Second Act Stories

Russell Brent learned how to knit from his mother at seven. But he put away his knitting needles at a young age after hearing the phrase "boys don't knit." In his mid thirties, Russell started knitting again -- making baby gifts for friends. And he found he really enjoyed it -- "it was easy...it was meditative." His hobby grew into a new vocation and today he is the owner and proprietor of Balzac and Company, a yarn shop in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

Detroit native Scott Weiss grew up in a family that emphasized formal education, but by his own admission, he was not a particularly good student. Scott attended Michigan State University, which was more a means to make money than to gain an education. After graduating, Scott made his way to Atlanta, landed a job with Turner Broadcasting and by the age of 34 he was an executive vice president who launched the CNN Airport Network and often worked directly with Ted Turner. At this stage, Scott’s bosses sent him to a communication training workshop at Speakeasy that changed the course of his life. Because of his experience, Scott left Turner and joined Speakeasy, a move that slashed his salary by two-thirds, but that added much needed purpose to his life and his career. Today Scott continues to lead this organization that profoundly impacts people’s lives. Click here to learn about Speakeasy. More information about Scott Weiss and his book DARE: Accepting the Challenge of Trusting Leadership is available at thi

Nita Novy grew up in the small town of Courtdale, Pennsylvania (population 400). But via a series of unusual events, she made her way to the Broadway stage at the age of eight acting alongside Ethel Merman in Gypsy. She was later cast in "The Sound of Music," appearing in the production's first national tour and also on Broadway. After getting a degree from Duke University, she returned to New York City and enjoyed a successful career as an adult actress. But as she and her husband Richard started a family, the theatre started to lose it's cachet and she sought a  new creative outlet. Her new path began when she made her three-year-old daughter a small, furry hat. When she came home from school that day and opened her lunch box "there were five orders inside." That ultimately led to her to a new career in fashion design and the launch of Nita Ideas with thriving retail stores in Milburn and Asbury Park, New Jersey. Click here to check out more of her amazing designs.

For 31 years, Joe Gladstone worked as a math teacher in Syosset, New York. "I loved teaching, loved the kids, loved math, loved Syosset High School, loved my department. We had a bunch of people that we all grew up together. We were a family. It was marvelous." But in 2001, things changed when a new chairman of the Math Department arrived. "He micromanaged everything and had the personality of a piece of paper." So Joe quit teaching and decided to pursue his other passion...the theatre. Joe had been involved in community theatre for 20+ years in a number of different roles. But over time, he gravitated to the position of stage manager. Stage managers serve as the right hand to the director, overseeing sets, props, lights and sound and calling all technical cues during performances. Today, he travels the country working as a freelance stage manager, primarily partnering with a wide range of opera companies. "It's so emotional when the curtain goes up and the audience gives you a standing ovation."

We’re hitting a major milestone – the 100th episode of the Second Act Stories podcast. Over the past two-and-a-half years, we’ve met and profiled some amazing people. Many are pursuing not-for-profit work. Some have started a new business. And others have turned a hobby into a full-time pursuit. But pretty much across the board, all of them are a heck of a lot happier in their new roles. Looking back at the 100 episodes, we’ve pulled together 6 key takeaways on second acts: 1. Find What Feeds You 2. For Inspiration, Look Back To Your Childhood 3. Expect Barriers – Lots of Them 4. Trauma Often Triggers A Second Act 5. There Are Leapers And There Are Planners 6. You’re Never Too Old To Make A Change And to offer proof points for each takeaway, we’ve shared short interview segments with Chris Donovan, Nasim Alikhani, Cathy Heying, Anne Moss Rogers, Mary Robinson and Susan Goldfein. Sit back and enjoy our Second Act Masterclass. And as a special bonus, we'll also introduce you to Scott Merritt who will be j

Today's episode comes from Woodinville, Washington and our interview with Jerry Riener and Jennifer Sullivan. Jerry is a sergeant for the Woodinville Police Department. Jennifer is a journalist having worked for both the Seattle Times and KOMO-TV, the ABC news affiliate in Seattle region. Like many couples, they found love, got married and started a family together. But unlike most couples they also started an amazing winery called Guardian Vineyards while holding down two very-demanding, full-time jobs. They started small -- producing just 350 cases of wine in 2007. Fourteen years later, they are now producing 10,000 cases of high-quality, wine per year. Grab a glass of your favorite wine, sit back and enjoy Jerry and Jennifer’s second act story.  

