Second Act Stories Andy Levine

Second Act Stories has officially defied the odds. We've been nominated for a Webby Award!
But our category is stacked with stiff competition: Michelle Obama, Sarah Silverman, TED Audio, Lemonada,  and Slate.
We need your vote! We can win this with your help.
Here’s how you vote:
Go to vote.webbyawards.com Click the search button on the right-hand side of the screen, under the start voting button Type in Second Act Stories Click on our category in the search results Click on our logo to cast your vote All it takes is entering your email address and a password, and then clicking the validate button in the email you receive from the Webby’s. It'll only take a minute.
Pretty amazing stuff.

 
Tiffani Evans' life changed completely on August 24, 2021. That's when her 8-year-old son PJ was killed in gang-related, gun violence in the Washington, DC region.
Emerging from the dark days that followed his death, she helped form the "Strong Azz Mothers," a group of area women who lost children to gun violence. The organization focuses community attention on the problem but also serves as a strong support group. According to Evans, "It's a sorority that we never asked to be in. But we're in it so we try to support each other. Nobody understands this like we understand it."
With the help of the DC Theatre Lab, the group performed a play titled "Turning Pain Into Purpose: Say My Son's Name" to a packed auditorium. The Strong Azz Mothers were profiled in an amazing article by Washington Post Reporter Jasmine Hilton (which is how we first heard of the story).
Tiffani has most recently taken on a new role working in the Prince George's County School System as a "violence interruptor." Her message to students, "Don't let a five second emotion change your life forever. There are a lot of people serving life in prison right now for a mistake that they wish they could change." 

Rachel Humphrey was a trial attorney who was certain she would spend her entire career in front of judges and juries and eventually retire in a courtroom. After relocating from Virginia to Atlanta with her husband, she took a job at a firm where she represented clients in the hospitality industry, and that sparked a passion she didn’t know she had. The hospitality industry was interesting to her, and she thought that becoming involved with the associations that help the industry might be a great next step, but she had no real business experience at all.
Prompted by the unexpected departure of the nanny who took care of her children, Rachel decided to leave her job to be there for her young family. This also allowed her to do some serious soul searching and figure out what would come next.
A serendipitous conversation with Cati Stone, then the executive director of Komen Atlanta, opened Rachel’s eyes in ways she never could have imagined. As fate would have it, and what Rachel didn’t know, was that Cati happened to be a former trial attorney who moved into a role as an association executive. The advice Rachel got from Cati showed her that there was a viable – and possible - path to follow her passion.
Rachel networked her way into an executive role with AAHOA, the largest hotel owners association in the country, eventually ascending to the role of Interim CEO. After realizing a need for more diversity in the hospitality, she later founded the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance.
In this episode, Rachel shares her path from fighting legal battles to advocating for women, and all the trials that went along with her journey.
If you like this episode, you may also enjoy these episodes featuring former attorneys with incredible second act careers:
Stuckey’s Gamble: Stephanie Stuckey Cashes in Her Future to Revive Her Family’s Iconic Roadside Brand, from February 2024 Lawyer to Clown to Children’s Musician: Robert Markowitz’s Unusual Journey, from September 2023 From Big Law to Methodist Minister, from January 2018 Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

Mike Drak worked as a banker in Toronto for his entire professional career. When he was laid off at the age of 59, he  received a sizeable severance from his employer. Telling his spouse "Contessa, we hit the lottery," he was initially ecstatic to be retired.
But he quickly faced "Retirement Shock," a term that he coined to describe how tremendously unhappy he was in the year that followed. He missed helping people and the structure/routine of working at the bank. And he felt a loss of purpose. "Before my purpose was to go to work, get paid and then use the money to support my family. And that was taken away from me."
Mike's research suggests up to one-third of all retirees suffer from "retirement shock." He decided to educate others on the non-financial challenges of retirement by writing three books: Victory Lap Retirement, Retirement Heaven or Hell and Longevity Lifestyle by Design. The final book can also be downloaded for free from Mike's website at www.longevitylifestylebydesign.com.
Two years ago, Mike took the unusual step of entering his first Ironman Triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run) at the age of 68. He plans on returning to Cozumel, Mexico for his 2nd Ironman in the year ahead.
 

