40% of Today’s Workforce Are 45+
Companies are Missing the Real Advantage and It’s Hurting the Bottom Line
Are you overlooking the experience right in front of you. Your teams are struggling to work well across generations, and your employees feel invisible after forty. Or are you losing talent because people may not feel valued and the most experienced people in your company are sitting on the sidelines.
I’m Barbara and that’s my sweet spot. If you’re ready for a different kind of speaker, whether I’m standing center stage, shaping the age-inclusion conversation for brands, or connecting with middlescent women at events, I help people rethink the generational divide.
As one of the foremost pro-aging voices in the country, shaping how we talk about age, experience and the future now of work…
My work sits at the intersection of teamwork, culture and the growing influence of women 40+, and I bring the kind of straight talk, insight, and clarity companies and conferences need right now. Oh, and a splash of humor to boot!
There’s a Blind Spot Costing Companies Billions Every Year
“BoomingGenXMillennialZ” Age Bias
When organizations overlook experience meets emerging talent, ignore the influence of women [and humans] 40+, or fall behind embracing intergenerationality, the workplace weakens, the community is affected, and culture stays stagnant.
Bottom line. They lose connection, credibility, collaboration, and the real-world insight that drives growth.
The cost shows up everywhere. Missed ideas. Stalled teams. Slow decision-making. Declining loyalty. Revenue plateaus. And an entire generation of women with influence, leadership potential, and economic power sitting on the sidelines instead of shaping what comes next.
This is exactly where my work lives.
Today’s Most In-Demand Conversations
I focus on the top 3 hottest topics shaping workplaces and the communities that power them.
Intergeneration.
Women 40+.
Future Now of work.
These are not niche topics. They sit at the center of the cultural and economic shift happening in America and worldwide today.
They are the forces redefining how people work, lead, hire, build and innovate today.
Let’s be real for a minute.
Age. It’s the last acceptable ism on both ends of the spectrum.
It’s whispered about in workplaces and ignored in marketing, and the cost is massive. In 2018 alone, age discrimination against workers 50+ cost the U.S. economy 850 billion dollars in lost productivity and opportunity. At the same time, women 40+ are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, and professionals over 45 now make up nearly half the workforce.
So why do we keep treating age like a liability?
Through interactive keynotes, research backed insight, real stories and a whole lot of straight talk, I help companies flip the script from age bias to age brilliance. I show how experienced talent and emerging talent working together is the real engine of performance, culture and innovation.
Featured across leading media and invited by brands and women’s conferences that want an honest perspective, research-backed insight and a voice that makes age inclusion impossible to ignore. That’s me.
You’re a Visionary
You want something different. Something your guests feel the moment they sit down. Fresh insight. New language. A message that actually shifts culture.
That is where I come in. I don’t just speak, I move a room into a new way of thinking about age and how experience and emerging talent work together.
The hot topic breakout people book me for:
Career Acceleration - Breakthrough approaches to professional growth and career advancement
“The Power of 4: How Booming Gen X Millennial Z’s Can Work Better Together” Multi-gen workplaces innovate, collaborate, and strengthen the bottom line. Full stop.
“The Return on Experience: Turning Age and Experience into Strategic Assets” Why a woman’s age is an advantage and how to it into impact.
Workplace Innovation: Transforming company culture and driving change
“The Future Now is 40, 50, 60+: Women are the Blueprint” How women are reshaping work, leadership, and what comes next.
Personal Branding: Building influence and establishing thought leadership
“Get Seen. Get Heard. Get Paid: How to Amplify Brand You” The influence personal branding for women who mean business and want to get ahead of the game.
Technology & Innovation: Leveraging emerging trends for competitive advantage
“The $15 Trillion Opportunity: Marketing to Women Over 40” Why women 40 and over are the economic force companies cannot afford to overlook.
BIG SPEAK. GRAY STREAK.
BIG SPEAK. GRAY STREAK.
I’m not just here to talk about age.
I’m Here to Change the Game with You
I bring magnetic energy, actionable ideas, humor and the kind of thought that starts real talk that gets people leaning in.
Let’s meet, officially. I am Barbara Brooks, founder of SecondActWomen, the home of Living Agefully. It is where an age-positive community, pro-age content and curated events lift women 40 plus and give them space to grow, connect and thrive.
And if that is not enough, I am also an award-winning speaker, entrepreneur, and former corporate marketing maven with a track record of breaking molds and blazing new paths. I bring bold ideas and big energy to every stage. I talk age, age inclusion and personal branding, showing audiences that no matter the stAGE they are in, experience is an advantage, not a setback.
Named one of Colorado’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and a Top 10 Leader in Diversity by the Denver Business Journal, I have also been recognized as an Influencer in Aging by Next Avenue and featured in Forbes, MarketWatch, Fast Company, Denver Post, CBS Colorado and Colorado Public Radio.
I do not just talk about Living Agefully. I live it.
Here’s a bit more about me. I would love to work together to fire up your team, your conference or your community.
Trusted Speaker for Organizations Like…
What They’re Saying About Working Together
Infectious. Enthusiastic. Funny. Relatable. Personable. Actionable. Smart. Insightful. Must-have.
So, Who Books Me
Employee Group and Social Responsibility Folks
Event Planners of Women’s Conferences, Wellness Summits and Industry Organizers
Leadership Retreat and Professional Development Series Organizers
Wherever honest conversations need to happen, I bring the mic with a splash of fun.
I help companies and communities tap into the superpower of women and intergen teams.
It’s the now. Not just the future.
Inspire real change and audience energy.
My Keynotes
Break Through Barriers: Tackling age bias head on, debunking generational myths, and sparking real conversations that lead to meaningful action.
Foster Innovation: Showing how multi generational teams fuel creativity, collaboration, belonging, and better business outcomes.
Energize Your Guests: Giving people the tools and confidence to help every person at every stage feel seen and valued.
Deliver hands on learning that sticks.
My Sessions
Tailored Solutions: Customized workshops designed around your specific goals and challenges.
Practical Tools: Participants leave with clear, actionable strategies that improve collaboration and inclusion.
Lasting Results: Build stronger teams, deepen understanding across generations, and create cultures that support everyone.
Ready for something new?