Fairfield Living Magazine, May/June 2018

TEENS AND ANXIETY: The High Cost of Pursuing Perfection

MAKING IT WORK: Job Skills for People with Challenges

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MAY/JUNE 2018 | $5.95

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ANGELA PANTALONE DOG EXPERT AND OWNER OF WAG CENTRAL

FAMILY Bringing Your NEW PUP Into YOUR HOME

D I SCOVE R THE WO RL D OF VI N CE .

A C ASUA L U ND ER STAT E D A P P ROAC H TO LUXU RY.

WESTPORT

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HUNTINGTON

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MITCHELLS.COM

CONTENTS MAY/JUNE 2018

FEATURES

44 | The Anxious Generation

Teens are under a lot of pressure these days. And when it gets to be too much, it can tip to debilitating anxiety and depression. We talk to area professionals about what parents need to look for and why this generation is uniquely at risk.

BY TIMOTHY DUMAS

To Have and to Hold YOUR POCKET WEDDING PLANNER

From brides and bridegrooms to the wedding party and party-goers, this is the season of flowers, gifts and love tokens. Here’s your guide to making it a dream come true.

DEPARTMENTS 10 | EDITOR’S LETTER 13 | STATUS REPORT Buzz: Southern Tide • An expert’s advice on dog adoption • Work for adults with disabilities or economic disadvantages: Woofgang & Co., The Pilot House, Kennedy Center, Park City Honey, Fairfield Women’s Exchange and Brett Lauren • Brunello Cuccinelli at Mitchells • Imperfect Hearts • White wine from the Loire Valley • Talking about “Me Too” Shop: Wedding season florals Go: Grandparent and grandkid travels • Range Rover Play: SHU Baseball’s P. J. DeFilippo

33 | VOWS 37 | PEOPLE & PLACES 42 | F INANCE FIX Mark Ritter on market volatility

62 | D ON’T MISS THIS Events around town

63 | INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 64 | T RIBUTE Expert wedding planner BRYAN RAFANELLI

ON THE COVER: ANGELA PANTALONE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA GARCIA

FAIRFIELD LIVING MAY/JUNE 2018, VOL. 8, NO. 3 FAIRFIELD LIVING (ISSN 2163-7555) is published bimonthly by Moffly Media, Inc., 205 Main St., Westport, CT 06880. Periodical postage paid at Westport, CT, and additional mailing offices.

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RAFANELLIEVENTS

A farewell to our cofounder Jack Moffly

HEY, CANCER. NOW IT’S TWO AGAINST ONE. MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING PHYSICIANS NOW AT NORWALK HOSPITAL

United against cancer. Now, Memorial Sloan Kettering medical and radiation

oncologists are onsite at Norwalk Hospital — leading and delivering team-based care alongside Norwalk Hospital’s own cancer experts. It’s a powerful collaboration that

offers both advanced science and highly personalized care. And, for patients, that adds up to more than a fighting chance. For more information, visit MSKatNorwalk.org.

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On the go or online at home, you can easily reach our coverage of interesting people, stylish finds and fashion, fun things to do, new restaurants, and more, more, more. All the fun’s at fairfieldlivingmag.com. See you there!

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PHOTOGRAPHS: EAT: THE SPREAD BY JULIE BIDWELL; PEOPLE:NEAR & FAR AID GALA BY BIG PICTURE/MARILYN ROOS; HOME: SUSAN MACLEOD INTERIORS BY NEIL LANDINO, JR.; GO: RANGE ROVER VELAR, CONTRIBUTED; SHOP: ANTHROPOLOGIE, CONTRIBUTED; BUZZ: MAY LINDSTROM, CONTRIBUTED

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INSPIRING OTHERS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Amy Vischio EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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MASTER’S DEGREES IN EDUCATION

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Camilla A. Herrera–STAMFORD Kathryn Satterfield–NEW CANAAN•DARIEN•ROWAYTON COPY EDITORS

Meaghan Casey, Terry Christofferson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Timothy Dumas, Beth Cooney Fitzpatrick, Chris Hodenfield, Elizabeth Keyser, Scott Thomas EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

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art SENIOR ART DIRECTOR

Venera Alexandrova SENIOR ART DIRECTOR, STATUS REPORT

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EDITOR’S Letter

DIANE SEMBROT

All in the Family was eager to meet the dog I thought I was going to adopt. An online photo showed off her beautiful pug face, and her description hit all the marks: gentle, quiet, adult, good with kids and cats. But, asked the adoption coordinator, because someone else has put in an application for her, would I like to meet Chandler? The door opened and in bolted a half dachshund/half mini-mystery ball of youthful energy. He darted to my feet, let his body melt against my legs, and thwapped his long tail comically against the floor. My teenage daughter, sitting beside me, let out an “Awwhhh” that meant we had found the dog for us.

This moment came after eighteen months of visiting shelters, reading numerous articles and posts about rescues, and asking dozens of questions. We also visited Wag Central. As the name implies, it has everything for dogs: boarding, grooming, training, socialization, even swimming. As canine novices, we stepped into the world of an expert. Owner Angela Pantalone (see cover) is devoted to dogs and, as I learned during a tour, has created a center that considers every detail of their well-being. I knew after just two visits, and lots of insights and good advice, that I’d want to share this 10

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place with other dog-lovers in Fairfield.

Before adopting Chandler, I was working with Angela on this issue’s piece about the right way to bring a rescue into the family.

Inside, you’ll find what she shares—mostly, it’s about setting the dog up for success.

A happy home is also about setting our teens up for success. A GPA over 4.0 is great, but what I mean is happy kids who feel secure, loved and motivated. Anyone, parent or not, who has ever found themselves shaking their head at the confusing behavior of the next generation should read Timothy Dumas’s article “The Anxious Generation.”

Today’s teens are under extraordinary pressure to have a strategy to impress college recruiters—grades, school activities, varsity athletics—as well as deal with peers, popularity races and ever-present socialmedia demands. Dumas looks at teens trying to cope, yet suffering heart-breaking anxiety—sometimes in silence. This article sheds light on the traps of modern-day living, and it’s an eye-opener. I hope it starts a conversation that leads to relief for the young people in our lives.

dianes@mofflymedia.com

BRUCE PLOTKIN

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BUZZ status report

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SOUTHERN TIDE • RESCUE DOG TIPS • WORK OPPORTUNITIES • MITCHELLS • IMPERFECT HEART • WINE • “ME TOO”

Penelope Off the Shoulder top ($110) and Avery Stripe short ($88) with Bi-Color bag ($110)

Southern Comfort

CONTRIBUTED IMAGES

D

id we in Fairfield County think we owned the market on colored polos, seersucker bow ties and pink shifts? Southern Tide, a clothing company from South Carolina, says no and counters, boastfully, with, “Hold my Mint Julep, I got this.”

Southern Tide lands on our shores

The clothing company— comprising equal parts comfortable, preppy clothes and accessories, aspirational lifestyle allure and Southern charm—was founded by Polo-perfectionist Allen Stephenson in 2006. Alas, not here, but in Greenville,

a small city far inland from the South Carolina coast.

Yet, the brand’s blue fish logo and coastal-appropriate/ vacation-ready clothing, footwear and accessories for men, women and children runs to the sea as naturally as rainwater. From “weathered” red hoodies to “salt-faded” blue windbreakers, Southern Tide feels authentically upscale beach-town prep.

Stephenson has an eye for high-quality and, luckily for shoppers, gets obsessive about blending classic style with contemporary influences.

A free-standing Southern Tide signature store now calls Westport home. After fifteen years in business, Amy and Marc Cesaratto—owners of Splash of Pink—caught the Southern Tide wave and landed retail space in the Playhouse Square to stock the entire men’s and youth AT THE HELM

CHRISTOPHER HEYN CEO & SOUTHPORTER

UPDATING CLASSICS

A RAINBOW OF COLORS

STACK THE DECK The brand’s classic Skipjack Polo ($79.50 each) comes in many colors, with slimmed two-button placket and a refined collar—and cute logo.

collections, as well as the newly launched women’s line.

“We truly feel that Southern Tide will excite Westport and the surrounding communities now and well into the future,” says Amy. Find it at 275 Post Rd. E., Westport; southerntide.com.

“We are bringing that southern state of mind to the tri-state area. As a brand, we are ecstatic to see a store opening up in Connecticut, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Amy and Marc Cesaratto on this venture.

They have excellent experience in the market, and we can’t wait to see what they do.”

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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BUZZ

Wag

Dog

the

Angela Pantalone is ready to make your dog’s day at Wag Central

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meet dogs every day from all walks of life— young little pups carefully chosen from breeders, adolescent dogs who need to burn off energy, older sugar faces who want to sport their stuff,” says Angela Pantalone. As the owner of Wag Central (wagcentralct.com)—a state-of-the-art doggy daycare that offers day programs for boarding, training, grooming and swimming—her specialty is dog socialization and her business is “the hub of canine social culture.”

