🎙️ Call for Speakers: The Midlife Reinvention Summit – Spring 2026

Every year, I have coached a new batch of TEDx Speakers. All of them have an opinion, are experts in their field, and have done amazing things. And ALL of them start out the TEDx journey feeling they are not enough, they don't belong with this amazing group of speakers, and worry about what they could say that would be of interest to lay people.

Every year I guide them through a framework,  and how a deep narrow slice of that perspective will have real impact with an audience and leave them wanting more. And every year I am thanked for the journey they have been on with their topic and talk.

In this talk I will take you through the stages of this framework to show you what is possible if you want to re-invent yourself from the stage in the coming year.

No matter where you are in life, your experiences are not a lead weight, they are 'your apprenticeship to your future.'

Everyone has a history and we can use that as 'concrete slippers' to hold us back or as rocket fuel to propel us forward.

This presentation will share how Dave has gone from being 'rock bottom' to unwavering success, sharing some of the steps Dave took to turn his life around.

A presentation not to be missed if you want to thive in the future.

The face of business is changing dramatically--it’s becoming a lot more wrinkled! 

In this fascinating talk Jannette explores how the largest surge of entrepreneurs to enter the marketplace at any time in history will impact the economy, our thinking, and global trends. Maturepreneurs are those who are 55+ and who are #NotDoneByALongshot!

63% of new businesses in the U.S. are started by people over 40 and many are founders in their 60’s, 70’s and even beyond their 80’s. That number is continuing to grow substantially because people are too inspired to retire, or simply can’t afford to retire at 65 due to increases in longevity and living expenses. This wisdom workforce has a lot to offer and brings tremendous expertise and experience to the table. But they also face unique and significant entrepreneurial challenges.

So you've written a book? How fantastic! But what about people who struggle to find time to read, with a mound of books piling up that are gathering dust in the corner? Many more people are enjoying the medium of audio books that can be consumed in many different situations, meaning the listener have more opportunities to listen to the written word.

Also - a surprising amount of people have difficulty reading, and their primary way to digest new information is to listen.

Yet it's not always a simple as just reading the text of the book. In this talk, Jennie will be sharing some of the pitfalls when creating audio versions of your work, to make sure you get it right the first time.

Kate is an expert quitter… and proud of it! And she is on a mission to not just share the positive powers of quitting with purpose, but to help you start intentionally quitting what you want less of in your Midlife so that you can free up your time and energy to choose to do more of what you love.

The result? You can start living this pivotal next chapter your way, on your terms.

Kate will reveal how rather than perceiving quitting as a weakness or sign of failure, we can harness the power of quitting in our Midlife to give us more time, more choices – more of the true us!

And Kate will share the three core principles of her Quitters’ Revolution, born from her own metamorphosis experiences and insights from her years of coaching, and show how the audience can incorporate these into their daily lives.

So many people reach midlife feeling the urge to reinvent—but struggle to move forward because they’re still carrying the emotional weight of past pressures, identities, and expectations. In this session, we’ll explore why true freedom begins, not with doing more, but with releasing what no longer fits who you’re becoming.

You’ll learn how unprocessed emotions can shape your choices, drain your energy, and cloud your clarity—and how gentle, intentional release creates the inner space needed for renewal. Through real-life insight and simple practices, you’ll discover how to let go with compassion, trust yourself again, and step into your next chapter feeling lighter, clearer, and more aligned.

Reinvention begins within. This is where you start.

With the present status of medicine, you can expect to live until 90; if you retire at say 65, you have 25-35 years of your retirement in front of you. This Third Act can be the best part of your life if you prepare for it well, and it can be a disaster if you don’t. You deserve a healthy, wealthy, happy, and fulfilled retirement. 
Whether you need to increase the awareness of urgency to start planning for retirement in your mid age, or need a better plan, I’ll show you steps to a plan where you’ll have financial independence, better health to live quality time till your 90s, best relationships, and a new life purpose not based on work anymore.

You should start the steps as a vital part of your Midlife Reinvention.

Midlife is not a crisis — it’s a crossroads.

In this inspiring and deeply relatable talk, Nikki Cruise invites you to rediscover joy not as a fleeting feeling, but as a powerful internal fuel for reinvention. Drawing from her signature Joy Factor framework and her own transformational journey, Nikki explores how joy awakens dormant passion, realigns us with purpose, and opens the door to new possibilities in the second half of life.

This session is for anyone who has achieved, endured, or evolved — yet senses there is still more within them. Through practical insight, reflection, and encouragement, attendees will leave with a renewed sense of clarity, confidence, and permission to imagine what’s next.

Because reinvention doesn’t require becoming someone new — it begins by reconnecting with who you’ve always been.

In this uplifting presentation, Sharon Hines Gist shows women over 50 how to embrace reinvention with ease, intuition, and confidence. Drawing from six decades of lived experience and mentorship, she reveals how to release outdated beliefs, reconnect with inner wisdom, and design a life and business that feel joyful, fulfilling, and aligned with this powerful stage of life.

Attendees will learn a simple, intuitive process for gaining clarity, opening to new possibilities, and creating purposeful momentum. Sharon blends mindset, spirituality, and practical strategy to help women overcome fear, rediscover their passion, and take aligned action toward their next chapter.

This talk is ideal for women seeking renewal, deeper meaning, and a joyful reinvention of who they are and how they live.

Midlife often brings quiet but profound identity losses that few people talk about.

My husband is no longer an aerospace engineer and the technical lead he spent decades becoming. 

I'm no longer a daughter after my parents passed. We may sell the home that once anchored our sense of stability and choose a life that looks nothing like the one we built before.

In this talk, I explore what happens when the labels that once defined you fall away because life changed. I’ll speak to the disorientation, grief, and freedom that come with these transitions, and offer a grounded framework for rebuilding identity without rushing to replace what was lost.

This session is for anyone standing in the in-between, asking quietly, If I’m no longer who I was, who am I now? And how do I step forward without pretending, performing, or forcing the next chapter?