Many years ago—when I was a college student—I took a class called Psychology of Aging. One day, the professor asked, “When is the best time to start saving for retirement?”

Students called out answers: 45, 50, 60.

She looked at the group of students, mainly in our early 20’s, and she said nope. “You should start saving for retirement right now.”

We laughed and looked at each other with shocked faces. Surely she didn’t mean now. But she did. And that moment stuck with me.

That class taught me something important: while money matters, retirement is about much more than finances. It’s about identity, purpose, relationships, and how we want to live our lives as we age. I was hooked—and I’ve been passionate about aging and retirement ever since.

I went on to earn a PhD in Developmental Psychology and spent over 20 years researching, teaching, and writing about the psychological, social, and physical aspects of aging. Later, I shifted into federal government work, where I spent 15 years focused on health science policy—communicating complex research to Congress, scientists, and the public.

Even then, I never lost the desire to do work that felt meaningful and directly helped people. While working full time, I began building a retirement coaching and writing business on the side—thinking it would be something I’d fully pursue someday.

Life had other plans.

After some unexpected upheaval in my career (and a lot of soul-searching), I realized I didn’t want to wait for retirement to do work with meaning. What initially felt like a curveball turned out to be a turning point. I left my job and committed fully to helping people navigate retirement and life transitions with intention and clarity.

Around the same time, I was watching family and friends struggle. Gen X friends felt stuck in unfulfilling work. Boomer loved ones wrestled with identity and purpose after retirement. I saw firsthand how hard these transitions can be—and how much better life can be when people plan beyond the financial side.

That’s where my work comes in.

Today, I use my background in aging and research—as a retirement coach and writer—to help people actively shape a meaningful, fulfilling life in retirement and beyond.