Robert Brace grew up in London -- the eldest son of a single mother who emigrated from Ghana. His family expected him to pursue a traditional career -- a lawyer, accountant or doctor. But at the age of 15, he fell in love with the world of dance earning scholarships to the London Contemporary Dance School, Alvin Alley American Dance Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. To support himself during his early years in New York City, he became a personal trainer on the side -- earning $7 per workout. After a decade in professional dance, he opted to become a full time minister with the Churches of Christ. But the transition proved difficult. And with a wife and a new-born child, he reluctantly went back to personal training -- this time earning $18 per workout. Success came when he finally opened his own personal training practice, Brace Life Studios. And his big break came when he teamed with comedian Mark Malkoff for a YouTube video focused on helping Mark get "six pack abs in 28 days." That eventually transi

Nasim Alikhani is the owner and executive chef of Sofreh, an amazing Persian restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. The restaurant opened in 2018 to rave reviews from The New York Times, Food & Wine, Saveur and The Food Network. The restaurant is consistently booked weeks in advance. Sofreh is Nasim’s first restaurant and she launched it at the age of 59 after nearly two decades as a stay-at-home mom. But it hasn't been an easy road. It took Nasim and her husband Theodore seven years build the restaurant in a brownstone that they purchased and renovated.

Melody Lynch fell in love with the ballet. She started dancing at 3 and made it in the professional ranks by the age of 15. She continued ballet studies at Butler University and after graduation landed a position with the North Carolina Dance Theatre where she worked for several years. But her passion was for performance rather than teaching. And realizing that a dancer's career span is limited, she made the leap to law school. She has been a practicing attorney for the past 14 years at the Lowndes law firm in Orlando, Florida. She keeps her hands in the arts serving as chair of her local philharmonic orchestra and via her 7-year-old daughter's love of dance.

We sit down for a face-to-face interview with Kimberly B. Cummings. Her first book, "Next Move, Best Move: Transitioning Into A Career You’ll Love," debuts on June 9th 2021. Kimberly is a career and leadership expert who heads up her own consulting practice called “Manifest Yourself.” We reviewed the book in advance of the interview and asked about a number of intriguing passages and chapters of “Next Move, Best Move.”  

Cindy St. Clair made an unusual transition from the legal profession – working as a paralegal and then a legal administrator -- to the world of academia. As you’ll hear, she went back to school to get a bachelors, masters and doctorate in music in her 40s. And at the age of 50 she returned to teach as an adjunct professor of piano at her alma mater, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. In January 2021, she was named the Interim Chair of the Division of Music, supervising a group of 18 full-time professors and 100 students.  

Pete DeBusk is a true entrepreneur. He started from humble beginnings growing up in coal mining towns in the Appalachian Mountains. In his "Act 1," he founded DeRoyal Industries, a major manufacturer of medical products with 1,900 employees and facilities in a half-dozen countries around the world. Today, the company manufactures over 20,000 different products. Back in 2000, Pete began to step-away from the business turning the day-to-day operations over to his son Brian. He admits it was a difficult transition for him. Coinciding with this corporate leadership change, Pete was asked to serve as Chairman of the Board of his alma mater, Lincoln Memorial University (LMU). And that's when his second act began. He's been LMU's Chairman for 21 years now and Pete has rebuilt the school using the same playbook that he used at DeRoyal Industries. According to Pete, "You find niches and you fill niches." Under his leadership, LMU has added a medical school, law school,  veterinary school as well as dozens of new major

Anne Moss Rogers was at the pinnacle of a 20-year professional career. She opened her own digital marketing agency in 2010. The business grew quickly and by 2015 she and her partner had 9 employees and a growing roster of clients. While her professional life was going especially well, life at home had significant problems. Her son Charles – the younger of two boys – suffered from a combination of depression and drug addiction. The problems began early in high school and escalated. At considerable expense to Anne Moss and her husband Randy, they tried to help by placing him in a therapeutic boarding school followed by rehab. But on June 5, 2015 at the age of 20, Charles took his own life. In the aftermath of her son’s passing, Anne Moss sold her agency and has became a staunch activist for suicide prevention. She launched “Emotionally Naked” – a blog about the experience. She speaks frequently before both high school and adult audiences. And she has written a powerful book called “Diary of a Broken Mind.” Anne

Dave Lazarus worked for 35 years in information technology. But at 60 years old he found himself unemployed. And the prospects of landing a new job in IT weren’t terribly encouraging. So on the advice of an old friend, he went back to an old passion: chess. And he started teaching chess to elementary students first in an after-school program and then as a private teacher. The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the popular Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” led to an explosion in demand for online chess lessons. Today Dave teaches chess 7 days per week to a mix of students from grade 1 through 5. His online chess group,  “Dave’s Young Tigers," has 180 members so far.  

