Work While You Have the Light

Phoebe Rubin and Erica Tanamachi

Conversations with working women over seventy who refuse to be stopped by outdated assumptions of the roles of older women in society today. We discuss gender, equity, ageism, race and relationships in both the workplace and society.

  1. Phoebe Rubin - Filmmaker, 75

    05/03/2023

    Phoebe Rubin - Filmmaker, 75

    We decided to add a bonus episode this season by turning the microphone inward (so to speak) and, so, I am going to interview my lovely co-host Phoebe Rubin today, since Phoebe checks the boxes of being a working woman over seventy.  Phoebe Rubin is a film producer and director. She began making movies in 1999. Her first film, Women Who Cry In Restaurants, was part of the LA Shorts Festival. In 2004, Phoebe began making documentary films with Erica Tanamachi for non-profit organizations.  Their short documentary, A Perfect Note, was included in the 2018 Napa Valley Film Festival. Phoebe holds an MA in Psychology with a concentration in Drama Therapy. She taught and directed autobiographical performance to at risk youth in San Francisco.  Phoebe worked for the Los Angeles Theatre Council, coordinating conferences and events. She was assistant to a vice president at CBS records and an assistant to a Los Angeles film producer.  She built and ran a recording studio in Sausalito, Ca. Before moving to California, Phoebe opened and managed a French restaurant by the University of Cincinnati called Cafe Lautrec. At 51, Phoebe received full custody of her 10 week old grandson. He is now 24. It was a profound period of adjustment being a new mommy at 51, as well as another opportunity for re- imagining and re-inventing herself. Last year Phoebe began treatment for Multiple Myeloma. Phoebe is 75. https://www.instagram.com/workwhileyouhavethelight/

    44 min
  2. Amy Honjiyo - Food Rescue & Recycling Coordinator, 71

    03/22/2023

    Amy Honjiyo - Food Rescue & Recycling Coordinator, 71

    Today we get the pleasure to interview Amy Utsunomia Honjiyo. Before our conversations, we ask all of our guests to send us a biography or resume that we can use to write their introduction for the show. And upon request for Amy’s biography, she sent us her life resume that was so delightful that we are simply going to read it.  Amy Honjiyo, 71 years of living. Before ‘Pencil-pushing’ Happy-go-lucky, roller skating hula-hooper who loved Girl Scouts and almost made it into Woodstock. 20   Years of ‘Pencil-pushing’ Highlights -   Student Clerk:  LA Coroners’ Office, LA General Hospital Emergency Dept. -   Clerk:  Charlie’s Taxi and Tours, Honolulu, HI, California State Univ. Testing Office. -   Big Clerk:  Team Approach to Rehabilitation, Midwife Education Development including “Pregnant Patty”. -   Designer Clerk:  Financial management systems, HMO + Insurance health plans, Kaiser. 20 years of Homeschooling Insights -   Learned that ‘teaching’ was taking the lead from the student. -    Every activity is an opportunity to explore and appreciate; for example, counting Halloween candies, self-discovery on how to make bread, perfumes and origami, visiting your local trash haulers’ drop off station, why the coach yells when you don’t run fast enough. -   Traveling abroad made excellent ‘field trips’. -   Be an example of resourcefulness and accounting for oneself. -   Reminded every day that your child is not you. And now ‘recycling’ for Sustainability Cycle of Food Coordinator, Sustainable Little Tokyo -   Little Tokyo organic garbage collector. -   Conducts Bokashi*/Mottainai** Workshops. -   Supports Food Rescue efforts. Practicing to be a Zen Buddhist.  https://www.instagram.com/workwhileyouhavethelight/

    52 min
  3. Manuelita Brown - Sculptor, 81

    03/15/2023

    Manuelita Brown - Sculptor, 81

    Manuelita Brown, is a former teacher of mathematics and currently a professional artist and sculptor who lives in a small beach town in San Diego, CA.  Manuelita specializes in bronze figurative and portrait sculpture and has completed private, corporate and public commissions that live in museums, on college campuses and public arenas throughout the United States. Her work is expansive and includes, but not limited to, eight life-sized dolphins called Alamas del Mar, a bust of Matthew A. Henson, Triton, an 8-foot rendering of the “messenger of the sea”, a bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall, and one of our favorites, a life size statue of Sojourner Truth.  Manuelita is endowed with an exceptional understanding of universal human experiences. In Sojourner Truth, Manuelita demonstrates her preference for life-sized   monumental sculptures of remarkable people, to effectively help viewers relate to the humanity of that individual. Her primary goals are to contribute sculpture works to the American public which edify and give expression to the human spirit, and to convey the strength, character, and beauty of her own people, the descendants of African survivors in the Americas. Trained by veteran sculptors, including Bruno Lucchesi, Nigel Konstam, and Simon Kogan, Manuelita has been honored with numerous awards accompanying her participation in juried shows and exhibitions throughout the country. Manuelia is also a wife, mother, and grandmother and is 81 years old.   https://www.instagram.com/workwhileyouhavethelight/

    39 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

Conversations with working women over seventy who refuse to be stopped by outdated assumptions of the roles of older women in society today. We discuss gender, equity, ageism, race and relationships in both the workplace and society.