Kate Schaefers, PhD, LP

CHAI recognizes and celebrates its Members, Community Partners, and Ambassadors monthly. This month, we feature Kate Schaefers, PhD, LP. 

Kate Schaefers, Ph.D., L.P., is an applied psychologist and executive coach. She is the Director of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), a learning community for those 50+. In addition, she recently launched The Midlife Academy, a place for those at midlife and beyond to explore what’s next. Prior to joining OLLI, she was Executive Director of the University of Minnesota Advanced Careers (UMAC) Initiative, a gap year for experienced professionals as they transition into meaningful post-career lives.

Kate has partnered with Dr. Phyllis Moen on several research projects, focusing on the experiences of older workers, organizational change concerning an aging workforce, and encore careers. She co-wrote (with Dr. Moen) an article Long Life Learning and the Age Integration of Higher Education for the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Kate is involved with community work. She currently serves on the AARP-MN Executive Council, as well as the UMN Age-Friendly U Council. She is co-chair of The Nexel Collaborative, a higher education consortium focused on serving a new demographic of learners: those at midlife and beyond. She is a graduate of Iowa State University (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology), University of Minnesota (M.A., Counseling Psychology), and Loyola University Chicago (B.S., Mathematics and Psychology).