Welcome to Your Midlife Tribe! Revel Community Founders Lisa Marrone and Alexa Wahr

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/wy3tuw/Revel_final_-_9_26_21_303_PM8zfmp.mp3

Welcome to Season 3 with some new exciting partnerships, guests and adventures!

NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH REVEL: NEW SERIES ON MENOPAUSE & POSITIVE AGING

Check out the event series and register for the topics that interest you below:

What is Menopause And How Does It Affect My Hormones?

October 5th @ Noon PST / 3pm EST

We will be discussing the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, changes your body goes through as well as hormone balancing with Midlife Health Expert Dr. Liz Lyster. The format will be discussion and Q&A. Many women are unclear what happens in Perimenopause and Menopause. We are going to share what you need to know. Our guest, Dr. Lyster is a Board Certified Ob/Gyn with almost 30 years experience and author of the books: Dr. Liz’s Easy Guide to Menopause: 5 Simple Steps to Balance Your Hormones and Feel Like Yourself Again and Go for GREAT: Dr. Liz’s Guide to Thrive at Any Age. Join us to learn more about Menopause, Your Body and Balancing Your Hormones.

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Women’s Sexual Health: Take Charge At Any Age

November 2nd @ Noon PST / 3pm EST

We will be discussing women’s sexual health during midlife, menopause and beyond with Ob/Gyn, author and health expert Dr. Sherry Ross (“Dr. Sherry”). The format will be discussion and Q & A. Too many women do not understand the changes that happen in our bodies as we age but knowledge is power. We have invited the amazing Dr. Sherry Ross: Ob/Gyn with over 25 years of experience, author of the popular books she-ology, the Definitive Guide to Women’s intimate Health. Period and she-ology the she-quel, Let’s Continue the Conversation and co-host of Lady Parts (on Ellen’s Digital Network). Having received nearly every “Top Doctor” and “Patient’s Choice” award in the U.S., Dr. Sherry was honored with The John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary Angel Award for her contribution in advancing the narrative of women’s health care. Join us to learn more about women’s intimate health care.

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Surgical Menopause and Hormone Replacement

December 8th @ Noon PST / 3pm EST

We will be discussing Surgical Menopause (Menopause that is triggered once the ovaries are removed) and how it affects women’s health as well as the pros and cons of Hormone Replacement Therapy with Dr. Liz Larkin. Trained at Yale, and the University of Chicago, Dr. Larkin is a board certified internist, a certified menopause clinician and CEO of Ms. Medicine, a national healthcare organization whose mission is to advance healthcare for women. The format will be discussion and Q & A. Join us to learn about surgical menopause and hormone replacement therapy.

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How To Thrive During Menopause

January 4th @ Noon PST / 3pm EST

We will be discussing how to thrive through the struggles of perimenopause and menopause (including weight gain, mood swings and exercise) with Amanda Thebe. You may notice that you are eating and exercising the same as always but your midlife body is no longer responding in the same way. We have invited fitness instructor and author of the book: Menopocalypse, How I Learned to Thrive in Menopause and You Can Too, Amanda Thebe, to discuss nutrition, exercise and ways to improve sleep. The format will be discussion and Q & A. Join us to learn how to thrive physically, mentally and emotionally in Menopause.

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Anxiety in Midlife: Create An Anxiety Survival Kit

February 1st @ Noon PST / 3pm EST

Have you always struggled with anxiety or has it appeared during perimenopause/menopause? Either way you are not alone! We invite Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Saracheck, lifelong anxiety friends, podcasters and authors of the new book, The Anxiety Sisters’ Survival Guide: How You Can Become More Hopeful, Connected and Happy. We will explain what happens in our body during an anxiety attack, learn techniques to help lessen the fear and how to create our own anxiety survival kit. The format will be discussion and Q & A. Join us to build a community of connection and support.

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Natural Solutions to Perimenopause

March 1st @ Noon PST / 3pm EST

Are you looking for natural alternatives to treat perimenopausal symptoms including hot flashes, weight gain, insomnia and more? We invite naturopathic doctor Jennifer Harrington to discuss alternative options to help with your symptoms. Jennifer founded Menopause Natural Solutions in 2014 and is the author of the book, Invisible to Invincible – The Natural Menopause Revolution. We will discuss nutrition, exercise, supplements and more natural solutions. The format will be discussion and Q & A. Join us to learn about natural alternatives to perimenopause.

