Conference - Retirement Coaches Association

We are so excited to be returning to a live conference event! Mark your calendars for September 19th -21st and plan to join us in beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan for an engaging experience that will foster community, professional growth and help us continue to drive the Retirement Coaching industry to the next level!

Stay tuned for conference updates, including pricing, reservations, request for speakers, agenda and more!

We are actively seeking speakers to present at this years live conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you have a speaker suggestion, session idea or would like to be considered in our upcoming speakers call please contact Amie at retirement.rca@gmail.com

Chip Conley

New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is the hospitality maverick who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. In Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder he shares his unexpected journey at midlife — from CEO to intern — learning about technology as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, while also mentoring CEO Brian Chesky. Chip is the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, where a new roadmap for midlife is offered at a beautiful oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He serves on the board of Encore.org and the advisory board for the Stanford Center for Longevity. www.ChipConley.com

Loran Nordgren

Loran Nordgren is a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management. His research considers the basic psychological processes that guide how we think and act. The overarching goal of his work is to advance psychological theory and to use theory-driven insights to develop decision strategies, structured interventions, and policy recommendations that improve decision-making and well-being. Professor Nordgren's research has been published in leading journals such as Science and has been widely discussed in prominent forums such as the New York Times, The Economist, and the Harvard Business Review. In recognition of his work, Professor Nordgren has received the Theoretical Innovation Award in experimental psychology. A former Fulbright scholar, he has twice received Kellogg’s Management Teacher of the Year award and is a five-time recipient of Kellogg’s Teaching Impact award. Loran was recognized as one of Poets & Quants’ 40 under 40 business school professors and a Thinkers 50 radar award recipient. As a practitioner, Loran has worked with companies throughout the world on a wide-range of behavior change problems, a process he calls Behavioral Design. Loran’s first book The Human Element: overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas spent multiple weeks on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list.

Kerry Hannon

Kerry Hannon is a workplace futurist and a leading strategist on career management, entrepreneurship, personal finance, and retirement. She is a frequent TV, podcast, and radio commentator and is a sought-after keynote speaker at conferences. Kerry is currently a senior columnist and on-air expert at Yahoo! Finance. Kerry is the bestselling and award-winning author of 14 books, including her new book, In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work.

Kerry lives in Washington, DC, Boston and Virginia, with her husband, documentary producer and editor Cliff Hackel, and her Labrador retriever, Elmore “Elly.” Follow Kerry on Twitter @KerryHannon, visit her website at KerryHannon.com, and check out her LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/kerryhannon.

Rich Eisenberg

Rich Eisenberg "unretired" from his job as Managing Editor and Editor of the Money & Policy and Work & Purpose channels of the PBS site for people 50+, Next Avenue, in January 2022. He currently writes The View From Unretirement column for MarketWatch and freelances for Next Avenue as well as other media outlets. He is also co-host of the Friends Talk Money podcast, for people 50+, with Terry Savage and Pam Krueger. He is author of The Money Book of Personal Finance and How To Avoid a Midlife Financial Crisis.

Robert Laura

Robert Laura literally wrote the book on Retirement Coaching. He is a pioneer in the psychology and social science of retirement planning. He is a four-time best-selling author, nationally syndicated columnist and recognized presenter at retirement conferences across the country. His work has reached millions of retirement readers through seven books, twelve guides, and over 800 articles. In addition to his own writings, he frequently appears in major business media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNBC, MarketWatch, the New York Times, and more. As a former social worker turned money manager and author, he has found that retirement is among the most fascinating, yet least understood, phases of life. As a result, he has developed a powerful message to tackle the mental, social, physical, spiritual, and financial aspects of retirement. All of his work reflects his ground-breaking efforts to challenge the status quo of traditional retirement planning and help people create a No-Regrets Retirement Plan! He has a garnered a unique look at wealth and retirement by not only working closely with his own clients for the last twenty years, but also by interviewing numerous celebrities, entertainers, and athletes including Pastor Rick Warren, Deion Sanders, Gymnast Shannon Miller, HGTV’s the Property Brothers, Pawn Star Rick Harrison, Cheech & Chong, and more.

