Summer Issue Exhale Lifestyle Magazine by Banner Publications Inc.

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CONTENTS STYLE

FEATURE

Sarah Grey, PhD, left academia to open a fabric store and is loving it

WOMEN WHO ROCK

10 A PASSION FOR STITCHERY

SIMPLE LOOKS FOR SUMMER Lightweight options for summer

SKIN

15 ADULT ACNE

SIZZLING SUMMER TIPS

HEALTH MATTERS

17 MASSACHUSETTS GOES RED FOR WOMEN

Raising awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of women

FOOD

20 A DIETITIAN’S TOUR OF THE FARMERS’ MARKET By Allison Knott, MS, RD

23 LOCAL FARMERS’ MARKET Directory

24 LOCAL RECIPES

Quinoa salad with fresh corn Roasted red snapper with rainbow chard

Samantha

Cover Story

Farrell

Raquel Barrientos and Shea Rose — our cover girls — along with Samantha Farrell, Rajdulari and Saucy Lady are carving a niche in Boston’s music scene. Photography by Ian Justice; www.ianjustice.com • Hair and makeup for Raquel and Samantha by Nelse Karini • Hair for Shea by Nancy Brown “NV” • Makeup for Shea by Joanna Petit-Frere

CONTENTS PROFILE

BARBARA LYNCH

Boston chef brings gardening and cooking to Blackstone Elementary School

34 MARLO FOGELMAN

Staying on top in the public relations field — winning over one client at a time

36 CHRISTINA LAMPE-ÖNNERUD

Barbara Lynch Foundation gets cooking

A clean-tech entrepreneur has not let the maledominated field keep success from her grasp

38 COLETTE PHILLIPS

A trailblazer opening doors to Boston’s diverse populations

40 JENNIFER HOUSE

Flat Black Coffee — from down under to Dorchester

Farmers’ Market

A passion for stitchery

Marlo Fogelman

COMMUNITY

41 COURTNEY FORRESTER

44 LUCY’S LOVE BUS

42 ORLA MURPHY-LASCOLA

A 12-year-old’s dying wish to help other children is realized

The sweet success of launching Boston’s favorite dessert spot

The accidental restaurateur serves up local cuisine in Nantucket

WOMENADE 26

Delicious local recipes

Philanthropy has long been the dominion of men — women are changing that paradigm

Sandra Casagrand Publisher

TRAVEL

48 SUMMER TRAVEL

Summer fun right here in Massachusetts

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

67 WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS Directory

TOP LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS

Three programs are highlighted in this issue: UMass Boston Emerging Leaders, LeadBoston and The Partnership

BENEFITS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE WORKPLACE

Howard Manly Executive Editor Jacquinn Williams Associate Managing Editor Dobrodana Popova Creative Director Marissa Giambrone Associate Creative Director Graphic Design Intern Sarah Rabinovich Contributing Writers Lauren Carter Fran Cronin Allison Knott Abby Kurzman Sandy Larson Astrid Lium Brian Wright O’Connor Jacquinn Williams

CULTURAL CALENDAR

Photographer Ian Justice

BERKLEE SUMMER IN THE CITY CITY OF BOSTON EVENTS AND MORE

Copy Editors Rachel Banks Rachel Reardon

Exhale Lifestyle Magazine is a quarterly magazine distributed throughout the Greater Boston region. For detailed information visit our website www.exhalelifestyle.com.

Berklee Summer in the City

To subscribe

Annual subscription cost is $16. Mail check to: Banner Publications, Inc. 23 Drydock Avenue Boston, MA 02210 If paying by credit card please contact Rachel Edwards at (617) 261-4600 ext. 119.

For advertising opportunities

Please contact Sandra Casagrand at (617) 261-4600 ext. 111 or sandra@exhalelifestyle.com. Visit our website to download the media kit — www.exhalelifestyle.com. Send letters to the publisher to sandra@exhalelifestyle.com.

Publisher’s Note There’s something about summer that makes one want to escape the everyday grind and spend long weekends relaxing with friends and family. We are fortunate to live in a region rich with options for quick weekend getaways, and our travel section highlights just a few of them. Finding the right balance between work and play is something we all struggle with — I know that I do! Also, in this issue, we highlight women who started their own businesses — from cupcakes to environmentally friendly batteries. In our Question and Answer section with the

some of our

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce I learned that the number of women-owned businesses has increased 31 percent in Massachusetts and 50 percent nationally. Even more impressive is the American Express OPEN Forum’s “State of WomenOwned Businesses Report,” which states that women-owned businesses have done better than their male counterparts over the past 14 years. I am continually amazed by the women we profile in Exhale. I hope that their stories will inspire and inform you. Enjoy the summer!

Sandra Casagrand Publisher

Contributors

Professional Development

Photography

Skin Care

Food

Skin Care

Ian Justice

Emmy Graber, MD

Catherine Cooper

Nazanin Saedi, MD

Jeffrey Dover, MD

Sally Ourieff, MD

A native of picturesque Melton Mowbury in England, Ian Justice has wrought his sense of style and impeccable work ethic into a photography career approaching the two-decade mark. His skill and knowledge make each project sparkle with creative freedom and originality.

Emmy Graber is an assistant professor of dermatology at the Boston University School of Medicine. She is also the director of the BU Cosmetic and Laser Center at Boston Medical Center. Graber has academic interests in both acne and cosmetics dermatology, having written extensively on these subjects.

Catherine Cooper pursued her passion for cooking after working in public relations on food accounts. She completed professional cuisine training at École Ferrandi in Paris. She is an advocate of children learning to cook and holds two master’s degrees in education. Her blog appears regularly on mealmaven.blogspot. com.

Nazanin Saedi graduated from Princeton University and completed her medical education at the George Washington University School of Medicine. She was trained in dermatology at the University of California, Irvine, where she served as chief resident. Saedi is completing advanced fellowship training in laser and cosmetic surgery at SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, MA.

Jeffrey Dover graduated from the University of Ottawa and received dermatology training at the University of Toronto. He is an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine and adjunct professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. Dover is a director of SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, MA.

A native of Los Angeles, Sally Ourieff graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. She completed her training at Children’s Hospital Boston and McLean Hospital. She later became interested in coaching within organizations, which led her to found Translational Consulting, her executive consulting and coaching firm.

Exhale Lifestyle Magazine is printed by Cummings Printing 4 Peter Brook Drive, P.O. Box 16495 • Hooksett, N.H. 03106-6495 • 603-625-6901 • cummingsprinting.com

Style

A PASSION

for stitchery By Sandra Larson

Sarah Grey had earned two degrees in art history and a PhD in comparative studies in discourse and society when she left academia in the fall of 2010 to open a fabric store. Now the 33-year-old Virginia native spends her days at Grey’s Fabric & Notions choosing fabrics, teaching sewing classes and creating eyecatching items — from dresses and skirts to home decorations. Even her ironing board cover is artful! Her store is nestled among the galleries of the South End’s art-rich SOWA district. Surrounded by resplendent fabrics and inspiring sample garments, the crafter with a lofty education talked with Exhale about her labor of love.

Q. What made you decide to open a fabric store?

I had just gotten my PhD, and the academic job market was abysmal. I was applying for all kinds of jobs, even office and secretarial work. And then one day my husband said, “Why don’t you open a fabric store,” and I said, “yes — yes, I will do this!” So I incorporated, contacted wholesalers, and all of a sudden it was a real thing. I rented this space sight unseen, as I was still in Minnesota, where I had defended my dissertation. I incorporated in May, found the space in July, moved to Boston in September and opened in October. It was kind of a whirlwind.

Q. You moved from Minnesota. Had you been to Boston before?

Yes, we had lived here earlier, in the North End, while my husband was in grad school for philosophy at BU. I am originally from Virginia.

Q. Are you finished with academia, then?

I don’t have any plans in the near future to go back into the academic world. With the way the tenure system is breaking down, there’s just no job security in it anymore. It’s broken. What I would like to do is be able to incorporate more active thinking into the profession I’m in now. For example, one of my goals is to write about the connection between art and craft, and to think about aesthetics as they relate to popular culture and how that influences our hobbies. So, I’m not necessarily giving it up. I want to incorporate it in my work here.

Q. Did you grow up sewing?

No. I cheated on that Girl Scout badge! It was just not cool enough. I took shop in high school. 10

Exhale • Summer 2012

Q. When did you discover it?

I started as a knitter, in graduate school when I wanted a creative outlet beyond writing papers. Knitting is great, but it’s really slow. It took months to knit a sweater. With sewing, you can make a dress in an afternoon. My mom got into quilting in a big way in the early 2000s. She bought me a sewing machine. At first, I thought, ‘You bought me a sewing machine?’ It didn’t seem like something I would do. But then I started using it, and it was amazing! I was just telling the gals in sewing club about one of the first things I made: An A-line skirt, when I didn’t know how to do facings or zippers. It was kind of nutty. But you just kind of work through it, making mistakes, practicing, messing up. Now I know how to do zippers. I made my own wedding dress [in 2008]; we were actually featured in Boston Weddings magazine.

Q. Who’s buying fabric these days, and what are they making?

by other instructors. And in the future, I would love to develop a pattern line — to make patterns and kits for people new to sewing.

Q. Are you enjoying running your own show?

There’s joy, absolutely. There’s fear, as well — am I going to be able to pay all the bills, there’s always that. But being able to meet and interact with people who share the same passion I do, being able to collaborate with folks and share our love for creativity — it’s really wonderful. I feel lucky to have opened at a time when some independent pattern lines are in full swing, like Colette and Sewaholic. It’s nice to be able to support other designers and grow in tandem. And I’m teaching. In many ways this is far superior to teaching jaded college kids. Everyone who signs up for a class here wants to be here. And they’re not being graded. The pressure is off, and the joy is up. =

Our core demographic is mid-30s, professional women; people who didn’t grow up taking home economics. They’re realizing they have jobs that might pay really well, and are fulfilling in other ways, but are not creative. They don’t get to do things with their hands. I would say 75 percent are making clothing. Some are making baby blankets and quilts, but lots and lots of people are learning to make their own dresses and blouses.

Q. What is your style?

Colorful. Streamlined. Classic... or maybe retro? I like classic makeup, red lips. I like simple lines that can be accessorized but don’t have to be. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. I try not to make things that are going to be too fussy. I wear what I make.

Q. What happens at the Wednesday night sewing club?

We bring whatever project we’re working on, and we hang out and talk and sew and drink wine. It’s a great time. It’s the highlight of my week.

Q. Which classes are most popular? The basics class, absolutely. It’s sort of, ‘Don’t be afraid of the machine,’ and ‘Don’t be afraid of having to take out stitches — the seam ripper is your friend!’ It’s a two-session class, and we make a pillow and a tote bag.

Q. How do you decide which fabrics to stock?

There are so many cool, fun designs coming out! I look for fabrics that can be used in a crossover way. There’s a really cool company called Premier Prints, in Mississippi. They’re coming out with some super-cool stuff for home decor, but it’s universally applicable. I just used one of their fabrics to make some shorts from a Colette pattern — super-duper cute and easy. I have a hard time buying fabrics that are not really appealing to me. I choose things I like, and so far people have been into them.

Q. What new directions do you have in mind? I’d like to add more and more classes, and introduce classes taught

Sarah Grey (Ashley O’Dell photos) exhalelifestyle.com

Style

Simple looks for summer Mariolga Pantazopoulos Makeup Artist define:beauty, inc.

Don’t weigh down your bag with products this summer. Simplify your look and travel light. Mariolga, founder of define:beauty cosmetics, shares three lightweight, versatile, simple-to-apply options. 14

Exhale • Summer 2012

Limitless db cosmetics’ cream blush for cheeks and lips ranges from nude to pinks and corals. Wear as a sheer glow or a bright splash of color. $26

For added brilliance, pop a fun shimmery gold lip luster. Try db’s Wilma 1960 (named after Wilma Rudolph’s three-gold-medal performance in the 1960 Olympics). $18

Are you suffering from adult acne? Emmy Graber, MD

If you’re looking for treatment, try: • Spironolactone. It’s a pill that can greatly improve adult acne. It blocks hormones from acting on the sebaceous (oil producing) glands in the skin. Spironolactone and certain birth control pills are the most effective medicines for adult acne in women, especially if topical creams have not helped. • Isotretinoin, a pill previously known as Accutane, can be used to treat moderate to severe cases of acne. However, it is not as effective in adult women as it is in teenagers and adult men. • There are countless “anti-acne” washes, creams, masks and scrubs available without a prescription. If you would like to try one of these, look for a product containing benzoyl peroxide. • Also, using makeup that is labeled as “non-comedogenic” is best for acne-prone skin. Advertisement

Cream eye shadow will wear well in the summer sun and won’t budge even at a pool party. It is both creaseproof and water-resistant. $24

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Skin Care

Sizzling

summer tips To protect your skin Nazanin Saedi, MD Jeffrey Dover, MD FRCPC

Summer is finally here. We all look forward to warm weather, longer days and summer vacation. But, unprotected sun exposure increases the chances of sunburn, skin cancer and signs of aging such as wrinkles, sagging and brown spots. Here are some myths and tips on how to protect your skin from the summer rays. Myth: It’s all right to use my bottle of sunscreen from last summer. You should not have sunscreen left over from last summer. If you do, check the label to be sure it is not past the expiration date. The most important sunscreen advice is to use it. You should apply one ounce — about the amount in a shot glass — for your body, and a full teaspoon just on your face. Reapply every few hours that you are in the sun. Myth: Getting a base tan is a good way to protect my skin before I go on vacation. There’s no such thing as a “healthy” tan. Any kind of tan is the body’s response to skin damage. Any time the sun’s rays touch your skin, they increase the chances of sunburn, skin cancer and signs of aging. While having a tan does mean that your skin has increased melanin, the added protection is only equivalent to a sun protective factor (SPF) of 3 or 4. It is better to protect your skin with sunscreen. If you want to have a glow before going on vacation, use a self-tanner. Myth: I don’t need to wear sunscreen on a cloudy day. This is one of the biggest myths of all. Even on the cloudiest day you should wear sunscreen. Clouds filter only 20 percent of UV rays, which means that 80 percent are getting through. It is best to apply sunscreen every day 20-30 minutes before going outside, regardless of the weather. Myth: I only need to apply sunscreen once a day. If you are going to be outdoors, applying sunscreen once in the morning isn’t enough. The key to protecting your skin in the sun is to reapply sunscreen generously every few hours. Also, reapply after swimming or any excessive sweating. Use a sunscreen that is SPF 30 or higher and has broad spectrum coverage for UVA and UVB rays.

With these tips, you should be able to enjoy the summer and be safe in the sun.

Health Matters

Massachusetts Goes Red for women

In 2004, the American Heart Association (AHA) faced a challenge. Cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year, yet women were not paying attention. In fact, many dismissed it as an “older man’s disease.” To dispel the myths and raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, AHA created Go Red For Women — a passionate, emotional, social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health. Here are a few stories from participants in the Go Red For Women campaign.

Amanda Gonzales

t the age of 17, just before graduating high school, I experienced my first cardiac episode in the shower — I had passed out, and my parents found me as I woke up. It was the day before my younger brother turned 15. We all spent his early morning birthday in the ER. After three months of testing, doctors realized I had something rhythmically wrong with my heart.They implanted an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) three days after my birthday and exactly two days before I moved into my campus dorm at Holy Cross. I was scared, not really knowing or being able to fathom what had just happened to me. I was healthy all my life and then my heart stopped. It wasn’t until a few months later, after finishing my first semester, that I was shocked from my defibrillator. That scared me and I became paranoid — I felt like I couldn’t go anywhere without awakening the monster in my chest. I stayed in my house for almost a year because I was afraid to go somewhere and get shocked. I took a medical leave for my second semester. I just wanted to be a normal college student. After completing a lot of therapy and cardiac rehab, I finally returned to school. In addition to my late night studies, exams and tight schedules, I had to deal with taking care of my health, eating right and sleeping more. It was a struggle and I had anxiety attacks. But despite all these challenges, I graduated with my BA in visual arts. It was the happiest day of my life.

Heart Disease Survivor Hometown: Worcester, MA Age: 23

have been physically active my entire life. I am a personal trainer and I have run in 17 marathons. In December 2009, I had successfully completed a Body Pump Certification, which is a challenging class to learn and teach. The following January, I was teaching many classes to practice for a video. On January 19, 2010, I woke up feeling like I had overdone it the day before. My chest was hurting and my forearms were sore. I told my husband that I would be fine if I went back to bed for a bit. But, I took two steps and hit the floor holding my chest. I couldn’t take a deep breath and I felt like a rhino was on my chest. My husband rushed me to the hospital. I thought I was having muscle spasms from push-ups the day before. I was initially checked out and the doctor told me

that I was having a panic attack. He told me to take a deep breath. I couldn’t and I begged him to help me. I started sweating and vomiting. I was ignored for an hour and 45 minutes. I felt like I was going to die. I got one more jolting chest pain and screamed for my husband to get the doctor or I was going to go to another hospital. The doctor did another EKG and told me that I had a heart attack — widow maker with 100 percent occlusion. I was in complete shock. I kept thinking, “Not me. I am healthy and I am not ready to die.” I learned afterward that heart disease runs in my family. I am still recovering and will be on medication for the rest of my life. I want to prevent this from happening to any other women.

Dianne Kane-McGunigle Heart Disease Survivor; Family History Hometown: Quincy, MA Age: 54

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had a good life and a healthy lifestyle. I ate a balanced diet, didn’t smoke, exercised regularly and practiced meditation. I didn’t need to lose weight and had nothing more than normal stress. I had an annual check-up several months before the heart attack, and all of my blood work (including cholesterol) came back normal. The day before the heart attack, I felt unusually tense but I didn’t think much about it. I woke up during the night because I thought I had indigestion and felt tension in my back. I never get indigestion, and had nothing to take to relieve the discomfort. The next morning, during a conference call, the tension felt increasingly more salient. It was hard to concentrate and I felt nauseous. I excused myself and called my physician to schedule an appointment. When the nurse practitioner heard my symptoms, she told me to get to the hospital immediately. Upon arriving to the ER, I learned I was hav-

ing a heart attack. I was rushed to the CATH (catheterization) Lab, where two stents were inserted. I was told to rest for one month. Ten days later, the chest and back pain resumed. I called a friend who was a nurse. She felt it was probably nothing and took me to the ER to be sure. It turned out that I was having a second heart attack. When they inserted the first two stents, the left ventricle was tiny and shaped like a cork screw. There was a laceration on the ventricle that required the insertion of two more stents. My cardiologist is working with me to stay heart healthy and, at the same time, reduce the number of medications I need to take to maintain that balance. If you are fortunate enough to survive a heart attack, it changes your life, and the life of your family. It isn’t a one-day event; it’s one you live with every day. Prevention is the best cure. Know the symptoms. Know what questions to ask. Know how to advocate for yourself. Know when you are at risk.