Noa Shaw has led a hard life. Drugs and alcohol took hold of him at an early age. And he has struggled as both a drug addict and drug dealer for most of his adult life. But eight years ago his life took a turn for the better when he wandered into a SoulCycle studio that was just opening up in Los Angeles. SoulCycle is a fitness company that is the gold standard in cycling workouts. After his first workout, he was hooked. For three months, he attended every day – sometimes two workouts per day. He lost 100 pounds and got himself into shape both physically and mentally. The team at SoulCycle saw something in Noa and they invited him to audition as a fitness instructor. At 57 years old, he is the oldest SoulCycle instructor on the planet. And here in New York City, Noa has built a dedicated following of riders that are inspired by him on a regular basis. He is a certified life coach and in February 2021 released an inspirational book "Stop Thinking Thoughts That Scare You." Noa Shaw can be reached on instagram (

Mariane Sugrhue had a long career as an information technology manager with AT&T, Telecordia and NCS Technologies. She retired in 2018 at the age of 60 and has pursued an eclectic schedule of volunteer activities that includes judging ice skating competitions, helping to rescue dogs from "kill shelters" and working with a local food pantry. Her greatest passion is being a devoted Bruce Springsteen fan. She has attended 225 Springsteen concerts including following him for a 2017 concert tour in Australia. According to Marianne, "No two concerts are ever the same with Bruce." The combination of her information technology background and a well-honed skill at landing Springsteen tickets have  prepared her for a new challenge...helping older residents secure Covid-19 vaccine appointments. "You can look at an appointment like getting a concert ticket. It's logic...it's a strategy...it's going in there and having things pre-populated and hitting refresh, refresh, refresh."  To date, she has secured vaccine appoi

In 2015, Tara Zedayko and Jessica Chu were both employed at Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with $82 billion in annual revenue. They bonded over their work launching new healthcare products for humans but also a mutual love of dogs. Four years later, Tara and Jess departed J&J and founded a start-up company called DIG Labs. Their focus is on the use of technology to provide personalized health care for our furry friends. Tara is 36 years-old and Jess is 32 years old. As you'll hear in the episode, DIG Labs is developing an app that would allow pet owners to photograph their dog’s excrement, text it for immediate analysis and receive feedback in just 10 seconds. Yes, we may now conclude, there is an app for everything. Click here if you'd like to learn more about DIG Labs. You can also sign-up for the wait list for the launch of their new app. And make sure to bring your cellphone along on the next walk with Fido.

Mike Huber had a 20-year career as a top consultant with Ernst & Young, Cushman Wakefield and KPMG. His focus was in the area of site selection consulting – helping major companies like Samsung, Time Warner and Bausch & Lomb find new business locations. He worked hard and made a very good living. But over time he became frustrated with the corporate rat race and began to ask, “is this the right career for me?” He went back to school, got a masters in Sports Psychology and became a mental performance coach. Today he works with middle-school and high school athletes helping them improve their mental fitness and game performance. Mike took a major cut in compensation to launch Follow The Ball, his new consulting practice. But he is so much happier in his new line of work.  

Bergen Giordani was a single mother working a full-time job during the day and bartending at night in her hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. It was tough road. So back in 2013 and with the help of her then 16-year-old daughter Morgen, she opened a retail dessert shop called “One Hot Cookie.” She put all of her savings, $2,500, on the line. The mother-daughter team have proven to be a formidable partnership. And in the age of COVID-19, they have dramatically expanded the online portion of their business shipping both cookies and a “do-it-yourself” cookie decorating kits all over the country. If you’d like to sample their cookies and perhaps order a “One Hot Cookie at Home” decorating kit, I’d encourage you to visit www.OneHotCookie.com. Of course, you’re also welcome to drive to Youngstown, Ohio if you want a hot, gooey, chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven. Special thanks to Kerry Hannon for suggesting this story. Kerry is the author of “Never Too Old To Get Rich” which includes a profile of Bergen and Morg

As we start the new year, we’re pleased to share the episode named by Second Act Stories listeners as the “Best of 2020.” Fraidy Reiss’ story is among the most inspiring tales we’ve profiled on the Second Act Stories podcast. Part of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, Fraidy was married at the age of 19. It was an arranged marriage to a man she barely knew. He demonstrated a violent streak within a week of the wedding punching his fist through a wall and threatened to kill her. Over the next twelve years, she feared for her own life on a daily basis. But she eventually she found a way to get a college education, achieve financial independence, divorce her husband and escape with the custody of her two daughters. Today, she is the Founder and Executive Director of Unchained At Last, the only organization in the United States dedicated to ending forced and child marriage through direct services and advocacy. Want to learn more about Fraidy Reiss and Unchained At Last? Check out her TED Talk on