About Us

Behind the Reboot Your Life concept and work are four highly successful executive women who call themselves The Sabbatical Sisters.  Each of these women had the courage and foresight to take time off to renew.  Through extensive research, including interviews with more than 100 sabbatical takers and 50 organizations that offer sabbatical programs, they are the foremost authorities on the benefits, challenges, and rewards of sabbaticals for both individuals and corporations.  The Sabbatical Sisters – Cathy Allen, Nancy Bearg, Rita Foley, and Jaye Smith – are committed to sharing with a wide and diverse audience what they know:  That by taking time out to reboot personally and professionally, you too can live the better, richer, fuller life you’ve been seeking.

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Catherine A. Allen

Catherine is the author of two books: The Artists Way at Work with Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan (William Morrow) and Smart Cards: Seizing Strategic Business Opportunities with William Barr (McGraw-Hill Inc.). She is an innovator in financial services and technology. She has appeared on ABCʼs Good Morning America, CNN News, NBCʼs Dateline, PBSʼs Nightly Business News, and other media programs and is quoted often in the press. Catherine took her first sabbatical in 1985 to tour and lecture in Asia for a year for the US Information Agency (USIA) and transition from the academic to the corporate world. She was an executive at Dun and Bradstreet and Citicorp during the 1980s and 1990s. She retired in May of 2007 after a decade as founding CEO of BITS, a financial services consortium of 100 of the largest financial institutions in the US. She wanted to take time off , move back full time to Santa Fe, NM, and explore what she wanted to do next in her life.. During this “new sabbatical” Catherine explored new opportunities for her strategic consulting company, The Santa Fe Group; worked behind the scenes in a Presidential campaign; lived abroad for a month; and became more involved in New Mexico arts and community service-related boards. “I did not take the most “restful” sabbatical in that I purposefully wanted to explore new options for me in the arts, public policy and philanthropy. I did spend much time visiting friends, traveling and designing my new guesthouse. I found my quiet times through my writing and the month abroad. It was just so exciting to be able to have the time to do what I really wanted to do – from choosing Spanish tile for bathrooms to reading a novel all day long.” Catherine was honored in October 2007 by US Banker, the major financial services trade magazine, with the 2007 Marion O. Sandler Award for Lifetime Achievement in Banking for her work on behalf of the industry at BITS and in public policy and philanthropy.

Nancy Bearg

Nancy Bearg has taken several sabbaticals in the course of her 38-year career in international security policy. Her early career included government work at the State Department, National Security Council (White House), Senate Armed Services Committee, Congressional Budget Office, and two Pentagon jobs. At the seven-year point, Nancy took a year off to get a master’s degree at Harvard University. At age 34, she gave up her job as National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States to move to Germany (and later Japan) with her Army general husband to have children and spend time at home with them. After a six-year sabbatical of family and public service, Nancy returned to the United States and worked at the National Security Council for four years and then took another sabbatical break. She then moved to the nonprofit world, directing a program at the Aspen Institute for seven years and writing five books, followed by a nine-month break. Nancy subsequently became President and CEO for two years of the nonprofit international development organization EnterpriseWorks Worldwide before starting her current sabbatical. “I found this last sabbatical was the one where I really gave myself the “gift of time”. It presented so many opportunities to me to spend time with my daughters, travel, make new friends and connect with old ones, get more involved on nonprofit boards and teach. I call it my “smorgasbord sabbatical,” and it’s just what I needed to get me ready for this next phase of my life. The time flexibility was fabulous and it even led to writing this book.” Recently, she facilitated US-Muslim relations and taught leadership and policy seminars at George Washington University in Washington, DC and in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Rita Foley

Rita Foley has taken three sabbaticals. After the first, in 1982, she changed careers and entered the burgeoning computer industry with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), where she held increasingly responsible positions over 17 years. Her second sabbatical, nine years ago, ended in another career change that resulted in her becoming President of MeadWestvaco’s $1B+ global consumer packaging business. Her third sabbatical, which was taken this past year, has led her into a portfolio career which gives her the flexibility to focus this stage of her life on giving back. Today, she spends one-third of her time serving on corporate boards; one-third on her passion, the nonprofit field where she is chair of an 18 year-old microfinance organization, Pro Mujer in Latin America, and a trustee of Healthcare Chaplaincy; and the last third on fun: traveling, writing, and coaching others. “I am working harder than ever, but I’m working on things that I enjoy and with whom I want to be. My days still start usually by 6 am, but they now start with journaling. I also ensure that I exercise each day. I’m working hard at learning to “be in the moment” and to enjoy the little things in life. Each day I think of my favorite question, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” In 2007, Rita was honored by NACD, The National Association of Corporate Directors, as their inaugural Not-for-Profit Director of the Year.

Jaye Smith

Jaye is the resident expert on the topic of navigating careers, with more than 25 years of experience in the field. Jaye is co-author of Venus Unbound, a guide for building balance and self-esteem in women, published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Jaye took a sabbatical after being the president of a consulting firm she cofounded. She recalibrated how she worked and what she offered as a consultant. “Peopleʼs reactions to my sabbatical and transition were mixed. Many were supportive, but also fearful of the risk I was taking. Many were envious and thought I had retired. I had to stay focused and believe whatever came out of the time off would be better and it has been.” Today, Jaye designs and facilitates career-focused programs and seminars for corporations, not-for-profits, universities, and individuals. Her clients have included: Citibank, Coach USA, MetLife, and MTV Networks., among others. Jaye was President of the International Association of Career Management Professionals and a fellow at the Career Management Professionals Institute. Jaye is an honored Adjunct Faculty member at New York Universityʼs Center for Career and Life Planning. She has appeared on radio and TV programs discussing career management issues.

 

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