Patricia Fox

Heart Disease Survivor; Family History Hometown: North Andover, MA Age: 56

Lorri Alexander

Heart Disease Survivor; Family History Hometown: West Yarmouth, MA Age: 57

ven with a family history, I never expected to have a heart attack at 56. I had been on blood pressure and cholesterol medication for several years, I am a nonsmoker and had a healthy diet. I think one of the greatest threats to women is denial. In my case, the symptoms weren’t subtle: I had numbness, tingling and throbbing in my left arm, shortness of breath and pain across my chest. I was in a cold sweat and felt as if I would blackout. My rational mind told me to call 911. The wife and mother in me said, “You did push-ups wrong at the gym, your heartburn pills didn’t work today, you’re having an allergy issue, your bra is too tight. Finish your grocery shopping.” I couldn’t leave perishables in the car. If I called 911, how would my husband get to the store parking lot to get the car? I did everything wrong. I drove myself home, told my hus18

Exhale • Summer 2012

band to put away the perishables and then take me to the hospital. It was incredible that I survived. I had a completely blocked artery and had two stents put in. My story spread through the hospital and the doctors and nurses knew me as “the lady with the perishables.” Most of the female doctors and nurses admitted they would have probably reacted the same way, because that’s what women do. I learned to never ignore symptoms, to call 911 and that sometimes, symptoms don’t present themselves so clearly in women. In many ways, my life was changed for the better. I joined a cardiac rehabilitation program and not only got a great education, but for the first time in my life, accepted exercise as my new best friend. Initially, I worked out because I had to, but it has become a way of life.

t had been 15 years since I last saw a heart specialist for my heart murmur. I told myself that, despite the symptoms I was having, there really wasn’t a problem. I didn’t want to hear or acknowledge it, but my life was changing and now it was my turn to be a patient — a patient affected by heart disease. I’m proud to be a great nurse. But I never imagined how it would feel if the roles were reversed. When my cardiologist told me I had a valve that wasn’t working well and an aneurysm that needed repair, my world crumbled. I was scared. I was going to be a patient in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). I prepared as best I could. Finally the day of the operation came. When I opened my eyes again, I had a new aortic valve, a

new aorta and a much-improved heart. My new lease on life had officially begun, and I wanted to make it count. I understand now what it’s like “inside the side rails” — the fears, anxiety and emotions that come from living this experience. I also know that as caregivers of so many, we have to take care of ourselves. Though my condition was congenital, many forms of heart disease are preventable. I was experiencing symptoms, but I wasn’t getting them checked out. We have to make the time to get regular checkups, ask questions about our health and learn what we can do to prevent them. We owe it to ourselves to live a long life with our families and loved ones. Everyone has a ticking heart that needs care, and it’s never too late to start doing it right.

Tamara Barber

Family History; Advocate Hometown: Allston, MA Age: 33

remember being aware from a relatively young age that heart disease ran in my family. My grandfather had bypass surgery and he had the tell-tale scar on his chest. I also knew my mom had started taking medicine to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol. She also had an active lifestyle and was always in great shape. But, in spite of how healthy she appeared to be, my mom died of a heart attack one month before her 46th birthday. I was 16 at the time and my sister was 13. We were both there — alone with her — when it happened. Her final moments were on the kitchen floor of our house, where she passed out while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. The memories have haunted my sister and me for the past 17 years. My mom was a single parent and a teacher. When she came home from work on August 16 — the first day of my senior year of high school — I heard her calling to me from the hallway to her bedroom where I was watching TV. There was a strange sound in her voice. I came into the hallway to find her hunched over on the floor, forehead on the carpet, holding her left arm. I called her doctor’s office and they told me we had to take her to the ER.

Eva Gomez

Heart Disease Survivor Hometown: Newton, MA Age: 39

After calling 911, I told my sister to stand on the corner and wave down the ambulance. In the aftermath, I learned that my mom had woken up that morning unusually early, in a cold sweat and feeling nauseous. She went to work, and was in pain, so she called her doctor to make an appointment for later that week. This was the same doctor who, at her last checkup, said her cardiovascular health was like that of a 21-year-old. And, I also learned that the puffy ankles I’d noticed and talked to my mom about the night before she died were a possible symptom of congestive heart failure. Last, I learned that, according to the medical examiner, had she not been as active as she was and built up collateral arteries, she would have had a heart attack sooner than she did. I know that my mom didn’t have all the facts and she didn’t feel empowered enough to push her doctor when in her gut she felt something wasn’t right. I would not wish my experience on anyone, especially on two kids. But the truth is that experiences like my mom’s are still happening today, which is tragic. My hope is that our story will compel a mother to go to her doctor and ask for more, and maybe save a life.

Food

A dietitian’s tour of the farmers’ market

By Allison Knott, MS, RD

An outdoor farmers’ market on a sunny summer day is hard to pass up — just walking through one brings me the feeling of health and well-being. But to some, the market can also feel overwhelming. Unfamiliar fruits and vegetables mingle with more familiar ones on market tables. Follow these tips from Boston-based registered dietitians and soon you will be navigating the market like a pro.

Bulbs and Roots

Apples

Root vegetables can conjure up images of winter harvest. But many root vegetables are available in late summer, too. Look for beets and radishes starting in late June, and carrots, garlic and onions in late July. Try golden beets as a complement to the traditionally deep purple ones in a salad. Or, boil the beets and slice for a colorful side dish rich in vitamins and high in fiber. Add radishes to a vegetable plate for extra crisp. For a simple side dish, try sautéing garlic and onions with fresh greens.

In New England, apples are typically associated with autumn, but they appear in markets beginning in early July. Dietitian Janel Funk loves filling her bags with freshly picked apples. “I’m an apple-a-day type of girl, and when they start popping up in farmers’ markets in late summer, I bring bagfuls home, and can hardly carry them they get so heavy!” she says. The farmers’ market is the perfect place for “just picked from the tree” apples. “I discovered Zestar apples at the Coolidge Corner farmers’ market last year and am counting down the days until I see them again. They’re crisp, juicy and have a sweet-tart taste,” says Funk.

Dietitian tip: Many farmers give samples of their vegetables to market goers. Ask to taste carrots or radishes before buying. You won’t be disappointed.

Dietitian tip: Ask the farmer about the lesser known varieties of apples. Some are best for baking, while others are perfect for an on-the-go snack. 20

Exhale • Summer 2012

Beans and Legumes

Beans and legumes are an excellent source of fiber and protein. They are also high in nutrients like zinc and iron. You’ll find more than just the traditional pole beans at New England farmers’ markets. Look for colorful varieties like cranberry or Dalmatian beans. Add these to soups, salads and stir-fries. Try a bean burger instead of beef or turkey for a meatless dish. After cooking the beans, mash in a bowl and mix with spices of your choice. Form into patties and grill.

Heirloom Tomatoes “Nothing says summer like heirloom tomatoes from the farmers’ market,” says dietitian Ericka Stachura. Heirloom tomatoes are often passed over because they are usually not perfectly red, or round, like commercial tomatoes. Stachura loves their imperfections and says their vibrant colors match their incredible taste. “Pick up some fresh mozzarella and basil along with a few heirloom tomatoes and turn them into a simple caprese salad. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of kosher salt to bring out all their flavors,” she says.

Leafy Greens Leafy greens don’t always have to end up in the salad bowl. The many varieties in New England allow you to spice up traditional dishes like soups or casseroles. And greens — especially the dark, leafy kind — are packed with vitamins and antioxidants. Dietitian Jessica Maillet recommends enjoying produce in its most natural state. “When I buy asparagus and spinach, I will grill the asparagus for a few minutes and serve over a salad of chopped lettuce, spinach and boiled eggs,” she says. Try adding escarole to soup, toss mizuna with lemon juice and add to your favorite pizza. Toss kale with olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake for a delicious kale chip. Don’t be afraid of trying new greens! Their robust flavor will often surprise you. Dietitian tip: Soak greens in a bowl of water before rinsing to remove excess dirt.

Herbs Farmers’ markets are always overflowing with fresh herbs. Some farmers even have seedlings for sale in miniature pots. If you prefer not to grow your own, look for bunches of freshly

clipped herbs like cilantro, basil and thyme. If the bunches are too large to use all at once, try this tip from dietitian Ayla Withee: “Wash and dry the leaves, spread them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. Once the herbs are completely frozen, transfer to a freezer bag for later use.”

Berries Berries are packed full of disease-fighting antioxidants and are high in fiber. Look for strawberries in June, blueberries and raspberries in July and cranberries in September. Try using berries in untraditional ways, as dietitian Kerri Hawkins does. “I always think of strawberries as a dessert, but I have been using them in main dishes lately, like cold soups, she says. You can also try berries as salad toppers, in a smoothie, or on top of pancakes and waffles with yogurt.”

Enjoy the summer months with all the fresh produce New England has to offer. Visit the Mass Farmers’ Markets website www.massfarmersmarkets.org for a schedule of markets near you.

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local

farmers’ markets Barnstable County Buzzards Bay

Main St., Bourne, near Chamber of Commerce, Friday, 10:00 am 2:00 pm, July to October

Chatham

1652 Main St., Local Color and Ocean State Job Lot parking lot, Tuesday, 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm, May 15 to October 29

Falmouth

Peg Noonan Park, Main St., Thursday, noon - 6:00 pm, May 24 to October 11

Falmouth/Green Harvest

Barnstable County Fairgrounds, 1220 Nathan Ellis Highway (Rt. 151), Tuesday, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm, June 5 to mid-November

Falmouth/Green Harvest Winter

Barnstable County Fairgrounds, Adult Exhibit Building, 1220 Nathan Ellis Highway (Rt. 151), Sunday, noon - 3:00 pm, mid-November to mid-December

Harwich

Harwich Historical Society, Rt. 39, Thursday, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm, June 14 to October 11

Hyannis/Mid Cape

486 Main St., corner of High School Rd., Wednesday, 2:00 pm 6:00 pm, June 6 to October 31

Orleans

21 Old Colony Way, Wednesday, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm and Saturday, 8:00 am - noon, Wednesdays: July 7 to September 1, Saturdays: May 12 to November 17

Osterville

Osterville Historical Museum, 155 West Bay Rd., Friday, 9:00 am 1:00 pm, June 1 to September 28

Provincetown

Ryder St., next to Town Hall, Saturday, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, May 19 to November 17

Sandwich

Village Green, Rt. 6A, across from the fish hatchery, Tuesday, 9:00 am 1:00 pm, June 5 to October 30

Sandwich Winter

Scenic Roots 349 Rt. 6A East Sandwich, every other Sunday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Nov. 6, Nov. 20, Dec. 4, Dec. 18, Jan. 8, Jan. 22, Feb. 5, Feb. 19, March 4, March 18

Sandwich/Oakcrest Cove

Oakcrest Cove, 34 Quaker Meeting House Rd., Wednesday, 8:00 am noon, April 25 to October 10

South Yarmouth/Bass River

307 Old Main St., Thursday, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm, May 24 to September 27

Wellfleet

Behind Preservation Hall, 335 Main St., Wednesday, 8:00 am - noon, June to October

Essex County

Middleton

49 South Main St., Angelica’s Restaurant parking lot, Wednesday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June 13 to October 17

Newburyport

The Tannery Marketplace, 50 Water St., Sunday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, May 6 to December 23

Peabody

Leather City Common, Lowell St., Tuesday, 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June 12 to October 23

Peabody/Saturday

Amesbury

Union Congregational Church, 350 Main St., Saturday, 10:00 am 2:00 pm, May 26 to October 13

Andover

97 Main St., Andover Historical Society, Saturday, 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm, June 30 to October 6

Beverly

Veteran’s Park, Rantoul St. and Railroad Ave., Monday, 3:00 pm 7:00 pm, June 11 to October 22

Georgetown

Crosby’s Marketplace, 62 Central St., Saturday, 9:30 am - 1:00 pm, June 6 to October 20

Gloucester/Cape Ann

Stage Fort Park, Thursday, 3:00 pm 6:30 pm, June 21 to October 11

Haverhill

40 Bailey Blvd., next to police station, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, June to October

Ipswich

Ebsco Parking lot on Union St., Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, July to October

Lawrence

Appleton Way, in between Essex and Common Sts., next to City Hall, Wednesday, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, July 11 to October 31

Lawrence

Parking lot across from Greater Lawrence Family Health Ctr., 216 Park St., Saturday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, July 7 to October 27

Peabody Institute Library, 82 Main St., Saturday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, July 7 to September 29 (no market 9/1)

Rowley

Rowley Town Common, Rt 1A, Sunday, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm, July 8 to September 30

Salem

Derby Sq., in front of Old Town Hall, Thursday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June 14 to December 20

Saugus/Cliftondale

Cliftondale Sq. exit off Rt. 1, Cliftondale Sq. ( Jackson St.), Tuesday, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, July to October

Swampscott

Swampscott High School, front parking lot, 200 Essex St., Sunday, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, June to October

Topsfield

Topsfield Fair Grounds, Rt. 1, Saturday, 8:00 am - noon, July 7 to September 22 (Plant Sale 5/12, 5/19, 5/26)

Belmont

Belmont Ctr. Municipal Parking Lot, Cross St. and Channing Rd., Thursday, 1:30 pm - 7:00 pm, Post Labor Day, closes at 6:00 pm, June to October

Billerica

In Front of Council of Aging, 25 Concord Rd., Monday, 3:00 pm dusk, June 25 to October 22

Cambridge Ctr. Market

Cambridge Ctr. Plaza, Main St., Wednesday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, May 16 to October

Cambridge Winter

Cambridge Community Ctr., 5 Callender St., Saturday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, January 7 to April 28

Cambridge/Central Sq.

Parking lot # 5 at Bishop Allen Dr. and Norfolk Sts., Monday, noon 6:00 pm (Closes at 5:00 pm after November 7), May 21 to November 19

Cambridge/Charles Sq.

Charles Hotel Courtyard at Harvard Sq., Friday, noon to 6:00 pm and Sunday, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, Friday: May 25 to November 16, Sunday: May 20 to November 18

Cambridge/Harvard University

26 Oxford St., in front of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Tuesday, noon - 6:00 pm, June 19 to October 30

Cambridge/Kendall Sq.

Middlesex County

Cambridgeport

Grange Hall, 21 Garden St., Saturday, 9:00 am - noon, July to October

Acton

Pearl St., West Acton Village, Sunday, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, June 17 to October 21

Arlington

Marblehead

Ashland

Middle School on Vine St., Saturday, 9:00 am - noon, June 9 to November 17

Depot Sq., Main St., Downtown, Saturday, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm, July to October

West Newbury/Laurel Grange

Lynn

Exchange and Washington Sts., Central Sq., Thursday, 11:00 am 3:00 pm, July 5 to October 25

Ayer

Russell Common parking lot in Arlington Ctr., Wednesday, 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm, June 13 to October 31 125 Front St., across from the library, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, June 9 to October 20

Continued to page 25

Kendall Sq., 500 Kendall St., Thursday, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, June 7 to September 6 Morse School Parking lot. Magazine St. and Memorial Dr., Saturday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, June 2 to October 27 (no market 10/20)

Carlisle

Kimballs Ice Cream Stand, Rt. 225, Saturday, 8:00 am - noon, June 16 to October

Chelmsford

Town Common, North Rd., Intersection of Rt. 4 and Rt. 110, Thursday, 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm, July 12 to October 18

exhalelifestyle.com

Local Recipes

Quinoa Salad with Fresh Corn Corn-eating season is finally here! My favorite way to enjoy corn on the cob is with a squeeze of fresh lime

juice and a pinch of sea salt. But if you’re looking for a new way to enjoy the summer staple off the cob, this quinoa salad is a perfect side or main dish. It also makes a delicious accompaniment to any BBQ. If you like Janel Funk, MS, RD , LDN, is a Bostonbased Registered Dietitia n who enjoys experim enting with plant-base d recipes. You can fol low her food blog, Eat We ll with Janel, and fol low her on Twitter @Diet itianJanel.

Mexican food flavors like cilantro, avocado and lime, you’ll love this quinoa salad that is bursting with flavor and texture.

Ingredients: (pronounced 1½ cups quinoa d and cooked KEEN-wah), rinse lved husked and ha 2 ears of corn, onion, diced 1 medium white ans, rinsed 1 can black be and drained er, diced 1 red bell pepp d 1 avocado, dice es Juice from 3 lim

d cilantro, choppe ¼-½ cup fresh e Sea salt to tast

Instructions: Rinse and cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside in a large bowl to bring to room temperature. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Cook corn until tender, about 4 minutes. 24

Exhale • Summer 2012

Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. When corn has cooled, carefully cut kernels from corncobs using a sharp knife, and transfer to the bowl with quinoa. Add onions, beans, red pepper and cilantro.

Submerge diced avocado in a small bowl with three tablespoons of lime juice to prevent browning. Mix avocado and remaining lime juice into quinoa bowl. Season with salt to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

local

farmers’ markets continued from page 23

Chelmsford Agway Winter Chelmsford Agway, 24 Maple Rd., Saturday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, November 5 to February 4 (No market 11/26, 12/24, 12/31)

Everett

Everett Sq., adjacent to Library, Wednesday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June to October

Framingham

St. Tarcisius Church parking lot, Waverly St. (Rt. 135), Wednesday, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm & Saturday, 9:00 am - noon, July 11 to October 31

Framingham/Village Green Village Green on Edgell Rd. at Framingham Ctr., Thursday, 12:00 pm - 5:30 pm, June 7 to October 25

Groton

Williams Barn, 160 Chicopee Row, Friday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, July 6 to October 5

Hopkinton

Weston Nurseries, Rt. 135, Friday, noon - 6:00 pm, June 15 to October

Lexington

Lexington Ctr., Corner of Massachusetts Ave. and Fletcher Ave., Tuesday, 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm, May 29 to October 30

Lowell

City Hall Plaza, Arcand Dr., Friday, 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm, June 29 to October 26

Malden

Government Ctr. Plaza, 200 Pleasant St., Tuesday, 3:00 pm 6:00 pm, June 19 to September 18

Maynard

Downtown Maynard, Clock Tower Place, Mill Pond parking lot, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Late June to October

Medford

One City Hall Mall, corner of Riverside Ave. and Clippership Dr., Medford Sq., Thursday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June 7 to October 11

Newton/Post 440

American Legion Post 440, 295 California St., Friday, noon - 5:00 pm, July 6 to October 5

Pepperell

Town Field/Community Ctr., Hollis St., Near intersection of Rt., 111 and 113, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, June 23 to October 6

Somerville Winter

Center for the Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Saturday, 9:30 am 2:30 pm, November 12 to May 26

Somerville/Davis Sq.

