Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
“The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they’re right if you love to be with them all the time.”
That quote is from Julia Child who was married to the American diplomat Paul Cushing Child for 48 years. Finding the right person to marry, let alone staying married to that person for a long time, has become, for many, a challenge. And despite all those dating sites and apps, oftentimes technology alone cannot help us find that special love that may lead to marriage.
After her own experience, finding the right man who could truly be a life partner, Bari Lyman set out to help others, through her book and her coaching program, Meet to Marry. She talks about her program, her book, and how she has attended more weddings than she can count, celebrating with couples she has helped.
We’re hearing a lot about immigrants these days and Jeff Jaffe is certainly someone who came to the U.S. in search of a better life. Jeff grew up in South Africa during the apartheid era and was no stranger to the social injustice happening all around him. At that time, all male high school graduates were enlisted into the military to fight against the “communist threat.”
At age 20, he left South Africa after his military service ended with only $100 in his pocket. Fast forward to 1997 when he opened Pop International Galleries on the Bowery in New York City. He remembers selling his first major painting, a Keith Haring, for $150,000. Today that painting would easily get $5 or $6 million.
Jeff earned an MFA in sculpture from the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art near Detroit He has a unique point of view as an artist and a gallery owner. To this day, he has never signed formal written agreements with the artists he represents – everything is done with a handshake.
Jeff talks with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti about his journey from South Africa to New York and Pop International Galleries.
Esther Cohen is a writer, teacher, and activist. We could speak with Esther about a multitude of topics, including the work she does with Bread and Roses, the country’s premiere labor union cultural program. We will have to get her back for that interview. But today we’re going to speak with her about her writing, specifically her poetry. Besides her novel, Book Doctor, and her nonfiction books, she’s published two books of poetry. Her poems have appeared in literary journals like Alimentum and First Word, in the New York Times, and on the NPR radio show “On Being.” Esther is constantly writing and she posts a poem a day on her website. I
We publish poems in our Poet’s Corner on Woman Around Town and we have had the honor of publishing several of Esther’s poems in that space. Maybe you’re thought about writing poetry but have no idea how to get started. Or maybe you have a journal somewhere where you are indeed writing poems, but wonder if you could ever get them published. Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti talks about all of that with Esther.
Sometimes the road not taken can lead to something even better. That was the experience of Krista Rizzo. She wanted to be a talk show host and so entered a contest. She lost, but what she gained was a voice. She began to write a blog to showcase the real life stories of real people. Soon she realized she had found her passion – helping others map out their own journeys professionally and personally. She is now a Certified Transformational Life Coach, Author, Speaker, Video Show Host, Wife & The World’s Okayest Mom to two amazing boys.
Krista’s goal is to motivate women and youth by helping them realize their true capabilities. She’s a member of the prestigious Forbes Coaches Council, an active contributor for HuffPost and The Today Show Parenting Website. Krista has been featured in the New York Post, and has guested on multiple podcasts where she has been showcased as a thought leader in her field. She talks about her work in an interview with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti. Click to listen.
No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, One Best Way – familiar slogans for programs aimed at turning around our nation’s struggling public schools. While these well-publicized efforts have fallen short, a quiet revolution is taking place in many schools around the country. And rather than taking a page from how business works, these reforms began as grassroots movements that succeeded because they actually energized and engaged those closest to the situation, and certainly those who have the most at stake, namely the teachers and the students.
In her new book, After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform, Andrea Gabor profiles several schools that are making a difference and in so doing, she presents a plan for true educational reform. Education is everyone’s business so you will be interested in what Andrea has to say.
“It’s OK to cry about your circumstances, the devastation, destruction, and adversity sometimes. The important thing is to know that you are stronger than any pain that you must go through; tap into that hidden strength and find what lies at the bottom of your heart and beats life back into you.” Donna J. Hopkins
Donna J. Hopkins knows what it’s like to have life knock you down. An athlete, Donna won college scholarships in both basketball and track. She majored in radio and television communication and after graduation moved to Washington, D.C. She battled breast cancer twice, but it was routine surgery that would lead to a serious infection and cause her to lose her left leg below the knee. But Donna is a fighter and a survivor and she’s come back stronger than ever. She tells her story in her new book Getting to the Other Side of Victory. Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti talks with Donna about her journey, her book, and inspiring others.
We all know that walking is a great way to stay healthy. But as we age, we sometimes become more sedentary. Dami Roelse wants to keep us moving for our health, no matter how old we are. Born and raised in Holland, Dami immigrated to the U.S. in 1973 after a year of travel through the Middle East and Asia with her belongings in a backpack. In the U.S., she settled on the West Coast and lived a country life. Dami lost her heart to the grandness of nature on treks in the Swiss Alps, the Himalayas, and eventually the place she now calls home, Southern Oregon. After raising a family, and a career in mental health with high risk youth, Dami has turned to writing and finds creative inspiration while walking, hiking and backpacking. Dami is passionate about helping women change their car mindset and become walking women. Walking Gone Wild: How to Lose Your Age on the Trail(Fuze Publishing), is an inspirational book about walking, hiking and backpacking for women 50-plus. Listen to her interview with Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti.
“Some people are born on third base and go through like thinking they hit a triple.” That is a familiar quote from author and professor Barry Switzer.
Hopefully you’ve been following our popular series, Toxic Culture, delving into the issues that are having a profound impact on society, not just in America, but around the world. A recent story in the series about unearned privilege really grabbed our attention and we thought it would be interesting to have a discussion with the author, Gwendolyn K. Crider.
Gwen is an independent consultant who regularly works with corporate, government, and non-profit organizations to help them create and sustain inclusive workplace environments. Before that, Gwen served as executive director of Diversity Best Practices, a membership organization that helped primarily Fortune 500 companies develop innovative solutions to achieve their diversity and inclusion objectives. Gwen first became actively engaged in developing diversity and inclusion initiatives while holding senior level positions in the museum field. Listen to Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti interview Gwen.