That means she knows rescue dogs. Fairfield Living magazine asked for her advice on adopting pups and introducing them to their new family.

Angela Pantalone, founder and owner of Wag Central

FROM THE EXPERT: HOW TO INTRODUCE A NEW RESCUE DOG INTO YOUR HOME “Rescue pups are always an interesting case. Young or old, there are gaps in the dog’s history that we don’t know about. Did the pup come from a mom who was overbred? Was the pup separated from the litter too early without learning how to speak dog? Has the pup been shuffled from shelter to shelter and have issues as a result of the instability? The list

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can go on and on. And behaviors exhibited in the home, in social situations, or integration into a household can be all over the place. It’s admirable, politically correct and socially responsible to adopt a rescue dog. There are so many in need of a good home, who need love and who will give it back unconditionally. Dogs are loyal, love unconditionally, and some would even say are soulmates.”

ANY TIPS ON FINDING A RESCUE DOG? “Get the dog from a respected and reputable rescue. There are so many, and in my experience are run by dedicated, loving people whose first priority is the health, welfare and safety of the dog at present and into the future. There are stringent applications and meetings and sometimes home checks; and if there are other pets in the

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LISA GARCIA

WHAT SHOULD ADOPTERS KNOW ABOUT RESCUES?

BUZZ WELCOME HOME 5 WAYS TO SET UP A NEW DOG FOR SUCCESS

1BLOCK THE NO-GO ZONES

“Gates, blockades, closed doors and crates all help to contain pups in the spaces they are meant to be in.”

2 DOG-PROOF

“Dog-proofing your house isn’t much different from babyproofing. Pick up your shoes, bags, snacks and plates and keep them a good distance away from where the pup can get to them.”

3 LOTS OF CHEWS

“Always have a lot of things that are OK for them to chew on hand. Antlers are a bit pricey, but they last forever and keep pups busy for a long time. I’m also a fan of No-Hide rawhides, which comes in flavors. If your wagger is a destroyer, tough toys are best. Ingesting small bits of plastic or fluff can cause choking or blockages.”

4 DETER BAD CHEWING

“Bitter apple spray tastes yucky and can help deter pups from chewing on table legs, wood or anything else that they shouldn’t.”

5 GET A TRAINER household, meet and greets are a must.”

CONTRIBUTED

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP A RESCUE ADAPT TO A NEW HOME? “Let’s talk a bit about what setting up a dog to succeed means, since we hear this expression a lot. When you welcome a new pup into your home, you expect it to live by certain standards. Perhaps you

don’t want the dog on the couch, or upstairs, or on your counter top. No one wants an Oriental rug to be a dog waste station.

Seriously, you don’t want an anxious dog that chews up your shoes, chair legs or Lillian August couch. And most seriously, you do not want a dog who is aggressive to other dogs and especially to humans. The whys of this are all obscure; we are dealing with a rescue.”

Along with socialization, dogs get out a lot of energy at Wag Central.

There are play areas indoors and out as well as a pool for exercise.

“A reputable trainer can help with teeth showing, aggression, lunging and barking. Word of mouth is the best bet to finding a trainer because of their different philosophies on how to train your dog. The word ‘No!’ works in all philosophies, so use it. Tell the trainer that you have a rescue, and listen to what he or she has to say. If e-collars and pinch collars are not your cup of tea, move on.”

IF IT DOESN’T WORK OUT…

“You are not a failure. Every rescue I’ve ever worked with will take their dogs back. You need to do what’s best for you, your family and, of course, the dog.”

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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BUZZ

Good Buys For Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, support local organizations that hire or train people with disabilities or are economically disadvantaged—it’s real work, real good shopping and real can-do spirit

6 WAYS TO HELP OTHERS DOG TREATS & NOVELTIES

Finding a job after graduating from school is hard enough; now imagine finding one if you have a disability. That challenge inspired WOOFGANG & CO., which hires adults with disabilities to make high-quality, all-natural dog treats and gift items for dog lovers. Co-founders Amy Stern, Kris Burbank and Kelly Maffei tailor the jobs to the interests and strengths of each employee.

The work is meaningful, provides independence and self-worth, and lays the foundation for future employment.

Woofgang’s founders also have a soft spot for pampering pets, hence the focus on selling dog treats (complete with pawprint stamp), leashes, toys and blankets. “Woofgang workers make and package the signature Pupper Nutter Pattie dog treats weekday afternoons at Fairfield’s Bigelow Center for Senior Activities,” says Kris.

The founders have an instinct for getting attention. Woofgang has hosted a dog parade, a St. Patrick’s Day party, a Valentine’s Day Tea and a one-year birthday

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Stop in May 5 for the Mother’s Day event with Shearwater Coffee Bar. A springtime fundraiser with Fairfield University students is also in the works.

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bash for local canine celebrity Piglet (a deaf and blind pink puppy who resembles his big-hearted Winnie the Pooh namesake). “Since launching in October 2017, the nonprofit has partnered with dozens of local businesses to raise awareness of its mission and raise funds,” says Kris. “Local support is vital to our survival.” Volunteers and donations welcomed. Shop: 1300 Post Rd.; woofgangco.org.

The nonprofit creates jobs for young adults with disabilities while providing highquality pet treats and handcrafted novelty items • Social media star Piglet • Co-founders Amy Stern, Kelly Maffei and Kris Burbank

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KYLE NORTON

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JOIN THE FUN!

BUZZ

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Students learn empowering skills at The Pilot House Special Needs Center.

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GIFTS, TREATS, TOTES & MORE

PILOT HOUSE ANTHONY VIDEIRA; OTHERS, CONTRIBUTED

THE PILOT HOUSE special needs

center provides adults who have special needs with the opportunity to develop work skills. The students learn about marketing, sales, production and product design as they create greeting cards, hand-poured soy candles, organic soap, bath bombs, home decor—as well as treats for dogs and horses. So while the students are getting valuable work experience, shoppers are getting adorable handmade items that make great gifts. The center—founded in 2006 by parents of children with special needs—provides programs for promoting selfexpression, social interaction, life skills and artistic abilities. It is located at 240 Colony Street, but it also runs a working farm at 1230 Merwins Lane, where the students participate in a therapeutic horsemanship program and tend to the plants, as well as selling the farm-fresh, locally grown produce. Shop: thepilothouse.org/about-yeswe-can

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HONEY TREATS & A BITE TO EAT

A local beekeeper had a sweet idea: create after-school programs to teach beekeeping skills to kids, ages seven to twelve, in Bridgeport. There are also programs that teach teens, ages sixteen to twenty, about preparing, selling and marketing honey products. THE PARK CITY HONEY CO.’s honey and honey-based foods are available at local farmers’ markets and at The Park City Honey Co. Cafe.

The food at the deli is made by low-income local women, ages sixteen to thirty, who learn food prep as well as insights on the food industry and skills in networking, communication, sales and marketing. The business is located at 130 John Street, Bridgeport, and the hives are in Fairfield and Bridgeport. Shop: parkcityhoney.net; parkcityhoney cafe.com Park City Honey is from local beehives.

BABY GIFTS, FOOD & MORE

Since 1962 THE FAIRFIELD WOMEN’S EXCHANGE in downtown Southport has supported the needs of women and children. Exchanges were founded in 1832 to help impoverished women find a way to help themselves, and exchanges began popping up across the country. Today, the shop is a landmark for locals, who find timelessly tasteful gifts, such as children’s clothing and toys, home décor, art, jewelry and specialty foods—many by artisans from around the world.

This not-for-profit organization, run by volunteers, continues its tradition of providing a showcase for artists and donating proceeds to charities that promote the well-being of women and children. Shop: 332 Pequot Ave.; thefairfield exchange .com

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CALENDARS & CARDS

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BRACELETS & MORE

BRETT LAUREN jewelry is

handcrafted with a purpose: Each piece is hand-assembled in San Diego by women employed from local residential homeless shelters. “Fashion can certainly have a conscience,” says founder Brett Krugman, “and that’s a beautiful thing.” Crediting the support from the women in her life, Brett founded her business in 2014 and sells her jewelry at boutiques and trunk shows across the country. A portion of the proceeds from each trunk show is donated to a charity of the host’s choice.

In Fairfield, she partners with End Allergies Together (E•A•T; endallergiestogether.com)—the only nonprofit solely committed to funding food allergy research.

Since May 2015 E.A.T. has committed more than $1.2 million.

“I have been welcomed into the lives and homes of some amazing ladies who I am proud to now call friends,” says Brett, who created a line to support E•A•T. Shop: brettlauren.com Handmade Brett Lauren bracelets

THE KENNEDY CENTER is open for business, selling gift items created by its residents. Each month is filled with color and creativity expressed by the center’s artists, and proceeds benefit its arts therapy program.

