Christine Sperber, 54: Take the Risk and Keep Growing

The Modern Elder Academy (MEA) is unique. More than a destination, it is an ethos of positivity and possibility around the re-invention of both people our age and, equally, the land we live on. The people who created MEA and continue to drive its mission forward are equally special. This week, we dive deep into the mind of Christine Sperber, their Chief Experience Officer who together with Chip Conley and Jeff Hamaoui, brings the MEA experience to life. Going from itinerate snowboarder to helping run one of the most influential organizations dedicated to midlife is quite the career pivot. What we so enjoy about Christine is her spirit of just going for it — making the move, taking the risk, and growing along the way.

Part of that growth is her recent divorce. As she looks forward to what may be, there is a lot of unknown ground in her future, which is how she has always rolled. Take a step, and see where it leads. Inspiring by example.

What age are you?
I’m 54. 

Where are you from and where are you currently living?
Born in NJ, moved to Breckenridge, Colorado at 19 and had a base there for about 32 years. In 2008, I started spending much of the year in El Pescadero, Baja California Sur, Mexico and in 2017, we started MEA.  

We purchased our first MEA US location just outside of Santa Fe, NM in 2021 and I began spending a lot of time here. After 15 years of living primarily in Mexico, which I love, Santa Fe has been a real revelation. From culture to the trails and ski area, I’ve fallen hard for New Mexico. 

You’re a former World Cup snowboarder. Do you still snowboard? 
I do. I still love it. It’s the best feeling in the world. Ski Santa Fe has the most generous uphill policy, so skinning has become a new favorite activity. There really is something to earning your turns. So many of my closest friends come from my snow life. I don’t know who I would be without snowboarding. 

“Snowboarding made me an embodied learner, which I use at MEA in designing our experiential education”

One of the elements of snowboarding is being creative on the fly. How does that manifest in your life now?
I definitely still carry some of that feral energy of my early ski-town days in the late ’80s/early ’90s. I am just, in my 50s, emerging from being shockingly low maintenance — Sleep on the floor in the airport? Sure! Sketchy lodging? Public transport? No hot water? Off grid? Sleep in the van? All acceptable in the quest for a good adventure.

Snowboarding and general chosen-lifestyle-imposed poverty in my early adulthood conspired to make me a pretty good dirtbag. I’m a recovering dirtbag now. These days I’m not mad about a comfortable bed and a great pillow; I’m happy to use points to sit in the front of the plane. Snowboarding made me an embodied learner, which I use at MEA in designing our experiential education. There are so many different ways to process new information, and sometimes the epiphany can come from something we do physically that reinforces what we’ve been talking about in the classroom, or vice versa. 

Lucky for me, I have a gang of friends who are ultra-athletes and I’m so inspired by them

Do you feel that your time as an athlete informs your approach to exercise and health now? 
I love being strong. I’ve broken enough bones that I’m grateful for easy movement when I have it. Currently benched with an injury from overtraining, and it’s a real mental health hit. Soft tissue damage blows. Being in the gym in my 50s is great because everyone is sweaty, so hot flashes are totally camouflaged and normal. Beyond that, I’ve been mountain biking for about 30 years and yet am still often afraid on technical trails. Lucky for me, I have a gang of friends who are ultra-athletes and I’m so inspired by them; Monique Merrill and I owned an epic pink Victorian house in Breckenridge with our respective partners for 18 years. 

Rebecca Rusch is a new friend. Alex and Erin Pashley are old friends and Hardrock 100 and Softrock 100 athletes, respectively. I’ve been convinced to train for ultras for next year — Rebecca has something in mind and Erin and I are aiming for a full pull of Softrock. I was training for the New York Marathon, this year it’s on my 55th birthday, but didn’t get in and then was injured. I long held the belief that I am not a runner, not built for running, was short twitch not long twitch – the list goes on. Growth mindset is one of the central tenets of MEA, and I began to examine some of my limiting beliefs. I’m still not built like a runner, nor would I call myself a natural athlete. 

“Being in the gym in my 50s is great because everyone is sweaty, so hot flashes are totally camouflaged and normal”

What are some of your daily, healthy habits that you swear by?  
Dog snuggles, pre- and probiotics, a lot of berries and greek yogurt and being in nature. And texting with my oldest girlfriends who the four winds have blown to Idaho, Italy, the Virgin Islands, mainland Mexico, and New Zealand. And my sisters on the East Coast. Lots of laughter. Checking in with Jeff Hamaoui. I love a good HIIT workout but have toned down the sharp intensities, now aiming for more zone two. Riding my bike. I’d really like to be strong and independent as long as possible.  

