Arlene Krantz was born on September 5, 1939, into a Jewish family in Philadelphia. Her mother was a passionate reader, a trait that Arlene inherited and which ultimately reached fruition when Arlene published “The Business Within YOU: Transform Your Business and Life.” As an entrepreneur, author, women’s business coach, bisexual activist, mother of two, and grandmother of six, Arlene has worn many hats and lived many adventures along the way.

At nine years old, Arlene noticed her attraction to girls. But in the 1940s, exploring her feelings toward the same gender didn’t even feel like an option. Even more unthinkable and un-sayable was the notion of being attracted to both genders. It would take a long time for Arlene to discover that this was her truth. She started out by marrying a man. 19 years later, Arlene and her husband were living in San Francisco when he pointed out an ad for a women’s bisexual support group in the local newspaper — and encouraged Arlene to go. Within months, Arlene had her first sexual experience with a woman — an event that Arlene remembers as “the most natural thing” that ever happened to her.

From that point forward, Arlene found her voice as an activist fighting for bisexual visibility. In an era when gay men and lesbians routinely dissed the notion of bisexuality (“Why don’t they just make up their minds?”), Arlene co-founded BiPOL, the first and oldest bisexual political organization. Arlene also devoted huge amounts of time and energy to the broader battle for women’s rights and to helping women entrepreneurs advance their careers through business coaching. In that vein, Arlene founded “Amazing Women in Action,” a platform that seeks to interview women who are breaking barriers in their field.

At a deeply personal level, Arlene also found herself at one point in a relationship with a man who came out as transgender. Figuring that if she needed this support group, someone else must too, Arlene founded a support group for significant others of transgender people. From her perspective, no one in this world needs to be alone — unless they prefer to be.