Jeff Weiss

Jeff is the President and CEO (Chief Evagelist Officer) of Age of Majority, a consultancy that he launched in October, 2017. He is the last of the Baby Boomers with over 30 years of marketing experience on both the client and agency sides of the business. Prior to starting Age of Majority, Jeff led Harbinger out of their Toronto office - a PR agency that is focused primarily on launching brands and marketing to women.

Over the years, Jeff has witnessed the dramatic changes of the aging population. In his experience of working for and with major brands including Pepsi, Gillette, Dannon, KitchenAid and Unilever, he understands why corporations are missing the boat on the over 55 crowd and he knows what’s necessary to take advantage of this largest and fastest growing segment in business

Connie Zweig

Connie Zweig, Ph.D., is a retired therapist and coauthor of Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow and author of Meeting the Shadow of Spirituality and a novel, A Moth to the Flame: The Life of Sufi Poet Rumi. Her new bestselling book, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul, extends her work on the Shadow into midlife and beyond and explores aging as a spiritual practice. It won the 2022 Gold Nautilus award, the 2021 American Book Fest Award, and the 2021 Best Indie Book Award for best inspirational non-fiction. Connie has been doing contemplative practices for more than 50 years. She is a wife, stepmother, and grandmother. After all these roles, she’s practicing the shift from role to soul.

Kathi Balasek

Kathi Balasek, MA is an educator, grief literacy communication coach, university lecturer, speaker, podcast host, and widow advocate. She trains professionals how to improve their grief literacy communication skills to engage, support and retain clients going through life's most difficult transitions. Whether it is the surviving spouse, the family members or a serious health diagnosis, these conversations are pivotal in knowing exactly what to ask, say, and not say. Experiencing the financial uniqueness of widowhood first hand, she learned that the relationship between professionals and bereaved clients is pivotal. Combining her 25 years of teaching, coaching, research and personal experience, she created Grief Smart Professional as a tool to help professionals create a grief inclusive company environment.

Tracy Jaffe

Tracy is an actress, songwriter and professor in the performing arts department at Washtenaw Community College. She has been teaching for over two-decades and has spent her entire life on the stage. When she’s not in the “classroom” Tracy is busy creating and writing curriculum for her department. Two of her most prized courses include Theatre Appreciation, where all kinds of genres are explored and The Art of Improv. Tracy lives in Ann Arbor, Mi with her family where they enjoy being active in their community and advocating for those who voices go unheard.

Eric Weigel

Eric J. Weigel is the founder of Retire With Possibilities an advisory and retirement coaching firm dedicated to helping people consciously design their own journey into retirement in all aspects -financial as well as non-financial – affecting the quality of their post-career experience. Eric is also the founder of Global Focus Capital, a capital markets and consulting firm focused on sustainable, long term investing approaches.

Eric cherishes his time with his wife, three adult children and two grandkids. In his spare time he enjoys playing tennis, gardening, and escaping the New England winters exploring possible retirement abroad locations.

Pete Finlon

Pete Finlon is a graduate of the University of Washington. After growing up in a military family Pete returned home to his Seattle roots to attend the U of W. Upon graduation Pete, himself joined the Marine Corps as a lieutenant and began his career in Healthcare. His various positions and responsibilities took him all over the United States. In early 2015 Pete, found an interesting article on retirement coaching. Utilizing a non-financial approach and clinical assessments Pete combines his insight with the client’s retirement and financial needs to help create a path that provides the most reward for a person’s immediate and long range future. Pete currently works with several clients ranging from all occupations as well as financial advisors, real estate mangers and HR professionals. In addition, Pete provides a popular Coach the Coach program to help other coaches accelerate their practices. Pete and his wife of 35 years live in the Sammamish, WA. area.