What is it about Baja that attracts you, and how is it that you ended up there?
My dear friend Krista Moroge-Beutler was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, and died in 2010. It pushed me to want to use all my time wisely. Baja had been on my list, and so to honor her, I went. My now ex-husband, then boyfriend, Josh and I planned to spend 5 months in Baja in 2008 and fell in love with the community. I began teaching English and Josh teaching Pilates, which led to us meeting all our neighbors and connecting with our first offer to help open a hotel. That project was very successful and opened the door to other projects and hotel openings, which eventually led to meeting Chip Conley. Chip and I have now done three projects together over the last decade. MEA is the latest and greatest. 

“Baja requires self-reliance and tenacity, but also trust in the goodness of other humans and serendipity”

Goddamn Baja. She’s such a wild beauty. I love untamed energy; ungovernable horses, feisty little girls, angry chihuahuas. You can still find raw and wild in Baja, but you have to look harder than we did when we first started exploring in 2008. And of course, my friends who came when the road was first paved in the ’70s are nostalgic for the way they found it. It’s changed, like everywhere.

So much of modern life is without consequence, in a way, and we have a managed human experience, protected from ourselves.  Baja requires self-reliance and tenacity, but also trust in the goodness of other humans and serendipity. Baja captured in a single moment is driving on a remote cardon-lined dirt road in my old landcruiser with all the windows down, hair blowing in my face, a grip of dogs hanging out the windows, dust roiling everywhere, and a can of cold beer. That feels alive.

I rarely drink alcohol, but the contrast of hot sun, salt water, and dust transforms a cold Pacifico into magic. When you live in Baja long enough, you become matte. There is just dust in every pore; even if you are in the ocean regularly. There is a stark difference between the wild and the human in Baja — the way we make a mess of things is so apparent. The desert alone is filled with beauty. Add humans and we fill it with garbage. I’m so grateful to the work of the Zero Waste Alliance in Todos Santos. They took disparate efforts and have organized the community into an effective machine working towards becoming a zero-waste destination. 

“There are so many ways and reasons we get stuck in transitions; I feel lucky to have been swimming in this MEA navigating-transitions work for the past 7 years”

Your career is very impressive, successful entrepreneur, hotelier, producer, writer, restaurateur, and now co-founder and CXO at Modern Elder Academy. What advice would you give to someone who wants to change career paths but is nervous about entering a new field? 
I’d say: come to MEA! We have online and in-person options so the tools are quite accessible. We’ve made financial aid widely available. We’ve developed an entire toolkit for navigating transitions at MEA, so I personally do lean into those. I’ve aged right into all our work, and am currently our exact guest: 54, newly divorced, transitioning at work, new injury. I am our poster girl! It’s good to have the body of MEA work in my life as it’s all designed to help guide us through all these midlife transitions.

And, thank you — it’s definitely clearer considering it in reverse; there were many times along the way I had no idea where this was all leading. I’ve always been a jump-and-the-net-will-appear type, so my challenge is in taking enough time to metabolize the lessons before diving in. There are so many ways and reasons we get stuck in transitions; I feel lucky to have been swimming in this MEA navigating-transitions work for the past 7 years. I was the friend likely to counsel you to throw caution to the wind; Jeff, Chip and Kari Cardinale, my MEA and thought partners, have tempered that. We are a potent mix. 

I was the friend likely to counsel you to throw caution to the wind

How would you describe your purpose in life? 
To be grateful for and aware of all I have, to be a good friend and daughter, and to do my best to leave things better than I found them. 

Talk to us about the way you help people discern their own purpose. 
We just did an MEA live web event with Liz Gilbert and Dr. Tererai Trent, and Liz nailed this question the best I’ve ever heard done. She talked about replacing the idea of purpose with service. “How can I be of service in this situation?” Goosebumps. I like the idea of a purpose portfolio: many things that conspire to create a meaningful life. 

“I like the idea of a purpose portfolio: many things that conspire to create a meaningful life”

What is your biggest fear?  
Hydroplaning. Worst feeling. Less specifically, the loss of absolute truth, which seems to be leading to a loss of civility. I’m from the East Coast, where we specialize in skepticism, but I am mourning the loss of baselines we can agree upon. I happened to see the “alternative facts” moment on live TV, and it deeply scared me. I don’t enjoy living in a world of “alternative facts.” I’m afraid for the future of democracy, human rights, and protections that seemed guaranteed just a few years ago. 

You have worked with groups for many years, even pre-MEA, to give them experiences that help them grow. How do you find the sweet spot that is outside someone’s comfort zone but not so far that they lock up?
Great question. We reference Csikszentmihalyi’s work at MEA; that sweet spot between challenge and skill is where we experience flow. Not enough challenge, which is so easy to fall into as we age and become accustomed to comfort and knowing, leads to boredom. Too much challenge puts you in the panic zone. Neither are good.

All good design begins with empathy, so I have to understand the guests’ reference points, and we need to build trust and credibility before we invite them to stretch. It’s very dependent upon background; for chronic high achievers, any failure can be terrifying, no matter how inconsequential. So, almost counterintuitively, hyper-successful people might need a way lower challenge bar – like baking bread. Adding skill is a step function, so I want to build that opportunity, and I want the risk to be relative. As we age, it’s important to continue to play games we aren’t sure we can win. 