Davis Sq., Day & Herbert Sts. Lot, Wednesday, noon - 6:00 pm (Closes at 5:00 pm in November), May 23 to November 21

Somerville/Mystic Mobile

Mystic Housing Development, 530 Mystic Ave, Somerville Council on Aging, 167 Holland St, Clarendon Hill Towers, 1366 Broadway, 4th location TBD, Thursday and Saturday, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, June to November

Somerville/Swirl & Slice Union Sq. on the plaza, Thursday, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm, June 14 to September 20

Somerville/Union Sq.

Union Sq. on the plaza, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, June 2 to November 17

Stoneham/Farm Hill Farmers Market Stoneham Common, across from Town Hall, Tuesday, 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm, June to October

Wakefield

Hall Park adjacent to the Veterans ballfield and parking lot on Lake Quannapowitt, Saturday, 9:00 am 1:00 pm, June 23 to October 20

Waltham

Sovereign Bank parking lot, Main & Moody St., Saturday, 9:30 am - 2:30 pm, June 16 to November 10

Wayland

Russell’s Garden Ctr., 397 Boston Post Rd, Rt. 20, Wednesday, noon 5:00 pm, June 27 to October 3

Melrose

Wellesley

Natick

Westford

Newton

Westford Winter

Bowden Park at West Emerson St. and Cedar Park, Thursday, 1:00 pm 7:00 pm, June 14 to October 25 Natick Common, Downtown, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, May 12 to November 17 Cold Spring Park, 1200 Beacon St. Newton Highlands, Tuesday, 1:30 pm - 6:00 pm, July 3 to October 30

Whole Foods parking lot, 442 Washington St., Thursday, 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm, May 10 to November 15 Town Common, Tuesday, 2:30 pm 6:30 pm, September and October, 2:30 pm - Dusk, June 19 to October 30 Eric’s Garden Ctr., 68 Boston Rd., Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, November 5 to March 31

Continued to page 28

Local Recipes

Roasted Red Snapper with

RainbowChard

“This meal is perfect for the family or a small summer dinne r party. You can prepare the fish in the oven or in foil on the grill. Rainbow char d, in particular, has sweet elements whe n cooked. Grill a fresh baguette with olive oi l or prepare a grain as your starch.”

Serves 4 26

Exhale • Summer 2012

- Catherine Cooper

PREPARATION

SHOPPING LIST 4 Red snapper fillets, boned (you can use any type of white fish) 3 Lemons 1 Large bunch rainbow chard 1 Large shallot 2 Garlic cloves ½ Cup pine nuts or sliced almonds (optional)

Red Snapper • • • • • •

½ Cup dry white wine ¼ Cup Parmesan cheese Extra virgin olive oil Fresh thyme Fresh rosemary Fresh parsley

• • •

Salt and fresh ground pepper

•

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Wash fresh herbs. Slice lemons for garnish. Spray baking dish with olive oil. Keep the skin on the garlic, but cut the ends off. Add to baking dish the juice of 1 lemon, ¼ cup white wine, pinch salt and pepper, and fresh herbs and garlic. Pat the fillets dry with paper towel. Generously salt and pepper both sides of fish fillets and place them over the herbs in baking dish. Squeeze more lemon over the fish fillets, pour a little olive oil and place more fresh herbs on top. Set aside. Prep any other food you plan to serve.

Rainbow chard

Catherine Cooper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• Toast sliced almonds or pine nuts using medium-low heat. • Stir often until golden and set aside. • Wash the chard leaves well. • Mince shallot and set aside • Measure wine and set aside. • Measure parmesan cheese and set aside. • Place each chard leaf on cutting board. • With a sharp paring knife, cut the leaves away from the stems. Set leaves aside. • Dice the stems and place in bowl. Set aside. • Cut the leaves into 1- or 2-inch strips and place in bowl.

Red Snapper • Place fish in oven for 18 minutes. • While the fish cooks, prepare the chard.

Rainbow chard • In a large sauté pan sweat shallot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 minutes using medium-low heat. • Stir often to avoid browning shallot. • Add chard stems. • Stir often for 5 minutes. • Add salt and pepper to taste. • Remove stems from the pan and set aside. • Add wine to the pan and the chard leaves. • Stir often for 7-10 minutes or until leaves wilt. • If the pan gets dry, add ¼ cup water as needed. • Add salt and pepper and taste. • Add the stems back to the pan and stir. • Check fish for doneness and remove from oven. • Remove chard from heat and add parmesan cheese and toasted nuts to chard. Stir and serve immediately.

Rainbow chard bursts with color and flavor Summer is the prime season for chard, which can be found seasonally at local farmers’ markets and year round at grocery stores across the country. Nutritious and delicious, rainbow chard is also referred to as “bright lights” for its vibrant stems and veins. Popular in Mediterranean cooking, chard is less bitter than spinach with golden health benefits. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, a

nutrition guide by George Mateljan: “...Chard is considered one of the world’s healthiest vegetables for several reasons. It has at least thirteen known antioxidants, including syringic acid, which helps regulate blood sugar levels, and kaempferol, known for its ability to benefit cardiovascular health. The stems and veins of the plant also have nutrients called betalains that help reduce inflammation and detoxify the body...” exhalelifestyle.com

local

farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; markets continued from page 25

Wilmington

Norwood

Winchester

Quincy

Across from the Town Common, 138 Middlesex Ave., Sunday, 10:30 am 1:30 pm, June 17 to September 30 Town Common, Laraway Rd., Saturday, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm, June 9 to October 27

Woburn

Spence Farm, 41 Wyman St., Sunday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, June 10 to October 21

Norfolk County Braintree

Town Hall Mall, 1 JFK Memorial Dr., Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, June 16 to end of October

Brookline

Coolidge Corner, Centre St. West parking lot, off Beacon St., Thursday, 1:30 pm - dusk, June 14 October 25

Cohasset

Cohasset Common, Main St., Thursday, 2:30 pm - 6:00 pm, June 14 to October 11

Dedham

Lawn outside of the First Church of Dedham, High and Court Sts., Wednesday, noon - 6:00 pm, June 20 to October 31 (no market 7/4)

Foxboro

Patriot Place, Thursday, 3:00 pm 6:00 pm, June 28 to September 6

Franklin

Town Common, Friday, 12:00 pm 6:00 pm, June 8 to November 2

Holbrook

Union St. Lanes, 231 Union St., Rt 139, Saturday, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, May to October

Medfield

First Parish Church, 26 North St., Thursday, 2:00 pm 6:30 pm, May 31 to October 11

Milton

Town Park on Wharf St. in Milton Village, Thursday, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm, June 21 to November 1

Milton/Thayer Nursery

Thayer Nursery, 270 Hillside St., Sunday, 10:30 am - 3:30 pm, April 15 to June 24 and September 9 to November 18

Needham

First Parish Unitarian-Universalist Church, 23 Dedham Ave., Sunday, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm, June 10 to October 28

Exhale â&#x20AC;˘ Summer 2012

Town Common, Nahatan and Washington Sts., Tuesday, 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm, June 19 to October 30 John Hancock Municipal Parking lot, Quincy Ctr., across from the Court House, Friday, 11:30 am - 5:30 pm, June 22 to November 16

Walpole

Town Common, Main St., at the intersection of Main and Front Sts., Wednesday, 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm, June 30 to October 31

Weymouth

Town Hall parking lot, 75 Middle St., Saturday, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, June 23 to October 20

Suffolk County Allston

Parking lot at the intersection of North Harvard St. and Western Ave., south of Harvard football stadium, Friday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June 15 to October 26

Allston Village

Jackson Mann Plaza, Cambridge St., Saturday, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, May 12 to October 29

Boston Medical Center

Menino Pavilion at BMC Lobby, 840 Harrison Ave., Friday, 11:30 am 2:30 pm, June to October

Boston/Boston University

775 Commonwealth Ave., Thursday, noon - 4:00 pm, September 6 to October 25

Boston/City Hall Plaza

Boston City Hall Plaza (Government Ctr., along Cambridge St.), Monday and Wednesday, 11:00 am 6:00 pm, (11:00 am - 5:00 pm after November 4. No market on Monday holidays), May 21 to November 21

Boston/Copley Sq.

Copley Sq., along St. James Ave., Dartmouth and Boylston Sts., Tuesday and Friday, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, May 15 to November 20

Boston/Prudential Ctr.

Boylston St., next to entrance of Prudential Ctr., Thursday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, May 17 to October

Boston/Prudential Center. Winter Inside the Prudential Center Mall, Belvedere Arcade near the post office, Thursday, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm, November to April

local

farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; markets Boston/ South Station/ Dewey Sq.

Dewey Sq., across from South Station, Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30 am - 6:30 pm (11:30 am - 6:00 pm after November 4), May 24 to November 20

Boston/ South Station/ Dewey Sq. Winter

Dewey Sq., across from South Station, Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, November 29 to December 22

Boston/ SOWA

In conjunction with the South End Open market, at the end of Thayer St., Sunday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, May 6 to October

Boston/SOWA Winter Indoors at 485 Harrison Ave., Sunday, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, November 20 to April 29

Charlestown

Thompson Sq. at Main & Austin St., Wednesday, 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm, July to October

Chelsea Community

City Hall parking lot, 500 Broadway, Saturday, 9:00 am - noon, July to October

Dorchester Winter

Codman Sq. Health Ctr., Great Hall, 6 Norfolk St, Sunday, noon - 3:00 pm, January 8 to March 25

Dorchester/Ashmont Peabody Sq.

Ashmont Station Plaza, across from 1911 Dorchester Ave., Friday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, July 6 to October 12

Dorchester/Bowdoin Geneva Bowdoin St. Health Center, Bowdoin St., Thursday, 3:00 pm 6:30 pm, June 28 to October 25

Dorchester/Codman Sq.

Codman Commons, Corner of Washington St. and Talbot Ave., Thursday, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm, June 21 to October 25

Dorchester/Dorchester House

East Boston

Central Sq. at Meridian, Bennington and Border St., Thursday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, July 5 to October 18

Hyde Park Main Streets

Blue Hills Bank parking lot, 1196 River St., Saturday, 2:00 pm 5:00 pm, July 14 to October 6

Jamaica Plain

Bank of America parking lot, 677 Centre St., Tuesday, noon - 5:00 pm, and Saturday, noon - 3:00 pm, May 12 to November: Tuesday Market opens June 19

Jamaica Plain/LoringGreenough

Loring-Greenough House, 12 South St., Thursday, 2:00 pm - Dusk, May 31 to end of October

Mattapan

Church of the Holy Spirit parking lot, 525 River St., Saturday, 10:00 am 2:00 pm, July 14 to October 13

Mission Hill

Brigham Circle, intersection of Huntington Ave. and Tremont St., Thursday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, June 21 to October 25

Revere Beach

Revere Beach by the William G. Reinstein Bandstand, Thursday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, July 19 to October

Roslindale

Adams Park, intersection of Washington St. and Cummins Highway, Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm, June 2 to October 27

Roxbury/Dudley Town Common

Dudley Town Common, Dudley St. and Blue Hill Ave., Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, June 5 to end of October

South Boston

West Broadway Municipal Front parking lot, Monday, 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm, May 7 to November 19

Dorchester House, 1353 Dorchester Ave., Tuesday, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm, June 26 to October 16

For complete listings, visit www.mass.gov/agr

Dorchester/Fields Corner

Schedules subject to change

Park St., Shopping Center parking lot, Saturday, 9:00 am - noon, July 7 to October 30

Dorchester/Grove Hall

Next to Flames Restaurant, 469 Blue Hill Ave., Tuesday, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm, July 10 to August 28

Published by Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources 251 Causeway Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114 617-626-1700 exhalelifestyle.com

Profile Entrepreneur

Barbara Lynch

Meet the Worms Foundation Gets Cooking By Brian Wright O’Connor

Jeronimo Lopere waters lettuce in the greenhouse at the Blackstone Elementary School in Boston’s South End. (Brian Wright O’Connor photo)

oston über-chef Barbara Lynch is renowned for cuisine that combines French savoir faire, Italian passionata and Southie steel. Her latest offering, Meet the Worms, may not make the menu at No. 9 Park but will have an impact that long outlasts the aftertaste of bison strip loin or prune-stuffed gnocchi. Growing up in the South Boston projects, Lynch’s standard of fresh food was a newly opened can of Spaghettios. The closest she got to a garden was a dandelion or two pushing up between the cracks of the 30

Exhale • Summer 2012

glass-littered courtyard in the McCormack housing development. After close to 30 years of serving high-end cuisine to a well-heeled clientele, she’s bringing her cultivated zeitgeist of fresh ingredients closer to her roots by teaching Boston schoolkids how to grow and cook their own food. Meet the Worms, the inaugural program of the newly launched Barbara Lynch Foundation, brings gardening and cooking experts once a week to the Blackstone Elementary School in the South End. Every Wednesday afternoon, first and third graders crowd around

raised planters and trash cans converted into potato beds to learn the basics of gardening, nutrition and cooking. The broader goal is to teach healthier living in a city where about one in five children suffers from food insecurity. Sadder, many of those who have more access to food end up consuming empty calories. Lynch has three businesses in the neighborhood — the popular Butcher Shop and B&G Oysters restaurants, and the demonstration kitchen Stir — so the Blackstone was a natural choice to run a program tapping into her passion for education and nutrition. “I had long been interested in getting kids to understand the value in eating well, exercise and basic cooking skills,” she says. “I also grew up in the city and know that the opportunities to garden, visit farms and learn about nutrition and healthy living are not always plentiful.” The Blackstone School, flanked by the Villa Victoria and Cathedral projects, had a longneglected greenhouse that teenage volunteers from the nearby St. Stephen’s Church helped restore under the direction of Elle Jarvis, the Meet the Worms program manager who also runs Stir. Lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes grown in the greenhouse have gone into salads and the potatoes used to make potato, parsnip and green garlic soup. Jeronimo Lopere, a 9-year-old from East Boston, feels right at home beneath the slanting skylight of the third-floor greenhouse. Back in his native Colombia, he milked cows and planted crops at his aunt’s farm. “This is the best part of school,” he says with a grin while watering rows of romaine and red lettuce. “We get to plant things and make delicious food.” Mathematics and writing teacher Ana Vaisenstein says the garden has made biology come alive for the children. “They’re so excited when they see the plants grow from seeds. And when they prepare what they’ve grown, it’s another learning experience. ‘This is great food!’ they say.” Lynch’s plunge into worm-world began when Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino took her on a tour of greenhouses at some of the city’s at-risk schools. “The school communities were anxious to restore them and incorporate lessons in sustainability, nutrition and cooking into the curriculum,” says Lynch. While stepping up her philanthropy, Lynch has also engaged in efforts to encourage more women to take the entrepreneurial plunge, speaking at local forums on women in business and serving on the advisory board

of Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (WEST), which helps women advance their careers in the fields of science and technology. Sitting down with Barbara Lynch to discuss her business and charitable ventures is like stepping into an entrepreneurial whirlwind. Her cell phone rings incessantly. Minions come and go with questions and messages. Throughout it all, Lynch — compact and intense, with a chopped gamine haircut falling around expressive eyes and a sculpted jawline — sizes up every question while glancing sideways as if to make sure the exit is still near,

own drum.” Especially when it came to legal or illicit job prospects, whether dealing drugs or serving black-and-white frappes (with three eggs for protein) to Whitey Bulger and the boys at Southie’s Soda Shack. “Even as a kid, I liked to make money. I got my first cooking job when I was 13 over at the St. Monica’s rectory, making sausages and onions for the priests. I liked cooking and I figured if I could cook, I’d always be able to support myself.” She looks around the sparsely elegant dining room, which by 9 pm will be filled with customers in search of Lynch’s magical

This is the best part of school. We get to plant things and make delicious food.

