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= Connie Goldman = Connie Goldman is an award-winning radio producer and reporter who currently focuses on programs and projects exclusively concerned with issues and images of aging in America. She worked for many years as a radio show host and producer at Minnesota Public Radio, then at National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington, D.C. She is now the president of her own non-profit company; in this position, she has produced several radio programs that are concerned with the issues and wisdom of the midlife and older population. Her programming has been distributed without charge by both National Public Radio and Public Radio International.

She is also frequently called upon to be a keynote speaker at seminars, conferences and special events. Her presentations are unique in that they draw upon her 30+ years' worth of personal interviews with people from all decades.

Connie Goldman’s most recently published book is entitled Wisdom from Those in Care: Conversations, Insights and Inspiration. Her other works include Late Life Love—Romance and New Relationships in Later Years,The Gifts of Caregiving; The Ageless Spirit, 2nd Edition, Secrets of Becoming a Late Bloomer, co-authored with Richard Mahler and Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit: The Healing Gifts of Gardening also with Richard Mahler.

Education/Early Life
Connie Goldman grew up in Minnesota, and attended Washburn High School in Minneapolis. She went on to get a B.A. in Psychology, Communications and Theater in 1952. She received her M.A. in Communications from the University of Minnesota in 1971. She also received a an M.A. in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica in California in 1989, and she now resides in Santa Monica, CA. During the 1950s and 1960s, she was simultaneously pursuing her education and was raising her three children, a girl and two boys.

Minnesota Public Radio
Connie Goldman started her career in public radio at Minnesota Public Radio in the mid 1970s. She worked with mostly males in journalism, a male-dominated field. This meant that she had to find "more subtle ways" of proposing ideas. She would often suggest that a male had proposed an idea that she had actually come up with in order to ensure the idea was implemented. She had to be "less aggressive" than her male counterparts because women of that era were expected to stay at home, and so she often had to fight to be recognized.

National Public Radio (1975-1988)
Connie Goldman worked in Washington D.C. for almost 13 years for National Public Radio (NPR). She hosted the daily and weekly versions of their flagship program, All Things Considered. In addition, Goldman was NPR's first Arts Reporter. Her programs focused on aging and men and women who were in their later years of life. Goldman faced similar problems as a female at NPR as she had at Minnesota Public Radio, though, so it was not until she had established herself as an independent producer and gained traction on her own that her programs began to be mass distributed to hundreds of public radio stations throughout the country.

Connie Goldman Productions
There are several discrepancies in when exactly Goldman decided to break from her jobs at various radio stations in lieu of producing and promoting her own programs. However, for the past 30 years, she has been producing radio specials, writing books and speaking about the challenges people face as they age. Goldman claims that her work is about embracing who you are now, now that you're not who you were. This philosophy, as well as her decision to break from desk jobs, stemmed from the prevalent American attitude about aging in the 1980s, which was to avoid discussing it. When Goldman herself was heading into old age, she did not feel supported, as she felt that people were implying she was entering a time of her life that she needed to avoid.

Independent Projects
Since she founded her own company, Goldman has crafted her own style and theme within broadcasting. Her mission is to share the inspiration of personal tales of aging through radio. Notably, she produced the "Late Bloomer " series for radio in addition to other programs. She interviewed late actor Ossie Davis in the 80s; in "I'm Too Busy to Talk Now: Conversations with People Over 70," she was able to interview celebrities such as John Cage and Jessica Tandy.

In 2006, she formed a panel at the Aging in America Conference, called "On Being an Aging Woman: A Conversation," with her colleagues, Joan Ditzion, Phyllis Mitzen and Martha Holstein. These women believed the feminist approach to deconstructing sexism could be a way to deal with ageism, redefine the public perception of what it means to be aging women, and deal with the challenges of aging.The panel’s discussion session starts with each panelist spending three to five minutes responding to the question, “Can you give examples in the last year when age-related challenges felt particularly central to your identity? How did you feel?” The audience reflects on the panelists’ experiences, and divide into intergenerational groups of four to five to discuss a question that enables audience members to reflect on their own aging processes.

Books and Essays
After she founded her own production company, the focus of Connie Goldman's work shifted from radio show production to writing. The following is a list of her major works:

The Wisdom of Caregivers
Goldman offers a discussion of how to be a good caregiver and the benefits associated with being a good caregiver.

The Wisdom of Elders
This piece examines the stigma that entering the latter half of life should be ignored or avoided. It argues that the latter half of life is a new beginning, filled with its own journeys and lessons, and that part of the journey of aging is the gaining of wisdom. Goldman believes that the later years of life are a time for growth and productivity. She interviewed several people over the course of two decades, some of which are well-known today, such as Ossie Davis, Walter Mondale, Eve Merriam, John Lahr and Mary Catherine Bateson, as well as others who are not public figures. Each of these interviewees was entering or had entered the latter phases of life at the time of their interview and shared their thoughts on aging.

Seeking an Elder Culture
Goldman offers a criticism of the media image of aging. She says that the media attempts to influence the priorities and body images of those who are aging by insinuating that appearing young is better than appearing old. She stresses the importance of "aging with purpose," which is an extension of being comfortable with your older self. Some of the interviews (i.e., Ossie Davis) overlap between The Wisdom of Elders and this piece, but many fresh new perspectives are introduced, again, drawing on Goldman's repertoire of interviews to create a compilation of interviews talking about the dignity and virtues of growing old.

