Michele Melendez's blog

Calling Seasoned Nonprofit Leaders

Nonprofit leaders: We want to hear from you.

What are your plans for the future, and what do you need to get there?


New York Times: Sharpening Your Mind in Midlife

If you're thinking about going back to school, consider this: “For those in midlife and beyond, a college degree appears to slow the brain’s aging process by up to a decade, adding a new twist to the cost-benefit analysis of higher education – for young students as well as those thinking about returning to school.”

So says a recent New York Times article, which makes the case that education in the encore years boosts mental agility.


Working Past 50 Can Bring More Satisfaction

If you’re over 50, chances are that continuing to work – and being truly engaged in what you do – will boost your well-being.

Researchers at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College found that people 50 and older are more likely than younger adults to feel more deeply engaged in paid work, volunteering and education.


Fast Company: Encore Fellowship Suits Career Shifter

The decades-long career is in decline. And for many, that’s a good thing.

“Tacking swiftly from job to job and field to field, learning new skills all the while, resembles the pattern that increasingly defines our careers,” writes Anya Kamenetz in Fast Company magazine.

How swiftly?

According to federal statistics, as of 2010, the median number of years U.S. workers had been in their jobs was 4.4 years.


Giving Breath to the Encore Stage of Life

A 70-year-old former art history professor who is now an art curator. A 71-year-old serial entrepreneur helping boomers start their own ventures. A 77-year-old former auto exec heading up a state university.

They’re all trying to revitalize a city marred by economic decay.

And, says Marc Freedman: “By the prevailing definitions, all three of them are in old age – often portrayed as a wasteland of its own.”


Purpose Prize Fellow Helps Others Develop Encore Skills

When retired ophthalmologist W. Andrew Harris wanted to use his skills to help people in developing nations, he needed a refresher on primary care. And he needed to learn how to treat people in poor, potentially dangerous regions.

Finding no sufficient options for training, he created his own: Professionals Training in Global Health, a course at Oregon Health & Science University's Global Health Center.


Army Colonel Leaves the Military for an Encore

After a long, distinguished military career, Army Col. Paul Yingling will be eligible for attractive retirement benefits in just two years. But that’s not enough to make him stay.

He’s ready for an encore, and he’s going for it.


Wall Street Journal, USA Today Detail Intel Encore Endeavor

Since yesterday’s announcement that Intel has become the first company to offer Encore Fellowships to all of its U.S. employees approaching retirement, major media have shown major interest.


Laid Off and Forging an Encore

Recently we asked you to check out a column by New York Times columnist David Brooks, who asked for “a brief report on your life so far, an evaluation of what you did well, of what you did not so well and what you learned along the way.” (Read his column here.) We asked you to share your enc


Obama Awards Purpose Prize Winners at the White House

Today President Obama honored an exclusive group of Americans who have lifted the lives of people struggling and suffering around the world.

Just 13 people received the Presidential Citizens Medal – a prestigious civilian honor second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom – at a White House ceremony this afternoon.

And three of them are Purpose Prize winners.


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