The Three Tomatoes’ Renewal Summit returned to NYC on May 15, 2026, “celebrating resilience, longevity, and women’s well‑being” and uniting an extraordinary lineup of speakers, thought leaders, and storytellers whose insights energized and inspired the community.  If you missed the Summit or would like to revisit some of the sessions, here are all the videos—our gift to you.

To see all the Renewal Summit highlights and photos, click here.

 Renewal Summit 2026: Welcome 

Cheryl Benton opened the summit by marking its 10th anniversary and sharing fun, uplifting reflections on the 20th anniversary of The Three Tomatoes. Anne Akers followed with an engaging overview of the day’s dynamic speakers, panels, exhibitors, and special highlights. Now celebrating two decades as the leading media platform for women in midlife and beyond, The Three Tomatoes continues to champion visibility, vitality, and community for women designing their most vibrant chapters.

Keynote: Collective Consciousness, Resilience, and Redefining What’s Possible

 The day started with a powerful keynote address from Dr Theresa Ashby who posed the question:  What if the next great revolution for women isn’t about breaking barriers—but about redefining how we change the world? — inviting women into a new conversation about resilience not as endurance or relentless striving, but as a conscious, collective practice that sustains us. Dr. Ashby, who is known as LA’s Business Oracle, a strategist who reveals what’s aligned, what’s distorted, and what’s ready to transform inside a business. A Forbes‑recognized Business Scaling Expert, she brings decades of insight into how sustainable, impactful companies grow. She has a rare ability to perceive patterns and unseen dynamics that shape outcomes, guiding entrepreneurs back to clarity and confident action. A champion for women and funding equity, she serves in leadership roles with Mobi Waste, She Angels Foundation, and NAWBO.

Renewal Summit 2026: Panel…The Future of Aging—A Blueprint for Longevity

This incredibly insightful and informative panel of leading experts in longevity, moderated by Milana Knowles, a global longevity and wellness strategist and brand developer, highlighted how women can take charge of their health, longevity, and emotional vitality through informed self‑advocacy, functional medicine, movement, and community. The expert panelists were Dr. Dana Cohen,  a leading integrative and functional MD, Dr. Robin Berzin, leader in functional medicine and chronic disease resolution, and Founder and CEO of Parsley Health, and Alexia Brue, a wellness entrepreneur, founder and CEO  of The Practice: Habits for Healthspan. Ultimately, the message was clear: women’s health and aging are best supported through personalization, connection, and empowered self‑advocacy, reframing midlife and beyond as a time to design a vibrant, purposeful life.

Renewal Summit 2026: Interview: The Transformative Power of Kindness

Cheryl Benton interviewed Valerie Smaldone on her decision twenty years ago to step away from her award‑winning run as host of New York’s most listened‑to midday radio show, and the journey that ultimately took her in a very different direction—co‑founding Just Do Good entertainment, a media company devoted to spotlighting heroes and creating tangible good. She shares insights from producing the inspirational film The Thursday Night Club with Gloria Gaynor, Air Angels, Divine Renovation with Erik Estrada, the new series Finding Kindness, and the children’s book Officer Erik and The Very Special Dad. Her mission is to inspire people to help others, to give back, and to offer kindness along the way.

Renewal Summit 2026: Woman of Purpose Award and Giving Circle Grant Presentation

 This year’s honor went to Deborah Koenigsberger, founder of Hearts of Gold, a non-profit founded in 1994 in NYC whose mission and purpose is to break the vicious cycle of homelessness for single mothers and their children. Hearts of Gold was also be presented with a $5,000 grant for Hearts of Gold from The Three Tomatoes/Glow Beauty Health Wellness Magazine Giving Circle in partnership with She Angels Foundation.

