group at Illinois State University. As editor of the university student newspaper, she discovered the power of print to inform and influence. Later, her work with the Women’s Business Development Center and Chicago-area NAWBO gave her opportunities to tell entrepreneurs’ stories and champion women business owners.

Today, her curiosity continues to serve her community. Through the League of Women Voters, Chris registers voters, shares nonpartisan voting information with the public, educates its members, and, through participation in a League Study, helps research the history of how Chicago has chosen its mayors. Along the way, she has found both worthwhile causes and close friendships.

Ten years of chronic back pain have brought challenges and an ongoing search for relief. Learning, friendships and creativity remain central to her life—from a “Stage and Screen” class at Fourth Presbyterian Church to exploring autodidactism and experimenting with gel printmaking.

Once accustomed to helping clients set goals and make marketing plans, Chris now welcomes personal discovery as it unfolds. Gel printing captures that spirit perfectly: you never quite know what you’ll get until you lift the print—and that’s part of the pleasure.

“You knew what you wanted when you took a look at what you got.” - Chris Ruys

Marsha Borders, 76, met early life challenges with tenacity and resourcefulness, including her mother’s mental illness and her own experiences of racial discrimination. An African American lesbian committed to social justice, Marsha believes in building bridges through respect, kindness, and purposeful action. Currently, she co-chairs the Environmental Committee of the League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois. Today, her priorities are clear: “saving our democracy,” protecting voting rights, and caring for the environment.

"Genuine respect, caring, and kindness help us get things done and make positive changes possible for everyone." - Marsha Borders

Connect with Marsha

Email: meeshb@gmail.com

Special 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 Donna@dorcasdestinyintl.org.

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.

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 mzfootsteps@gmail.com

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 aarpil@aarp.org to learn more.