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COACH, LIFE STAGE EXPERT, GERONTOLOGIST,
SPEAKER, AUTHOR, ANGEL INVESTOR
Barbara Waxman, founder of The Odyssey Group, is a highly sought-after longevity and leadership advocate, advisor, coach, keynote speaker and author. Barbara translates cutting-edge research and collective wisdom in ways that enable others to understand how the dynamics of our aging world impact individuals, communities, companies, and the planet.
Barbara serves as an Advisory Council Member for the Stanford Center on Longevity, an Advisory Board Member for Stanford Lifestyle Medicine and ExtraFood.org, and a faculty member at Chip Conley’s Modern Elder Academy, and an angel investor in the Active Aging and Longevity Fund with Portfolia. She has appeared on CBS This Morning, and has been featured in Marin Magazine, Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, Next Avenue, and is a frequent podcast guest.
Barbara recently authored How to Avoid Burnout, Provide Exceptional Care, and Enhance Work-Life Integration, a chapter in the upcoming book The Successful Health Care Professional’s Guide: Everything You Need to Know But Weren’t Taught in Training (Springer Publishing). Barbara is also the author of two books examining aging including, The Middlescence Manifesto: Igniting the Passion of Midlife.
Barbara holds master’s degrees in Public Administration and Gerontology from the University of Southern California and is a graduate of Colgate University. She earned her coaching certifications from the International Coach Federation and The Hudson Institute. Originally from New York, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Scott, and is thankful to have her adult children not too far away.
Connect with Barbara’s team to inquire about your next event, workshop, or other opportunity.
For immediate needs, please email.
Gerontologist and life stage expert, Barbara Waxman, shares valuable insights that will turn everything you think about the future of aging and longevity in the 21st century on its head. During this dynamic presentation, Barbara distills decades of research to help you develop insights into how the aging of America and demographics of the 21st century have revealed the life stage Middlescence, creating a tremendous opportunity for communities, companies, investors and policy makers.
"Barbara’s leadership of our MEA cohort was invaluable, and her expertise regarding Middlescence was essential to the success of our program. But what made our collective experience so remarkable was how Barbara imparted her knowledge with so much grace, compassion and care. I have never experienced a teacher so genuinely connected with her students' emotional cores. Thank you for sharing your head and your heart with us."
"Barb is singular as a teacher. She is an outstanding colleague and a phenomenal teacher. Barb has a unique adaptive teaching style. Barb is meticulous, organized, specific and precise but she is also extremely intuitive and able to flex toward the needs of the people in front of her. This makes working with Barb a powerful balance between structure and flow that few are able to match. Barb is deeply qualified and studied in her field. This depth of knowledge and practice is what allows her to shift so easily between the plan and the needs she sees. Be prepared, be professional, and be ready to go all the way with her because she is not f**king around. Best of all, be assured that she will get amazing results."
"Barbara facilitated one of the most impactful exercises I've ever been through. I left the workshop with the confidence I needed to leave my unfulfilling corporate job and pursue I life I now live and love everyday. Barbara is a highly skilled coach and facilitator with a deep understanding of what it takes to help people move through and towards what they want. She cares about the people she works with. She uses progressive tools to identify where we are what we need and want, and provides a map to see things more clearly so that decisions become easier."
"Before working with Barbara I did not understand the potential of coaching. Barbara has the ability to capture the essence of a complex situation and build a productive conversation around it. She understands the details and the players in my environment so we can dive into breaking things down in workable ways, she asks the right questions so I can determine the best answers. That is how you learn."
"Once I started working with Barbara, I identified ways in which I was working against myself work-wise, health-wise and even psychologically...[The] level of true support and concern for my well-being made it possible for me to be more creative in problem-solving across my entire life."
"Barbara Waxman's empathetic and practical approach to inspiring people to embrace midlife is a marvel to watch."
"Barbara has a terrific tool box and is very results driven, thoughtful and organized. She helps me see different ways of viewing a situation which are transformational."
"Barbara was a strong asset as I prepared to step into an executive role. She helped me articulate what was holding me back; create a plan to effectively transition my peer relationships into direct reports; then confidently step into the expanded external requirements of my new role."
"As a coach myself, I have engaged coaches at various times in my life. What engaged me about Barbara was her perspective on breaking myths about aging and an understanding of the personal changes this life phase brings. Oh, of course! Barbara brings research and insights into aging and empowers people to be proactive in creating their future."
Barbara blends together wisdom, leadership, coaching and business acumen to help you achieve your own goals. Whether it's a career transition, a challenge in your current role, a desire to create a long-term plan, or to have a Team Leadership Coach to help your team, Barbara does it all with grace, humor and incredible support.
"So many breakthroughs, impossible to count. Many of the things that I thought I cared about were utterly insignificant compared to what really mattered to me. She helped me attain clarity of purpose, both for "now" and for the longer-term; I was able to re-center myself on what I truly valued in all facets of my life and rechannel the courage that I deployed on behalf of everyone around me to courage in myself. "
"Barbara is compassionate, empathetic and challenges you to create the change you want to see so as to grow in all facets of life."
"Barbara’s energy is positive and comes from practicing what she preached. Before working together my leadership felt scattered with lack of appropriate focus at time. With Barbara’s insights I have been more self-aware of my strengths and challenges and have been about to strengthen my overall leadership as a result."
Explore the Seven Lifestyle Levers™️ that ancient wisdom and cutting-edge science that proves the moniker Lifestyle IS Medicine. Assess your current state of integrating body, mind, and spirit in ways that optimize your wisdom at every stage and any age while aligning your health span and lifespan.
Barbara’s monthly newsletter artfully translates the most current science and collective wisdom—in the domains of leadership, longevity, Middlescence, energy and resilience⎯into actionable insights.
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