Second Act Stories

Kevin Butler had a dazzling football career that began at the University of Georgia. He then played for 13 seasons as a place kicker in the NFL from 1985-1998. In his rookie season, he was part of Chicago Bears that won Super Bowl XX. But he always regretted not graduating from the university. And he told his three children, that he'd get his degree "when you are all done." On May 5, 2018, some 33 years after leaving the University of Georgia, he finally made that happen. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Special thanks to Andrea Clement Santiago for connecting me with Kevin Butler and making this episode possible.    

Sharon Sevrens had a thriving career as an investment banker. But when she and her husband experienced September 11th from their apartment building just a block and a half from the World Trade Center, she knew it was time for a change. Over time she had developed a passion for wine. So with no experience in retail sales or in the wine business, she purchased a liquor license from Whole Foods for $150,000. And in October 2005, she opened a wine store called Amanti Vino (which roughly translates to "lover of wine" in Italian) in her home town of Montclair,, New Jersey. It's been a runaway success with a second store now planned in Morristown, NJ. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Check out the Amanti Vino website. Special thanks to a public relations colleague Sharon Nieuwenhuis for connecting us with Sharon Sevrens and making this episode possible.

Father James Martin is an American Jesuit priest who has written a dozen books including The New York Times best sellers “The Jesuit Guide to Almost Anything,” “Building a Bridge” and “Jesus: A Pilgrimage.” He’s got a huge following on Facebook and Twitter and is frequently a religion expert for everyone from The New York Times to CNN to Comedy Central (where Stephen Colbert appointed him the official chaplain of The Colbert Report). But we are talking to him today about his second act – when he made the move from a promising career at General Electric to embrace a life of poverty, chastity and obedience as a Jesuit priest. It is one of the most dramatic life changes that you can imagine. EPISODE OUTLINE FOR FATHER JAMES MARTIN Check out "Building a Bridge," "The Jesuit Guild to Almost Anything, "Jesus: A Pilgrimage," "The Abbey" and "Seven Last Words" on the Harper Collins website. "In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience," Father Martin's second book ref

For 40+ years, Judi Schindler worked in the field of public relations. For most of that time, she ran her own firm called Schindler Communications. According to Judi, it was "a hugely rewarding job." And she emerged as a pioneer among women entrepreneurs helping to establish a Chicago chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. But when she decided to retire, Judi went back to a pursuit she enjoyed in her youth…acting. And what started out as simply “taking a class” turned into a second career with headshots, an agent and auditions. Now in her mid-seventies, she is still full of energy and creativity and going strong on-and-off stage. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Check out Judy's book, "Husbands: An Owner's Manual" or sign-up for her blog "The Toilet Seat Must Go Down."  

This "Second Act" Story takes us to Rockford, Illinois, a city of about 150,000 people in Northern Illinois. We’ll meet a successful entrepreneur and hometown hero named James Purifoy. He has built an incredible “burger joint” named "Fifteenth and Chris" that has the most creative and delicious hamburgers that you’ve ever tasted. Every day a line starts forming an hour before he opens his doors. People love James’ burgers. But his story starts back in 1994 when James took a wrong turn and at the age of 19 was convicted of aggravated assault for shooting a rival gang member. And he spent the next ten years of his life in prison. But he made the most of his time in prison gaining a degree in culinary arts. And when he returned to his hometown, the people of Rockford gave James a second chance. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT CNN MONEY ARTICLE "SUPERSTAR BURGER CHEF CREDITS PRISON FOR HIS SUCCESS" 

Trained as a chemist but working as an executive recruiter, Art Schill decided he wanted to try his hand at stand-up comedy -- at the age of 81. And it turns out, he’s really good at it. Less than a year after taking comedy classes near his home in Long Island, New York, Art has played a range of top comedy clubs including Carolines, Dangerfields, Mohegan Sun and the Broadway Comedy Club. In a way, he’s the newest and oldest thing on the East Coast’s comedy circuit. We interview Art, his daughter Lisa and his comedy mentor Paul Anthony who shared, "Art is really, really talented. None of us can believe he just started doing this in his 80s." Paul quipped, "Sometimes he comes to me to say, 'Why can't I go on last?' I say, 'Art, you're 82. I got to get you on stage as fast as possible. I don't know how much longer we have here." DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT WATCH ART'S ACT ON YOUTUBE Special thanks to Daniel Bubbeo, Assistant News Editor at Newsday, for connecting us with Art.