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EPISODE SUMMARY

Through their platform, Revel, co-founders Lisa Marrone and Alexa Wahr are connecting midlife women nationwide and giving voice to important issues midlife women face. In today’s episode, we sat down with Lisa and Alex to discuss the creation of Revel, Revel’s topics and events, loneliness in midlife, and the future plans for Revel.

First, we spoke to Lisa and Alexa about how they came up with the idea for Revel. They told us that after many discussions surrounding ageism in the workplace and the importance of community, they decided to create a platform that gave midlife women a voice and a place to connect with one another. Although Lisa and Alexa are not yet in their 40s, through Revel, they hope to create a community that current and future midlife women find to be an educational and safe space.

Revel is a community for women over the age of 40. By signing up for a membership, women can join and engage in events hosted by other midlife women. There are over 50 events offered a week, and the types of events come in a wide variety, ranging from in-person meetings to online seminars, to workshops and more. When making Revel, Lisa and Alexa always strived to make it a community accessible for women across the country. After doing research on other organizations for midlife women, they found that many struggled to move from being local to nationwide. They hoped to expand their own company to make a difference and reach more midlife women. When members log into the Revel website, they can immediately start connecting to other midlife women on the platform. By going to the events page, they can pick from dozens of events and categories. If they don’t see an event discussing a topic they’re interested in, then members can host their own events. In the beginning, events were solely in person and in California. However, quarantine has pushed Revel to integrating both public and online events, which has allowed their community to reach even more women and give more opportunities for connection.

Since Lisa and Alexa are still in their thirties, they felt it was important to get as many midlife perspectives as possible when creating Revel. When asked who they reached out to, they explained that after speaking many midlife women, including their mothers and others in their personal lives, they found that a majority of the women shared their same opinion: midlife women are empowered and strong. However, society does not view midlife the same way. Through Revel, Lisa and Alexa wanted to celebrate midlife women and change society’s perspective. For the kinds of topics currently discussed on Revel, Lisa and Alexa said they offer a wide range. Travel discussions, book clubs, crafting and painting classes, sex discussions; there are so many different events that appeal to members. Revel has also merged with Woolfer, and they’re extremely excited for their future endeavors. After making connections and being reached out to by Woolfer, Lisa and Alexa knew that their partnership would help improve Revel. With Woolfer, they appreciate that there are now even more midlife voices keeping them on track and that they can form bonds with women across the country. For the hopes for future events, they said that they would love for members to be able to create any in-person event they want, to host nationwide conferences, and to have group retreats and travel plans.

When talking about the inclusivity of Revel, Lisa and Alexa emphasized that Revel is not a company but a community. For them, to form a community means to respect all members, and they hope to foster a positive environment for everyone at Revel. Another important issue they want to address through Revel is loneliness in midlife. We asked them about the issue, and they told us that in a UK article, they saw that loneliness is more detrimental to health than a pack of cigarettes a day. Women in midlife are at risk of feeling isolated, especially those who are single or empty nesters. Lisa and Alexa want to use Revel to bond women and give them the sense of community they may be missing.

We also asked about the vetting process for those hosting events. Lisa and Alexa assured us that anyone who wishes to host an event on Revel goes through a review process to ensure that the person is legitimate and that they intend to follow the company’s guidelines. They are also currently working on technology to also vet members to ensure all those entering Revel are making the community safer and a more positive place.

Finally, we asked Lisa and Alexa about their hopes for the future of Revel. They said they hope that Revel eventually expands to become a global platform so that midlife women from all over the world can join the community and make meaningful connections. They also hope to help change the narrative surrounding midlife women and show just how amazing and capable midlife women are.

Lisa Marrone and Alex Wahr

About Revel, from their website:

Revel was founded in August 2019 by Lisa Marrone and Alexa Wahr, two women in their mid-thirties whose vision spans beyond their years. The very first Revel event was a conversation over coffee hosted by a Reveler in her Oakland, CA backyard garden. Today, there are over 7,000 Revel members all across the country, and we are growing quickly! We’re currently welcoming our first 20,000 inaugural members at no cost.

In 2020, Revel joined forces with Finding Female Friends Past 50, a MeetUp group founded by Dale Pollekoff in 2015. In 2021, Revel merged with The Woolfer, a community founded by Nina Collins in 2015 with the same goal of connecting fabulous women of a certain age. Our community is comprised of a diverse group of women: single and partnered, queer and straight, working and retired, kids and no kids. We are always welcoming to LGBTQIA+ individuals, including all people who identify as a woman, people of all races, all physical abilities, and religions.