The center was founded in 1951

by Evelyn Kennedy and twelve other parents who challenged the status quo by establishing an educational and support system for their children with special needs and disabilities. Going strong today with a residential program, it also runs several skills-training programs, Shop: thekennedycenterinc.org/shop

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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BUZZ “Imperfect Heart” necklace

A COMMUNITY OF HEARTS

There’s more to love of minimalist superstar Brunello Cucinelli

M

room, it is an extension of itchells’ mission is the modern elegance that to tempt local style Brunello Cucinelli is known devotees with elite for and exclusive to us in this fashion lines from around area.” the world, and this familyMitchells is not even takowned store recently did ing a breath before the next just that: It has introduced big upgrade. “This is just a new department for fanthe first step of an extenfavorite Brunello Cucinelli. sive renovation that will be The refined look of the shopbeginning this spring for the ping space, with a personal entire store,” says Mitchellfeel, befits the soothing and Namdar. “We plan to be finsophisticated luxury Italian ished by the end of August— brand. In short, it’s as chic don’t worry, we will be open and cozy as cashmere on a throughout the entire prochilly day. cess. We are so fortunate to “The new Brunello The Brunello Cucinelli department at be able to continue to grow Cucinelli women’s space is Mitchells (top) reflects the refined luxury with our community, and we an environment in which to of the designer (above) look forward to providing the experience the casual luxury of the collection,” says Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, finest-quality products and exceptional customer vice president of marketing and creative services. service in a modern and welcoming environment.”

“From the signature fixtures to the private dressing shop.mitchellstores.com

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The Sheibers are taking on hypoplastic right heart syndrome

CONTRIBUTED IMAGES

Less Is More

In 2016 twins Evan and James were born; and Evan underwent openheart surgery. Doctors could not correct the defect, only treat the symptoms. When he is three, he will have another surgery to improve oxygen saturation in his blood.

His mom, Westporter Britt Sheiber, found support in an unlikely place: spin class.

JoyRide Cycling + Fitness Studio in Westport has hosted fundraisers to benefit Evan’s Heart Fund at Boston Children’s Hospital and to mark National Heart Month and Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. Local jewelry designer, Jennifer Lau, also helped by creating Imperfect Heart necklaces for her line, Genevieve Lau. Find it at Mitchells (shop. mitchellstores .com); with each purchase, a necklace is donated to a family affected by CHD.

French Classics

White wine from the Loire Valley—the refreshing choice for spring and summer

PHOTOGRAPHS: CORKS BY ©EGOR MURIKOV ISTOCK.ADOBE.COM; VINEYARD BY © PEDRO SALAVERRIA ISTOCK.ADOBE.COM; DRINKS BY ©GTRANQUILLITY ISTOCK.ADOBE.COM; OYSTERS BY © YVDAVID ISTOCK.ADOBE.COM; SHRIMP BY ©NIPAPORN ISTOCK.ADOBE.COM; CHEESE BY © KARELNOPPE PHOTOGRAPHY

I

n the heart of France, the valley that surrounds the River Loire and its tributaries is home to some 400 vineyards that produce a good deal of the fresh, light white wine (plus rosés and red wines, too) that we love to enjoy in warmer climates. Known as the “Garden of France,” the Loire Valley is a cool region with long, warm autumns, where the rivers create microclimates among slopes of chalk and flint, and river banks of clay. As a result, it is one of France’s great wine-making areas, producing a variety of styles that match well with seasonal menus. Whether you’re dining out or hosting dinner al fresco, wine experts share some intel for your next pairing pleasure. —Elizabeth Keyser

LOCAL EXPERTS’ FAVORITES Tony Capasso

General Manager Gabriele’s Italian Steakhouse Greenwich

“The COMTE LAFOND SANCERRE is truly a special occasion white, with layers of flavor and complexity associated with better white burgundies.”

“SAUVIGNON BLANC pairs with full-bodied fish in citrus and white wine sauces, although some of the better ones like MAISON IDIART go well with Livornese preparations, which use capers, olives and cherry tomatoes to accent the sauce.”

David Nelson Owner Ten Twenty Bistro Darien

“Regarding SANCERRE and POUILLY-FUMÉ, the mineral notes in both tame the fruit of the Sauvignon. Either are perfect with any of our simple fish preparations, Spinney Creek Maine steamers or steamed lobster.”

“MUSCADET is a perfect oyster wine. Many say better than champagne. It’s the minerality in both that complements our large selection of raw oysters.”

The Fantastic Four

BUZZ PARTY PLANNER White Wine Pairings A few suggestions for guaranteed soirée success Cheers!

Start your gathering by toasting with a glass of sparkling Crément de Loire.

Raw Bar Sip a minerally Muscadet while slurping oysters on the half shell.

The inside story on grapes from the “Garden of France”

1

Melon de Bourgogne

It’s from the Muscadet region, where the Loire meets the Atlantic Ocean.

It boasts brisk, fresh, mineral flavors.

2

Chenin Blanc

There are many expressions of this grape grown in the

central regions of Tourraine in Vouvray, Anjou and Saumur; it is sparkling, sweet or bone dry.

3

Cabernet Franc

4

Sauvignon Blanc

First Course Share a conversation over a juicy Sancerre and shrimp avocado salad.

The red of the region.

For those of you who prefer reds and rosés, they are produced in Anjou and Chinon, which pair well with seafood stews.

The “ambassadors” of this familiar grape, with its crisp, grassy, and citrus flavors, are Sancerre, which balances fruit, body, minerals and acidity, and Pouilly-Fumé, which is richer and more full-bodied.

Best For Last Savor a sweet Chenin Blanc with a cheese plate for a refined dessert.

Elizabeth Keyser has written about beer, wine and spirits for newspapers, magazines and blogs. She has sat on the Yankee Brew News tasting panel and judged craft and European brew contests.

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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BUZZ

Talk How the #MeToo movement is changing the conversation at home and school for the better

L

ast fall, #MeToo entered the national lexicon and has been driving the conversation about sexual assault and harassment ever since.

The issue is no less relevant in Fairfield County, where local organizations have seen a jump in calls and walk-ins by victims seeking help. This increase is good news, as 60 percent of sexual assault cases go unreported nationally, says Deb Greenwood, president and CEO of The Center for Family Justice (CFJ). “The movement is empowering,” Greenwood says. “It’s allowing so many

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people to come forward.” CFJ, which serves six towns including Bridgeport, Fairfield and Monroe, reports a 52 percent increase in calls to its domestic violence and sexual assault hotlines. Similarly, says Quentin Ball, executive director of The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education, “we have seen a 20 to 30 percent increase in clients.” The Stamford-based Center provides free programs and services to eight towns from Greenwich to Westport.

For both centers, community and educational

HOME WORK

The reinforcement at home is so important,” Deb Greenwood of the CFJ says. “As parents, we need a toolbox.”

Here, she offers tips and some talking points.

THAN GIRL TALK >It’sMORE crucial to talk to boys also, not only because men and boys can be allies in the effort to end harassment and abuse, but because they also can be victims.

KEEP IT AGE-APPROPRIATE >When tackling these sensitive subjects, remember to tailor the talk to your child’s age and developmental stage.

CONSENT >TellTEACH kids that they have the absolute right to say no—and yes, even change their minds—about things that make them feel uncomfortable as they begin to develop romantic relationships.

OPEN UP ABOUT SECRETS >Perpetrators of sex crimes and abusers are often master manipulators who use all kinds of tactics to keep their victims quiet.

Stress to your child that if they see or experience abuse, they need to tell a trusted grown-up. If that person doesn’t believe them, they need to tell someone else.

GOOD EXAMPLE >YouSETareAyour children’s most important role model; treat others with respect and call out inappropriate behavior when you see it.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ©VADIMGUZHVA ISTOCK.ADOBE.COM

Tough

outreach are essential. Ball says the #MeToo movement has focused a spotlight on the issue. “So many organizations are interested in learning what all this means and what they can do,” she says. The Center offers age-appropriate educational programming for grades K–12. CFJ has programs in high schools that teach prevention and healthy relationships, among other things.

Also, they recently partnered with Sacred Heart University on the #MenCareToo initiative. Ball and Greenwood say that involving men is key to prevention and change.

In related news, Senate Bill No. 17 was introduced in February to the Connecticut General Assembly. Described as, “An act promoting fairness in access to information, support and justice for sexual assault victims,” it lengthens the amount of time a victim has to report a crime, among other things. “Prior to this national spotlight, it was really difficult to advance that the statute of limitations needed to change,” says Ball.

Even the conversation about sexual harassment and assault is evolving. “We’re talking more about the continuum of sexual violence. Currently, there’s no criminal recourse for sexual harassment,” Ball says. “We’re trying to raise awareness that everything on that continuum is unacceptable and harmful. We need to work with the legal system to address how it’s handled.”

