The Pivot Talk Series is a storytelling-driven exploration of the inflection points that redefine midlife. Blending humor, insight, and lived experience, the series demystifies change and highlights the power of reinvention. Designed for anyone navigating transition, growth, or the unexpected, Pivot: The Art of Midlife-ing Well offers an empowering and entertaining roadmap for what comes next. Hosted by Vanessa Smith and Betsy Ronel, each conversation features a compelling guest and honest, hopeful dialogue.

The first installment spotlights Gianna Palminteri in Redefining Yourself: How to Take Charge of Your Life and Fulfill Your Purpose, an inspiring conversation about planning for—and growing through—change with clarity, confidence, and courage. Gianna shares her journey from power wife/power mom to rediscovering her passions in the empty-nest chapter.

A Q&A follows the talk. Please stop by the Bambi’s bar for complimentary glass of wine before the program and join the hosts for a reception in the café after the program.

Gianna Palminteri is an actor, writer, producer, and acting coach born and raised in New Jersey.  Beginning her career as a young model, Gianna fell in love with the theater and continued to act throughout high school and college.  It was during her senior year at Villanova University as a Communications/Writing major that Gianna was chosen as the first host of the Travel Channel and has been working in the entertainment business ever since. While at The Travel Channel she was mentored by her female producers where they encouraged her to write and produce her segments and thus began her love of writing.  After leaving the show she started her formal acting/writing training at The Neighborhood Playhouse and Bill Esper Studios where she studied the Meisner Method as well as writing one acts for her and her fellow students.

As an actor Gianna was cast in several daytime & night-time series, as well as indie films. She also began to write for one act theatre festivals in NYC & LA and developed her first play, The Curse which was performed in several theatres on Theatre Row.  It was then that she began to advocate for the advancement of women in the theatre arts by creating festivals and workshops where women actors & writers met and collaborated on their original projects. Gianna began her production company MGRP Productions after producing and acting in the indie feature Ghetto Dawg which was a product of a women’s writer circle.  After Ghetto Dawg she began developing, producing and acting in several independent short films, The Obscure Brother, Tracks of Color, and the Student Academy Award nominated short, The Bronx Balletomane and directed the short film, Blended.

Creating original content and working with young film makers became a passion as MGRP Productions became the springboard for working with & mentoring young student actors, writers, directors, and  producers.  Gianna then helped develop and co-produced the feature A Fish Story, a successful film festival entry and now on Netflix.  As a writer/producer some projects currently in development is the limited series HollywoodMom, indie feature film FRACKVILLE and the stage play, The Brownstone which she recently performed at the ART/Gural Theatre in NYC.

In the past, Gianna has mentored and coached young actors and writers with Broadway Theatre Project, Pittsburgh Unifieds, Next Step Theatre Fest, Children’s Theatre Workshop, and her latest theatre company; Writers Theatre Workshop and is the director and coach for her college consulting company – The College Audition Academy & Coaching. Together with her husband, actor/writer/director Chazz Palminteri, and their children, actor/musician Dante Palminteri and actor/writer Gabriella Palminteri, their foundation, The Child Reach Foundation helps support children & families with social, educational, health & welfare needs. 

It is with great pleasure that Gianna joins the Bedford Playhouse and The Midlife-ing Series to present her talk, Redefining Yourself:  How to take charge of your life and fulfill your purpose.  Together with the guests, Gianna will spend the evening creating a blue print for change, empowerment and success as she leads the group to collaborate and support each other in their very own Women’s Circle.

Gianna has lived in NYC, Los Angeles, Rome and several film sets, but it is here in Bedford that she, her husband Chazz and children Dante & Gabriella, call home.  Many thanks to The Bedford Playhouse. 

Betsy Ronel is a top-tier local real estate broker in the Bedford/Pound Ridge areas, and the sharp, soulful voice behind the podcast Heavens to Betsy. Known for blending market mastery with an intuitive, client-centric approach, Betsy guides clients through life’s major transitions—homes, chapters, and reinventions—with equal parts strategy and heart. She meets clients where they are and gets them where they want to go! Each property is unique, she doesn’t “white box” every listing, she embraces the uniqueness and capitalizes on that for a smooth sale for her clients. 

A former luxury fashion PR executive, Betsy brings a signature eye for design, storytelling, and polished presentation to every property she represents. Her clients trust her for her expertise, her humanity and her uncanny ability to price well and give guidance that meets the market. In the competitive Northern Westchester market, she’s recognized for her negotiation finesse, meticulous preparation, and deep local insight.

On her podcast, Heavens to Betsy, she explores midlife pivots, identity shifts, grief, humor, and the art of reinvention, all with her trademark dry wit and emotional honesty. The show blends sharp observation with heartfelt storytelling, inviting listeners to laugh, reflect, and reclaim their next chapter.

A true “thriver,” no longer a survivor, Betsy brings resilience, intelligence, and warmth to every room she enters—whether it’s a client’s living room or a recording studio.

You can find Betsy on instagram @betsyronelliferealestateandmore and her website BetsyRonel.com.

Vanessa Hedwig Smith is a painter, filmmaker, and writer who has lived and worked in India, Nepal, England, and the US. Her work and full BIO can be seen at vanessahsmithpictures.com. She holds a BA from Stanford in Urban Design, and an MA from Columbia University in Anthropology.   She produced a BBC Correspondent film which helped free a 14 year old girl from prison, helped change Nepalese law, and won the Amnesty International Media 2000 award.  A few constants in Smith’s work are: references to color; passages about verticality; mental and physical health; descriptions of people that come through portraits or signatures; things concrete and man-made; sunlight; and death.  Her debut chapbook, Room Tone was published by Finishing Line Press in 2024. She is at work on a hybrid memoire.