Marsha Florence is a native of Detroit, Michigan. She is a graduate of Mercy College of Detroit with a degree in Social Work and Gerontology. Marsha is currently employed with the State of Michigan as a Job Placement Specialist assisting disabled persons with employment. She is an active volunteer for the arts, a motivational speaker and an advocate for the elderly and persons with disabilities.

At the age of five, it was discovered that Marsha had a severe hearing loss in her right ear due to having the Mumps twice in her young life. Marsha grew up knowing that she was slightly different from her siblings, but learned how to read and communicate well.

During her early college years Marsha was kicked out of college because she was struggling with her class lessons due to her hearing loss. She was later introduced to Michigan Rehabilitation Services and they provided Marsha with her first set of hearing aids and paid for her continuing college education. As time went by, Marsha observed and experienced prejudices regarding people with disabilities and made a promise to herself that when she graduated from college, she would find a way to help them.

After working as a social worker for several years, Marsha decided to take a course in television production. She developed a script for a show that would provide useful and supportive services for the disabled, elderly and their caregivers.

Ms. Fabian practices Elder Law and Geriatric Care Management as owner of ElderWISE Advisor/Advocate in Clawson, Michigan. Her work with older adults began early in her life, when she worked at Focus:HOPE (a human rights organization formed after the 1967 Detroit riots) to help develop the nation's first supplemental food program for the elderly poor. While caring for her mother who had a massive stroke from which she was not expected to live, she was named Outstanding Woman Law Student at Wayne State University School of Law. Now, as Adjunct Professor at Wayne State University, she teaches Geriatric Care Management to spur students to dedicate their lives to working with our elders.

Her prolific writing includes over 100 articles on issues of aging, and a five-year project--a book about her work with a retired professor of English Literature who was fading into the fog of dementia. Ms. Fabian earnestly assembled, through piecemeal trial and error, communication techniques to reach through the fog of dementia and make meaningful contact with these suffering souls.

Phyllis Slater
Contributor, Calming the Chaos

Phyllis Slater is a member of the Michigan Professional Women’s Network, Waterford Senior Network, SCAN Senior Network, Entrepreneur Network of Michigan and Michigan Women’s Marketplace.  She is also a member of support groups for the visually impaired.

Phyllis Slater’s eldercare concierge services connect baby boomers to valuable products and services for the physically challenged. Her care guide “Calming the Chaos of Aging:  Adjusting to Lifestyle Change” provides step-by-step support for their aging parents.  The goal is to help them continue to live independently.

Karolyn Tate
Contributor, WOW! I would
have never thought of that!

Karolyn Tate is an inspiration. Born with a physical birth defect almost 30 years ago (that affected her fingers and toes), she overcame the debilitating stigma so often associated with being different. Early on, it was noticed that Karolyn was a gifted communicator. By the age of 17, she was known around the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan for her dynamic oratorical ability. Karolyn is a graduate of Grand Valley State University’s School of Communications and is still a much sought-after public speaker and writer. A licensed minister, Karolyn is currently a full-time seminary student studying pastoral counseling in Ohio. She has also established a mentorship group for women in leadership and ministry and works with youth in the city of Mansfield, Ohio.

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