—Kathy Satterfield

Dr. David Lomnitz, MD HEART CARE

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SHOP

status report

WEDDING GUEST LOOKS 1

by megan gagnon

2

1. Parker

Fillipa combo dress; $448; parkerny.com

3

2. Marco Bicego

18k yellow gold and mixed blue topaz bracelet from the Jaipur Color collection; $1,360.

Henry C. Reid & Son Jewelers, Fairfield; 203-255-0447; hcreidjewelers.com

Best

Guest

3. Nicholas

Mayflower maxi dress; $750. intermixonline.com

4. Smythe

Wrap fitted blazer; $595.

West, Westport, 203-557-4157; west2westport.com

Get RSVP-ready with summer wedding staples

5. Mar Y Sol

Giselle clutch; $110.

The Beehive, Fairfield, 203-955-1122; thebeehivefairfield.com

6. Sachin & Babi

Chacha earrings; $250.

Fred, Westport, 203-349-5167; thefredshop.com

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7. Fendi

Camelia two-band sandal; $895. Mitchells, Westport, 203-227-5165; mitchellstores.com

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IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGNERS/BRANDS

6

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: BOB CAPAZZO, KRISTIN HYNES, MELANI LUST & MARSIN MOGIELSKI

PHOTOGRAPHY

VIDEOGRAPHY

SOCIAL MEDIA

Moffly Media is one of the leading providers of professional event photography and marketing services in Fairfield County.

We capture compelling, high-quality images of individuals and groups at meaningful events. With our wide range of capabilities from video to social media, Moffly will customize a marketing program that’s just right for you.

LEARN MORE! CONTACT KATHLEEN GODBOLD AT KATHLEEN.GODBOLD@MOFFLY.COM OR 203.571.1654

GO

status report

GRANDPARENT/GRANDCHILD TRAVEL • RANGE ROVER VELAR

Grand TRIPS And by grand we mean grandparents and grandkids

T

he first time I crossed a jet bridge, my grandmother was by my side. The year was 1977, I had never been on a plane. The airline was Hughes Airwest, the planes were banana yellow and the flight attendants were groovy. From that moment on I was hooked; travel was in my soul.

Our founding editor, Donna Moffly, also fell in love with fabulous hotels at the knee of her grandmother. In order to cure her sinuses, her grandmother whisked fiveyear-old Donna off to Arizona

left: Hughes Airwest “The Big Banana” from the 1970s. above: little Donna Clegg with her grandmother in front of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, 1941

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BY KIM-MARIE EVANS

PREMIER CHAMPION of Hope

GRANOFF ARCHITECTS

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PARTNERS of Hope

A F T E R TA L K B AY WAT E R P R O P E R T I E S MICHAEL AND SUE BODSON BREGAL INVESTMENTS EDGEHILL G R E E N W I C H H O S P I TA L GREENWICH MEDICAL SPA A M A N D A A N D B R YA N HANSON REGIONAL HOSPICE AND PA L L I AT I V E C A R E W E N D Y S TA P L E T O N R E Y E S A N D T H E S T A P L E T O N F A M I LY F O U N D AT I O N

SUPPORTERS

RANGE ROVER JAGUAR MARY JO AND BILL RIDDLE STERLING CARE STURGES RIDGE O F FA I R F I E L D (BENCHMARK COMMUNIT Y) SUNRISE SENIOR LIVING WAT E R M A R K W E L L S FA R G O P R I VAT E B A N K BARBARA ZACCAGNINI

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KÔ TA , A M O H E G A N L D I ENTERPRISE

S p e c i a l Pe r f o r m a n c e b y ABBY MUELLER S TA R O F B E A U T I F U L: T H E C A R O L E K I N G M U S I C A L

F R I D AY, M AY 1 1 6 : 3 0 – 1 1 : 0 0 P. M .

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Silent and Live Auctions G o l d e n Ti c k e t R a ff l e

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INTERIOR DESIGNS

2018

HORSENECK WINES & LIQUORS, THERESA ROGERS

SHELL & BONES OYSTER BAR & GRILL

AMY AIDINUS HIRSCH

Celebrating Hope

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HELP THOSE IN NEED

CONNECTICUT PHARMACY ELENI AND PETER HENKEL

•

LIVING

T H E B R I S TA L ASSISTED LIVING

T H E Sixth A N N U A L

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MAPLEWOOD SENIOR

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T H E A L Z H E I M E R ’ S A S S O C I AT I O N CO N N EC T I C U T C H A P T E R

•

PRESENTING CHAMPION

AN EVENING TO REMEMBER

funding local programs, services and research

Fo r i n fo r m a t i o n a n d t i c ke t s : a l z . o r g /c t o r 8 6 0 . 8 2 8 . 2 8 2 8

BELIEVE IN A CURE

Celebrating Hope Sponsors

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INSPIRED TO PLAN A GRAND TRIP OF YOUR OWN?

TIPS FROM THOSE WHO’VE BEEN THERE

1

If you’re traveling internationally, get a notarized consent-totravel letter signed by both parents. You won’t always be asked to show it, but you never want to be without it. Even for domestic travel, it’s best to have a notarized letter authorizing you to seek medical care for the child.

Five-year-old Donna with Doc Pardi • Donna atop Chubby

for a monthlong stay. They bunked at the Biltmore (natch), and a dashing gentleman named Doc Pardi delivered a pony to the door of the hotel for young Donna daily.

Perhaps it’s because of memories like these that today’s grandparents have created an entire category of travel all their own. Multigenerational travel has been a top trend for the past five years according to Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel agencies. Though some trips include grown children, many are what the industry has coined “Skip-Gen.” Mom and Dad are left at home while Grandma and Grandpa get a chance to make lifelong memories with the grandkids. Some grandparents set a certain age for the magical trip, giving kids (and parents) something to look forward to and plan. Others tie the 26

FAIRFIELDLIVINGMAG.COM

trip to a milestone. And a few hardy souls make it an annual excursion.

Julia O’Brian of Tauck Tours, based in nearby Wilton, spoke with us about Bridges Tours, designed specifically to meet the unique needs of multigenerational travelers. She tells us that each Bridges journey is crafted around a philosophy of shared enrichment, where family members of different generations build bonds (or bridges) by experiencing the wonders of travel together. These trips don’t include a lot of kids-only or adults-only activities. Instead, adults and children share in sightseeing, activities and the discovery of each destination. She says that about two-thirds of these tours include grandparents, allowing them to hand over all of the planning to the experts and simply enjoy special time with the grandkids.

2 3 4

Be sure to have a copy of the insurance cards and the pediatrician’s phone number.

Don’t be outnumbered; multiple kids are harder to manage. Keep it one-on-one for optimal bonding.

Grandparent survey says that the best age for travel is between nine and fourteen.

Old enough to appreciate it, young enough to not have completely mastered the eye roll.

5 6

Set a budget for souvenirs ahead of time. This will keep the negotiations at every shop along the way to a minimum.

Find out what bedtime rules are implemented at home and have the children stick to them on the trip.

7

Last but not least, agree with the child ahead of time about digital device usage and your willingness to be the subject of their daily SnapChat story.

Presents

2018

www.nearandfaraid.org ww.nearandfaraid.org Targeting Poverty, Changing Lives

SWIM

BIKE

RUN CUMMINGS BEACH S TA M F O R D , C T

SAT JUN 23

5K RUN/KIDS TRIATHLON • FAMILY FEST

SUN JUN 24

RELAY/SPRINT/OLYMPIC TRIATHLON

Free and discounted registrations available. Register and learn more at www.KicItTriathlon.com. Money raised benefits Kids In Crisis, ensuring the well-being of children through vital 24-hour services, for 40 years.

KIC1422_2018_KICIT-Ad-HalfHoriz-R2.indd 1

4/12/18 2:41 PM MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

27

GO

Elegant Bruiser Range Rover’s Velar hits the sweet spot

R

ange Rover knows what you really want, and with the new Velar you get it in a hellacious helping. It’s a heartbreakingly stylish ride that happens to look so tough you expect a squad of commandos to break out of it. At the same time it just reeks of luxury.

That’s some combination.

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screen handles navigation and audio, the lower does the climate and other yeoman duties. Some customers will zip through these screens like they would their smartphone. Others might take longer to adapt.

The lightweight aluminum chassis helps make this rakish bruiser a fine handler. The air suspension turns sharp potholes into vague shadows that you roll past. Passengers will feel like pashas borne aloft on clouds.

There are five trim levels, starting out with relative “econo” models powered RANGE ROVER by either a VELAR P380 You probably won’t workhorse fourscale mountain walls cylinder or a Base Price: in it, like they do in diesel, starting at $65,000 the commercials, but $50,900. You’d Drivetrain: homeowners along probably prefer 3.0-LITER V6, the Connecticut coast the muscular V6 SUPERCHARGED, might be impressed that 380 HORSEPOWER, edition. If zany it’s capable of fording 4WD hyper-power is two feet of water. desired, wait for EPA Mileage The Velar provides Rating: the upcoming sumptuous seating for 18 CITY/ 24 SVR model with four adults. It is way HIGHWAY its supercharged, smaller than the big542-horsepower gun Discovery model, V8, intended and just enough smaller to compete with the German than the Sport model to give bullies down the block. it around-town friendliness.

