Truly Amazing Women
Washington Post Restaurant Critic and author Phyllis Richman
For nearly three decades, most Washingtonians wouldn't have recognized Washington Post restaurant critic Phyllis Richman, even if she was sitting at the next table. She kept a low profile, was rarely photographed, and often wore a silk scarf over the bottom of her face when she went out in public. Since retiring in 2000, the woman who could make or break a restaurant's reputation is no longer hiding.I had the honor of having lunch with the famous food critic, and wrote the story up for Crystal City etc., a business publication in Northern VA just outside of Washington DC. See that below. Lunch with PhyllisBy Hope Katz Gibb...
Read More...Riding Shotgun with Jennifer Niven's "Norma Jean"
In August, Costco Connection magazine published a piece I wrote about author Jennifer Niven's new book, "Norma Jean Learns to Drive." Read on for more ... The Costco ConnectionAugust 2009“Daddy says I’m going to hell,” writes Jennifer Niven in the first chapter of her first work of fiction, _Velva Jean Learns to Drive_, a coming-of-age tale of a spunky young woman growing up in Appalachia in the years before World War II.“You, my baby, are not going to hell,” comforts her mother. “You’re a good child, true and pure, and the Lord will call you when it’s time. You can’t bloom the flowers before they’re read...
Read More...6500 GIRLS AND BUDDIES ARE SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GIRLS ON THE RUN REINDEER ROMP 5 K on DEC. 5
Cheers to Catherine Keitley, executive director of Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia! Tomorrow, rain or shine — or impending snow, according to the National Weather Service — more than 6500 girls in grades 3 to 8 are scheduled to turn out for this Saturday’s 5K Reindeer Romp Fun Run at the Reston Town Center starting at 8:30 a.m. “We were blown away by the response and support we have gotten for this event and sold out so fast that we actually had to turn some runners away,” explains Keightley. “I believe that is simply a testimony to the power of this program.”In fact, more than 30...
Read More...STEPHANIE COHEN NAMED 2010 SMART100 CEO
Stephanie Cohen, CEO of the health benefits firm Golden & Cohen, was named one of SmartCEO Magazine’s 2010 Smart100 CEOs this week.“After another competitive year of nominations, the selection committee has chosen Stephanie Cohen to join an elite group of 100 of Greater Washington’s leading CEOs and their organizations,” announced SmartCEO magazine’s Makenna Coyne on December 1. “Combined, this group employs more than 150,000 people, boasts revenues in excess of $9 billion, and has won almost 1,500 business awards. In addition, the group shares a philanthropic spirit by donating time, energy and money to local Washingt...
Read More...Elan magazine features Laura Lee Designs
How did Harvard-educated California girl Laura Lee Williams beaded a path from a Fortune 500 exec to the head of her own successful handbag business? In an article for elan magazine, reporter Hope Gibbs explains. elan magazineAugust 2009Beautiful beads from Tokyo—more than 30,000 of them—grace the most elaborate offering by Laura Lee Designs, a handbag firm founded in 2005 by California native Laura Lee Williams.Other designs—such as her trademark M bag—feature fewer beads, but the focus here is on the three-inch wrap of Australian snakeskin in the middle. “The white version is perfect for weddings, and pink vers...
Read More...SAVE THE DATE: Dec. 2 — Robin Strongin hosts event, "EMPOWERING WOMEN WILL IMPROVE HEALTH CARE IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD"
SAVE THE DATEWhen: Wednesday, December 2
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: National Museum of Women in the Arts, 3rd Floor Gallery, 1250 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DCRegister: Send an email to rstrongin@amplifypublicaffairs.netHow do we improve health care in the developing world? We start by improving the economic opportunities for women, says advisor to the chief economist of the World Bank, Dr. Maureen Lewis. Lewis will speak at a special networking event on Dec. 2 from 6-8 p.m. in Washington, DC, hosted by Robin...
Read More...NTSB Chairman Warns 'First Impessions Can Be Wrong'
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Debbie Hersman criticized the way some members of the press cover the aviation and transportation accidents at a National Press Club luncheon held on Nov. 16.“We understand the need to solve the puzzle in the early hours of an accident, and we know your editors and producers want you to be the first to get the ‘cause’ of the accident, but what is the cost to your credibility if you are the first to get the cause wrong? We have learned from experience that first impressions can be wrong,” she said.Hersman pointed to some of the less-than-savvy...
Read More...Kati Marton to speak in DC on Oct. 22 about her new book, "Enemies of the People"
“You are opening a Pandora’s box,” author Kati Marton was warned when she began the research for her new book, Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America.The Hungarian-born writer paid little attention and dove headfirst into the files of the Hungarian Secret Police (known as the AVO). There, she found the fascinating and sometimes excruciating details of the controversial careers of her parents — Endre and Illona Marton — two journalists who during the 1950s wrote hundreds of articles for the U.S.-based Associated Press and United Press about what was going on behind the Iron Curtain.Now an ...