— Jeronimo Lopere

Justin Ide photos

the window not too far off the ground to afford escape. Well, maybe this one is. It’s probably a 14foot-drop from the dining room of Menton, her Fort Point dining emporium, to the Congress Street sidewalk. When she does answer, she turns her head from the window with a disarming gaze. “Why’d I take the leap into starting my own restaurant?” she asks. “It’s simple. I had nothing to lose. And the best thing I did was not listen to everyone telling me why I couldn’t do it.” Lynch’s father, a taxi driver, died when she was an infant, leaving her mother to raise six kids. In the midst of the drugs and the booze and the fights and the anger of a neighborhood that felt under siege, “I was never a follower,” Lynch says. “I went to the beat of my

touch. “But I always thought I would have a sub shop.” But fate and ambition led to a loftier perch. Going to school at the height of the busing era in Boston, she was shipped off the peninsula to Madison Park High School in Roxbury, where, in the midst of racial brawls — and making money by placing bets for teachers with a Southie bookie — she found two classes to her liking, Gaelic and cooking. The Cambridge pastry chef who taught the cooking class recognized in the tough-talking Lynch the raw ingredients of a great chef and encouraged her talents. Lynch dropped out of school but took another step up the food ladder when she got a job at the tony St. Botolph Club on Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay — the exhalelifestyle.com

same club where her mother waited tables. She watched the chef prepare grouse and sole and told him she wanted to be a cook. Her first break came when she lied about her cooking experience to get a job on a dinner cruise ship out of Martha’s Vineyard. The next rung was apprenticing at Michaela’s under the hard-driving Todd English, whom she followed to Olives and Figs. Where others wilted beneath the chef ’s explosive temperament, Lynch persevered, soaking up the knowledge of sauces and sauternes, filets and fricassees. To a Southie girl raised among rival gangsters and political wannabes, the kitchen’s resemblance to the fighting factions of Fallujah was just a part of the learning process. “Kitchens are tough places,” says Lynch, who worked in kitchens in Italy to round out her experience. “Tough boys and tough conditions — it’s a dog-eat-dog world. You have to stand up for yourself to survive.” After leaving English to become executive chef at an Italian res-

would be enough for a place owned by Barbara,” says the politician who asked not to be named. “Then we walked into No. 9 Park. While they started ordering everything off the menu I went back into the kitchen to find Barbara to see what $13 could buy. She just laughed and told me not to worry about it.” At heart, Lynch is a neighborhood girl. “I like to think I raised the bar a little bit on the restaurant scene,” says Lynch. “When I started, chef-owned restaurants existed, but they were run much differently. I’m sort of that blue-collar Boston person who believes deeply in loyalty. I want to treat my staff the way I want to be treated — with dignity and respect. That’s the way I run everything.” The results speak for themselves. Her cookbook, Stir, is a best-seller. Besides No. 9 Park, Menton, Stir, B&G Oysters and the Butcher Shop, the Lynch empire includes the 9 at Home catering business, the cocktail bar Drink and the retro luncheon joint Sportello. Another venture, BLinc, will soon sell dehydrated food packs to busy

taurant in the theater district, she decided she didn’t want to ever work for another chef. She knew what she wanted and found investors who agreed. No. 9 Park, nestled in the half-sunk ground floor of a Beacon Hill townhouse just steps from the State House, opened in 1998. Between its candlelit setting facing the Boston Common, the intimacy of low ceilings, fresh flowers, rich linens and, most of all, the fresh and fabulous food, Lynch’s flagship restaurant soon became the gastronomic destination of choice for the Hub’s discriminating diners. Her success came as a surprise to some of her pals from the projects. One of them, an apprentice politico working under the Golden Dome, remembers heading out for dinner with a brace of lobbyists to chow down at a new restaurant owned by his old neighbor. “I couldn’t legally let them pay for dinner but I figured that $13

urban dwellers. All together, her businesses employ 250 workers and generate an estimated $25 million in annual revenues. Along the way, she has collected a coveted James Beard award and become the only woman chef in North America named a Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux — one of world’s highest culinary honors. Resting on her laurels is not in the game plan. She works long hours and often spends the night in a city condo when it’s too late to get home to Winchester to join her husband, Charles Petri, and 8-yearold daughter Marchesa, named after her favorite chef. “The biggest lesson of my career is to follow your dream,” she says. “Whatever you want to do, whatever you’re passionate about, pursue it. The second lesson is don’t give it away if you’re the visionary. Keep ownership. Hire the people you need to hire to run the business, but don’t give away the store.” =

Exhale • Summer 2012

Profile Entrepreneur

Marlo Fogelman

The Marlo Method Winning Over One Client at a Time

By Abby Kurzman

t’s clear a woman runs this company. At Marlo Marketing/Communications, located in Boston’s Back Bay, vases of bright orange Gerber daisies bid you welcome. The conference room is white, accented by elegant, crystal chandelier lamps. But the rest of the room gets down to business: The walls are covered with magazines that have featured clients’ products and compelling titles: “Clean Plate Awards,” “Night Club Bar Awards 2011,” “Best Prom Up-Dos” and “Launch Your Company This Weekend.”

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(Mimi Rutzen Crawford photos)

hen asked what it feels like to be one of Boston M a g a z i n e ’s 2008 “25 Most Envied People,” company founder Marlo Fogelman rolls her brown eyes. She has long hair to match, and wears a beige-yellow, richly textured jacket. She has won numerous other awards as well, including accolades from PR News and Boston Business Journal. She was also recognized as one of the seven most innovative Bostonians by BizBash magazine in 2011. It’s not just her success that people envy — it’s that she has done it on her own terms. Marlo says she only works with companies she feels good about, companies offering “the best-in-class consumer lifestyle products and services.” She does not solely promote high-end items, though. “Take Anna’s [Taqueria] for example,” she says. “They offer the best burrito you’ll find anywhere, and it costs just $5.” The enthusiasm Marlo brings to every project is the main ingredient in the “Marlo Method,” an individualized focus on each client’s goals, combined with a willingness to break the rules to get them there. “What does this company need?” Marlo trains her staff of 17 to ask. “That’s what we’ll focus on. We create branding and build an image. We take the client to the next level.” She uses this same strategy to reach her own goals. Originally from the Detroit area, she earned a BA at Michigan State University. Then she came east to earn a law degree and a master’s degree in international relations, both from Boston University. While she is licensed to practice law in both Massachusetts and New York, Marlo says she knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do. Her first job in public relations was unexpected. “A friend saw a PR firm’s job advertisement, specifically targeting law school grads, and told me, ‘this is what you should do,’ ” she says. Marlo wasn’t sure what she was getting into, but figured since “499 other

lawyers applied for the job, it must be a good one.” She got the job and it was a great fit. While there, Marlo began working on the Starbucks account, starting in 1995. Starbucks wasn’t happy with the firm, but Marlo turned it around. She still had the account in 2011, and helped the coffee company launch their “clean up” campaign. Starbuck’s encouraged employees to volunteer, and then paid them for their efforts. “They taught me how to incorporate volunteerism into the workplace,” Marlo says, claiming to have kept this in mind when she started her own firm. She is well-known for her philanthropy and pro bono work for local organizations such as the Police Athletic League and the Franklin Park Zoo. For the last five years or so, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Boston Public Market Association. BPMA operates seasonal farmers’ markets in Government Center and Dewey Square, but plans to open a year-round market by 2014. “Marlo has a get-it-done personality

and makes things happen for us,” says Don Wiest, BPMA board chair. “We want our markets to be important resources for chefs right in the city. Chefs want food that’s locally sourced. Marlo’s connections in the restaurant world have been invaluable. She got local chefs excited [and] got them to sign a state petition on our behalf.” Looking back on her career choice, Marlo says she wasn’t too intimidated about starting her own firm. She knew she had a flair for the business, and she was determined. “Normally, I get it right,” she says. Many of her clients echo that sentiment. Garrett Harker, owner of Boston restaurants Eastern Standard, Island Creek Oyster Bar and The Hawthorne, agrees. “Marlo is uncompromising about delivering product at the highest level and is constantly self-assessing how to get better,” he says. “We would not have enjoyed the same level of success without her vision and drive. She’s a bold thinker who goes beyond the mere execution of marketing strategy and inspires the team with big ideas and lofty goals.” =

Marlo Fogelman poses with her staff. exhalelifestyle.com

Profile Entrepreneur

Christina Lampe-Önnerud

Woman of power Clean tech entrepreneur creates safer, betterperforming batteries By Sandra Larson 36

Exhale • Summer 2012

oston-Power founder Christina LampeÖnnerud was running battery safety investigations for the consulting giant Arthur D. Little when she found her mission. Speaking at the Sustainable Economy Conference in Boston, the Swedish-born chemist tells her story: “In 2004, we had completed 100 investigations of lithium-ion batteries,” she says. “Case number 99 was a boy wearing summer shorts, and without warning his cellphone in his cargo pocket exploded. Case 100 was a lady checking e-mail in bed when, without warning, metal shards flew out through her keyboard. “These were big multinational companies,” she continues. “One hundred times they had retained me, and had discussions of root cause. Every time they concluded, ‘It’s just a business risk.’ I had a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old at home, and I decided that was not an acceptable answer.” So she left her prestigious job to build a better battery. She turned the garage of her suburban Boston home into a laboratory for reformulating the lithium-ion battery. And so Boston-Power was born. Today, the Westborough-based company is building its second factory to produce its longer-lasting, faster-charging, nontoxic batteries. The innovative batteries are scalable for uses from laptops to power grids and electric cars. From her solo start, Lampe-Önnerud has built a force of 500 employees; she expects to add another 800 in the next 18 months. And safety is still an essential goal. “We’ve been in production four years now, and have had zero incidents,” she says. Her pursuit of science and technology was influenced in part by her father, an innovator in the power transmission field. Growing up, the engineer’s daughter found math and science easy and school fun. Her community was a factor, too. “Where I grew up, the expectation was you’d go into

the toughest field you could,” she says. After earning her PhD in inorganic chemistry at Sweden’s Uppsala University, she came to the US to do postdoctoral research at MIT. Being female in a male-dominated field has certainly not kept success from her grasp, though she has encountered old-fashioned attitudes. “You get comments like, ‘You don’t

I will push people to do things they didn’t think they could. If you’re a high performer and you want to fly high, I’m a good leader. look like a scientist,’ or ‘You’re too happy to be a CEO,” she says. “My professors said, ‘You can’t be serious, you have long hair.’ But I had no respect for that comment. You can look any way you like, it has nothing to do with your ability to think.” In a panel discussion and in an interview, the 45-year-old exudes warmth, enthusiasm and pride; it’s hard to imagine her without an infectious smile at the ready. But she can be tough. “People on my teams say my leadership style is more demanding than you think when you walk in,” she says. “I will push people to do things they didn’t think they could. If you’re a high performer and you want to fly high, I’m a good leader.” And what of those young children at

home that helped propel her quest for safer, greener batteries? Her son is now 8, her daughter 12. With long work hours and extensive travel, she has relied on a live-in au pair as well as a network of supportive friends who brought meals during the busy times. “It’s extremely intense,” Lampe-Önnerud says. “But I was blessed with two very gifted, easygoing kids. They are healthy, and they do really well in school. I think when that’s not true, it’s really hard.” She also attributes her successful balancing act to deliberate focus. “I have the mental discipline to be present,” she says. “That’s really important. I see other mothers at playgrounds or at recitals on their phones, and I think, ‘Don’t do that. Be present.’ When I’m at a recital, I’m really there. I book time for my kids’ bedtimes. It’s on my calendar and no one can interrupt me.” Much of her travel in the past few years has been to China, where the company’s factories are located and where demand is high for BostonPower products. Last fall, she shed her

CEO role and became the company’s international chairman. She remains based in Westborough, where business development activity is centered. Lampe-Önnerud is unapologetic about moving much of her company’s operations overseas. “As an entrepreneur, you have to make sure your company survives,” she says. “I felt a huge opportunity to get this technology out and let it do its work. I could let it starve in the recession, or bring it to China.” From the Sustainable Economy Conference, Lampe-Önnerud heads straight for the airport and to a week of business meetings in Europe. The week prior, she was in Atlanta delivering the closing keynote at the Women Presidents’ Organization’s annual conference, with a message about a global concern. “I told them, I think we are standing in front of almost insurmountable evidence that we are heading for big problems environmentally. And to me, it’s inexcusable not to engage,” she says. “I think the deal is to engage, collaborate — something women are generally very good at — and to transcend borders. We have so little time, and so much to do.”=

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exhalelifestyle.com

Profile Entrepreneur

Colette Phillips

Connecting companies with diverse markets By Jacquinn Williams

“E

pluribus unum” is not the usual way most Bostonians describe diversity. But then again, Colette Phillips is not the usual Bostonian. “E pluribus unum,” Phillips explains, ‘Out of many one,’ is true now more than ever. Five years ago, most people didn’t know that a large number of Brazilians existed in Boston. When they won the World Cup, Brazilians were coming out in Allston, Brighton, Framingham, Fall River and Dorchester. People were saying ‘Where did all these Brazilians come from?’” But Phillips knew all about the Brazilian population. It’s her job. “Boston has the second largest number of Brazilians outside of Brazil,” she says. To Phillips, diversity is not only a good thing, it’s inevitable. Given the “browning” of national demographics according to recent census 38

Exhale • Summer 2012

Colette Phillips, pictured here with Michelle Obama, is a member of the executive committee of the Massachusetts Women for Obama and served as one of the hosts for the March 9th 2012 fundraiser at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Photo courtesy of Obama for America.

data, Phillips may very well be on to something. “We are not monolithic in thought,” she says. “Diversity of people, thought and lifestyle is forever going to be what strengthens us.” Phillips is a trailblazer. When the Antigua native started Colette Phillips Communications, Inc. in 1986, she was the first person of color to start a successful public relations and marketing agency in Boston, she says. The firm provides PR and marketing services for multicultural markets. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs,” she says. “It’s in the blood. I saw their hard work, commitment, dedication and focus. I was working at a company where the general manger got fired and another came in and he decided he was going to do away with all the others. I told myself, I never want to be in a situation where anyone else can call the shots about my future or who I am as a person.” Before starting her own firm, Phillips was working as the head of PR for the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge when she got

fired in 1985. “By 1986, they were my client,” she explains. She came to Boston in the 1970s to attend Emerson College. After graduating in 1976, she headed home to Antigua to work. While there, she worked in TV and also worked for the Antiguan prime minister as his press secretary. Later, she decided to head back to Boston. “Boston grows on you,” she says. Though Phillips is no stranger to bootstrapping, getting her career off the ground did not come without obstacles. “Certainly, financing was challenging,” she says. “I had to go all the way to Rockland Federal Credit Union to get a line of credit even though I had almost $100,000 in contracts for the first year. My clients included Dimock Community Health Center and Judge Baker Children’s Center.” “I was [also] doing work with Hill Holliday for the state’s office of travel and tourism and I needed the line of credit to pay bills. We were looking for only $10,000. But I couldn’t get any of the [larger] banks to give us credit.” Despite the growth of her business, it took nearly seven years for a major bank to give her a line of credit. When she decided to strike out on her own, Phillips knew she had to set her company apart from the competition. “My differentiator was the fact that I could offer companies the opportunity to do what I call multicultural or ethnic marketing,” she says. “We basically pioneered it. Nobody was thinking about it at that time. [Also] I’m really good at community engagement.” Jackie Jenkins-Scott, president of Wheelock College, credits Phillips’ success to her creative mind. Jenkins-Scott met Phillips in 1986, when she worked at Dimock Community Health Center. Phillips handled PR for Dimock’s fundraiser in 1988. “She’s always thinking of ways to put people together and projects together,” JenkinsScott says. “She’s always done a phenomenal job for any project I asked her to undertake.” Agnes Bundy Scanlan, chief regulatory officer at TD Bank, agrees. Scanlan gave Phillips her first big corporate account. “To me, Colette is larger than life,” Scanlon says. “She is a truly exceptional communications and marketing executive. She knows everyone in New England and even beyond. From a professional perspective, Colette has enabled my former company

[to] exponentially grow its business in these diverse markets.” Initially, Phillips didn’t have a lot of mentors, but she decided to get involved with organizations relevant to her business and utilize the relationships she did have. “Getting actively involved in the Ad Club and Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce were two good decisions,” she recalls. “I didn’t have anyone that looked like me doing what I’m doing. But she did have some key people who helped her along the way. “Mel Miller, publisher of the Bay State Banner, was a big supporter of mine,” she says. Friends and mentors of mine [were]

keting still exist? “I think that’s a misnomer,” she says. “I think we’re [the nation] becoming more of a salad bowl than a melting pot. We still need to market to the peppers, carrots, lettuce — each part of the beautiful mosaic of people.” Phillips observes that racial and ethnic minorities are enjoying American culture but still maintaining their own respective identities and cultures. “People want to keep something integral to who they are as a people,” she says. “They are acculturating, embracing American culture and keeping their own. We don’t have to force our ways on people, that’s what makes us American.”=

Colette and Get Konnected! Legends and Leaders 3rd Anniversary Honorees: Eastern Bank’s President Bob Rivers; Division of Capital Asset Management Commissioner Carole Cornelison; Mass. Treasurer Steve Grossman and Ferderal Reserve Bank VP Marques Benton (Demonika Bray/CPC photo)

Larry Lowenthal, Marian Heard and Evelyn Murphy. ” In addition to her company, Phillips published Kaleidoscope — a multicultural resource guide — in 2000 and 2006, and founded Get Konnected!, the city’s first monthly multicultural networking event, in March 2008. “Colette is the consummate connector,” Jenkins-Scott says. With Get Konnected! Phillips says she aims to “create a place where people feel instantly comfortable.” Get Konnected! is as strong as ever and her company is doing well. But, if the population trends continue, will the need for ethnic-focused public relations and mar-

Outside of the office Though she spends a lot of time around town, Phillips claims that she’s a real homebody. “I can be very much a recluse,” she says, laughing. “Being out in the public for me is a pushing of myself. I have to really work at it.” But she does love to entertain and hang out with friends. “I love the theater, I love jazz,” she says. “I love going to Scullers or Regattabar. I like good food. I like to travel!”

exhalelifestyle.com

Profile Entrepreneur

Jennifer House

Flat Black Coffee: From down under to Dorchester

By Astrid Lium

t took a honeymoon in Australia for Jennifer House to realize her life’s purpose — coffee. In 2001, Jennifer and her husband, David, spent five weeks exploring the eastern coast of Australia, which included several independent coffeehouses. “I plan my vacations around food and drinks,” she says. The specialty coffee movement Down Under offered flavors and artistic designs — including an octopus shape atop Jennifer’s latte –– like none the newlyweds had seen in Boston. “It was difficult to get a good cup of coffee at home,” she says. After returning to their home in Dorchester, the couple established Flat Black Coffee Company with their friend, Jeffrey Chatlos.The three business partners opened their first of four cafés –– with more on the horizon. Paying homage to their inspiration, Jennifer explains that “flat white” is an Aussie reference to a café latte and “flat black” loosely refers to espresso. 40

Exhale • Summer 2012

“All coffee drinks outside of the United States are espresso-based,” she says. An American coffee –– which is espresso with water added –– is called a “long flat black.” The first Flat Black Coffee location opened on Washington Street in Dorchester on February 19, 2003. “I remember the date because it was my best friend’s birthday and I was seven and a half months pregnant,” Jennifer recalls. After the success of the first business, the trio opened a second spot, on Dorchester Avenue, where Jennifer spends most of her time overseeing operations. “Dorchester gets a bad rap,” she says. “We wanted to do something [positive] in our own backyard.” The New York native has established roots in Dorchester and notes that the two cafés are within walking distance of her house. Flat Black has expanded into the downtown area, opening a café on Broad Street, and more recently, another on Franklin Street. Jennifer wanted to create a livelihood without sacrificing time with her family –– hus-

band “Big Davy,” 9-year-old son David Jr. and 5-month-old daughter Sofia. “My son grew up in a coffee shop,” she says. “It’s a true mom and pop business.” She also wanted to create something different. “We didn’t want to have just a glass carafe on a burner and serve coffee,” Jennifer explains. “We wanted something with substance.” The substantial focus of Flat Black is sustainability, with an emphasis on single-source coffee — that is, coffee from one geographic origin. Noting that the training of their employees teaches them geography and taste, Jennifer sums up Flat Black’s philosophy with the question: “What’s in the cup and why is it important?” She tastes coffee the way a sommelier sips wine. “I love tasting flavors!” the self-appointed “most sensory of the three owners” says. “It’s captivating.” Jennifer, a coffee connaisseuse, consumes four drinks daily –– straight espresso, coffee, café latte and tea. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Mt. Ida College and a master’s in clinical social work from Northeastern. She expected her training to lead her to a career working with families, not coffee. “I wanted to open my own clinical practice and make improvements for children and mothers,” she says. “I [now] want to have a similar impact in the coffee world.” The next goals for Flat Black Coffee include more Boston locations, ideally in communities where their business “will live and continue to grow,” according to Jennifer. As for the taster herself, she wants to become a Q Grader, which is comparable to that of a wine sommelier and requires extensive classroom time and 20 written exams. “Coffee should receive as much attention as a cut of beef or tuna,” Jennifer explains. “You often get a crappy cup of coffee after dinner and that is no way to end the night.” =

Summer Sips Jennifer created the entire menu at Flat Black Coffee, including their seasonal specialty drinks. She says that the most popular summer beverage is the iced vanilla latte. Other flavored favorites include blueberry pie, raspberry kiss and banana split latte, served either hot or iced. Jennifer is constantly mixing flavors for the perfect beverage to add to her extensive list.