“As we age, it’s important to continue to play games we aren’t sure we can win”

Tell us about the role of support and community in your life today and how you help MEA attendees develop more of these. 
I just spent a few days in Colorado with some of my oldest homies and it’s simply the deepest joy. They remind me of who I am at my core. I try to show up for my friends and family; my dear friend Sarajane Mace really taught me how to be present for the people we love. So many of our MEA Compadres are isolated, having dedicated their first adulthood to career and family, and then find those situations evolving, challenging both identities and exposing a lack of a real social network.

Being together at MEA is a joy, reconnecting with others and remembering ourselves in community. There is an invitation to deeply listen and be heard, to play, laugh and deeply connect. Many of our cohorts stay in touch for years, travel internationally together, become deep and fast friends. The depth of our social connections have a direct impact on our health and longevity — understanding that allows us to treat friendships as investments. 

Many of our cohorts stay in touch for years, travel internationally together, become deep and fast friends.

You have experienced many transitions in your life. Have you ever had a moment when you were unsure what was next? How did you handle that? 
I am currently freshly single and totally unsure about what’s next. Our house is about to list for sale and we are at a stage with launching the Santa Fe ranch property where I can likely soon base myself anywhere. The options are staggering. I am certainly leaning on all the tools we have assembled in our work at MEA — community, curiosity, tapping into an awe practice, getting quiet and listening to myself – and paying attention to what bubbles up. It feels like a real privilege to be able to take this next step intentionally. As a younger person, so much of what I did was forced by survival – feeding myself, roof-over-my-head type of compelling motivators.

At 54, I can make choices that align more with thriving. And I know that is a very fortunate place to be. Social science says midlife is basically a marathon of sprints when it comes to transitions. We can build our TQ and develop a fluency because it’s all coming for us. At the most important moments in my life, Jeff Hamaoui has stopped me and reminded me to use my tools: walking out of our shared office in Baja heading to what would ultimately be my mother’s passing; through my divorce. We should all be so lucky to have a friend like Jeff. 

“At 54, I can make choices that align more with thriving”

What are some of the big challenges you are facing currently? 
Physical menopausal impacts. Scaling MEA so we can serve many more people, while holding onto all the parts that make it magical. Convincing my father that it might be time to step away from driving. Splitting up our dog pack. Gracefully evolving from married to friends. Balancing work and life. 

What excites you? 
The unwritten next chapter of my life. Last year, we proved through third-party qualitative testing that our rotational grazing program is working — that was a thrill. I get super inspired when we are able to take someone new surfing and we get to see them just light up. Watching my nieces grow up. Riding bikes at night with my friends through old Santa Fe. Killer vintage finds. Collaborating with brilliant people like JUST Design and Monique Montoya on regenerative land art projects. 

What does regeneration mean to you? 
Hope. A belief in the ability to improve. Putting life at the center of every decision. Breaking the chain of take/make/waste. Leaving things better than we found them. Reconnection. Prosocial behaviors. Sanity. Moving at Earth Speed — thanks to Lee Johnson for that nugget. 

With all the attendees at MEA you have worked with, what is the pain point that people most commonly experience with midlife?
The question I hear most frequently is: what is my purpose? We help people explore that. 

You seem to wear a lot of hats at MEA. What is your day-to-day like? 
Wildly varied. I’ve learned/am learning to be a regenerative horse rancher these last three years, which was not a swerve I saw coming. We are deeply collaborative, so a work day can be leading a workshop or brainstorming content or looking at managing grassland health or meeting with alumni or leading a Zoom about an MEA topic with a private group or designing interactive land art projects. It’s not boring.  

Are you married? Kids? 
Nope. Free bird over here. 3-pound chihuahua who was a gift from a shaman/friend. 

“I try to model healthy behavior, doing serious work with a light heart”

What does being a leader mean to you?  
I do best with a lot of freedom, and try to provide the same for my people. My preference is to create conditions where teams are deeply motivated and accountable to each other because they feel the impact of the mission. I try to model healthy behavior, doing serious work with a light heart. 

What is your ambition for the next 10 years? 
Powder days. A thriving MEA serving legions of people. Spending tons of time with the people I love. Creating a creative compound with the magical Patricia Larsen in mainland Mexico and/or Puglia, Italy. 

What music are you listening to these days? 
I’m all over the place. My nieces just played me Chappell Roan; love. John Craigie is a favorite and one of the best live shows ever. I love Mexican Institute of Sound and pretty much anything Camilo Lara makes. Patti Smith. Aretha Franklin. Old punk. Prince. Beastie Boys. Grateful Dead on vinyl when I’m with my sister, Heather. 

What are 3 life non-negotiables? 
Connection, chocolate, access to nature, good design. Sorry, that’s four!

Connect with Christine:
LinkedIn
Modern Elder Academy

Main Photo©️Cookie Kinkead.