All Velars come standard The ultra-sleek flash with a sliding, panoramic aesthetics continue inside glass roof. And all Velars with a dashboard that belongs have the look that recalls the in a museum for modern British gentleman’s school of style. There are almost no toughness: The iron fist in a buttons! Replacing these are velvet glove. two display screens; the upper —Chris Hodenfield

to benefit the Norma Pfriem Breast Center Featuring

Jane Seymour with musical guest Brendan Fletcher from "The Voice"

June 6, 2018 Vip Celebrity Champagne Reception: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Luncheon: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Fairfield County Hunt Club, Westport, CT Multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award recipient, acclaimed artist, author and philanthropist.

Lead Corporate Sponsor

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To Purchase Sponsorships or Seats: HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/ROHLUNCHEON2018

PLAY

status report

Home Game

SHU’S P. J. DEFILIPPO

BY SCOTT THOMAS

Infielder P. J. DeFilippo chose to play for a team close to home, and now stands out at Sacred Heart University

S

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home runs and RBIs. Late in the season, he slugged a two-run game-winning homer in a game against Long Island University to help put the Pioneers in the conference playoffs.

“If you want to become a D1 player, nothing will ever be handed to you,’’ DeFilippo says.

“Keep plugging away. Don’t get discouraged. With hard work and dedication, anything is possible.”

“The support I’ve had from my family and friends is outstanding. That is the main reason I wanted to continue at SHU. I wanted to make everybody who helped me get here proud. A local guy from Bridgeport that stuck with the sport is music to my ears.”

HIGHLIGHTS THEN: “My favorite and earliest memory of baseball was when I turned an unassisted triple play for the North End Little League Pelicans!”

NOW: In 2017 against Mount St. Mary’s, DeFilippo ripped four hits, including a grand slam and a three-run homer, and had seven RBIs—the highest singlegame total in the conference.

P. J. De FILIPPO

CONTRIBUTED IMAGES

ome former high school athletes hyperextend themselves racing off to their college destination, only to see their dreams unfulfilled and their once-promising career derailed. P. J. DeFilippo took the other tack, staying near home, embracing his roots. He now finds himself putting the final touches on a career at Sacred Heart University that has seen him grow into an elite Division I ballplayer. “If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose Sacred Heart,’’ DeFilippo says.

P. J. graduated from Fairfield’s Notre Dame High School, where he was a four-year starter and All-State selection in his senior year. He received little attention from Division I colleges, and was not even recruited by the Pioneers. DeFilippo expressed his interest in playing for SHU to former coach Nick Giaquinto.

“He showed up at one my high school games and was impressed with the way I played,’’ DeFilippo remembers.

“It was everything I wanted.

Close to home and a D1 program.”

In 2017, DeFilippo led the Pioneers in batting average,

Attention Best of Winners!

You asked for it and we listened!

We received hundreds of requests on how you can get additional marketing materials and signs to announce YOUR BEST OF WIN! We’re proud to announce Moffly Media’s official Best Of The Gold Coast & Best Of Town ONLINE STORE! Proudly display your win to the community with:

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CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN ON BEING A 2017 WINNER!

2018 PANEL OF JUDGES

awards

2018

JAMES AMAN Aman & Meeks

ERIC COHLER Eric Cohler Design

AMY LAU Amy Lau Design

JOHN MEEKS Aman & Meeks

Deadline Extended: May 14

MARIO NIEVERA Nievera Williams

JENNIFER POST Jennifer Post Design

If you have a project or firm in CT… Go to athomefc.com to find out how to get on the A-list, athome’s premier home design competition!

BRIAN SAWYER Sawyer | Berson

EDWARD SIEGEL Edward Siegel Architect

KEITH WILLIAMS Nievera Williams

VICENTE WOLF Vicente Wolf Associates

9th annual

•

premier home design competition

Last Call for Entries!

Save the Date for the A-list Awards Gala!

Wednesday, September 12 at the Palace Theatre in Stamford.

PRESENTING SPONSORS

VOWS I do!

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| | KATERINA CRAFT AND BRIAN ADAM | |

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GLEN ALLSOP FOR CHRISTIAN OTH STUDIO

W

hen Katerina and Brian met in Mathematics of Art class during their freshman year, everything just added up, and they began dating. Years later, Brian felt it was the right time to ask Katerina to be his partner in life forever. He wanted to propose on the eighteenth green at the Country Club of Fairfield after a full round of golf, but Katerina had no interest in playing on a 90-degree day. Instead, he took her to the beach and asked her to be his wife.

The couple married on a beautiful October day at the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, in a ceremony officiated by Minister Alida Ward. The reception was held at the Country Club of Fairfield. A gorgeous fall sunset over the water added an extra special touch to an evening full of celebration, friends and family.

The bride is the daughter of Donna and Phil Craft of Fairfield. She graduated from St. Lawrence University and works in commercial real estate development.

The groom is the son of Cathy and Bob Adam and also attended St. Lawrence University. He works as a customer success manager.

The newlyweds honeymooned on Jumby Bay Island in Antigua. —Colleen Crowley

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1 First steps as husband and wife 2 Hanging lanterns illuminate the reception 3 The happy couple 4 The bride prepares for the ceremony 5 Artfully arranged tablescape at the reception 6 Simply elegant place settings 7 An autumn sunset lights up the sky.

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MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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VOWS

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4 1 The newlyweds 2 The fun and festive table settings 3 The bride, surrounded by friends on the dance floor 4 The wedding party catches some rays 5 The wedding invitation 6 The bride’s bouquet was bright and bold 7 Walking down the aisle, arm in arm 1

| | DE VIN ABIG AIL C OBB AND K E VIN T HOMAS C OL L ER A N | |

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY RANDY & ASHLEY STUDIOS

D

evin and Kevin attended the same high school in Fairfield, but it wasn’t until they each attended a local party in 2005 that fate intervened. Devin was a junior and Kevin a senior, and they continued dating on-and-off through their college years, as their campuses were a mere mile apart.

During a trip with friends to Narragansett, Rhode Island, the two snuck away and hiked to a nearby attraction known as “The Cliffs.”

Upon reaching the highest point atop the rocks, Kevin got down on one knee and popped the question, after nearly ten years of dating.

The couple were married by Devin’s uncle Garrett Foster in a blissful ceremony beneath the sunshine and palm trees at the Historic Tennis Club in Palm Springs, California, before nearly 100 friends and family.

The bride is the daughter of Dawn and Dwight Cobb of Fairfield.

She graduated from Manhattan College with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and currently works as a senior account executive for Twin Oaks Integrated Marketing in New York City. The groom is the son of Marybeth and Thomas Colleran of West Haven, Connecticut. He graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor’s degree in business and is a senior account executive at Haddad Brands in New York City.

The newlyweds enjoyed a honeymoon in Mexico and reside in Manhattan. —Kendra Wingate F

2013 JAVIER SĂ NCHEZ MINGORANCE-STOCK.ADOBE.COM

CELEBRATE YOUR WEDDING

We welcome wedding announcements together with candid photographs. Weddings should have a current Fairfield family connection and must be submitted within three months of the wedding day.

Regretfully, we are unable to run every wedding submitted.

Send Information to: weddings@fairfieldlivingmag.com Fairfield Living Magazine | 205 Main Street Westport, CT 06880

MOFFLY MEDIA’S

2018

Event Lineup Mark your calendars!

SPRING • SUMMER

7TH ANNUAL

B E ST BARTE N D E R C O NTE ST by

MAGAZINE

2018

June 13 Harbor Point Stamford

May 16

Greenwich Country Club Greenwich

July 19 Hilton Stamford

August 6 Delamar Greenwich Harbor Greenwich

FALL • WINTER

Darien’s

B E ST B A RTE N D E R awards September 12 Palace Theatre Stamford

CONTEST

2018

Presented by NEW CANAAN-DARIEN+ROWAYTON MAGAZINE

September 27 Nielsen’s Florist & Garden Shop Darien

December Westport

7TH ANNUAL

For more information and sponsorships please contact Laurinda Finelli at 203.571.1614 Want to see party pics, videos and more details about the 2018 events? Go to ilovefc.com/events

PEOPLE

by colleen crowley

& Places

FAIRFIELD COUNTY’S COMMUNITY FOUNDATION • PHOTOGRAPHS BY MOFFLY MEDIA’S BIG PICTURE/MARILYN ROOS

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Give Big

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airfield County residents came together online and in person to give where they live through Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Giving Day. The twenty-four hour fundraiser, the region’s largest philanthropic event, raised over $1.4 million in support of 415 local nonprofit organizations. More than 13,000 generous individuals contributed to the campaign, and Bank of America served as the champion sponsor of the event. Since Giving Day’s inception, over $5.9 million has been raised.