Profile Entrepreneur

Courtney Forrester

Boston’s Favorite

Dessert Spot By Jacquinn Williams

Courtney Forrester’s life is pretty sweet. Each morning she’s greeted with the scent of sugar and butter at one of her bakeries — aptly named Sweet — downtown on School Street. The wife and mother of two left the corporate world for entrepreneurship four years ago after becoming frustrated with the lack of cupcake options in Boston. “There were no places where I could get decent desserts around here,” she says. So Forrester would try and make them herself. She experimented with recipes to find special desserts to serve guests at her dinner parties. She claims that her husband would come home to find her in tears in the kitchen, frustrated with flour strewn about. Tired of trying every bakery in the area, Forrester — with the support of her husband Michael — opened her first bakery in Back Bay in 2008. It took three years of research and planning — and the help of a talented group of working moms along the way — before she was ready to open. She now operates stores in four different locations. The Minneapolis native fell in love with Boston while studying journalism at Boston University. After graduation she stayed and worked in public relations for a number of years. Forrester was the director of public relations for the Four Seasons hotel and most recently worked as the director of special events at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. But striking out on her own didn’t come without challenges. An initial problem was the lack of comparables. A bakery solely devoted to cupcakes was virtually nonexistent in the Boston area. So, Forrester tried to research the next best

thing — ice cream. “On the 4th of July, I was grilling the cashier on how many people had come in to JP Licks that day. But, people don’t buy ice cream in dozens,” she explains. Finding real estate was another challenge. As a historic city, Boston has a plethora of building regulations, many of which prohibit structural changes to old buildings. Also,

landlords were hesitant to rent the space to an entrepreneur proposing such drastic changes. As a result, Forrester had to find a location already outfitted with the equipment needed or find a building that would allow her to change the space to suit her needs. Despite these challenges, she was able to open and run a profitable business that continues to thrive. Her gleaming white shops — with logos, architecture, interior design, packaging and wallpaper designed

by professionals Maribel Sandoski, Annsley McAleer and Diane Lim — are decorated with white chairs and pink couches where customers indulge in handmade, delicious, freshly baked cupcakes. Sweet boasts all of the basic cupcake favorites like white vanilla bean, chocolate and red velvet cakes mixed in with seasonal flavors such as banana split, pink lemonade and chocolate coconut. The various flavors of buttercream frostings are expertly matched up by her and head bakers. Each season, Forrester and her team try to develop a new flavor or bring back old favorites. She is constantly looking to improve her cupcakes, and fans have taken notice. Sweet has been recognized for having the best cupcakes for the last four years by Boston Phoenix. Clad in a deep-red polka-dotted dress sitting in her downtown location, Forrester is happy and at ease. She has chosen to work on the retail side of her business and credits Dropbox for making her work-life balance easier to manage. She completed her first talk for the Harvard Business School’s Women’s Association of Boston this spring and hopes for the chance to share her story more often. She’s proud of her accomplishments, but she’s clear to whom she owes her success. “It’s a huge team effort.” = exhalelifestyle.com

Profile Entrepreneur

Orla Murphy-LaScola

American Seasons restaurant (Astrid Lium photo)

The accidental restaurateur by Astrid Lium

rla Murphy-LaScola did not plan to be an entrepreneur –– it just worked out that way. After nearly two decades of working seasonally, and then full time, at American Seasons restaurant in Nantucket, she eventually bought the establishment. For the last nine years, Orla has been the co-owner, general manager and wine sommelier of the business. 42

Exhale • Summer 2012

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and guests enjoy an evening at American Seasons. (Photo courtesy of American Seasons)

Her restaurant path started about 20 years ago, when Orla, born and raised in Dublin, studied journalism at Newman College. To earn extra income, she worked seasonally in Nantucket. Managing American Seasons helped pay her tuition and, after graduation, supplemented her writing career. Anticipating a life in the newsroom in her native Ireland, Orla worked for the Old Beacon newspaper after finishing school. The paltry pay, eventual failure of the publication and the closing of her alma mater were omens for the budding reporter. “I think God was telling me not to be a writer,” she says with a chuckle. Orla returned to American Seasons –– which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year –– where she “did it all” and quickly moved up the ranks. It is also where the restaurant manager met her husband, Michael LaScola, who worked as a sous chef at the time. He is now the executive chef and mastermind behind the restaurant’s unique, locally sourced and frequently updated menu. The couple had considered moving to California, but they decided to establish deeper roots in Nantucket. By taking complete ownership of the restaurant, the two have anchored themselves to the New England island. “We did it all on our own, with no partners,” Orla explains.

She and Michael operate the business from April to December while raising their three-year-old daughter, Roan. Rather than taking an off-season respite, the duo designates 10 weeks to annually update and renovate the space. They spend the other two weeks on “vacation” in California. During that time Michael peruses fresh produce at the local farmers’ markets while Orla handpicks wines from small distributors. She has created a impressive wine list of more than 500 bottles, most of which hail from the west coast. The husband-wife team has modernized the space, making it their own while keeping its core intact. Describing the interior before she and Michael took over as “very yellow” and “harvesty,” Orla explains that they have kept “the soul of the place the same. We put our stamp on it, but we’re cognizant of its history.” For a quarter-century, the space has attracted Nantucket crowds while remaining refreshingly unpretentious. The candlelight and soft background music create a cozy and romantic atmosphere.

Orla Murphy-LaScola (far left) is one of the sponsors of the Nantucket Junior Chef competition. (Photo courtesy of American Seasons)

While the track lighting and wall murals have been updated, other aspects –– including the tabletops, designed by local artist Joanna Lane –– remain an integral part of the restaurant’s tradition. A proponent of sustainability, Orla explains that up to threequarters of the menu is locally sourced by the four local farms on Nantucket during the summer months. At American Seasons, they are also providing house-made, seasonal and local beverages. Using lavender from her garden, Orla infuses soda and vodka, both of which are widely popular. The autumn specialty drink is sugar pumpkin-infused vodka, aptly named the “drunk pumpkin.” In September, American Seasons will sponsor its 5th year of Junior Chef Nantucket, which wraps up their Fall Restaurant Week on the island. The event, hosted by NECN’s TV Diner co-host Jenny Johnson, is a cooking competition featuring Nantucket culinary students who create meals with locally sourced ingredients. “Kids on Nantucket like to cook,” says Orla. “We’re sourcing future restaurateurs locally and fostering the epitome of the sustainable ideal.” =

Community

Lucy’s Love

Beecher Grogan (second row, center) with Lucy’s Love Bus volunteers. (Photos courtesy of Lucy’s Love Bus)

“P

eople either get it or they don’t,” Beecher Grogan is fond of saying. From her living room strewn with Lucy’s Love Bus paraphernalia, Grogan says if anyone got it, it was her daughter Lucy. Near the front door is a black and white portrait of Lucy. From under the turned-up brim of her hat, Lucy’s eyes are round and questioning. She died in 2006 after battling leukemia for four years. She was 12 years old. Lucy Grogan at age 10.

Exhale • Summer 2012

Bus Lucy founded Lucy’s Love Bus, a grant foundation that raises money to pay for uninsured palliative therapies, such as acupuncture, massage, yoga and meditation, or whatever else might help ease the physical pain of a child being treated for cancer. “When Lucy died, she gave me a very clear direction,” her mother says. “She was horrified that kids could be denied these therapies because they couldn’t afford them.” Inspired by her strength and “old soul wisdom,” Lucy’s hometown of Amesbury, MA, donated the original $10,000 that launched Lucy’s Love Bus and paid for Lucy’s palliative therapies. At the popular Carriagetown Chocolates on Main Street, a Lucy’s Love Bus banner stretches wide across the back wall. Grogan now works with four teams of 60 volunteers. Some were once Lucy’s classmates and are now seniors at Amesbury High School. Together, they raise funds for Lucy’s cause. In bright orange T-shirts emblazoned with the foundation’s striped monarch butterfly logo, the animated teens are a determined, advocating force. Along with raising funds, the volunteers draw pictures and write letters to kids in treatment. Maggie Bornstein has blue eyes and short-cropped red hair. She’s 12 years old, a seventh grader at Amesbury Middle School and, thanks to Lucy’s Love Bus, has found a real purpose. “You don’t know what to do with yourself when you’re young,” she says. “This work means a lot to me. I don’t see myself ever stopping.” Her parents, she says, are very proud of her. So is Grogan. “I’m grateful to parents for letting me expose their kids to this part of life,” Grogan says. Penny DeGoosh, 41, is a pediatric oncology social worker at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT. She’s also an advocate for Lucy’s Love Bus and a fan of Grogan’s. When she first learned of

A dying wish lives on By Fran Cronin

Lucy’s Love Bus through a patient’s family, DeGoosh thought it “too good to be true.” Most of the families she works with can’t afford uninsured therapies for their children receiving cancer treatment, she says. “Children equate hospital treatment with pain. But massage and acupuncture, which are often administered before treatment, feel good,” DeGoosh explains. Parents say their children are more relaxed and sleep better. “The children are asking for it, which tells me it’s effective.” According to DeGoosh, the physicians she works with request that their patients get registered with Lucy’s Love Bus. Grants from Lucy’s Love Bus can range between $1,000 and $4,000, de-

children, Jane, 14, and Eli, 7, on her own while working full time. “Everything I know about running a nonprofit I learned at work,” says Grogan, who oversees job creation for immigrant inner-city women in the Merrimack Valley area. She also has big expansion plans for Lucy’s Love Bus. Last November was a game changer when she hired her first part-time staffer. A marketer at heart, Grogan has conducted surveys supporting the efficacy of palliative therapies. She’s created a curriculum to teach youth leaders how to promote and market fundraising events. In June, she went to Washington, DC, to learn how to lobby and push through legislation. She

“When Lucy died, she gave me a very clear direction. She was horrified that kids could be denied these therapies because they couldn’t afford them.” pending on need. DeGoosh says a $1,000 grant can cover 20 therapy sessions. The larger sums are often for hospice care. All applications are made through the Lucy’s Love Bus website. Along with distributing grants for palliative care, Grogan also reaches out to families. “When Grogan speaks to parents through the dying process, she has credibility,” says DeGoosh. Others can be kind, even sympathetic, but they don’t understand the profound sense of loss. “Grogan gets it,” she says, and “the families know it.” Grogan, 44, is a volcanic “can-do” force. She’s been married and divorced twice and has buried her daughter, Lucy. Now a single parent, she is raising her two other

started rolling out “Love Affair with Lucy’s Love Bus” events and will hold an event in Boston in October. Last year, Lucy’s Love Bus raised $108,000. The goal for 2012 is $150,000. To date, the foundation has helped 75 kids in 12 states around the country. Lucy would be proud of her mother. Grogan is clearly on the right path in helping children just as Lucy wanted. “When you look at sick children,” Lucy once wrote to one of her doctors from her sickbed, “notice their bodies are two things, love and illness, and help them remember the love and not the sickness.”= For more information, visit www.lucyslovebus.org exhalelifestyle.com

Community

Womenade uses collaborative clout By Fran Cronin

hilanthropy has long been the dominion of men. Professionally clubby and competitive about status, it is an easy pitch for men to get their buddies to step up and write big checks. Not so with women. Historically less entrenched in professional circles and not as financially flush, women are in the habit of writing small checks to a smattering of favorite causes. “You never knew if what you gave went to administration or to help a person,” says Womenade President Victoria Gonin. Womenade is a nonprofit giving circle formed in 2007 over lunch at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Gonin had philanthropy on her mind and she wanted to bounce ideas off her friends, Meg Burnett, Allison Burroughs and Brenda Reny. They are all financially successful, seasoned professionals in the Boston area. It was time, Gonin recalls telling them, for women to take advantage of their collective clout and become visible in the world of humanitarianism. The key was to find a model that had both high impact and efficiency. By the time lunch was over, Womenade Boston was born. Women have maintained their presence in the workforce despite the most recent recession, and their potential earning power is on the rise. Studies issued by the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University report that 43 percent of the nation’s wealthiest individuals are women with combined assets of $4.6 trillion. Longevity and wealth inheritance also favor women. Gonin quotes from the Indiana study: “Because women usually live longer than men, they will end up in charge of much of the anticipated intergenerational transfer of wealth expected over the next 50 years.” 46

Exhale • Summer 2012

L-R: Brenda Reny, Leigh Hurd, Mary Shahian and Tina Kerkam.

Womenade’s Victoria Gonin (second from left) and Chris Swistro (far right) join My Life My Choice’s Ann Wilkinson, Lisa Goldblatt Grace and Audrey Porter. (Paul Reny photos)

Around the country there is successful precedence to giving circles and Gonin had experience running one in New Jersey before she moved to Boston. But Womenade Boston was founded with a mission that went beyond simply raising funds and making donations. “It’s also about volunteering, networking and educating women,” says Renate Rooney, head of Womenade’s marketing communications. In January, at one of Womenade Boston’s annual quarterly meetings, commitments for the coming year were in, annual donations made and tallied. Membership for 2012 had climbed to 83, within reach of their goal. This year, Womenade Boston will make grants in two focus areas: local

organizations that empower teen girls at risk; and organizations that keep girls and women engaged in education. Eight proposals were selected for presentation at Womenade Boston’s June meeting for potential funding. Grant recipients are invited to present at the September meeting, which is also Womenade Boston’s annual recruiting event. Last year, one $25,000 grant was awarded each to Girl’s LEAP and My Life My Choice to support their work on behalf of teen girls. = For more information on Womenade Boston, visit the group’s website: www.womenadeboston.org.

Travel

Summer

in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is home to an abundance of rich historical treasures, cultural offerings, family-friendly activities, beautiful coastal communities and breathtaking outdoor adventures. Your travels could take you from a mountain hike in the morning to a beachside hotel in the afternoon. Western Massachusetts

Western Massachusetts is home to spectacular scenery, great outdoor adventure, and an amazing concentration of art, history, music, theater and dance institutions. The region’s mountains, lakes and rivers offer opportunities to hike, whitewater raft, kayak and fish. Cultural offerings include Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; international dance companies at Jacob’s Pillow; and the largest display of Canadian art at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). For outdoor adventure, hike up Mount Greylock, soar across a 48

Exhale • Summer 2012

dense forest canopy on a zip line, or take a whitewater raft trip down the Deerfield River. Are you a rollercoaster aficionado? Ride the steel rollercoaster at Six Flags New England, or plummet down a giant waterslide at CoCo Key resort. Springfield is the birthplace of the beloved Dr. Seuss. The National Memorial Sculpture Garden celebrates Cat in the Hat and other Dr. Seuss characters. Also the birthplace of basketball, Springfield is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Check out the Eric Carle Museum, which features work by the Hungry Caterpillar author and illustrator.

Central Massachusetts

Central Massachusetts is home to the world-famous Sturbridge Village, where families are transported to 17th-century New England village life. The Fruitlands Museum is rich in Native American history and natural habitat exhibits. The EcoTarium in Worcester provides hours of fun for families exploring the world of nature. The Fitchburg Art Museum and the Worcester Art Museum offer intimate art experiences. The Blackstone River Valley is a living landscape of natural and historic treasures. This region offers rich farm-to-table culinary experiences and winery and brewery tours that offer a unique taste of Massachusetts. From the plentiful dairy farms like Whittier Farms and Copper Hilltop Farm to Wachusett Brewing Company, there are dozens of opportunities for tours and tastings that are ready to welcome you. Concord is home to Ralph Waldo Emerson and other literary legends, as well as the famous revolutionary battle of Concord and Lexington. In Lowell is the Lowell National Historical Park for a fascinating look at the city’s major role in the textile industry and the Industrial Revolution. Take a canal boat ride or a trolley, then check out the National Textile Museum.

The North Shore

The North Shore includes the beautiful and breathtaking coastline of Gloucester, Rockport and Marblehead, where you will find beautiful beaches and historic fishing towns. Head out to the Atlantic for a whale watching trip, or charter a fishing boat. In Rockport, stroll down Bearskin Neck and explore art galleries and shops. Visit Rocky Neck in Gloucester, the oldest working art colony in the United States. Make the trip to historical Salem, home to the Salem Witch Museum, Peabody Essex Museum and the House of the Seven Gables.

Boston

Boston is a bustling metropolis. It offers arts and culture, historical attractions, kid-friendly fun, big-league sports, and outdoor activities from canoeing or kayaking down the Charles River to day and night harbor cruises. You can catch a bird’s-eye view of the city and beyond from the Top of the Hub Skywalk Observatory, which provides a stunning

360-degree view of the city. On a clear day, you can see for 100 miles! Browse the boutiques and galleries on Newbury Street, visit historic Trinity Church and pick up supplies at the Copley Square Farmers’ Market for an al fresco lunch. After a leisurely ride on the famous Swan Boats in the Public Garden, make your way to historic Faneuil Hall/Quincy Marketplace, which is packed with an incredible array of shops and food vendors. Don’t miss the famous North End, where Italian restaurants, cafés, and bakeries stand elbow to elbow along the narrow streets.

