Season 4 Episode 6:
Beyond Sixty with Filmmaker Melissa Davey
Melissa Davey, age 72, retired from a lengthy corporate career in 2016 to pursue her second act and dream of becoming a filmmaker.
Melissa began her early career in Legal Services pursuing Chapter 766 compliance and advocacy for disabled children. It was there, in the late 70’s, that she became connected to and passionate about disabilities and Social Security law. As a Paralegal, Melissa represented more than one thousand individuals before the Social Security Administration and was a national substantive law trainer for the Legal Services Corporation.
In 1994 Melissa was recruited to the for-profit company, Genex, headquartered in Wayne, PA, to build their Social Security advocacy program and develop a consistent national program for disability case management and return-to-work programs for the disabled. As the Vice President of Social Security and Managed Disability for 22 years, Melissa sat on the company’s executive team and worked throughout the United States to bring services to the disability insurance marketplace. At age 65 she decided to take a risk and retired from her career to jump into the unknown.
Pursuing her dream of becoming a filmmaker became a reality in late 2018 when Melissa completed her first film, Beyond Sixty, a feature length documentary about women over the age of sixty. During 2019 Melissa’s film was accepted by and screened at 8 film festivals throughout the United States and Canada, winning awards and confirming that it is truly never too late to learn something new. The film was picked up by a Distributor in late 2020 and had a Spring, 2021 release date. Melissa’s second film, Climbing into Life, is currently in post-production.
Beyond Sixty can be found and used on your smart TV, laptop, or iPad, at the links below:
Note that when using the On Demand option on Comcast or Verizon, the voice command is not activated. You need to type in Beyond Sixty (or in some cases the original name Beyond Sixty Project) in SEARCH bar. The film will then be available for rent or purchase (choose HD if there is an option).
Want to get in touch with Melissa: www.beyondsixtyproject.com/contact
Our Non-Profit Spotlight is: World Central Kitchen
You can learn more at https://wck.org/