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1 Marc Donald, Kristy Jelenik, Meg and Michael Hall, Ian Taylor 2 Dr. Camelia Lawrence, Preston Tisdale, Keisha Domond, Juanita James, Shamare Holmes 3 Catherine Reyes, Peter Konopka, Matthew Bennett, Jehangir Jhan, Ruri Morari 4 Crisbel Vergos, Lauren Cummings 5 Katie Flaherty, Lisa Feld, Carol Heller 6 Lt. Robert Kalamaras, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, Lt. Keith Broderick 7 Carole Schwartz, Rob Pizzella 8 Martha Olson, Briggs Tobin, Jane Lindenburg 9 Doug and Carey Weber

( for more party pics visit fairfieldlivingmag.com )

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PEOPLE &Places

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1 Kelly Scinto, Katerina Powers, Jenny Nelson, Lauren Healy, Kim Meier, Betsy Ewing, Sarah Hale, Kelsey Johnston 2 Extravagent costumes added to the atmosphere 3 Karen Mitchell, Lizzy Mitchell, Georgie McComb, Liza Diffley 4 Addie and Michelle Hogue 5 Pat O’Meara, Cindy Citrone 6 Lolie Mathews, Heather Woodworth, Marlowe Mitchell, Betsy Ewing 7 Emily Gordon, Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, Gabriella Mays, Katia Mead, Jonathan Moffly 8 Jenny Nelson, Bob Mitchell, Kim Meier, Cindy Citrone

| | N E A R & FA R A I D | |

Glitz and Glam

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espite bad weather, patrons bedecked in 1920s-inspired fashion flocked to Near & Far Aid’s A Grand Affair Gala at Mitchells of Westport. The lively sounds of a Harlem jazz band set the tone as guests were greeted with champagne. A live auction, featuring packages for surfing in Costa Rica, reservations at Rao’s, and a seven-day fashion and wine experience in Italy, among others, garnered record-high bids. Proceeds raised from the event make up a large percentage of Near & Far Aid’s total granting budget. Last year, the organization granted more than $1.3 million to agencies and programs in Fairfield County working to support individuals and families living in poverty and providing » opportunities for a better future.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MOFFLY MEDIA’S BIG PICTURE/MARILYN ROOS

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Moffly greenwich half vertical april.qxp_Layout 1 4/5/18 2:27 PM Page 1

THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE MOFFLY MEDIA

EVENING OF ART, WINE & JAZZ SERIES

Join us in the lobby for wine tasting by Pera Wines & an art exhibit!

JUNE

1 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Opening Act: The Red Hots The incomparable kings of swing are back celebrating Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan & Louis Prima!

JULY

26 Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Special Guests Jupiter & Okwess

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AUGUST

16 Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox Contemporary pop and rock hits with a vintage twist!

ALSO COMING UP MAY

3 Ruben Studdard

An Evening of Luther Vandross Always & Forever American Idol winner performs all of Luther’s hits!

4 Upright Citizens Brigade Ft. SNL’s Sasheer Zamata

Improv comedy from the troupe that launched Amy Poehler & more!

9 Roger McGuinn

Founding member of The Byrds

“Turn, Turn, Turn,” “Eight Miles High” & more!

14 Broadway Sings Stevie Wonder

Current Broadway stars singing Stevie Wonder’s greatest hits! Ft. Sydney Morton (Memphis), Corey Mach (Kinky Boots), Austin Owen (Jersey Boys) & more!

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PEOPLE &Places

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1

3

4

2

5

1 Michelle Garcia 2 Roberta Conroy, Lynne Taikowski, Brendan Fletcher, Stephani Whittaker 3 Brendan Fletcher and Horizons Singers 4 Roger and Bevo Tarika 5 Louise Baldwin, John and Heather Kreitler, Sofia Atehortua, Juliery Montes, Roberta Conroy

4 1 A portion of the exhibit 2 John Herzog 3 Finley Shaw and Shana Wiswell 4 Tanya Smith, Cristin McCarthy Vahey, Robert Smith, Ryan and Tom Odinak

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On the Horizon

We Are One

T

he Patterson Club was packed with over 200 guests for Greens Farms Academy’s (GFA) Horizons Fall Gala. The sold-out event featured The Voice semifinalist Brendan Fletcher, who performed with his band, as well as with a group of Horizons students. The Horizons program helps underserved Bridgeport students pre-K through high school develop strong habits and academic skills to succeed in school and beyond.

Horizons alumna Michelle Garcia, now a Quinnipiac University graduate, gave a touching speech, and the Inspiring Minds Award was given Janet Hartwell, the retiring GFA Head of School. A lively auction and jewelry raffle capped off the evening.

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3

M

ore than 150 people gathered for the opening of the Fairfield Museum and History Center’s latest exhibition, An American Story: Finding Home in Fairfield County.

The exhibit highlights the experiences of eight immigrants and refugees from across the world who have built new lives in our community. The exhibit also honors the 100th anniversary of the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), which was founded in 1918. The museum hopes the exhibit will start conversations about this timely topic and will continue the discussion through a variety of programs for the duration of the showing. F

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VOLATILITY

Stick to It

Don’t panic—just build in thoughtful planning to survive inevitable market volatility

Y

ou’re a financial genius! You may have seemed like one, anyway, as your investments climbed, climbed, climbed to record highs at the beginning of the year. Early retirement? Vacation home? Sweet new boat? Oh, the possibilities of your newfound wealth. But then, MARK RITTER seemingly out of nowhere, came the free fall, followed by another and more still. The same stock market that had set about a hundred new highs since the 2016 election plunged the greatest one-day point drop in history, then rose and fell again.

How will a savvy investor survive a market with more ups and downs than the Coney Island Cyclone?

We turned to risk expert Mark Ritter for advice. For more than twenty-five years, he worked on Wall Street in investment banking, ultimately leading risk management at UBS. These days, Ritter, of Westport, serves as executive in residence at Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch School of Business. His advice to Fairfield County investors during tumultuous times?

Do nothing. Corrections are normal even in bull markets, he says. Ignore them and stick to your plan.

If you don’t have a plan beyond wishing for higher highs, it’s time to draw one up. Spell out when, what and how much you will buy and sell, when you will reassess and rebalance your portfolio and, most important, how

ASK YOURSELF… Do you have a rainy-day account holding liquid assets for six months to a year of expenses? How are you dealing with debt?

What are your children’s educational needs, if you have them? How are you saving for retirement?

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much money you will need by what date. Your time frame dictates your risk. “With respect to volatility, your plan really depends on where you are in the investing cycle. You’re willing to accept risk if it’s a longer period of time,” Ritter says. “If you’re planning for retirement in thirty-five years, it will take a different risk profile than if you’re saving for a house.”

For investors, the point of risk assessment is to be prepared in volatile times while maintaining a goal of maximizing wealth, he notes. “You don’t know what’s coming around the corner. People become overly enthusiastic about market prospects. It just takes one event and the stock market can tank by 50 percent.” Rather than hit the panic button, smart investors understand their risk and timeline, and then address specifics.

Ritter tells young investors to pay down credit card and student loan debt and use equities to maximize growth with what remains. Don’t worry about volatility. “The first thing I did when my children called when the market went down was to tell them to buy more. Nothing had fundamentally changed but fear. And that is the time to buy.”

If you’re a parent in your thirties, invest in a 529 plan for college, he says, but beware of targeting too much in the stock market. “A lot of people in the last ten to fifteen years made a little bit of a mistake in respect to that. In 2008 to 2009, they saw their college funds go from x to x minus 50 percent.”

If you hope to retire decades down the road, you can fill your 401(k) with equities. But as you get closer to when you’ll need your money, Ritter says, remind yourself that markets go up and markets go down. “Keep with the plan, rather than ‘chop and change.’ Temper your enthusiasm, the way banks run capital. It’s OK to leave something on the table F for the next person.”

by carol leonet ti dannhauser

NEEDCHANGES TO THE KNOW NOW

ON AGAIN/ OFF AGAIN IF YOU MANAGE YOUR INVESTMENTS ONLINE…

Outline what to do if you can’t access your trading platform.

Many online and robo investing platforms crashed during 2018’s crazy gyrations. Robo investing “is fine for your algorithmic investing, for a certain percentage of your funds,” Ritter says, but understand when those algorithms trigger trades. Robo investing can be a cost-effective way to acquire funds, but “the downside is the investor is trusting the box in front of them.”

WHEN TO DITCH DIGITAL…

Ritter uses robo investing for a certain portion of his funds, but turns to people for advice. “There is no doubt in my mind that getting a second opinion from a human being is worthwhile.

I’ve been on Wall Street my entire career and I still need professional advice about my own funds.”

