A proper introduction from the two women behind the club.

By Cheryl Garcia & Jill Pakledinaz · Co-Founders, Midlife Secret Society

Let's start with what this isn't.

This isn't a polished "about us" page written to impress you. It isn't two highlight reels stitched together with professional headshots and carefully curated backstories.

This is just us — two women in our mid-40s and 50s — pulling back the curtain on how a community called the Midlife Secret Society came to exist, and why we think it might be exactly what you've been looking for too.

Grab something good to drink. We'll go first.

How We Found Each Other (The Long Way Around)

Here's the thing about the best things in life: they rarely happen on the first try.

Years ago, we were connected through a women's group built around one of the more unique life experiences out there — being part of the air traffic control world. Cheryl’s husband was a controller. Jill was one too. Anyone who knows that world knows it runs on odd hours, high stakes, and a particular kind of stress that's hard to explain to people outside it. The women's group was supposed to be the place where you found your people — women who got it, who understood the schedules, the tension, the lifestyle.

It never quite became that. The group fizzled. Life moved on.

Fast forward to not that long ago. Jill was in the early stages of building something she

believed in — a community for women in midlife that actually did what that other women's group was supposed to do. She needed someone who understood events, experiences, and how to bring people together in a way that felt real.

Cheryl had just posted about completing her event planning certificate. She's also a travel agent. Jill saw it, reached out, and what started as a conversation about logistics turned into something neither of us expected.

"I fell in love with what she was creating," Cheryl will tell you. And she did — because it was something she'd been looking for herself.

One conversation led to many. Planning turned into collaborating. Collaborating turned into building. And eventually Jill asked Cheryl to stop helping from the sidelines and come in as co-founder.

She said yes.

That's us.

Who We Are (The Real Version)

Jill is the one you'll probably spot first. She's funny, brave, and somehow has the courage to hit "Go Live" without overthinking it for three days first. She creates TikToks, jumps on video, starts conversations with strangers, and has a gift for making women feel like they've just found a new friend. After years of balancing life as an air traffic controller, wife, and mom, she's stepping into a season where friendship and community matter just as much as everything else she's accomplished. She's the visionary who looked at one crazy little idea and said, "I think this could become something really special."

Cheryl is the one quietly making sure all the magic actually happens. After years as a stay-at-home mom, wife, travel advisor, and event planner, she's happiest behind the scenes connecting the dots, organizing the details, and turning big ideas into something real. While Jill is happily talking to the camera, Cheryl is probably planning the event, color-coding the spreadsheet, and asking, "Okay...but what's the next step?" She's learned that reinvention doesn't always have to be loud. Sometimes it's built one small, intentional step at a time.

Together? We're a little bit wizard and a little bit magician.

Jill saw the magic of what Midlife Secret Society could become. Cheryl figured out how to pull the rabbit out of the hat.

We couldn't be more different. Jill thrives in the spotlight. Cheryl thrives behind the curtain. Jill is the first to say, "Let's do it!" Cheryl is already making the checklist.

But we agree on the things that matter.

Women in midlife deserve genuine friendship. They deserve a place where they can laugh until they cry, admit they have no idea what they're doing next, dream bigger than they have in years, and know they're surrounded by women who are cheering them on instead of competing with them.

That's why we built Midlife Secret Society.

What We Have in Common With You

We're navigating the kids-getting-older chapter — the bittersweet, what-do-I-do-with-all-this-space part of life that nobody prepares you for.

We’re adjusting to retirement- the excitement of letting that go, the now “what do I do” uncertainty we weren’t expecting.

We're figuring out friendships — how to keep the ones that matter, let go of the ones that don't, and somehow make new ones when everyone's schedule looks like a game of Tetris.

We've both pivoted. Reinvented. Asked ourselves is this still what I want? and had to sit with the answer for a while.

We love to travel and believe a well-planned trip with the right women can be genuinely life-changing.

And we're both at that stage where we're less interested in performing a version of ourselves and more interested in just being the real one.

If any of that sounds familiar — you're in the right place.

What We're Building Together

The Midlife Secret Society isn't a media brand. It's not an influencer platform. It's a club — with all the warmth, inside jokes, real talk, and genuine belonging that word implies.

We're building it post by post, channel by channel, trip by trip. There's Between the Chapters for the readers and the thinkers. The four rooms inside the MSS Community- Welcome Room, Gathering Room, Curiosity Room, and Adventure Room. And there's more coming — because this community has a lot of territory to cover and we are just getting started.

Every piece of it is built around one idea: that this stage of life is not a footnote. It's not a wind-down. It's one of the most interesting, most alive chapters a woman can be in — and it deserves a community that treats it that way.

One Last Thing

We started this because we needed it.

We're sharing it because we have a feeling you do too.

So — welcome. Officially. We're really glad you're here.

P.S. Want to know why we built MSS and what you actually get when you join? Read: Someone Had to Build It. So We Did.

The club you didn't know you were waiting for.