Stuckey’s is a legendary and iconic thread in the fabric of Americana. Founded in Eastman, Georgia in 1937 by WS “Sylvester” Stuckey, Sr., Stuckey’s grew into a roadside empire by the 1970s, with 368 stores in more than 30 states. Part of the charm that made Stuckey’s so iconic were its ubiquitous billboards, more than 4,000 of them, which were dotted along U.S. highways. Stuckey’s was an inextricable part of what became known as “The Great American Road Trip.”
Fast forward to 2019, Stuckey’s was on life support. The brand had gone through hard times, and its former stand-alone locations, still identifiable by their teal blue roofs, were now relics of a bygone era. Some were abandoned and boarded-up; others became home to less-than-savory businesses. By this time the brand had changed hands multiple times and become an unprofitable line item on a bigger company’s balance sheet. But Stuckey’s was about to experience a surprising rebirth.
In 2019, former Georgia legislator Stephanie Stuckey, a practicing attorney at the time, received a fateful phone call. Stuckey’s, the brand started by her grandfather all those years ago, was up for sale. With no experience in running a business, 53-year-old Stephanie defied the odds (and the advice of virtually everyone she spoke to), cashed in her entire life’s savings, and traded her future to buy back and revive the business bearing her family’s name.
Since then, Stephanie has become a legend in the business community. A perfect storm of scrappiness, shrewd business sense and passion, she’s now a bone fide rock star with all the street cred to stage a successful turnaround. And she has the receipts to prove it. Under Stephanie’s leadership, Stuckey’s and its flagship pecan log rolls are back in black.
In this episode, Stephanie discusses growing up with an iconic last name, her career as a legislator and attorney, her decision to lay it all on the line to buy back her family’s business, how she’s rebuilt the brand, and what’s next for Stuckey’s.
Stephanie chronicles her life on the road at her Instagram account, @stuckeystop. Her new book, “UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon,” is available at Amazon or wherever you buy books.
If you like this episode, please check out some of our past episodes featuring female entrepreneurs:
Meet A “Salvage Angel”…Hair Stylist Carolyn Curtin Cuts A New Path In Restoration Actress Turned CEO: Anna Vocino’s Path to Eat Happy Nasim Alikhani’s Second Act: This Overnight Success Took 7 Years Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

Surprise, Second Act Stories fans! We have one more “Best of 2023” episode to share with you. It's the episode you picked as your favorite of the year: our interview with Brian “Q” Quinn, who's best known as one of the four stars of the smash hit TV show "Impractical Jokers."
Currently in its 10th season on truTV, Q and lifelong friends Sal Vulcano and James “Murr” Murray (a fourth friend and member of the show, Joe Gatto, departed from the show last year) “compete to embarrass each other,” with hilarious results. It’s wildly popular because it doesn’t force you to think, and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh.
At the age of 36, Q was working as an FDNY fireman in Staten Island, New York, but then something incredible happened: Impractical Jokers was born and it took off like a rocket. It quickly became truTV’s highest-rated show, and it’s one of the most successful comedies on cable TV. After using all his available leave time from the fire department, Q was faced with a dilemma: stay with the FDNY, work his 20 years and retire with a pension, or leave his career behind to continue with the show?
In this episode, Brian Quinn talks about his career as a fireman, the tough decisions he faced when Impractical Jokers became successful, and some of the hilarious experiences he’s had as a star of the show.
Featured image credit: truTV/Warner Bros. Discovery
Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes
For more about Impractical Jokers, visit them at www.trutv.com/shows/impractical-jokers