We're a group of real 40 & 50+ women carving out our own path with purposeful intent and we're unstoppable. Ageism is real and we're working to rescript it as #workwives and a 10+ year friendship. Watch us. We can and will with our power tribe of badass women living life in full color. #secondact #owningourage #betterthanever #gamechangers #ageless

Founder & CEO

Barbara Brooks at 54 years-young is the founder and CEO of SecondActWomen. Built by and for women 40 and beyond, the company is an IRL and virtual club for women 40 & 50+ that provides access to professional and self-development courses and workshops led by industry experts, resources and on-demand content, and a network of women entering middlescence with vigor. Founded to counter the ageist bias waged against females 40 & 50+ in corporate, business ownership and in society, SecondActWomen gives women the opportunity to ReThink, ReTool and ReBoot in order to design their future on their terms.

A 29-year marketing and public relations specialist, Barbara launched her award-winning career in the shopping center industry where she oversaw regional and super-regional malls and downtown districts like Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, Sundance Square in Fort Worth, and Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas. In 2001, she began an eight-year career in broadcasting where she worked as a senior sales and business development representative at I Heart Radio, CBS Radio and Gannett before returning to shopping centers where she marketed Denver’s own, Park Meadows Retail Resort.

In 2011, Barbara stepped into her own second act when she launched her first entrepreneurial venture, Brooks Marketing Group, a boutique marketing and public relations agency. She then went on to co-launch DECIBEL Marketing, a marketing and PR firm in 2016 with now SecondActWomen business partner Guadalupe. As a three-time entrepreneur, Barbara is a powerhouse community leader and public speaker with the vision, savvy and heart to inspire women 40 & 50+ to take their career and lives off auto pilot.

A military brat hailing from Colorado Springs, Barbara graduated from Colorado State University. She's a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority from both University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State and calls Denver home with her 4-pound pup Riley.

Recognition and Awards
Barbara received several awards and accolades from the International Council of Shopping Centers for producing high-level marketing projects, public relations strategies and special events. She has been a featured speaker and panelist at non-profit, community and corporate events and has graced the pages of the Denver Post, Business Den, Daily Blast Live, 5280 Magazine, various TV news segments and Tarrant County Business Journal in Fort Worth, Texas.

Giving back

• Sense of Security, board vice president
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, St. Jude Glamour & Giving Denver two-time chairwoman
• Children’s Hospital Colorado, Development committee volunteer
• Colorado Firefighter Calendar, Founding board member
• Ronald McDonald House, Salt Lake City, Board member

Photo: Rick Janson,Denver Lifestyle Real Estate

Co-Founder & CCO

Guadalupe Hirt (46) is the co-founder and CCO of SecondActWomen. Founded to rescript the social narrative that women 40 & 50+ are past their prime, SecondActWomen is an IRL and virtual club platform that doubles as a resource hub and community support system to spur the careers, business ventures and big ideas of women in middlescence. Built by and for women 40 & 50+, members gain access to a curated collection of professional and self-development workshops, resources, on-demand content and a thriving network of like-minded women poised to ReThink, ReTool and ReBoot.

A 26-year public relations professional turned four-time entrepreneur and social justice advocate, Guadalupe now champions women’s issues and is helping breakdown female ageist bias that lingers in corporate America and society. Most recently, she worked as an associate producer on a short-subject documentary that explored the intersection of culture, identity and belonging from the lens of first-generation American born Latinos. During this time, she also co-authored a cultural workbook that helps middle school and high school teachers bring this important conversation into the classroom. 

Her entrepreneurial journey began in 1991 when she first launched MindSpeak Public Relations to provide strategy and programs to drive results for the hospitality, travel and tourism industry in Colorado. Soon after, she co-launched RedSlate Studios, a video production agency and then went on to co-launch DECIBEL Marketing, a marketing and PR firm in 2016 with now SecondActWomen business partner Barbara Brooks. 

Through her work with SecondActWomen, she has been a guest speaker and panelist and has been featured in media outlets like KUNC, NPR Denver affiliate, the Denver Post, Business Den, Daily Blast Live, and Lioness. A California native, she graduated from Santa Clara University and now resides in northern Colorado.

Giving back

• Project PEACE, volunteer and interim board member
• Girl Scouts of America, troop co-leader 
• Boy Scouts of America, awards chairperson
• Bolder Boulder, race volunteer
  
  

Photo: Josh Gold Photography