Thriving in Your Empty Nest Chapter

Kari is a pioneer facilitator with expertise in the longevity industry and building communities online. She is a master host with a knack of creating deep connections both live and virtually, with nearly 30 years experience as a driven social entrepreneur in creative strategy, facilitating and training, and private consulting to bring out the best in thought leaders.

Kari has worked with hundreds of experts around the world and produced two global summits on the topics of innovation in aging and caregiving. Her online programs at MEA have served thousands of adults around the world.

Kari served as a weekly contributor to the Huffington Post and has appeared on local TV, Dateline NBC, PBS “This Emotional Life,” and contributed to the Amazon #1 bestselling anthology, “Embracing Your Authentic Self.” She is curious about everything and committed to lifelong learning.

Derek Gehl is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and author whose journey has been shaped by a passion for empowering entrepreneurs and transforming lives. After building one of the world’s first Internet marketing companies, the birth of his first son in 2008 sparked a pivotal realization: he wanted to create a life that balanced family, business, and personal fulfillment. This led him to sell his company and refocus on building businesses that supported his vision of being present for his children while pursuing his entrepreneurial passions.

As he entered his forties, his path evolved naturally toward helping people in midlife pursue their entrepreneurial dreams while simultaneously venturing into the health and longevity space, where from 2017 to 2024, he built numerous successful natural health supplement brands. Yet despite his success, Derek missed the direct human connection that had characterized his earlier work with entrepreneurs worldwide.

At 47, Derek and his wife of 20 years were planning their next chapter together as they prepared to launch their youngest of two sons when MEA unexpectedly entered their lives. Initially skeptical of the concept of a “midlife wisdom school” – having seen behind too many curtains in the personal development industry – his experience at MEA’s Navigating Transitions workshop transformed his perspective entirely. There, he discovered something authentically different: a community of intelligent, caring individuals, each charting their unique paths through midlife’s transitions.

That unexpected journey from skeptic to believer led Derek to join MEA as the CEO. Today, he leads MEA’s mission to reimagine midlife and build a vibrant global pro-aging community. His unique background in entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and wellness, combined with his personal understanding of midlife transition, positions him perfectly to help expand MEA’s impact while preserving the magic that makes it unique.

As our Santa Fe Program Director & Facilitator Lead, Mary’s an experienced leader of mission-driven organizations and initiatives that benefit individuals and communities and strive to advance a more hopeful, caring, and connected world.

As a facilitator and strategic advisor, she’s coached teams and facilitated multi-year projects to transform communities, created and led training and dialogues across the country, and worked for 15+ years with research-practice bridging organizations including Challenge Success and the John W. Gardner Center, both Stanford University-affiliated research organizations.

Before joining MEA in 2024, Mary took a mid-career sabbatical to reflect on purpose, study Spanish, travel, and volunteer with whale shark research and conservation. She also serves as a Senior Advisor with Heartwise Learning, and works with both corporate and educational clients in strategic planning and values alignment. She’s thrilled to be based back in Santa Fe after a 22-year stint in the Bay Area!

Erin Whalen is MEA’s Director of Content and mom to two sons: a 20-year-old university student and a 17-year-old who’s just about to enter his last year of high school. Saying goodbye to her eldest as he left for university was one of the hardest things she’s ever done – and soon she gets to do it all over when her youngest graduates from high school and embarks on his next chapter. Needless to say, she’s feeling ALL the feelings these days. 

Thérèse O’Neill is the Facilitator Lead for MEA’s Baja campus. She is a longtime educator in California and in Mexico, working with Nest Global to provide education access to young asylum seekers and refugees. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley and Stanford, with a background in trauma-informed education and psychology. She is a resident of Baja, where she makes textiles and travels in her free time.