Read More...Gail McGovern: Leading the Red Cross through turbulent times [National Press Club
When Gail McGovern took over as president of the Red Cross last year, the former AT&T vp had no idea she’s have to deal with the aftermath of eight hurricanes and tropic storms, a record tornado season, and the worst flooding in the Midwest in 15 years.She did know that she was inheriting a $209 million operating deficit, a mandate from the Board of Governors to eliminate it within two years, and that she was the 10th person to take the helm of the PR-challenged agency in the last decade, she told the crowd packed into the McClendon room at today’s Club luncheon.And the Harvard marketing professor — who since 1998 has twice be...
Read More...April 24 — Cokie Roberts on "Ladies of Liberty"
Award-winning Journalist COKIE ROBERTS was the keynote speaker at this week's EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT conference, held at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, DC. She talked about her new book, “Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation,” as well as President Obama’s initiative to increase public service. Indeed, Roberts impressed the crowd of several hundreds government executives with her wit and words. "President Obama wants to make government cool again," she said. "Do you all feel cool today?"She went on to share her knowledge and depth of understanding of the nation's founding wom...
Read More...April 14 — Fran Drescher's Powerful Role: Health Advocate for Women
“I am not glad that I got cancer, but I am better for it,” award-winning actress Fran Drescher told the National Press Club today when she came to DC to promote her new role as the U.S. State Department Special Envoy for Women's Health, and her nonprofit organization Cancer Schmancer (which is also the title of her second New York Times bestselling book). The writer, director, co-producer, and star of the highly popular CBS television series The Nanny, Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2001. It had taken several years and eight doctors to find the tumor, and because it went undiagnosed for so long ...
Read More...March 23 — Manners guru Anna Post on "The Etiquette Advantage in Business"
Etiquette expert Anna Post (great great granddaughter of the queen of good manners, Emily Post) charmed a room filled with dozens of businesswomen at a networking event on March 23 honoring past winners of the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business awards. Anna’s top tips included 7 Best Business Social Practices:1. Arrive on time. 2. Avoid the temptation to socialize only with colleagues. 3. Commit to introducing yourself to at least three people at an event. 4. Don’t stuff your plate or over-imbibe (know your limit: follow the one drink rule, or don’t drink at all). 5. Include others who jo...
Read More...March 13 — Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz was raised to believe you can have it all. At 42, the attractive, active U.S. Congresswoman from the 20th Congressional District who represents Miami-Dade / Broward County Florida certainly seems to have hit the mark. With two kids, a husband who is incredibly supportive — he buys her clothes and is willing to put her career before his — and a plum seat on the House Committee on Appropriations and Committee on the Judiciary, she is determined to expand on her reputation as a fighter for families. “It is said that I arrived in Washington with the reputation as a force to be re...
Read More...March 6 — Philanthropist and diversity advocate Edie Fraser
“A magical bumble bee” is what Success in the City’s founder Cynthia de Lorenzi called Edie Frasier, a philanthropist, businesswoman, and diversity advocate, who spoke to a room filled with professional women business owners at a recent CEO Chick Chat.As the president, founder and CEO of Diversity Best Practices, Business Women’s Network and Best Practices in Corporate Communications — all part of the Public Affairs Group, an iVillage Company — Edie supports more than 170 organizations, corporate and government members. Most recently, she co-authored Do You Giving While You Are Living, with well-known TV a...
Read More...March 2, 2009 — NPR President Vivian Schiller speaks at National Press Club
With only eight weeks under her belt as the head of one of the 39-year-old media organization, Vivian Schiller, the new president and CEO of National Public Radio, is to many an ideal choice to take NPR into the digital age. Since May 2006, she served as senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com. Prior to that, she was the senior vice president and general manager of the Discovery Times Channel, and before that senior vice president of CNN Productions.As the head of NPR, Schiller - who took the helm on January 5 - will oversee all network operations, including partnerships with 800-plus member stations...
Read More...February 24, 2009 — How do you get to be a curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum? Ask Joanna Marsh
When Joanna Marsh was a child, the James Dicke curator of contemporary art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum dreamt of becoming a doctor. She reconsidered after one year as a biology major at Cornell. "It became very obvious, very quickly, that I was not cut out for a career in the sciences," admits the 32-year-old. Several women on the Cornell faculty, however, inspired her to double major in English and art history — and once she found her passion success came quickly. Following graduation she spent a year and a half at the Sotheby's Institute of Art i...
Read More...February 11, 2009 — Dr. Helen Fisher to speak about her new book, "Why Him? Why Her?" at National Press Club, 6pm, Feb. 11
What is love? Why do we choose the people we choose? How do men and women vary in their romantic feelings? Is there really love at first sight? How did love evolve? For decades, Rutgers University anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher has been working to answer these eternal questions. The 62-year old has traveled from the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa to Tokyo, Moscow, and back to her home in New York City to determine if one culture perceives love differently than another. “My research has proven to me that everywhere, people fail into romantic love,” she explains in her current book, Why We Love. “And I have come to see ...