Museum of Natural History is one of the most renowned of its kind. Its collection of glass flowers and its Giant Mammal Hall are must-sees.

South of Boston

South of Boston is home to the historic seaside town of Plymouth and Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum where you can explore the Wampanoag Homesite and the 17th-century colonial village. New Bedford is the nation’s largest fishing port. You can explore the city’s rich whaling history and its connection to Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Ocean Explorium teems with aquatic life. If the nautical life appeals to you, take a trip to Fall River and Battleship Cove, where you can climb on board the USS Massachusetts, experience the drama of Pearl Harbor and get a taste for life in a submarine.

Cape Cod

The Waterfront is home to the New England Aquarium, one of Boston’s most popular attractions. From Central Wharf, the Boston Harbor Islands are just a short ferry ride away. Enjoy Spectacle Island’s beach and stop by the clam shack for a mouth-watering treat. Walking distance from the Aquarium and the ferry is the Boston Children’s Museum — look for the 40-foot high Hood milk bottle, which is the landmark for the newly revitalized Fort Point Channel area. The Harborwalk will take you to the dramatic new home of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). Plan to stay around for dinner — the area has become a mecca for lively and creative waterfront restaurants. Not far from downtown is the Franklin Park Zoo (setting for the movie, Zookeeper) that offers the chance to observe wildlife from all over the world.

Cambridge

Cambridge is across the Charles River, and home to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. The city’s multicultural community is reflected in its restaurants and colorful festivals. The Harvard

Cape Cod offers endless beaches and dunes. From Bourne to Provincetown, you’ll find art and craft galleries, antique shops, seafood restaurants and shacks, and opportunities to bike, kayak and sail. The JFK Museum portrays the former US president’s life on Cape Cod. Also, take a tour of the oyster farms in Dennis and Wellfleet and enjoy mouth-watering, freshshucked oysters.

Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard

Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are home to world-class resorts and golf, as well as a rich history of Massachusetts. Check out the African American Meeting House on Nantucket and explore the quaint shops and beaches. On Martha’s Vineyard, visit the colorful gingerbread houses in Oak Bluffs, Aquinnah’s colorful Gay Head Cliffs, and the 3-mile barrier beach of South Beach. Sponsored by Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism exhalelifestyle.com

women who

K OC

BOSTON

By Jacquinn Williams

New York City has rappers. Philadelphia birthed neosoul. The “Motor City” gave the world Motown and Nashville has country. In comparison to those musical meccas, Boston still struggles with its musical identity. But that doesn’t mean that the city is short on talent. From Donna Summer to New Edition to Aerosmith — and a lot of others in between — Beantown has had its share of international phenoms. “Boston’s music scene is underrated,” says Raquel Barrientos, a member of The Dotted Eyes. She’s one of the many performers working to carve a niche in a

Exhale • Summer 2012

city still trying to get respect. Singer Shea Rose agrees. “Boston is a great place to hone your craft.” Shea performed at last year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) film, music and interactive festival. She galvanized her Twitter followers to vote for her in the Red Bull Soundstage contest for the chance to perform at the festival. In a city teeming with talent, Exhale takes a closer look at five musically diverse women, from a sultry jazz vocalist who can scat with the best of them to a guitar-strumming folk singer whose path to stardom was thwarted by tragedy.

Photography by Ian Justice; www.ianjustice.com • Hair and makeup for Raquel and Samantha by Nelse Karini • Hair for Shea by Nancy Brown “NV” • Makeup for Shea by Joanna Petit-Frere

Feature

Shea Rose

here’s more to Shea Rose than her edgy lyrics and larger-than-life ’fro. She raps and sings with unrivaled passion and counts Nikka Costa, Nina Simone, Bessie Smith and Terri Lyne Carrington as musical influences. Outside of the studio, Shea also uses her music for social activism by going out into the community and talking to high school kids about following their dreams and setting goals. Her first musical memory is singing Anita Baker’s “You Bring Me Joy.” “I was really young. My mom used to listen to the album a lot. I remember discovering that I could almost match the pitch. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I thought it was cool,” she says. She knows what she’s doing now. Focused and driven, Shea is working hard to solidify her position in the city’s music scene. Last month, she won the Abe Olman Scholarship for Excellence in Songwriting. Former recipients include Alice Smith and John Legend. A few years ago, Queen Latifah appointed her as one of five female MCs to lead the next generation of female rappers. She recorded a remix of Queen’s popular song “U.N.I.T.Y.” with the other winners and modeled for CoverGirl’s Queen Collection. Lately, she’s been focusing her energy on an initiative called My Angel Wears a Fro. In the past, Shea worked with OneBrownGirl.com to help send a group of girls to Camp Caribe in Florida. She put on a concert and donated the proceeds so the girls could experience summer camp. The name of Shea’s initiative comes from a blog post about her efforts to help the girls get to camp. This summer, she will be performing to benefit the Children’s Museum and Rosie’s Place. She will also participate in corporate diversity training in New York City as part of the Music2Life organization’s training initiative. Soon, she’ll be heading back into the studio to record her EP Dance this Mess Around. Shea’s empowering music and her pledge to use her talents for social change make her the ultimate rock star.

Things you might not know: • Shea was in the all-girl band Mercy in New York City. • She performed with Cindy Blackman and opened for Amel Larrieux — formerly of Groove Theory. • When she’s not performing or recording, Shea can be found in Franklin Park. “They offer free tennis lessons to adults and kids at Franklin Park. I started two years ago. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

Favorite local musicians: • Tavonna Miller • Grace Kelly • Dutch ReBelle

Upcoming performances: • Shea will be opening for Nona Hendryx at Johnny D’s in Somerville, MA, on July 12, and singing with Nona at BB Kings in New York City on July 14. • She will be headlining at Brighton Music Hall on September 8. • Check for tour dates at www.shearose.com

Raquel Barrientos aka Rocky Q. What do The Dotted Eyes bring to the music scene in Boston? A. “I think we are normal, mellow, nerdy people, but we pack a sweet, playful punch.” The Dotted Eyes go on tour August 8. Check for shows near you at: www.thedottedeyes.com

lad in a flowered dress paired with red combat boots and a left arm covered with tattooed roses, Raquel Barrientos is the perfect mixture of femininity and edge. She is a warrior. Her smile lights up the (now defunct) Otherside Café and belies her experiences. She’s warm and easygoing, just like her music, and genuinely cares about other people. But, she has been through a lot. Raquel was molested by a family member and never told a soul until she was 21 years old. The young singer used to be a competitive runner. Raquel started running when she was 11 years old, but was forced into hiatus by the time she got to college. She was diagnosed with a disorder called popliteal artery entrapment — a painful condition that restricted the bloodflow to her legs. The pressure she felt in her legs was unbearable. Raquel had surgery that didn’t help alleviate the pain; she had to crawl to get around. At one point, a vascular surgeon told her “not much could be done,” she shares. The surgeon also told her she would not run again and that she should get another hobby. “A hobby? I thought, ‘I run. I don’t have hobbies,’ ” Raquel says. Though the doctors didn’t expect a full recovery, her legs have healed. The scars from the abuse are healing, too. An avid biker who is passionate about music and working with families, Raquel is more determined than ever to fight for her dreams. 52

Exhale • Summer 2012

She grew up in California, listening to her dad pluck out Mexican folk songs on his guitar and wishing her mother — who played the clarinet beautifully — would play more often. Her father is Mexican and her mother is German, Scottish, French and English. Her first “revolutionary music” moment was when she heard George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” in music history class in seventh grade. “I thought, ‘aww, what is this?’ ” she recalls. When her mom was doing the family’s laundry, Raquel would make up songs to sing to her. She even dreamed of being a singing doctor so she could make others happy. “I was always singing in secret,” she shares. Raquel’s five-member band, The Dotted Eyes includes herself, Neil Mittal, Josh Breckman, Mike Johnson and JC Zwisler. They have created a sound that she describes as the “juxtaposition of happy beats and sad undertones.” She found the band on Craigslist and has been making music with them for more than two years. In addition to the band, Raquel performs a solo gig at the Sugarbowl Café every Saturday at 11am. Their debut album Wondering & Worrying is a smooth listen that shines brightly on the songs “Catastrophe” and “Cold Air.” Raquel’s voice is sweet with the sound of youthful hope and she soars on the up-tempo “You and Me.” “Most of the songs are about the feelings we all go through on the rollercoaster ride called relationships,” she says.

Things you might not know about her:

• She’s vegan. • Raquel taught herself to play guitar. • She wishes Boston’s subway system stayed open until after the bars close. • Raquel refuses to wear jeans.

Cool Facts:

Samantha Farrell

• Samantha worked for a music theorist who taught Miles Davis, Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

“B

• Her grandfather on her mom’s side was a pianist and her great-grandfather on her dad’s side was in Vaudeville. • Her nickname is LaLa.

Q. What’s the most unique thing about you? Favorite Boston-area musicians: • Danielle Miraglia • Abbie Barrett • Cilla Bonnie

A. “My voice. And, physically speaking, I happen to have very big hair and [I] wear giant glasses. I’m easy to spot at a party!” Check out more at www.samanthafarrell.com

oston let me exhale and love music again,” says Samantha Farrell. The silky-voiced vocalist has a personality that crackles like wildfire and is as big as the fluffy golden locks that frame her face. Samantha — who claims to be extremely shy onstage — grew up in Porter Square in Cambridge. Later, her family moved to a “two-stoplight town called Orange” in Western Massachusetts, she says. Surrounded by 18 acres of forest, her mom would blast Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Van Morrison with the doors and windows open. Her mother is black and hails from Virginia, and her dad is Irish. Samantha started playing instruments in the fourth grade. She started with the flute and switched to alto sax, a transition that came easily to her. “Saxophone is the flute sideways,” she explains. The budding starlet contemplated working as an environmental lobbyist after college, but decided to give music a fighting chance. So she headed to Los Angeles. “I didn’t tell anyone, I was barefoot with my guitar in LAX,” she says. Samantha lived there for three years. Finally, she got a job where her boss happened to know someone from the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) — LeRoi Moore. Her boss sent LeRoi her music and he loved it. He convinced Samantha — after meeting with her at dinner with his fiancée — to move to Virginia and use the DMB studios to record while he was on tour. She sent LeRoi demos of what she and the band were recording. Everything was going well and LeRoi was pleased with Samantha’s progress. “Doors seemed to be flying open for me,” she says. “I played the Mile High Festival in Denver in front of 50,000 people. I was in a trailer next to Colbie Caillat and Quest Love. I left like ‘What up!’ ” But one day, everything came to a screeching halt. LeRoi was supposed to meet Sam in the studio, but he got into a terrible car accident and died. “I was a mess. I couldn’t stop crying,” she shares. Samantha went from living in one of LeRoi’s houses to sleeping in her old bed at her parents’ house. While the attorneys were settling his estate, Samantha couldn’t release her music. A year passed before she was able to get a hold of her music and release the album. When she did, it went to number 7 on the iTunes national charts, she says. Currently, her new 3-song EP is out and she’s working on a full-length album set to release this fall. She’s also in an alternative rock band called Pretty Dirty. They just released their debut EPA The Boot Stompin’ .

Rajdulari

The beginning of her name — Raj — means “king” in Hindi. Dulari means “daughter of a king.”

“W

Photo courtesy of Lucas Pictures

hen you give me the mic, I’m going to do my thing. That’s all I can do,” says Rajdulari Barnes. The jazz vocalist started singing when she was 3 years old. “My mom was the choir director at my church. They would put me on a milk crate and I would lead the choir,” she says. Rajdulari studied at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. She loves jazz and R&B and is classified as a mezzo-soprano. Originally from Baltimore, her family relocated to Boston when she was about 14. Now, Rajdulari is living in New York, holding down a day job and honing her craft. “[Living in New York] has boosted my career and confidence,” she says. “Because it’s so challenging, you get to see what

Saucy Lady S

aucy Lady is a class act. Born Noe Carmichael, she is a multicultural singer, songwriter, DJ and classically trained pianist. Saucy Lady’s father is from Roxbury, MA, and her mother is Japanese. She grew up in Japan and later attended Mt. Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts to study music. In college, she worked as a radio DJ and as the urban music director of WMHC 91.5 FM. After completing her studies at Mt. Holyoke, Saucy Lady got her master’s in library science at Simmons College. When she had down time, she sang in choruses such as the Boston Cecilia, Back Bay Chorale and Chorus Pro Musica. She feels the music scene in Boston is stale and is working to combat that with singing, songwriting and DJing skills. Last year she released her debut album Diversify with an intro that crowns her Boston’s disco queen. Her single, “City Lights,” is a funky but fun song about going out on the town. Catch Saucy Lady on the 1s and 2s at parties around town. She DJs at club venues, retail stores, radio and company galas. She specializes in ’70s and ’80s soul, funk, boogie, disco, jazz and ’90s hip hop and R&B. 54

Exhale • Summer 2012

you’re made of.” Last year, her band won for Best Jazz Band 2011 at the New England Urban Music Awards. Rajdulari — who is also a plus-sized model — has performed at the Beantown Jazz Festival, Ryles Jazz Club, Scullers and the Regattabar. On Valentine’s Day, she released a video for her sensual ballad, “Honeywine.” Rajdulari is, and always has been, committed to music. But, her mother’s diagnosis and recovery from Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) forced her to reevaluate her life. Throughout her mom’s treatment, the two grew closer, and Rajdulani learned to value life. “I became determined to live out my purpose as a musician and a storyteller,” she says. “I truly believe this is what I was put on this earth to do.”

Cool facts: • She can be heard on mix tapes from Japan. • Saucy Lady has a green thumb and she grows Japanese veggies. • Her first gig: ZuZu. She cold-called the venue and convinced them to hire her. After she got the job, Saucy Lady said, “Damn, now I need to learn how to mix!” • Interesting jobs: Saucy Lady worked as the music librarian at the Boston Public Library and at The Boston Conservatory.

Her favorite musical artists: • Francois K • Rich Medina • DJ Kon www.saucyladymusic.com

Her favorite local female musicians: • Patrice Williamson • Valerie Stephens • Shea Rose • Donna McElroy • Darcel Wilson

Upcoming shows: • Saturday, August 4 at 8pm 224 Franklin Street, Brooklyn, NY • Tuesday, August 28 at 6pm Piers Park — Zumix Summer Concert Series East Boston, MA Listen to Rajdulari at www.rajdulari.com

Sun-Music is on the Internet, on-demand, featuring four styles from new, established and independent musicians and up to the minute news and information to keep you informed about what's happening now! HipUrbanSoul | That Jazz The Inspiration | The Sound of the Sun Just click the stream links to start your media player. www.sun-music.net Use our QR Code to go to Sun Music Now!

Justin Keena photo Produced by Spectrum Broadcasting Corporation – www.spectrumbroadcasting.com

Exhale â&#x20AC;˘ Spring 2012

Calendar

Berklee summer berklee.edu/events/summer

May 3 – September 20 Plaza Jazz

As the hot summer nights approach, cool jazz will fill the warm evening air on the plaza in front of the Beebe Library in downtown Wakefield. Through September 2012, Plaza Jazz will feature free concerts on the first and third Thursday nights of each month. The concerts will be performed by students and alumni from Berklee College of Music, who have been part of Berklee’s independent label, Jazz Revelation Records. Sponsored by the Friends of Beebe Library, the series will feature a mix of styles and an international flavor with musicians who hail from Israel, Greece, India, Brazil, Turkey, Spain, South Africa and the United States. Lucius Beebe Memorial Library 345 Main Street, Wakefield, MA 5:30-7:30pm

Cultural

May 12 – August 11

Salem Jazz and Soul Festival/ Berklee Summer Series at Derby Square

Derby Square in Salem is proud to invite Berklee College of Music back for this music festival. Enjoy Berklee’s most soulful youth in these family outdoor Saturday evening events. Derby Square, 86 Federal Street, Salem, MA

June 5 – July 31

Berklee Lunch Sessions at Prudential Center

Join Berklee College of Music’s best upcoming artists in the Prudential Center’s beautiful outdoor center courtyard. Enjoy your lunch break with the brightest young talent in the folk, bluegrass and indie genres of Boston. Prudential Center Courtyard 800 Boylston Street, Back Bay

Exhale • Summer 2012

in the city

June 7 – July 26

Berklee Lunch Sessions at Atlantic Wharf

Join Berklee College of Music for our premier lunchtime session at Atlantic Wharf. Take pleasure in viewing the Boston Harborwalk while listening to a collection of trio, quartet and larger ensemble jazz. Atlantic Wharf Atlantic Avenue and Congress Street, Waterfront District

June 7 – September 6

Concerts at Kendall Square

If you are looking for some lunchtime entertainment in Cambridge, nothing beats Concerts at Kendall Square. Check out a plethora of musical styles featuring emerging Berklee artists. 300 Athenaeum Street, Cambridge

June 16 – August 18

Berklee Music Fest on Georges Island

With one of the most unique and charming locations in the greater Boston area, Berklee College of Music packs three dates in June, July and August with a wonderful variety of musical styles at Georges Island. Come out and enjoy the water with some free live music. Georges Island Boston Harbor Island

June 21 – September 6

Club Passim and Berklee

One of Boston’s senior folk venues invites Berklee College of Music for its free concert series featuring up-and-coming students and alumni of the folk and bluegrass genre. Boston’s folk scene is better than ever, making these must-see events. Club Passim 47 Palmer Street, Cambridge

Byron Manchest (La

uren Desberg photos

Emily Elbert (M

ichael Borgida

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photos)

Will Wells and Dynamic Sound

June 24 – September 2

July 6 – August 24

Whether you prefer to be on the beach or sit back and eat a nice Sunday lunch on the dock, Spectacle Island offers one of Boston’s greatest harbor island experiences for all ages. Berklee College of Music returns to entertain Sunday afternoon guests with some excellent student jazz performances. Spectacle Island Boston Harbor Island

Berklee’s top emerging solo artists and bands line the Atlantic Avenue Greenway during July and August, providing a great way to spend the earlier part of your Friday evening. Boston Greenway Milk Street and Atlantic Avenue

Berklee Jazz on Spectacle Island

July 5 – August 9

Tito Puente Latin Music Series

July 6 – August 3

Friday Night Lites – Berklee Stars at SSC Berklee College of Music fills Friday evenings with a variety of rock, blues, soul and more at this special Hingham event. Hingham residents are encouraged to take the night off and make their way to the conservatory to view some amazing young talent. South Shore Conservatory 1 Conservatory Drive, Hingham, MA $10

