Middle age. What comes to mind? Next question: When you think of a woman who's aged somewhere between her early 40s and mid 60s, who do you picture? And if you're not one of then, when you're thinking about women in this age range, how do they show up in your daily life? Do they show up? And, what race is the woman you pictured?

Depending on your answers, and your own stage of life, you'll process the conversation with our next guest in different ways; something personal to you, or something that you might need to open your eyes to, especially if you're in any sort of people-facing business. No matter what, it's a conversation that we should all be having more frequently. For us, our big takeaway was that there is more than just the maiden-mother-sage concept to the trajectory of womanhood: there is also the queen phase. That's midlife. And that's what Valerie Albarda talks with us about, to make sure midlife women are not made to feel invisible - with the extra layer of what it's like to be a midlife woman of color.

Have questions, comments, or concerns? Email us at [email protected]

What to listen for:

• The definition of midlife
• What is the invisibility trifecta, and why is it important for society to be aware of it?
• What are the things we can all do to open our eyes to the value that midlife women - in particular midlife women of color - can bring to the table?

About Valerie: In 2015, Valerie Albarda decided to take off her blinders and go through life with her midlife eyes wide open by embracing this dynamic and opportunistic time in her life. That same year, she created the website, Midlife-A-Go-Go, to help women navigate this pivotal time in their lives and to understand that they can enjoy the midlife and skip the crisis. In 2018, she added "Midlife-A-Go-Go the podcast!" to her roster. Her podcast meets women where they live – in the second spring of life – and has candid conversations on the ups, the downs and the "everything in between" of midlife.

Valerie is a recent TEDx speaker with her Talk, "The Invisibility Trifecta: Coming Out of the Shadows." In her Talk, she focuses on one of society's forgotten demographic: midlife women of color. She takes the idea of the 'invisible woman syndrome' one step further and sets out to disrupt the mindset that midlife women of color are disposable.

Valerie is a writer, author, podcaster, and speaker. Her writings have appeared across the web, including on HuffPost, Find UR Cool, Kindra and Midlife Boulevard.

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