Read More...February 4, 2009 — Hooks Book Events: Infusing new ideas into government organizations
Photo by Keith Barraclough, www.keithbarraclough.com About a decade ago, Perry Pidgeon Hooks had a brainstorm. An avid reader, whose love affair with books started when she was 4 and her mom took her to the public library in her hometown of Memphis, TN, decided that she could change the way policy was being made by bringing bestselling authors and their ideas into government organizations. It took her a while to get things up and running, but in 2007, with her partner Loretta Yenson, she launched HooksBookEvents, a minority women-owned business specializes in providing low-cost book and author events for U.S. government agencies,...
Read More...Lisa Peklo's DivaFit
What better way to start the new year than to join in on the latest exercise craze to hit the country: Pole Dancing. Hundreds of women are jumping on board at the Northern Virginia firm DivaFit, www.divafitonline.com."We pride ourselves on offering safe classes to hundreds of women (ages 18-60) in a non-intimidating environment," says owner and exercise physiologist Lisa Peklo, who founded the fitness firm in Sept. 2006. "I have a B.S. in Exercise Science, and for more than 20 years have worked in traditional fitness studios. Then I was introduced to the art of striptease at a fitness...
Read More...Marcia Talley: Murder, She Wrote
It was a breezy, fall afternoon back in 2003 when I first interviewed librarian-turned-award-winning mystery writer Marcia Talley. We sat on the patio of her suburban Annapolis home, sipping hot coffee and talking about murder. Sixty-something Talley is not a serial killer, of course. Far from it. She has spent much of her adult life working as a librarian for the federal government, raising two daughters, and caring for Barry Talley, her college sweetheart, who recently retired after serving for 36 years as the Director of Musical Activities at the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1999, her life changed when she landed ...
Read More...Episcopal Leader Urges Focus on Issues of Hunger, Disease, Poverty
I was honored to meet Bishop Katharine Schori yesterday at a National Press Club (NPC) luncheon that I was hired to write about for the club’s newsletter, The Record. Talk about a truly amazing woman. In addition to having a PhD in oceanography and being a semi-professional pilot, since November 2006 she has been the 26th Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church — the first woman to lead a national church in the 520-year history of Anglicanism. She serves as chief pastor to the Episcopal Church's 2.4 million members in 16 countries and 10 dioceses, as well as the American representative to the worldwide Angli...
Read More...Traci Bisson, The Savvy Businesswoman Behind The Mom Entrepreneur
You just never know who you are going to be lucky enough to meet online. While surfing through the hundreds of reporter queries that I daily field for my clients at Inkandescent Public Relations, I saw a request for stories for a blog called "Lemons to Lemonade" for The Mom Entrepreneur. Its founder, Traci Bisson, posted my response as Feature #8. During the course of our conversation I got to know this Truly Amazing Woman.Turns out Traci founded The Mo...
Read More...Suzanne Carbone Gives Thanks, Advocates for a Cure to Alzheimer's Disease
In support of Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month (November) and in celebration of what it truly means to give thanks for your loved ones this Thanksgiving Day — we honor Suzanne Carbone, a caregiver and advocate for research into the prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease. Last May 14 she testified before the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging on behalf of Bob Carbone, her husband of nearly 40 years who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2000.Suzanne (pictured above with her husband Bob and their grandchildren Tessa and Sophie Sontheimer) told the Committee: “In many ways, his story is a cla...
Read More...Gooseberry Patch Founders Jo Ann Martin and Vickie Hutchins are Cooking
Hot off the presses is the November issue of Costco Connection featuring (on pages 33-35) a profile of Jo Ann Martin and Vickie Hutchins, owners of Gooseberry Patch, a multimillion-dollar company with a country flair that publishes catalogs, comfort food-friendly cookbooks, calendars, and organizers. Last year, the company published its 100th cookbook and shipped out more than 350,000 packages from its catalog of more than 500 items under $20—which includes a selection of wall and pocket-size calendars, night lights, mason jars, bowls, kitchen accessories, food items and kits, Christmas orname...
Read More...Nardos King: 2008 Outstanding First-Year Principal Award
Earlier this year, beloved Fairfax County Public School educator Nardos King, the principal of Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria VA, took home one of the most prestigious FCPS awards: the 2008 Outstanding First-Year Principal Award. Praised for her ability to motivate students, she set several goals when she became principal. The first was to have Mount Vernon become a positive focal point in the community. She also wanted to reach out to Hispanic parents who were underrepresented at the school. And King was determined to improve instruction — and find a way to forge relationships among students and staff m...
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