The Resilience Toolkit—Practical Strategies for a Stronger Self

This energizing panel brought together moderator Sonia Satra, a mindset and fitness thought leader, with experts Brett Cotter, author and founder of Stress Is Gone, Deborah Goldstein, founder of Driven 2 Wellness, and Sharon Heno, a stroke survivor and thriver helping others navigate their struggles. The panelists shared powerful personal journeys that shaped their approaches to healing and inner strength. Their discussion reframed resilience as deep inner work rather than a quick bounce‑back. Brett emphasized feeling and releasing emotional layers through breath, touch, and connection to a higher power. Deborah focused on understanding and strengthening the body’s energy systems to enhance vitality. Sharon rejected the idea of “bouncing back,” arguing that true healing requires walking through pain and emerging changed. Together, they highlighted that growth comes from conscious processing, community, and rewriting internal patterns—not from returning to who we were before.

Finding Light After Loss—Conversations on Healing and Resilience

This powerful conversation brings together voices who have faced profound loss and emerged with extraordinary strength. Moderated by Valerie Smaldone, producer and co-founder JustDOGood Entertainment, the panel features Theresa Bruno author of He’s Not Coming Home, Ruthie  Chamichian-Smith author Resting Warrior, and Honey Berg author It Won’t Kill You to Talk About Death.  Together, they explore how grief can transform into resilience, how connection fosters healing, and how hope can re-enter a life forever changed. Their stories remind us that even in our darkest moments, we are never without the possibility of light. Each panelist shares how loss reshapes identity, daily functioning, and one’s sense of self. The panel collectively underscores that coping is deeply individual—there is “no right way to grieve”—and that resilience grows slowly through small, repeated acts of living. They stress that grief is universal, often misunderstood, and eased by community, honesty, and self‑compassion.

Stillness as Strength: Bob Roth on Resilience and Longevity

Nationally recognized psychotherapist Beatty Cohan interviewed Bob Roth, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation and one of today’s leading voices in Transcendental Meditation. Their discussion highlighted that TM is a deeply researched, evidence‑based method for reducing chronic stress — a factor linked to up to 90% of illness. Roth explained that TM gives the mind an effortless inward direction, allowing thoughts to settle and the body to enter a state of rest deeper than deep sleep. This produces measurable physiological changes: cortisol drops 30–40%, serotonin rises, blood pressure decreases, and anxiety eases. TM is not a belief system but a simple, personalized technique taught one‑on‑one over four days, now used in hospitals, by frontline nurses, and in major corporations for its impact on depression, burnout, and emotional resilience. The conversation emphasized that TM is accessible, practical, and often effective within two weeks. Practicing twice daily for 15–20 minutes reduces accumulated stress, improves sleep, and strengthens emotional stability.

Reshaping How We Think About Health, Resilience, and Longevity

In a conversation with digital media expert Roni Jenkins, Dr. Darcy McConnell, Medical Director of Fountain Life’s New York Center, outlined the company’s mission to shift healthcare from reactive to proactive so women can live with greater energy, clarity, and confidence at every stage of life. She explained how Fountain Life blends advanced AI with deeply personalized, human‑centered care. Fountain Life uses AI overlays on whole‑body MRI, brain scans, heart imaging, DEXA, bloodwork, and stool tests to detect issues earlier than the human eye, including soft plaque and early neurodegenerative changes. Their AI system analyzes each member’s complete medical record and answers personalized questions about diet, exercise, supplements, and health trends. Looking ahead, AI‑driven data mining and modeling will help predict outcomes and guide preventive choices. Dr. Darcy’s message: don’t fear understanding your health — with the right tools and team, you can shape your future well‑being.

Musical Performance — Christina Connors, The Power of Optimism

The day featured inspiring speakers and thought‑provoking panels, culminating in a powerful closing performance by Christina Connors singing “Trust the Wind.” Christina is the founder of A New Soul Productions, dedicated to supporting caregivers and those they serve through the healing power of music. In this session, she explores how music can spark optimism, shift unhealthy patterns, and restore emotional balance in an overstimulating world. A transformational mentor, MBSR‑certified mindfulness practitioner, and recording artist, Christina’s work centers on emotional resilience and creative expression. She was also the 2019 winner of Tomatoes Got Talent. Her beautiful performance was the perfect finale to a day devoted to strength, renewal, and the power of women supporting women.