10 Women Redefining the Meaning of Success at 50+

Saundra Thomas, 55, Vice-President of Community Affairs at WABC-TV

"For most of my life I have defined myself as a writer. In this decade, I've come to discover that I am a storyteller. Memoirs are my favorite genre and I am consumed with shaping the narrative of the Black experience and role in American history. I'm basking in the freedom to seek and speak my truth, and putting foundations under the castles I'm building."  

Lucero Martinez, 50, Executive Chef, Pompano 

"After so many years working in a restaurant kitchen, I'm excited to be creating a new line of salsas and other Mexican culinary products. I am also writing a book about growing up in Mexico and my road to becoming a chef in a male-dominated world. At 50, I feel free, like nothing can stop me!"   

Wardrobe: Limited-Edition Perfect Shirt in Paint Splatter, J.CREW, $89.50

Maya Wiley, 53, founder of the Center for Social Inclusion

"At this age, I am privileged to be able to reflect and act at the same time. I have a quarter century of experience behind me that helps me tackle challenges. I face the future with bravery, knowing now that transformation and change is a longer-than-lifetime process. I have a considered, deep confidence — that's the magic of the 50s." 

Wardrobe: Riviera Dress, REISS, $295

Lisa Holton, 55, President of Classroom, Inc., a nonprofit working to close the achievement gap for low-income adolescents

"In this decade, I have the privilege to devote myself to my passions for equity in education and racial and social justice — and I also get to watch my children become kind, thoughtful creative adults. I came out late in life, so at 55, being able to be out and proud is a profound gift."  

Anne Pasternak, 52, Director of the Brooklyn Museum

"I used to bother whether people loved me or not. I don't anymore. I know that intuition is a powerful form of intelligence based on not just gut instinct but also experience and exposure. My role as a leader is to stand on the tallest ladder rung and look out into the future, to think broadly about relevance. From up high you can see how to blaze the trail."  

Fern Mallis, 69, Creator of Fashion Week and author of Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis

"I ran Fashion Week, but in this decade, I left the job! People were asking, What will she do next? Will she be relevant? The open space led to a series at the 92nd Street Y where I interview fashion stars, and that led to a book and speaking engagements with young, emerging designers — a career reinvented! My wise advice: Be Nice. At the end of the day, people want to work with nice people."   

Jami Floyd, 52, local host of WNYC's "All Things Considered"

"The gift of this age is wisdom, plain and simple. In the newsroom, I've learned leadership means knowing when to take the lead; but more often it means knowing when to let others have a voice. I learned this lesson early, in what is still my most meaningful interview, with Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers. I knew to just let her speak."  

Wardrobe: Resume Dress, J.CREW, $188

Susan Ungaro, 63, President of the James Beard Foundation

"I made a major career switch in my early 50s, from the magazine industry to the world of chefs and food! That was a risk but it revitalized the possibilities of my making a difference in a completely new field. To be part of an organization that is creating a more delicious and healthier food world is hugely satisfying."   

Wardrobe: 

Debra Rapoport, 71, artist, costume designer, and a star of Advanced Style

"Believe it or not, when I was young, I was painfully shy. With each decade after 50, I feel more and more freedom. I trust that I can be more myself without restraint. I've taken the time to look inside, to trust myself and offer myself tenderness. That goes out into the world as positive energy."  

Wardrobe: Jacket by Anthropologie

Argelia Rodriguez, 57, President and CEO of the D.C. College Access Program, a nonprofit that provides fundamental support to low income students 

"I am at the most satisfying point in my career. I'm wiser, more patient, and able to take the challenges life throws at me in stride. I have important lessons to share with the people coming behind me — like understanding what really matters: health, family and lifelong friends."

Wardrobe: Beaded Spangle-Knit Cape, ST. JOHN COLLECTION, $1,995; Fashion Crime Rate Earrings, 7 CHARMING SISTERS, $27

Photographer: Taea Thale; Wardrobe Stylist: Jennifer Hitzges; Makeup: Mark Edio, Rommy Najor; Hair: John Ruidant, Charles McNair