March is National Woman’s History Month. While not in the history books quite yet, scores of women today are changing the aging experience for the better, by providing us new models for positive aging. Here are a few of the trailblazers. Helen Dennis and Bernice Bratter are members of the first generation of women to work outside the home for most of their lives. Dennis and Bratter gathered a network of talented women who explored new alternatives to their work lives. Their “Project Renewment” became the first retirement model for career women; exploiting the fact that women are willing to share their experiences, hopes and dreams with one another about the next chapter in their life. Their work gave birth to dozens of Project Renewment groups around the country, and has paved the way for 40 million boomer women to rediscover themselves in their retirement years. Project Renewment, a Los Angeles Times bestselling book addresses the issues and opportunities. To learn more go...

For the most part, our own education wasn’t on our minds as we raised our families and toiled away at our jobs. Most of our structured learning was completed in the classroom many years earlier, with the possibility of a little on-the-job training scattered in during our adult years. When we hear the term “lifelong learning” we may think of those with Ph.D.s or the very few who had the time to engage in classes on topics that were of interest to them. We chalked it up to the pursuits of those with time and money. So what has changed? According to AARP, 90 percent of boomers surveyed said they wanted to actively seek out learning opportunities to keep current, grow personally and enjoy the pleasure of mastering something new. Research also continues to highlight the importance of lifelong learning as a prescription for a longer, healthier life—keeping our brains strong and flexible, our minds open to new things and our lives enriched and filled with new relationships. Now that...