About me
Maria Leonard Olsen practices law as a commercial litigator in Washington, DC. She is an author (50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life), podcaster (“Becoming Your Best Version”), journalist, TEDx speaker (“Turning Life’s Challenges into a Force for Good”), book marketing coach for female authors, and mentor to women in recovery.
Maria served as a political appointee in the Clinton Justice Department and on numerous boards.
She writes for several women in midlife publications (including AARP’s The Ethel, The Midst, KuelLife, and CrunchyTales) and is a frequent public speaker on wellness issues.
Her next books will be DNA Test Surprises: What To Do Before and After You Open the Pandora’s Box of Consumer DNA Testing (Bloomsbury 2026) and 60 After 60: Finding Serenity in Your 60s or at Any Age.
Learn more at MariaLeonardOlsen.com and follow her on social media @FiftyAfter50.
What do you do and why do you do it?
I share my experience, strength, and hope via my writing and public speaking to save people pain, give them hope, and show them that they are not alone.
I want to make this world a better place because I was here. I am on the other side of certain life difficulties (including childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, divorce, sobriety, empty nesting, depression) and want to help others overcome their challenges.
What changed for you after age 50?
The year I turned 50, I got sober, divorced, became an empty nester, and was living alone for the first time in my life.
As a gift to myself for my 50th birthday, I tried 50 new things in my 50th year to determine how I wanted to live my next chapter. These things, which are described in my Amazon bestselling book, “50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life,” included physical challenges, spiritual endeavors, travel/adventure, social activities, and more. Each taught me something about myself and what I wanted for my future. I did the same when I turned 60.
As a recovering people pleaser, I learned how to make myself happy, how to let go of what no longer served me, how to create healthy boundaries and how to truly forgive myself and others.
What would you tell the 20 or 30-year-old YOU?
You are responsible for your own happiness. Follow a career path that excites you. And stop caring so much about what others think of you. You can only control yourself and what you think.
What do you think you’ll tell yourself in retrospect at the end of your life?
Thank God you got sober and drank fully from the cup of Life!
What impact do you think increased visibility can have on your business?
I would gain more readers and followers, which would, in turn, give me more publishing contracts and speaking opportunities.
Who or what inspires you and why?
Oprah Winfrey. She uses her influence to uplift others with her words and her charitable gifts.
Something else I’d like to share
I did a second TEDx Talk on Oct. 25, 2025, on the consequences of DNA test surprises, after I learned from a 23andMe test that the Dad who raised me is not my biological father and that this lifelong Filipina Catholic is half Ashkenazi Jew! My biological father turned out to be an actor I have watched on the big and small screens.