July 9 – August 27

Courtyard Series: Berklee at the Regattabar

Notorious for its high-profile international jazz legends, the Regattabar welcomes Berklee College of Music back for performances throughout July and August. Come out to the center courtyard at the Charles Hotel for some wonderful young trio and quartet jazz, and great food at one of Boston’s most relaxing outdoor venues. Regattabar at the Charles Hotel 1 Bennett Street, Cambridge

July 11 – September 5

Harvard Longwood Campus Presents Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music returns to delight Harvard Medical School and Harvard School for Public Health at this weekly lunch time event. Enjoy an expanse of musical genres put on by exceptional musical talent. Harvard Longwood Campus 25 Shattuck Street, Longwood Medical

2012

Come out, join the masses, and dance the night away at Boston’s best Latin music series, hosted by Berklee College of Music. Check out student and faculty performances at various venues scattered throughout the greater Boston area. Various locations

Berklee Greenway Sessions

Summer

nx Melanie Ly sberg photos) (Lauren De

)

gan photos

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Venu Sounds of

exhalelifestyle.com

Calendar

Berklee summer berklee.edu/events/summer

July 11

July 25, August 8 and August 22

Need some midweek nighttime entertainment? Come on out to Ramler Park in the West Fens July 11 for Berklee College of Music’s featured all-ages music. Enjoy jazz in one of Boston’s most natural venues. Ramler Park 130 Peterborough Street, West Fens

Currently in its 11th year, Arts on the Arcade is held in conjunction with the popular Farmers’ Market on the Community Arcade on City Hall Plaza. On these dates, performing artists from Berklee College of Music provide live entertainment. Also, each year, juried selections of visual artists and crafts artists are given the opportunity to sell handmade crafts and artwork covering many different styles from painting, photography and jewelry to leather goods and apparel. Adjacent to Cambridge Street and City Hall Plaza 11am-3pm

Swingin’ in the Fens

July 12 – August 30

Cultural

Harborwalk Sounds: Berklee at the ICA

in the city

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) offers one of Boston’s most comfortable outdoor views of the Boston Harbor. This year the ICA welcomes back Berklee College of Music to fill Thursday evenings with an expanse of musical artistry. Institute of Contemporary Art 100 Northern Avenue, South Boston

July 20 and August 17

Concerts in the Courtyard at the Boston Public Library

Once again, one of Boston’s most beautiful spaces will be filled with music in a free, lunchtime concert series every Friday throughout the summer. On these dates, the Boston Public Library’s courtyard will host world music from Berklee College of Music student artists. Boston Public Library 700 Boylston Street, Back Bay

Exhale • Summer 2012

Arts on the Arcade

July – August

WUMB and Berklee: Fox Point Music Series

Calling Dorchester residents to check out free entertainment provided by Berklee College of Music’s best and brightest young performers of all genres at this Sunday afternoon music festival. Fox Point 100 William T Morrissey Boulevard, Dorchester Sundays at 2pm

August 4

Martha’s Vineyard Jazz Festival

An essential Massachusetts coastal attraction, Martha’s Vineyard has proclaimed national fame for its relaxing summer getaway vibe for years. This year, the Martha’s Vineyard Jazz Festival invites Berklee students to perform at this early August Saturday afternoon Jazz Festival. Tabernacle Tabernacle Avenue, Oak Bluffs, MA

Esther Rojas (Matías Calvo photos)

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September 6

Newbury Street League Celebrates Fashion’s Night Out

August 5

Jazz at the Fort

With one of the most relaxing atmospheres of the Roxbury neighborhood, join us at Highland Park to view one of Berklee College of Music’s most experimental musical groups yet. Don’t miss the Revive Music Group’s Hip-Hop 1942. Highland Park, Fort Avenue, Roxbury

August 11

Berklee on Peddocks Island

With one of the most handsome views of the Boston Harbor, Peddocks Island invites Berklee College of Music to present one of its brightest young jazz performers for this premier event. Don’t miss this relaxing Saturday afternoon entertainment! Peddocks Island, Boston Harbor Island

Berklee at Allerton Overlook

Berklee College of Music invites Brookline and Boston residents to Olmsted Park for a mid-August Sunday evening event. Come relax and enjoy this musical occasion for all ages. Allerton Overlook, Olmsted Park, Brookline

August 18

Salem Soul and Jazz Festival

Salem, MA, is known to pack its summers with relaxing family summer events. This year, Salem invites one of the best Berklee alumni performers for this Saturday lunchtime showcase. Salem Willows, Salem, MA

September 8 and 9

The Boston Arts Festival

The Boston Arts Festival is designed to launch Boston’s arts season. The festival is a showcase of more than 60 juried visual artists. They exhibit and sell one-of-a-kind and limited edition works of art, including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, fine glasswork, woodwork, mixed media and photography. There is also an extensive performing arts program, which in the past has featured the Boston Ballet, the Blue Man Group, the Boston Lyric Opera, Chu Ling, BalletRox and World Rhythms. This year, featured musical performances include six Berklee College of Music artists, who will delight attendees with a mixture of styles. Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park 296 State Street, North End

September 29

Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival delights with jazz, Latin, blues and groove acts. Our communities come out in force — with attendance swelling to 70,000 strong at its height — to enjoy world-class music on three stages, great eats and good times stretching six blocks in Boston’s historic South End. Families are entertained with face painting, inflatables, photos and an instrument petting zoo. More than 70 vendors participate, making the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival the place to be. Corner of Columbus and Massachusetts Avenues Beantownjazz.org

2012

August 12

Newbury Street’s Fashion’s Night Out is proud to invite Berklee College of Music back for this beginning of fall celebration. Don’t miss this event for all ages. Corner of Exeter and Newbury Streets, Back Bay

Summer

Serg (Michael Borg io Martinez ida photos)

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Calendar

free events

City of Boston

July 15

GospelFest

GospelFest is Boston’s premier gospel showcase that attracts more than 20,000 spectators annually. Currently in its 12th year, GospelFest features awardwinning artists and emerging talent. Past headliners include Grammy Award-winning artist Israel and the New Breed, Dottie Peoples, Bryan Cage and Kirk Franklin. The 2012 headliner is Kim Burrell. City Hall Plaza Performance starts at 5pm www.cityofboston.gov/arts

Tuesdays in August

Waterfront Performing Arts Series

The Waterfront Performing Arts Series showcases various artistic genres including opera, classical music, ballet, modern dance, musical theater and swing. A film screening will immediately follow each performance. Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park 6pm-9pm www.cityofboston.gov/arts

August 4

Boston Urban Music Festival

July 28

Cultural

Caliente!

A celebration of Latin music & culture, this event features local music and dance troupes, and a nationally known headliner. Caliente! became the culminating event for the Tito Puente Music Series. City Hall Plaza 7pm-9pm www.cityofboston.gov/arts

Thursdays in July and August

Roslindale Summer Concert Series Enjoy a picnic with friends and family at this free, open-air concert, Thursday evenings in July and August in Adams Park. Adams Park, Roslindale 6pm-8pm For more information, call 617-635-3911.

Exhale • Summer 2012

An evolution of the Peace Hip Hop Festival, the Boston Music Festival plans to offer a contemporary view of the urban music scene in and around Boston celebrating the best of hip hop, R&B, funk and soul. The Boston Urban Music Festival aims to lend a voice to local artists outside the mainstream by providing an outlet for creative expression. This year’s headliner is Outasight. City Hall Plaza Performance starts at 5pm www.cityofboston.gov/arts

September 7-9

Boston Arts Festival

The Boston Arts Festival is designed to launch Boston’s arts season. The festival is a showcase of more than 60 juried visual artists. They exhibit and sell oneof-a-kind and limited edition works of art, including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, fine glasswork, woodwork, mixed media and photography. There is also an extensive performing arts program, which in the past has featured such acts as Boston Ballet, the Blue Man Group, the Boston Lyric Opera, Chu Ling, BalletRox and World Rhythms. Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park 12pm-6pm www.cityofboston.gov/arts

stage

Dukes of September Rhythm Revue

Events

July 27-August 25 The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

August 24

Boston Pops

Join Keith Lockhart, the Pops and favorite guest vocalists for a celebration of George Gershwin and the creators of the Great American Songbook, including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and Cole Porter. The program also feature’s Gershwin’s classic Rhapsody in Blue. Tanglewood Music Center The Shed Tickets are $55-$500 www.lenoxboxoffice.com

Marie Antoinette

American Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette, directed by Rebecca Taichman in co-production with Yale Repertory Theatre. Marie Antoinette provides a peek into the life of everyone’s favorite representative of the 1 percent — the infamous Queen of France and cake enthusiast. The Loeb Drama Center (617) 547-8300 www.americanrepertorytheater.org

September 29 Idina Menzel

Tony Award-winning actress, singer and songwriter Idina Menzel — star of Broadway’s Wicked, the original stage production of Rent, and the Fox network’s hit television program Glee — will bring her brand new live show to the Wang Theatre. Fans can expect an unforgettable night of hits spanning Menzel’s Broadway and television roles, plus songs from her new CD, Barefoot at the Symphony. Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre Tickets are $45.75-$125.75 www.citicenter.org/idina

2012

Having just won the Obie for Best New American Play, this Pulitzer finalist is as hilarious as it is relevant. Mace is a professional wrestler, and a good one at that. But he isn’t the champion. That would be the impossibly charismatic Chad Deity. Mace discovers a young Indian-American Brooklyn kid whose charisma rivals that of Deity’s. Mace decides to get him a job in the company, unaware of the boss’ plans for the duo! The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a serious-minded comedy about wrestling, geopolitics and raisin bread. The Boston Center for the Arts Calderwood Pavilion Roberts Theatre Tickets are $15-$38 www.BostonTheatreScene.com

Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs return as Dukes of September Rhythm Revue, performing live as one band, on one stage, for one night at the Wang Theatre. This ensemble has taken this tour across the country performing classic rock, R&B and Motown hits from the ’60s and ’70s. The musicians take turns on lead vocals and even perform some of their own hits. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Fagen says that the idea behind the group “…was to play music that we all liked when we were kids — music that made us want to become musicians in the first place.” Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre Tickets are $45.75-$125.75 www.citicenter.org/dukes

September 1-29

Summer

August 9

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around town Celebrating Inspirational Women and Mothers, a benefit for Room to Grow Supporters of Room to Grow celebrated inspirational women and mothers at a benefit breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel on May 7. All guests received a copy of the book Boston, Inspirational Women, by father and daughter photographers Bill Brett and Kerry Brett. Mary Richardson moderated a panel discussion with some of the women featured in the book. Event co-chairs were Linda Holliday and Carol Beggy. Room to Grow provides parents raising babies in poverty with one-on-one parenting support and essential baby items during their children’s critical first three years of development. (Elizabeth Chernack photos)

n Mary Richardson, community liaiso and at Steward Health Care System, associate Melissa Martinez, development at Room to Grow

Robyn Carter, execut ive Mary Richardson, com director of Room to Grow munity liaison at Ste Trish Karter, co-fou ward Health Care nder & CEO of Danci System ng Deer Baking Com Mary Reed, presid pany ent of Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Joanne Jaxtimer, reg Children ional executive at BN Harriet Lewis, vice chair at Grand Circle Y Mellon New England Corporation Wendy Semonian Eppich, publisher of Improper Bostonia Saskia Epstein, CE n O of Room to Grow

Women Executives in Science and Technology WEST (Women Executives in Science and Technology) held their annual Leadership Awards Event on May 3 to honor this year’s awardees: Ellen Zane, former president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center; Pam Reeve, former founder and CEO of Lightbridge and chair of The Commonwealth Institute; Leanna Caron, SVP and GM of Sanofis Aventis’s Regenerative Medicine Business; and Cynthia Gilbert, technologist, patent attorney and founder and CEO of Hyperion Law. (©KeithSpiroPhotography.com photos)

Exhale • Summer 2012

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The Hot Pink Party Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Hot Pink Party at the InterContinental Hotel raised $800,000. Elisha Daniels and Sandy Krakoff were honored with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s 2012 Humanitarian Award. (Michael Blanchard photos)

Madeleine Albright at The Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Institute was pleased to welcome Secretary Madeleine Albright to a sold-out event in Boston. (Rodrigo Blanco photos)

Donna Stearns, Linda Waintrup, Elisha Daniels and Kelley Doyle

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Kelley For Ellie More than 300 guests joined the Ellie Fund for the 6th Annual Kelley for Ellie fashion show on June 4, at the Boston Harbor Hotel’s beautiful Wharf Room. The sold out event, co-hosted by WCVB-TV Channel 5’s Kelley Tuthill and Susan Wornick, featured beautiful fashions by Ports & Company modeled by the newswomen of WCVB-TV Channel 5. Thanks to the generosity of our loyal sponsors and guests, the event raised nearly $90,000 to provide critical support services to local families fighting breast cancer. (Michael Blanchard photos)

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WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP programs Center for Women and Enterprise This nonprofit organization — which focuses on helping women develop their own businesses — features programs and courses for women from all professional levels and racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. CWE offers free and low-cost programs focusing on leadership and professional development. cweonline.org

Emerge Massachusetts The six-month program chooses 20-25 promising Democratic women from its applicant pool for political leadership. They pair each participant with an elected official mentor. Monthly training topics include fundraising, campaign strategy and ethical leadership. emergema.org

Executive Education Women’s Leadership Program at Bentley University The three-month program is comprised of six one-day sessions featuring topics such as executive coaching, strategic leadership and corporate boardroom. The program, developed with mid-tosenior level executives in mind, encourages participants to draw on the program teachings to enhance their current roles while making long-lasting professional connections. executive-education.bentley.edu/ womens-leadership-programoverview

Harvard Business School Executive Education: The Women’s Leadership Forum

Moving from Managing to Leading: The Women’s Program at Babson University

This five-day, intensive program is geared toward senior businesswomen from diverse backgrounds. It features faculty lectures and case studies illustrating how professional women can overcome challenges in leadership. The program offers each participant personalized coaching to identify her own strengths and weaknesses, and to develop a customized action plan. www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/wlf/

This annual five-day program is designed for both transitioning and established executives. The program is geared toward helping women solve the unique challenges of female leadership and develop the skills and confidence to be effective leaders. babson.edu/bee/women

MIT Sloan Executive Education and Sloan Women in Management MIT Sloan offers an array of leadership management programs for women leaders, from two-day courses to customizable executive certificate programs. http://executive.mit.edu MIT Sloan Women in Management is an organization that bolsters educational offerings at Sloan through mentoring opportunities, workshops and recruiting events. www.sloanwomeninmanagement.com

Simmons School of Management and Strategic Leadership for Women

Professionals can choose from a range of programs at the Simmons School of Management, from graduate degree programs to executive education offerings. The intensive four-day Strategic Leadership for Women program gives mid-to-senior level executives the opportunity to enhance their management skills with case study analysis, personalized coaching and group sessions. simmons.edu/som simmons.edu/som/programs/ execed/individuals/strategic/ index.php

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Smith College Executive Education for Women Smith College offers a variety of programs for female leaders, including From Specialist to Strategist for Women in Science, Technology and Engineering; Smith-Tuck Global Leaders Program for Women; and Leading the Business of BioPharma. Participants can also customize their own program for specific needs. smith.edu/execed/

The Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Leadership Program This yearlong program accepts 50 women employed with Chamber member organizations. Beginning with a one-and-a-half-day seminar at the Simmons School of Management, program participants enjoy workshops, roundtables and events that “enhance their leadership skills, engage in the region’s business and civic communities, and develop professional networks that will serve them throughout their careers.” Participants are required to have three to nine years of experience. bostonchamber.com/leadershipdevelopment/womens-leadershipprogram

The Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Institute supports women CEOs, entrepreneurs and senior corporate executives “by helping them grow their businesses and careers.” They offer a number of programs and forums annually, including the Forums for Senior Executive Women, which features six days of professionally facilitated leadership training sessions. commonwealthinstitute.org/cms/ publish/programs

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Professional Development

Top

Leadership Programs for Boston’s Rising Women By Lauren Carter

Boston is home to numerous leadership organizations that cater to professional women. In this issue, we highlight three programs that take a unique approach to fostering success for women in the city. UMass Boston Emerging Leaders Program UMass Boston Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is aimed at developing diverse, civically engaged leaders who practice collaborative leadership styles. The program consists of a weeklong introductory seminar featuring speeches from prominent leaders and skill-building sessions, and monthly forums that include more speakers, skill development and team meetings. While the program’s components are neatly structured, the benefits can be sweeping, said Larissa Fawkner, external relations and communications director. “The impact of the Emerging Leaders Program is much more profound than its leadership methodology or any one skills session,” Fawkner said. “It’s the cumulative transition over many months in one’s perception of their capabilities and their competencies to embrace unknown challenges. “It’s other leaders sharing their experiences and telling them that it’s OK to take a leap of faith, to embrace the unknown and not ‘over-engineer’ your destiny,” she said. “It’s having a day each month where they can dedicate time to their personal and professional goals.” Patricia Quint, senior vice president at Citibank, completed the program in 2007, and said she benefitted from its “high-powered speakers” and diversity of participants that helped her build a far-reaching network — so far-reaching that she was able to connect a client looking to start a nonprofit in Kenya with a program graduate who worked there. “In terms of culturally having that diverse type of network, that’s enriched my life,” she said. “I’m continually meeting the new crowd and 68

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I’ve really embraced the idea that this is my network and it’s up to me to continue to be active in it.” Quint said the program also motivated her to take on more of a mentoring and leadership role with college alumni and younger women in banking, and to become more civically engaged. She now serves on the board of several organizations, including the theater education program Theatre Espresso, and recently agreed to join the ELP program alumni board as a class liaison. On a personal level, Quint said the program boosted her self-confidence and inspired her to pursue the pivotal next step in her career. “I think I had been in the shadow of other people, and maybe relied on other people a little more and hadn’t necessarily taken that lead role,” she said. “I think my biggest accomplishment was building that belief in myself and my skills.”

