Meet the Quest Makers

July 2010 Quest Maker

Maria Catalano

From a temporary income fix
to passionate entrepreneurship

When circumstances prompted Maria to look for a way to supplement what she earned as a flight attendant for US Airways, a friend's casual request to help out at a dinner party led to a second stream of income. By the time the airline closed its Boston base and Maria's "temporary income fix" was no longer temprorary. It had grown, and along the way, she had become a fullly fledged entrepreneur doing work she absolutely loves.

June 2010 Quest Maker

Joan Hopkins

From taking a sabbatical
to leaping into a life she loves

In 2002, Joan was able to take a 4-week paid sabbatical from her job and used that time to do some serious soul searching. While on her sabbatical Joan turned 50. She wanted to give herself a meaningful birthday gift and embarked on a week-long volunteer vacation at Best Friends Sanctuary. As a result, she became interested in becoming an entrepreneur working with animals, a life-long passion of hers, when she reached her mid-fifties. Thanks to her sister-in-law (and now business partner!), Joan made the leap from corporate America to her first love much sooner than she expected!

May 2010 Quest Maker

Barbara Stecher

From painting watercolors to sketchbooking:
a new way to really look and remember

"I am a traveler." That's how Barbara Stecher, who has visited every continent and 80 countries (so far!), describes herself. Her passion for painting led her to invent sketchbooking when she found that there was never enough time to paint on her travels. Over the years she has shared her passion for creating vivid memories on the go with many others, whether she is teaching a class, leading a trip or inspiring those who read the book she authored when she was in her early 70's, SKETCHBOOKING: How to Create a Delightful Journal of Your Travels at Home and Abroad .

April 2010 Quest Maker

Gay Geiger Hughes

From Sunday dinners at her grandmother's
to a passion that suits her to a "tea"

When she was a young girl, Gay fell in love with tea at formal Sunday dinners at her grandmother's home. Gay's love for high tea was kindled by a close friend who shared her love of all things English, which in turn, led Gay to host tea parties for family and friends. Several years ago when her daughter left for college, Gay decided "now was the time" to pursue her passion for all things tea by opening very own tea room so she could share her love of tea with others. She has her tea room, albeit in a different way from how she first envisioned it. In this month's interview, you'll learn how Gay's quest has put her in the driver's seat.

March 2010 Quest Maker

Jane Gifun

From a high school passion
to a richly rewarding new career

So much has happened to Jane since I "met" Jane Gifun in July 2008 in an article on the front page of the regional section in The Boston Globe. At 60, she started college because "If I kept putting off the decision to work with special needs kids, I would be 90 years old and still saying SOMEDAY." In May 2011 she'll graduate with a degree in early childhood. Now 18 months after the article, she is amazingly happy working full time with special needs children, a passion she has maintained since her high school days.

February 2010 Quest Maker

Glenda Maurice

From enforced detours
to unexpected opportunities

Renowned mezzo-soprano and music educator Glenda Maurice admits that like Claude Debussy she has lived in sin with music her entire life. Music was her destiny. Yet at 56, when she lost her voice and she could no longer sing, her quest became "How do I keep going?" What she calls an enforced detour led her to discover a new way of singing. At 70, a chronic condition left her unable to walk. While it meant retiring from her beloved university teaching, Glenda was determined once again "not to give over and quit." Instead, she created an opportunity to continue her great love affair with music - by producing it and sharing it with a whole new audience.

January 2010 Quest Maker

Kathleen Bohn

From high-tech traveling executive
to broadening what she loves in her life

Kathleen knew she wanted to retire early from her high-powered job in high tech. In her 40's, she started to plan ahead. By her early 50's, she had reconnected with her passion - playing the clarinet - and had moved from the city to a ranch in Dripping Springs located in Texas Hill Country where she practices wildlife management. Last year, when the company she worked for was purchased, she - along with 30,000 others - was laid off. Early retirement had come to her and she was more than ready to broaden the things she loves in her life.

December 2009 Quest Maker

Sandy Dempsey

From climbing the corporate ladder
to creating a café for dreaming and growing

Ten years after her father died, Sandy realized she was no closer to her dream of writing and being her own boss. Step by step, Sandy began preparing to leave her corporate job to lead the creative, fulfilling life she'd dreamed of since she was 16. Along the way, she conceived of "a destination oasis for those on the creative journey to self discovery" and The Dreaming Café was born. When Sandy's timetable was moved up by life circumstances, she chose to climb off the corporate ladder and say "Yes!" to her dream.

November 2009 Quest Maker

Mari Omland

From a high-powered city life
to a deliberate life on her farm

Mari likens being laid off from her high-powered job to throwing a stick into a moving bicycle tire. It made her stop and reassess what mattered to her, moving home to Vermont and life as a farmer. At Green Mountain Girls' Farm in the heart of Central Vermont, she and Laura, her life partner, raise healthy (organic and sustainable), happy (free range and loved) animals and vegetables. The Barn Guesthouse provides a respite for guests where they can experience a bit of farm life, or just relax and have fun.

October 2009 Quest Maker

Ronnie Ann Ryan

From fnding Mr. Right (a labor of love!)
to a whole new career

When Ronnie Ann Ryan turned 40, she decided she didn't want to be single anymore and set out on her own quest to change that. In the process of finding her own Mr. Right, to whom she has been happily married for eight years, her journey led to a whole new career - that of The Dating Coach. Ronnie is now a certified coach, speaker, workshop leader and author of MANifesting Mr. Right: It's Never Too Late to Find the Love You Want.

September 2009
Camille Saunders Musser

From artmaking: reconnecting with her heritage to launching an arts foundation
Photo: © C. Lewis Studio

July 2009
Beverly Goodman Park


From life getting in the way to making
it authentic in every way

November 2008
Harriet Carroll

From trainer to "concierge on the ground"