On this episode, we spend time with Marci Alboher, the author of The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life. She also is a Vice President at Encore.org, a nonprofit focused on helping people pursue second acts for the greater good. Marci offers her thinking on the best practices in transitioning to a second act. And she outlines common traits shared among individuals that have been successful in making the change. And finally she talks about her own journey from lawyer to journalist to author to non-profit leader. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT ABOUT THE ENCORE CAREER HANDBOOK  

Joe Bock retired in 2008  after a long and successful career as an electrical engineer. But he always remembered his time back in grade school as a kid sitting on the sidelines and never getting into an athletic game. "I wanted to be athletic more than anything else." And when he retired he was determined to help “kids like me.” So at 74 years old, he now runs a program called “Benchwarmer Basketball” that has a growing and faithful following at the Cheviott Hills Recreation Center in Los Angles, California. He went back to school to study kinesiology (what Joe terms the "politically correct" word for physical education). And he hit many road blocks along the way. But he stuck with it and has helped dozens of kids off the bench and on to the basketball court. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT BENCHWARMER BASKETBALL VIDEO Special thanks to Encore.org for assistance in arranging this interview.  

Deborah Shaw was an established costume designer in New York City. For 15 years she worked for “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” creating hundreds of costumes for the program. But when the show moved to Los Angeles, she decided to stay in New York and do something completely different. And her second act took her to Rikers Island, one of the most dangerous prisons in America. Starting in 2009, she began working in  "The Big Garden" -- a two-acre plot amid the prison complex -- helping both detainees and prisoners via horticultural therapy. Today she is building a new program for the Fortune Society using gardening to help individuals recently released from the prison system re-enter everyday life. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Special thanks to Sarah McKinney of Encore.org for connecting us with Deborah Shaw.

Laura Raposa and Steve Syre have been married for 30 years. And for most of that time they have worked in journalism – working as columnists for the two largest daily newspapers in Boston, Massachusetts. Laura worked as gossip columnist for at the Boston Herald. Steve worked just 1.5 miles away as a business columnist for the Boston Globe. In August 2015, they decided to make a change – a really big change. They opened a bakery and lunch spot called The Foodsmith in South Duxbury, Massachusetts. According to Laura, “I’ve never worked this hard in my life…But this is for me. This is for Steve. And that’s just terrific.” DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Dayna English was a highly successful investment banker at Merrill Lynch. She spent most of her career in Latin America. She flew first class, stayed at the Four Seasons when she traveled and wore tailored Chanel suits. But when Dayna turned 50, she traded all that in become a public school teacher. It’s been a tough, tough road. But every day for the last ten years she gets on her bike in Manhattan, rides to work seven miles and teach math at some of the most difficult schools in New York City.   DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Special thanks to Sarah McKinney of Encore.org for connecting me with Dayna English.

Kerri Martin was working a comfortable IT job and enjoying life in New York City. But when she watched the first of two planes crash into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, she knew it was time to do something else. She followed her love of cycling and created a unique non-profit in Asbury Park, New Jersey called Second Life Bikes. This community bike store is best known for their “Earn a Bike” program which allows area youths to put in 15 hours working as a bike mechanic in exchange for a bike of their own.  “We don't expect that they all grow up to become bike mechanics, but that we're giving them some sort of like mechanical skills and some sort of life skills…just showing up at a place at 3 o'clock and signing a time card, and learning how to shake hands and look people in the eye.” DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Mark Salvacion had been a lawyer for 25 years but increasingly felt the focus on “making money” and “evading the law in the right way” was crushing his soul. The final straw…after he uncovered a specific instance of fraud within his company and refused to sweep it under the rug, he was fired within two weeks. So in his early 50s, Mark switched gears from his work as a corporate lawyer and decided to become a Methodist Minister. Today he is the pastor of Historic St. George’s Church in Philadelphia, a church with a long, rich history but also some immediate challenges. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Harry Strulovici was a successful plastic surgeon with a thriving practice in Michigan. But when his father passed away, he took a close look at his own life. He went back to school, enrolling in a global health program at the New York University Schools of Medicine. And then through a different program run by Yale University and Johnson & Johnson, he went to Uganda to work for a three-month period at Mulago Hospital. Upon his return to the United States, he founded Life for Mothers, a program focused on decreasing maternal and infant mortality rates in Africa. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Special thanks to Sarah McKinney of Encore.org for connecting me with Dr. Harry Strulovici. .

Jorge Alvarez came to the United States from Honduras at the age of seven. He grew up with his mother and his sister in tough circumstances in the Bronx. This episode is more about life change rather than career change. Jorge’s story focuses overcoming an addiction to alcohol and drugs. His second act finds him clean and sober and working for a sustainable recycling company. He manages a team of ten people that are in the field working with their clients to recycle glass and aluminum. DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Special thanks to Deb Brown of Back On My Feet for connecting me with Jorge Alvarez.