LeadBoston

LeadBoston was established in 1990 by the Boston Center for Community and Justice to cultivate civic engagement and social responsibility among Boston’s leaders. Annually, 50 executives from corporate, public and nonprofit sectors participate in the 10-month experiential learning program focused on the inner workings of Boston. To gain first-hand knowledge, participants meet with key city leaders and attend retreats.They also visit neighborhoods, public schools, prisons, health centers and and a variety of other public and private organizations to better understand the issues Bostonians face. Sylvia Ferrell-Jones has a unique perspective on the program. She is a 1999 program graduate who later became CEO of YWCA Boston, which acquired LeadBoston in 2011. “I learned a lot about the issues in the city, about the school system, about the haves and the have-nots and ways to level the playing field,” Ferrell-Jones said of her experience. “The program was focused, first of all, on understanding the needs of Bostonians and making connections with people who were interested in improving the fabric of our city.” Ferrell-Jones said the hands-on nature of the program is key, and a standout moment of her experience was meeting with officials and inmates at the Suffolk County House of Correction.

“There was no other time in my life where I sat down and heard from a group of prison inmates, who are human beings with needs, and who will be back in the community in fairly short order and need to learn how to make it,” Ferrell-Jones said. “So that was very powerful.” The program also accelerated Ferrell-Jones’ entrance into the nonprofit sector, a move she made in 2001 — a decade earlier than she’d originally planned. Ferrell-Jones joined YWCA in early 2007 and played an instrumental role in bringing LeadBoston into the fold four years later, recognizing that the missions of both groups naturally meshed. “We work on gender equity, racial equity and social cohesion, and those are really the same issues that the LeadBoston program educates people about,” she said. “At the time, three of our four senior managers at YWCA Boston were LeadBoston alums, so we were very familiar with the program and knew it was a great fit for our own mission. And fortunately, the board of the predecessor organization agreed and enabled YWCA to acquire the program. So it was very exciting for us.”

The Partnership The Partnership has worked with more than 2000 professionals of color and 250 corporations. It includes an Associates program for young professionals, a Fellows program aimed at mid-career professionals who want to expand their leadership capacity, and a Next Generation Executive (NGE) program aimed at turning top multicultural professionals into successful leaders. As part of the NGE program, participants create “challenge statements” in which they identify an area of difficulty in their professional development, and receive regular coaching from members of their group as well as an appointed coach on their particular challenge. “The team coaching dynamic was so incredibly beneficial,” said Minita Shah-Mara, director of diversity and inclusion at the law firm Bingham McCutchen, who completed NGE this year. “I am still continuing the coaching conversations with my team because, while we recognize what we got from the coach, we got just as much from questioning each other.” Shah-Mara said those questions forged a life-long bond. “…[This is] a group that I share personal and professional successes with,” she said. “It’s a group that I think for years will be there to celebrate and coach each other. It’s so powerful to have that group weighing in.” Shah-Mara said the program also taught her the more nuanced, “unwritten rules” of success for high-achieving individuals of color, and helped her to maintain a long-term perspective in day-to-day operations. “I think the organization really helped me to lift up my head and be more strategic while doing the work, understanding that it’s going to take vision and strategic work as well as networking to be successful,” she said. “The Partnership never felt like additional work. The return on investment I got through that program was so significant…”

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Professional Development

Sally Ourieff, MD, executive, leadership and board advisor and consultant.

Benefits of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace Emotional intelligence is the single most important factor to help propel people forward in the world. Studies show that it accounts for 85 percent of leadership success. Technical and functional skills, along with business expertise, are crucial and necessary for success. But they are not sufficient. When first starting a job, people are usually hired because of their expertise and experience in a given area. Those abilities often account for promotions. However, as those successes continue to build, people frequently land in a position where they find themselves short on the very skills they need most. It is the old “Peter Principal” in which capable people ultimately rise to the “level of their incompetence.” At this point, people either develop new lead-

Exhale • Summer 2012

ership skills, or they end up stumbling. In many fields, success leads to managing more people. Intellect, financial acumen, marketing instincts or computer skills are not beneficial when individuals spend most of their time dealing with “people” issues — leaders with the strongest emotional intelligences thrive the most. Leadership is a combination of vision and execution. Execution depends on impact, influ-

ence, ability to achieve buy-in and strength in building the relationships that help manifest one’s vision. These abilities depend on emotional intelligence, which can be learned and acquired. Imagine a young woman, Sarah, who is a rising star in her company. She has been promoted to a position of leadership and now finds herself overseeing a large, complex team. She has a background in both engineering and business, and her intelligence has taken her far. But in her new position, she is overwhelmed with a constant barrage of difficulties between team members, a lack of mutual support within the group, negativity and friction. “They are driving me crazy,” she says. “Individually they are each incredibly capable and great at what they do. But working together seems impossible and they end up coming to me to solve all their problems. They spend more time competing than supporting and working with each other. I am supposed to be leading, but I feel like the babysitter.” She needs to hone her emotional intelligence to better manage herself and her team. She had to better understand the team dynamics, including her own role in the group. Sarah couldn’t quite figure out what was driving their competitiveness and individual insecurities. She also hadn’t taken the time to figure out how to leverage the strengths that underlay their differences, instead of allowing their differences to bring the team down. She needed to guide her team to establish ground rules for their everyday interactions and behavior. She also needed to work with them to create a vision and strategy that would unite their efforts. Emotional intelligence should be central in professional development. It involves four primary domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Within each of these, there is a set of competencies that provide a foundation for managing the complicated issues of everyday work (and home) life. Here are a few questions to ask yourself about emotional intelligence:

Are you aware of your emotions and what they are signaling to you? Emotions provide us with vital information about what is going on in our world. It takes awareness to be able to experience a wide variety of emotions, understand their impact and use them to guide decisions that benefit both the immediate situation and the big picture.

Do you have an accurate assessment of yourself? Acknowledge your strengths and limitations. Ask for help and see setbacks as learning opportunities. Humor and the ability to laugh at yourself are essential. An accurate self-assessment builds grace under pressure, a confident presence and the willingness to take on tough challenges.

What are qualities that help you cope and manage throughout the day? Your success relies on specific qualities, such as being trustworthy and transparent in your dealings with others. Try to be flexible, achievement-oriented and take the initiative. Remain optimistic and calm even in the face of pressure.

How aware are you of the emotions and dynamics going on in the people around you? Strong emotional intelligence means that you perceive the emotions, needs and concerns of those in your world. You pick up on emotional cues and value the importance they play in getting work done. You use empathy to connect, appreciate the efforts of others and relate to people in a genuine and real manner.

Can your experiences Help you manage relationships and teams? Having insight and understanding is only half the equation. The other half is being able to use it to inspire, influence and develop your co-workers. In relationship management, if you have high emotional intelligence, you stay focused on doing things in the service of your organization and are able to rise above territorial and unproductive self-serving behavior. You resolve conflicts in a steady, thoughtful manner and can be a positive catalyst even in the face of opposition. No one has all the competencies that comprise high emotional intelligence. But if you want to continue to develop it, prioritize acquiring the skills you need most. Those skills will guide you well in the most complex work environments.

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RESOURCES Association for Women in Communications The Association for Women in Communications is an organization that enables women in communications to network with others in their profession. By positioning its members at the forefront of the ever-evolving communications field, they are opening up access to smart career moves and important contacts. www.womcom.org

Athena PowerLink Program Since 1999, the ATHENAPowerLink® Program has been helping women-owned businesses expand profitably through the use of professional advisory panels. The proven mentoring process “links” a business with a volunteer panel of advisors recruited from the local community. www.southshorechamber.org/Athena

Bentley’s Center for Women and Business The challenges posed by today’s global marketplace make the inclusion of women in leadership positions an economic imperative. Bentley’s Center for Women and Business seeks to lead a global conversation about that imperative and to develop effective solutions for change. www.cwb.bentley.edu

The Boston Club The Boston Club is an organization of top women executives and professional women committed to developing, promoting and recognizing women leaders. www.thebostonclub.com

Boston Women in Finance Formerly known as The Financial Women’s Association of Boston, Boston Women in Finance (BWF) was started by a group of eight Wall Street women. They encourage women to seek career opportunities in finance and business. BWF represents women from across the business spectrum, including retail and investment banks, brokerage houses, biotech, high-tech, mutual fund and insurance companies, accounting and consulting firms and academic institutions. www.bostonwomeninfinance.org

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Center for Women and Enterprise/Community Entrepreneurs Program Established in 1995, the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women start and grow their own businesses. CWE is a national leader among women’s business development agencies. CWE’s mission is to empower women to become economically selfsufficient and to prosper through business and entrepreneurship. www.cweboston.org

Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston The center is committed to advancing women’s participation in public life. We recognize the talent and potential of women from every community. Guided by the urban mission of an intellectually vibrant and diverse university in the heart of Boston, we seek to expand the involvement of women in politics and policies that affect them, their families and their communities. www.umb.edu/cwppp

The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, Babson College The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership’s mission is to distinguish the best practices for women’s entrepreneurial leadership. They target women at all professional levels, stressing educational excellence, innovative professional development, outreach and research. www.babson.edu

The Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Institute’s mission is to support women CEOs, entrepreneurs and senior corporate executives by helping them grow their businesses and careers. They strive toward this goal by focusing on peer mentoring and support. www.commonwealthinstitute.org

Downtown Women’s Club South Shore Chapter This network, now known as Connecting Women and Business, is great for people wanting to share information about their businesses, establish relationships and connections for work, finding a new job, referring a potential source of information or client, having fun mingling and just getting out. www. i-network.biz

Golden Seeds Golden Seeds has many constituents, including members of its angel network, limited and general partners of its funds, entrepreneurs and staff. All share the goal of obtaining high investment returns. Golden Seeds does this through empowering women entrepreneurs, emphasizing diversity and creating a positive investment environment for all participants. www.goldenseeds.com

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce — Women’s Leadership Program In collaboration with the Simmons School of Management, the chamber has established the Women’s Leadership Program.The yearlong Women’s Leadership Program provides a select group of emerging female professionals (3-9 years of experience) with opportunities to enhance their leadership skills, engage in the region’s business and civic communities and develop professional networks. www.bostonchamber.com

National Association for Moms in Business Mothers influence everything — from what we eat to the way we dress to what we drive. Of the 82 million moms in the United States, 74 percent work and 80 percent control household purchasing decisions for an average of three or more people — and spend nearly $2 trillion annually. Today’s mom drives our economy, and the National Association for Moms in Business is the association that represents her. www.mibn.org

National Association for Female Executives With 250,000 members and 400 local networks, NAFE is the largest businesswomen’s organization in the United States. They are dedicated to advancing women in the workplace through education, networking and public advocacy. www.nafe.com

National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. The NANBPWC provides opportunities for women to enhance leadership skills and raise awareness of issues impacting the black community. Founded in 1935, it materialized as a national nonprofit organization that promoted and protected the interests of women business owners and professionals. www.nanbpwc.org

National Association of Women MBAs

Society of Women Engineers

The National Association of Women MBAs is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and propelling them into leadership positions in corporate America. To accomplish its mission, NAWMBA focuses its efforts in four key areas: education, professional development, networking and collaboration. www.mbawomen.org

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a nonprofit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering and to be recognized for their life-changing contributions as engineers and leaders. www.sweboston.org

New Economics for Women Committed to reducing poverty by increasing wealth opportunities for women and children, NEW measures their impact by the specific impacts they make on families. From finding someone a safe place to live to helping start a business, NEW provides women with hope for the future. www.neweconomicsforwomen.org

SCORE SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. Their work is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and thanks to a network of 13,000+ volunteers, SCORE is able to deliver services at no charge or at very low cost. www.score.org

U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Women’s Business Ownership The Office of Women’s Business Ownership’s mission is to establish and oversee a network of Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) throughout the United States and its territories. Through the management and technical assistance provided by the WBCs, entrepreneurs — especially women who are economically or socially disadvantaged — are offered comprehensive training and counseling on a vast array of topics in many languages to help them start and grow their own businesses. www.sba.gov

Simmons School of Management Since 1973, the award-winning Simmons School of Management has prepared young women and future entrepreneurs for a bright career in business. Women are prepped to be exceptional leaders and exit the school ready to lead in Fortune 500 corporations, entrepreneurial ventures, governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations. www.simmons.edu/som

Springboard Venture catalyst Springboard Enterprises is the premier platform where entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts meet to build great women-led businesses. Springboard educates, sources, coaches, showcases and supports high growth companies seeking equity capital for expansion. www.springboardenterprises.org

WEST Advancing Women in the Business of Science and Technology Launched in 2000, the WEST organization provides a forum for women in science and technology industries to network and share information about career advancement and skill development. www.westorg.org

Women’s Business Enterprise National Council The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), founded in 1997, is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled and operated by women in the United States. www.wbenc.org

The women’s center The Women’s Center is a community resource, to be used and contributed to by as many women as possible. The center’s goals are to foster empowerment and social justice in a multicultural space that is safe, warm, respectful and comforting to all women and their children. We strive to provide healing opportunities; celebrate women’s voices, victories and survival; and encourage women to become advocates for themselves and others. www.cambridgewomenscenter.org

Women Impacting Public Policy

Women Impacting Public Policy is a national bipartisan public policy organization that advocates for and on behalf of women in business. www.wipp.org

2020 Women on Boards In 2010, two women were motivated by the lack of representation of women on corporate boards and the fact that the numbers were not increasing. They created a nonprofit organization that would concentrate on mobilizing stakeholders, from the consumer to the boardroom, to get involved and raise these numbers. 2020 Women on Boards focuses on educating all people of the importance of this issue. www.2020wob.com

Young Black Women’s Society

The Young Black Women’s Society, Inc. (YBWS) leads and empowers women and girls of color, helping them to develop their personal and professional lives. They provide tools and access

through social activities, professional development, civic engagement, leadership development and mentoring. YBWS currently has 70 active members from the Greater Boston Area, ranging from ages 24-44, representing a wide variety of professions and industries. www.ybws.org or e-mail info@ybws.org

Younger Women’s Task Force

The YWTF is a nationwide movement dedicated to organizing younger women in their 20s and 30s to take action on issues that matter to them. Featuring women who have asserted themselves in their community and at work, they encourage this young generation to continue to break the glass ceiling and promote their own unique agenda. www.ywtf.org

YWCA Founded in 1866, YWCA Boston is America’s

first YWCA. For more than 140 years, YWCA Boston has worked to eliminate racism and empower women. Today’s YWCA provides critical services in the community. They include mobile health and wellness education for women and girls; breast cancer survivor support; adult interracial community dialogues; youth/police dialogues; and financial literacy programs for women. YWCA Boston sponsors Boston’s Academy of Women Achievers and an annual, city-wide Stand Against Racism Day. YWCA provides housing for single women at its Berkeley Residence. www.ywcaboston.org

exhalelifestyle.com

Q&A

Inside the

Boston Chamber of Commerce Q Can you describe the role that the Chamber plays in the Boston business community?

The Greater Boston Chamber is a business association representing approximately 1,500 businesses of all sizes from virtually every industry and profession in our region. For the past 100 years, the Chamber has focused on enhancing our region’s long-term competitiveness by driving economic growth, advancing an impactful advocacy agenda and developing a new generation of leaders. We are an important resource to our members for strategic networking, advocacy and leadership development. Our advocacy agenda is designed to help create jobs and renew the Massachusetts economy through a focus on tax competitiveness, workforce development, reform and economic development. The Chamber Leadership Initiative connects our members to the brightest minds at MIT, Harvard, Suffolk and Simmons. It is designed to provide our members with critical skills and professional relationships at all career levels.

Q Has there been an increase

in the number of Boston-based businesses in the last 10 years? If so, in what types of industries do you see the greatest growth?

The Chamber’s membership encompasses the entire Greater Boston region. In Greater Boston alone, there are more than 122,000 business establishments. Despite a recent challenging economy, this number has grown over the past 10 years. Growth areas for the state continue to be in the health care and life sciences, higher education and high tech sectors. Leisure and hospitality has been growing as the area attracts an increasing number of business and leisure travelers from across the world. Boston in particular remains a financial services capital and this leadership is expected to continue.

Q What percentage of the

businesses are owned by women? Have you seen an increase 74

Exhale • Summer 2012

Katy O’Neil is executive vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. In her role, O’Neil is responsible for programs and events, sponsorship, member retention and business development.

or decrease in the number of women-owned businesses?

Women have established a strong track record as business owners. As reported by the American Express OPEN Forum “State of Women-Owned Business Report,” women-owned firms have done better than their male counterparts over the past 14 years. Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased by 50 percent since 1997. In Massachusetts, the increase has been 31.1 percent — very strong, but placing Massachusetts 39th out of the 50 states. Women do tend to own smaller businesses than their male counterparts and are often drawn to service businesses, including health care, educational services, professional services and retail. Beyond the private sector, women also gravitate towards nonprofit and charitable organizations, often becoming executive directors and presidents at these organizations.

Q What percentage of women make up the board and the top management of the Chamber?

A little more than 18.5 percent of our board of directors are women and 33 percent (or 2 of 6) members of the Chamber’s senior management team are women. We are a supporting organization to 2020 Women on Boards and believe that advocating for more women on boards is an important initiative.

Q What prompted the creation

of the Women’s Leadership Program? Of the participants in the Executive Leadership Institute and in the Boston Future Leaders, what percentage were women?

The creation of the Women’s Leadership Program was driven by a belief that there was an unmet need for leadership development programs for emerging women. Young women professionals flock to the Chamber’s monthly Women’s Network Breakfasts. These professionals continuously ask for new leadership opportunities and the chance to connect and learn from peers in other environments. It is one of

our most popular programs. Of the other leadership programs offered by the Chamber, 31 percent of the Executive Leadership Institute participants are women and 41 percent of the Boston’s Future Leaders participants are women.

Q One of the biggest chal-

lenges for companies is capital. The MassChallenge was created to address the issue for startups. What is the Chamber doing to assist its members in finding access to capital?

There are many organizations that are focused on linking business owners to capital. The Chamber does not specifically seek to link members with capital. However, one of the benefits of our many program offerings is that we provide our members the opportunity to make strategic connections with each other in a broad range of settings.

Q What are the big issues

that women face in the business community and how is the Chamber leading the way to address these issues?

I often hear that the biggest challenges facing women in the business community are business visibility, the development of personal strategic networks, attraction and retention of employees, and personal time constraints. To help address these challenges, the Chamber hosts monthly breakfast forums that spotlight the accomplishments of leading professionals and promote the significant impact that women have made on the Greater Boston region. We also hold quarterly best practices seminars for women and men designed to help our members tackle these challenges and all aspects of business, including sales and marketing, negotiation, strategic planning, employee development and retention, and time management. Check out the Boston Chamber at bostonchamber.com, or call Katy directly at 617-557-7306.