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free, round-the-clock help for children

Anxıous Anxious Anxious Anxious Anxious The

Generation

The social-media generation shares more than ever—yet today’s teens are hiding a crushing amount of fear

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by t i m ot h y d u m as

The

Anxıous

Generation

H

ere at The Depot, a popular teen center in Darien, Justin Carver*, a high school senior with a mop of dark curls, is sitting in a diner-style booth, fidgeting, scratching, tapping his foot. He never sits still.

Especially not now, as he recounts the first day of his junior year at Darien High School, the day anxiety overwhelmed him. “I was like, ‘I’m not anxious, I’m just sick. First day of school— just relax.’ But I was freaking out. So I went to school that morning, and then I went and yakked up in the bathroom. I was shaking, like, ‘I can’t do this.’ ”

Certain names have been changed to protect privacy.

46

JUSTIN IS HARDLY ALONE. ABOUT 25.1 PERCENT OF YOUTHS 13 TO 18 SUFFER FROM ANXIETY disorders at the present moment, and 31.9 percent have ever suffered from them, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. On college campuses, anxiety is the top complaint of students seeking mental health services, having overtaken depression. In 2016 the American College Health Association found that 62 percent of students reported feeling “overwhelming anxiety” in the past year, up from 50 percent in 2011. “Twenty percent of college freshmen are utilizing psychiatric services—that’s gone up exponentially,” says Meghan Skelton, a social worker at Weston’s high school and middle school. “By the time they graduate, 50 percent are accessing some sort of mental health services at college.”

Over the past decade, high schools have witnessed a troubling rise in the number of students who, like Justin, get so anxious they can’t bring themselves to go.

Psychiatrists call the phenomenon “school refusal” or

FAIRFIELDLIVINGMAG.COM

“school avoidance.” While anxiety disorders generally are quite treatable, says Dylan Kollman, author of Solving the Anxiety Dilemma (2016) and founder of the Anxiety Institute of Connecticut in Westport, “school refusal can be difficult—it’s a sticky problem.”

Kristin Hunter*, whose daughter, Caroline*, left Staples High School last year when anxiety overpowered her, likens school refusal to “grooves in a record” that deepen as the missed days pile up. “The longer you wait, the harder it is,” she says. Kristin shows us a photo of a fit, attractive sixteen-year-old with a radiant smile. “As a parent, it’s confusing. My daughter will go on stage and be in a play. But when she’s walking down the hallway or goes into a store on Main Street, she thinks everyone’s looking at her and negatively judging her.” (Caroline has since enrolled at a small private school, where she is faring better. Kristin hastens to note that Staples was “amazing” in their sensitivity to the problem: “They deal with a lot of this, you can tell.”)

Panic attacks have also become routine in schools, sending kids to the nurse’s office or worse. “I would hyperventilate and pass out and have to go to the hospital,” says Lauren Quinn*, a classmate of Justin’s whom we also met at The Depot. “I’d have probably four or five panic attacks a week. It started when I was in seventh grade.

Since I’ve gotten older and worked with my doctors, I can now feel them coming and I can handle them better. But every now and then they’ll still get really bad.”

Justin thinks that anxiety is far more common among his peers than the adults of Fairfield County know: “I’d say like nine out of ten kids have it.” Lauren agrees. “It’s a huge problem,” she says. “If you talk to any student, I guarantee they’ll be like, ‘I have anxiety.’ There are so many people who don’t get it diagnosed and are suffering from it.”

“Over the last forty years, we’ve seen a 700-percent increase in anxiety, most of it coming over the past ten to fifteen years,” says Dan Villiers, cofounder of the Anxiety Institute in Greenwich, an intensive day-treatment program for adolescents, and of Mountain Valley Treatment Center in New Hampshire, the first residential treatment center for adolescent anxiety in the United States.

The experts are calling this strange turn in the culture an “anxiety epidemic.” But what does that mean? Anxiety has always been with man as an anticipatory response to danger: Confronted with a tiger in the grass, or merely the idea of one, he readied to fight or flee. The same neurochemical response (emanating largely from the amygdala, a center deep in the brain that regulates fear but also pleasure) helps modern man rise alertly to the task at hand, whether in the classroom or on the playing field.

“Anxiety should, in theory, have an adaptive function,” notes Howard Weiner, a psychiatrist at Silver Hill Hospital for Mental Health and Addiction in New Canaan. “We all know that we need a certain amount of anxiety on a test—but too much is bad, and too little isn’t right, either.”

The question of too much anxiety among too many people began to occupy students of the brain about 150 years ago. In 1881 George Miller Beard, a neurologist from Montville, Connecticut, published American Nervousness, a book that, though it got much wrong (hay fever a “nervous disorder”?), managed to touch on something important: “The chief and primary cause of this…very rapid increase of nervousness is modern civilization.” Genetics, capricious parenting and family

strife contribute to anxiety in children—but these factors have always been with us. Beard was talking about the massive technological and cultural change that was then spreading across the land. Train travel, electric light, the telegraph and mass media were still fairly new, and the automobile and powered flight were just around the corner. The French writer Charles Péguy wrote in 1913: “The world has changed less since the time of Jesus Christ than it has in the last thirty years.”

Before now, however, no anxiety epidemic had ever been recorded among America’s young. Where did it come from? The answer is complex. Ours is a moment marked by political contentiousness and mass shootings, which, teachers and social workers tells us, have penetrated school walls as noxious psychic forces. “For kids to feel unsafe about going to school, and teachers to feel unsafe going to work, is a big deal,” Meghan Skelton says. (Staples had dealt with a serious threat the week of our interview.)

While granting these influences, the experts we consulted train their focus on two other twenty-firstcentury phenomena: a vastly ramped-up culture of achievement, centered on the golden ticket of admission to a prestigious college and the good life it promises; and kids’ near-umbilical attachment to the smartphone.

As it turns out, the two are intimately related.

UNDER PRESSURE Suniya Luthar is a psychology professor at Arizona State known for her study of youths who attend high-achieving schools in affluent communities across the country. In twenty years of researching such schools (including Staples and Wilton high schools), Luthar has found serious maladjustment in all of them, without exception.

“They should be better than national norms given their resources, right? If anything, these kids should be happier.

Not only are they not happier, but in every single case, there’s at least one if not more areas in which there’s significant concern—whether it’s depression, anxiety, eating problems, self-harm or substances. It’s stunning.”

She contends that pressure is the core of the problem— “the intense amount of pressure these kids experience to excel in just about everything they do,” Luthar says. “The question is, where does this pressure come from? And the

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answer is, where does it not come from?”

“All of my friends, they feel like they’re under a microscope and have to perform at such a high level,” Lauren Quinn says. “It applies everywhere: sports, school, music, being in a club. Everyone’s worried about, like, ‘I have to be better than I was before, I have to be better than the next person.’ That’s when the anxiety kicks in, because you feel like you’re never doing quite enough. ‘I only got a B. I should have gotten an A.’ ” The kids admit they put some pressure on themselves.

But Luthar says they’re also internalizing a cultural condition they can’t escape. Justin puts it starkly: “I think the culture of Darien is that the weak fall to the bottom and the strong rise to the top. New Canaan, too.

Wilton. Fairfield County. It’s hard to meet the expectation around here. There’s so much that can upset you in an environment like this, where it’s like, ‘you’ve got to be the best to be happy.’ It’s almost impossible not to be anxious, you know?”

Janice Marzano, who heads The Depot and is a beloved confidante of Darien’s young, remarks, “Kids are playing sports they don’t even like, just to get into college.”

Students describe their days as being relentlessly mapped out. Lauren rises at 5 a.m. for physical therapy and does not stop until she turns out the light at night, after completing her homework. “There’s literally no time to be a kid,” she says. Her classmate Maria Price* says she’ll “step back” and put off her work when she’s overwhelmed, “which makes it even more stressful in the end.”

Is gaining admittance to college really much harder these days? It’s a contested issue. But this much is true: The applicant pool has grown dramatically as colleges seek more diverse and more global student bodies; students are applying to more schools than they used to; and acceptance rates at the best schools have shrunk by as much as half over the past twenty years. “When I applied to Kenyon,” Dan Villiers says, “the acceptance rate was something like 55 percent. Now it’s 20 or 25 percent. I don’t think I could get in today.” (Many of the teens Villiers treats, not surprisingly, come to him with “fear about the future, fear of failure, doubts about themselves”—a complex of worries called generalized anxiety disorder.)

HIDDEN CRISIS At one point in the conversation with Lauren, she pauses and waves her hand before her eyes, checking a flow

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of tears. A friend of hers committed suicide, she says.

“In a letter, she kind of explained it all. She felt she was letting her family down, and letting her friends down, because she just wasn’t good enough.” Lauren furrows her brow at the thought of it. “She was getting B-pluses in everything. She was a really smart girl. Everyone loved her. If you’d met her, you would have never thought there was this darkness inside of her. It’s so sad to think that if she was born like, twenty years ago, she never would’ve had the issues that she had.”