Beau Henderson

For author Beau Henderson the words "Rich Life" take on a special meaning. These two words are the hallmark of his company, The RichLife Group, of The RichLife Show airing weekly in national syndication on radio, and of his most recent best selling book The RichLife - Ten Investments for True Wealth. Henderson is a master certified success coach, author, radio host and financial advisor. He has helped more than 3,000 families to discover their true relationship with money and equipped them to live a healthy, wealthy, fulfilled life on purpose. The new release of The RichLife -Ten Investments for True Wealth can be found at www.richlifebook.com.

Mary Morency

A ”retired” Human Resources and Organizational Development leader with over 30 years of experience, Mary has always been passionate about developing human potential and facilitating change within organizations and with individuals. She has provided expertise in the areas of talent management, leadership development, group facilitation, and change management. She has worked in Montreal, Canada within the transportation, telecommunications, and financial services sectors and in the Middle East for the engineering professional services and oil and gas industries.

A life long learner with a contagious zest for life, she views her Retirement Coaching practice as a continuation of a life long passion for helping people develop their potential. She is convinced that in retirement, ”the best is yet to be”!

Mary holds a BA in languages and education and an MBA. She is an accredited member of the International Coaching Federation and is a certified Retirement Coach with Retirement Options. She holds certifications in Change Management, Solutions Focused Coaching, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and Applied Positive Psychology.

Jeannette Lalonde

A “retired” Human Resources and Organizational Development leader with over 40 years of experience, Jeannette has always been a change agent in the field. Through her organizational savvy and entrepreneurial spirit she has initiated and implemented many best practices in organizational and leadership development, ensuring strategic business alignment. She has experience in dealing with a variety of business contexts within a wide range of industries. She also has experience in Corporate Governance having been a Board member in a non-profit organization and a financial services organization.

Jeannette is engaged to support and help individuals to create a fulfilled retirement life generating happiness and well-being. Leveraging on her strong relationship building skills, her generosity and beauty appreciation, Jeannette instills positivity through her coaching practice.

Jeannette has recently completed the Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology from the Flourishing Centre and is a Certified Retirement Coach with Retirement Options. She holds a BA in Psychology, a Management Diploma and a Corporate Governance Diploma.

Tuesday 9/19-Thursday 9/21

Stay tuned for conference updates, including pricing, reservations, request for speakers, agenda and more!

Key Notes and Special Guests:

Interview with Chip Conley Founder and CEO of the Modern Elder Academy
We will discuss the business of retirement and longevity- Chip will share business secrets that will help you work with today’s modern elder.
The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Idea’s with Loran Nordgren
Behavioral Science expert and author Loran Nordgren will discuss ways to overcome the forces that resist change so you can watch your business take flight.
The Dirty Dozen Myths of Aging Consumers Presented By Jeff Weiss
President and CEO (Chief EvAGElist Officer) of Age of Majority Jeff will help us unlock the secrets of successfully working the 55+ community.
Spiritual Retirement Planning: Coaching the Shift from Role to Soul with Connie Zweig PhD
In a dynamic presentation Connie will take us through an interactive experience that is sure to help you grow personally and professionally.
Retirement Intelligence or RQ with Robert Laura
Understanding the relevance of someone’s RQ is the missing piece to the Retirement Coaching industry. Bob will share more about this discovery and how the new RQ Assessment will transform how you obtain, work with and support your clients.
The Art of Improv and Public Speaking presented by Tracy Jaffe
This session will be designed to bring an element of fun with a purpose. From perfecting your elevator speech to presenting on the topic of retirement for a crowd, this session will help you set the stage for talking about all things retirement coaching.
Media Experts Rich Eisenberg and Kerry Hannon
Our experts will be joining forces to share the current retirement trends they are seeing, and the impact Retirement Coaching can have on those trends.
Grief Literacy presented by: Kathi Balasek.
The Benefit of Saying the Right Words in the Worst of Times. Learn best communication practices that are supportive to others going through loss, grief or difficult life transitions. Learn how to normalize grief conversations, acknowledge others' loss, and build a reputation as a compassionate leader with clients, your team and your industry.