The Gifts of Caregiving: Stories of Hardship, Hope and Healing (2002)
A compilation of the stories (interviews) of over 30 family caregivers, who discuss their experiences with caring for a disabled, ill, aging or dying loved one. Amongst the interviews conducted are interviews with Dana Reeve (wife of actor Christopher Reeve), former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Bill Thomas & Jude Thomas, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Studs Terkel.

A CD of Goldman’s one-hour public radio show ‘‘Hardship into Hope: The Rewards of Caregiving’’ is included with the book. Many of the interviews are voices from the book. Among the additional interviews is a conversation with Ram Dass, a noted psychologist and teacher.

The Ageless Spirit: Reflections on Living Life to the Fullest in Mid-Life and the Years Beyond (2004)
People over the age of 70 discuss how they remain vital in this work through a series of interviews. Notable persons who offer their insight include Willie Nelson, Phyllis Diller, Walter Mondale, Kitty Carlisle Hart, and May Sarton, Jason Robards and Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, both of whom are actors.

==== Late Life Love: Romance & New Relationships in Later Years (2006) ==== This book brings together the perspectives of 22 couples to offer insight into experiences with re-mating in their later years. All of the couples interviewed were in their 60s or older, and was composed of a diverse group who had either been widows, widowers, or older divorced adults who all had gone through the experience of taking new partners in their later years. Their experiences, documented in 22 chapters, demonstrate that people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties need love, companionship, intimacy, and sexual pleasure.

==== Who Am I...Now That I'm Not Who I Was: Conversations with Women in Mid-life and the Years Beyond (2009) ==== This work shares conversations with women between the ages of 50 and 80 that illuminate their struggles with their late-life goals and identity. It is a broader critique of the American ideal around staying young. Goldman addresses the fears that many elder people hold that they must avoid, delay, or mask the changes that accompany their aging.

==== Secrets of Becoming a Late Bloomer: Staying Creative, Aware, and Involved in Midlife and Beyond (1995) ==== Goldman and Richard Mahler coauthor this work, which uses vignettes and practical suggestions to explore the challenges of people navigating their "adult-escent" years, which are defined are the ages of 50 and above. The issues that they deal with are the difficulties in transitioning into post-career life. Thus, the vignettes focus on successful examples of people who have made this transition and who have been able to reinvent themselves post-retirement.

==== Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit: The Healing Gifts of Gardening (2012) ==== Connie Goldman and Richard Mahler coauthor this work. The book shares the thoughts and feeling of those who love gardens in interviews with gardeners of all demographics: urban and country; young adult, middle-aged, and elderly; male and female. They argue that gardening can provide elders with vitality and sense of healing.

Wisdom from Those in Care: Conversations, Insights and Inspiration (2018)
Goldman's most recent book and the companion to The Gifts of Caregiving: Stories of Hardship, Hope and Healing (2002), this book shares personal stories told by those who have been or are now being cared for, some of whom have been diagnosed with non-curable illnesses. It focuses on people who are debilitated or impaired to the point where they are unable to socialize or interact.

Public Appearances
Although Goldman regularly speaks at hundreds of events per year, her notable public appearances were the following events:

6th Eden Alternative International Conference

At this appearance, Goldman talked more about her philosophy on ageism in America. She spoke about how the undercurrents of ageism in America come from the media and how ageism pervades our culture and influences all our interactions. She said that she wanted to teach younger people not to patronize older people and empower older people to stand up against patronizing behavior.

Positive Aging Conference

Connie Goldman was asked to be the plenary speaker at the 5th Annual Positive Aging Conference. Here, she talked about what there is to appreciate about aging as well as in caring for the aging, and how storytelling can be an exercise in that endeavor.

Organization Memberships
Connie Goldman is a member of several notable organizations including:

Senior of the Year Award from American Society on Aging
Goldman was given the Senior of the Year award in 2001 at the annual joint conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging.

International Workgroup for Death, Dying and Bereavement
The IWG is a non-profit organization, supports leaders in the field of death, dying and bereavement in their efforts to stimulate and enhance innovative ideas, research and practice. Goldman has been included as an author on published research, including the paper Caregivers in Death, Dying, and Bereavement Situations, listed as a part of the International Workgroup for Death, Dying and Bereavement team.

Membership on the Council of Honored Sages
The Council is made up of well-known professionals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in relating to elders and the aging process. Members of the Council of Honored Sages serve as the “wise Elders” of Sage-ing International, and are called upon to lend their vision to its growth and development.

Connie Goldman Scholarship Endowment Fund
Sage-ing International established a Scholarship Fund in Connie Goldman's name to honor her contributions to the fields of positive and conscious aging, and to recognize her contributions as a member of the Council of Honored Sages. Donors may contribute to the Connie Goldman Scholarship Endowment fund through the sage-ing international website. Income from the fund is used to further the educational mission of Sage-ing International by providing annual scholarship assistance for SI-sponsored workshops, training programs and conferences.

The Society
The Society is professional group on aging and marketing. Amongst this group, Goldman is affectionately known as “Mother Wisdom.”