Carole Carson silenced naysayers when she achieved tremendous success in a variety of influential roles and occupations, even though she was an English major with no business experience. For example, she was the first woman analyst for the Alameda County Civil Service Commission; a wage and salary specialist for the University of California, Berkeley; and assistant to the president of the University of California for personnel services. She also taught public administration at Indian Valley Junior College.

She became a “turnaround” specialist for venture capitalists in the Silicon Valley and was CEO of Access Health Care, a start-up company in San Francisco that staffed and operated five medical clinics. She simultaneously served as a consultant to EST, under the leadership of Werner Erhard, and Lifespring, headed by John Hanley, Sr.

After successfully turning around a dozen failing Supercuts franchises for investors, she opened twelve franchises of her own and acquired a dozen more. As one of a handful of women Supercuts franchisees, she became vice president of the Supercuts Midwest Franchisee Association and was named International Franchisee of the Year for her innovations.

During her work life, Carole was a single parent and breadwinner. When she sold her franchise chain and retired, she launched a countywide fitness project that helped friends and neighbors lose 4,000 pounds in eight weeks. Her community’s success was featured on national media and chronicled in her book From Fat to Fit. Carole became a community leader on AARP’s national website, writing over 700 articles on various aspects of fitness.

Carole retired once again to write a newspaper column on joyful aging for the Union newspaper, a blog titled Grandma Carole’s French Adventures, and four novels. She lives in the south of France, where she struggles to become fluent in French. Her hobbies include remodeling vintage clothing, cooking, and quilting. She is the mother of three, grandmother of eight, and great-grandmother of five.