Barbara Waxman is the leading authority on Middlescence and a passionate advocate for aging, wisdom, and thriving in midlife. Her mission is to shift cultural norms around aging by establishing Middlescence as a unique life stage. Barbara is the founder of Odyssey Group Coaching  which includes her one-of-a-kind coaching model, Entrepreneurship Turned Inward©, and proprietary content such as the Five Essential Elements© to help middlescents thrive personally and professionally. She is one of the only Gerontologist-coaches in the United States.

Barbara is the author of two books examining aging, including, most recently, The Middlescence Manifesto: Igniting the Passion of Midlife. She is a guest faculty member at Modern Elder Academy and holds memberships on the Executive Board of Advisors for How Women Lead, National Board of Advisors for Beyond Differences, and is on the Advisory Council for Extra Food. Her work has been featured in multiple media outlets, including CBS This Morning, Marin Magazine, and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. A Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellow, Barbara holds master’s degrees in both Public Administration and Gerontology from the University of Southern California, and coaching certifications from the International Coach Federation and The Hudson Institute.