This tragedy of this young woman is part of an alarming trend. Since 2007, teen suicides have been climbing steadily, the boys’ rate rising by a third, and the traditionally stable girls’ rate doubling. From 2008 to 2015, the number of children hospitalized for suicidal thoughts also doubled, with October, not surprisingly, being the peak admissions month. (But are they admitted for anxiety or depression? Often the two are “co-morbid,” or occurring together, and not neatly separable.)

The uphill suicide graph correlates eerily with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and the saturation of smartphones generally by 2012—at which point the graph turns steeper still. Phones and suicide? Last year, California psychologist Jean Twenge published a groundbreaking book titled iGen, which documents a powerfully suggestive link between phones—the obsessive, time-devouring use of social media on them—and anxiety and depression. Twenge writes, “The sudden, sharp rise in depressive symptoms occurred at almost exactly the same time that smartphones became ubiquitous and in-person interaction plummeted.”

“I was a little skeptical at first,” says Dylan Kollman. “It felt a little old-mannish to me: ‘Oh, it’s TV. Oh, it’s video games, or rap music.’ But her data is really strong. And you just kind of feel it with kids, that there’s something unhealthy about unadulterated access to these phones.”

Why should this be so? With the advent of smart-phones, multiple studies say, young people are spending more time alone than they used to; their “real” adventures out in the neighborhood, among flesh-and-blood people, have become rare; mediating their worlds so incessantly through the smartphone inhibits their maturity; and constant digital stimulation weakens their ability to concentrate on tasks that require sustained attention, not to mention their ability to cope with uncomfortable emotions like boredom.

Tracey Masella, a social worker at Silver Hill who deals extensively with adolescents, observes, “We’re breeding kids who have no tolerance for discomfort, whether it be boredom or anxiety or sadness or rejection or failure.” »

Treating Anxiety Disorders THERAPISTS SAY MOST TYPES OF ANXIETY ARE FAIRLY EASY TO TREAT—ASTONISHING NEWS TO THOSE WHO CAN’T STOP WORRYING OR WHO SUFFER REPEATED BOUTS OF SWEATY, WHITE-KNUCKLED TERROR.

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IMMERSION

“The whole secret of treating anxiety— which 95 percent of people don’t do—is learning how to increase it, not decrease it,” says Dan Villiers, founder of the Anxiety Institute in Greenwich. “Treating anxiety is immersing yourself in it.” What does he mean? Picture whatever situation lies at the heart of your anxiety—flying in a plane or attending a class that requires speaking. Although you’re in no physical danger, your brain sprays out its danger hormones, causing you deep dread or outright panic. No time soon will you expose yourself again to this danger, you tell yourself. Thus begins avoidance, a word you hear a lot from anxiety therapists. “People come here because of anxiety, but it’s really the way they avoid anxiety that causes the problems,” says Dylan Kollman, a therapist who heads the Anxiety Institute of Connecticut in Westport (no relation to the Greenwich institute).

CBT

One especially reliable anxiety-reducing proces is cognitive behavioral therapy.

Think of CBT as a two-part affair: talk therapy plus exposure therapy.

The talk part isn’t designed to plunge you into Freudian murk, but to examine the irrational underpinnings of your anxiety—to fix the brain’s incorrect suppositions about danger stimuli.

(Standing in front of a group of people won’t harm you, even though your brain’s on red alert.)

The exposure part desensitizes you, step-by-step, to your over-active danger response. Some therapists, like Villiers, incorporate virtual reality devices as a way to prepare you to confront your realworld fear. Eventually, you leave the office for the “in vivo” part of your exposure therapy, in which you confront, with your therapist, the actual plane or classroom.

MEDICATION

The CBT process lasts a few weeks to a few months, and it can be costly. It works especially well with panic disorder and specific phobias. “The success rate for the treatment of panic disorder is 85 or 90 percent, and that’s without medication,” Kollman says. People with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder also benefit from CBT, but the success rates are less clear-cut.

Often these sufferers couple CBT with anxiety medications such as Xanax; the combination appears to work better than one or the other alone—if by “work better” we mean return people more frequently to their normal routines.

Anxiety therapists tend to frown on medication or, at least, a medicationonly approach. It masks rather than fixes the problem.

Meditation techniques, breathing exercises, and activities like art and equine therapy may also be part of the tool kit.

NEUROFEEDBACK

A recent arrival on the anxiety treatment scene is neurofeedback. Some years ago the medical establishment regarded it as quackish. Now it’s gaining respect as a treatment for ADHD, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and much else.

The idea is that we can train the brain to produce its energy in a more harmonious way. Darien High student Justin Carver* (see main story) was initially skeptical, but after several treatments he believes that neurofeedback calms and focuses him. “This is literally me strengthening my brain,” he says, “so that I can healthily make thoughts in the day and I can healthily power down at night.”

The

Anxıous

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5 FACES OF ANXIETY Anxiety is a catch-all term. Therapists look to identify one of these specific problems:

1. PANIC DISORDER

is “a misfiring of your fear response,” says Westport therapist Dylan Kollman. “It’s a false alarm—it would be a real alarm if a cheetah were there.” Still, the fear is so acute that people feel as if they are going to die.

2. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

is marked by feeling worried or on-edge and by an inability to escape negative thinking.

3. SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

or social phobia, the most common anxiety disorder, is characterized by a fear of social situations and, more specifically, by a fear of being unfavorably judged by others.

4. OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER has been given its own heading in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It involves intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors, like hand-washing.

5. POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISODER

has also been given its own heading in the manual. It stems from traumatic experiences, like being attacked or witnessing violence, and therapists see little of it among teens.

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of disinviting guest speakers for fear of causing students “emotional injury,” to borrow a remarkable phrase used

by Williams College’s student editorialists. Twenge writes, “If some people might be upset, the thinking goes, we’ll ban the speaker.”

SAFE DISTANCE This brew of high expectation and emotional frailty is bad enough. What makes it worse, though in ways we don’t yet fully understand, is smartphones’ power to amplify. (Who could have predicted the clout of the Tweet?) Lauren Quinn describes the smartphone world as a world of mirrors in which one is always found wanting. “It’s horrible—you see these people who look like supermodels. Even someone who goes to your school. They post a picture and you think it’s so cool, and everyone else loves it, you’re just like, ‘I want to be like that. I need to be skinnier. I need to do cooler things.

I need to own nicer clothes.’ It just causes so much more unnecessary stress and anxiety.”

The research indicates that Lauren’s feelings are widespread. “One thing our data is showing is that these kids think other people’s lives are always better than their own,” Suniya Luthar says. “ ‘My friends are happier than I am, more popular than I am, more successful in their love life.’ That aspect of social media is particularly damaging in terms of young people’s well-being.”

This is to say nothing of cyber-bullying and the like, that not-so-brave new world where one can practice nastiness at a safe digital remove.

Anyone would agree: Smartphones have their virtues.

But Lauren has decided the vices outweigh them. She’s tired of the phones’ Pavlovian pull. “Literally the other day, I asked my mom for a flip phone,” she says. “I was like, ‘I don’t want my iPhone anymore.’ ” The engineers of Silicon Valley would applaud her. Justin Rosenstein, who helped create the “like” button for Facebook, banned himself from Snapchat—teens’ social app of choice—which he likens to heroin. Rosenstein is among a growing number of tech engineers who deem their own products unhealthy, a fact that should give us all pause.

But there’s a deeper point to be made. Between the push to achieve and the compulsion to live digitally, the young are conditioned to fixate on outcomes and rewards—not on the pleasure of doing a thing, much less on the care of the soul. “It’s a hard way to live, if your

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Howard Weiner adds, “Something has changed in the expectation we have of getting through life without distress.” He notes a disconcerting paradox: smartphones are contributing to kids’ distress, yet the kids are turning to them to lessen the selfsame distress— like lab rats hitting the sugar lever. As Dan Villiers puts it: “They’re self-medicating through instant access to the smartphone. That’s a fact.”

A broader point is that young people’s powers of resilience—of handling setbacks or uncomfortable situations—have seriously eroded. (The phones are but one cause. Masella also notes a shift in today’s parenting, whereby many parents’ reluctant to say “no” to their kids muddle the family’s authority structure, with chaotic results.) Jean Twenge mentions the new college habit

sense of self-worth is all tied in with the splendor of your accomplishments,” says Luthar. Howard Weiner adds, “If that’s all you have, there’s not a lot to fall back on when you don’t succeed.”

It’s touching to hear Lauren Quinn recall the presaturation days of her childhood: “We were lucky, because we were the last kids who didn’t grow up with smartphones—we had flip phones. So we got to play outside still.” The generation now in elementary school has never known a world in which people were not slaves to their gadgets. How will these children grow up? Count Dan Villiers among the concerned. “What’s so valuable in a child and an adolescent is to develop a sense of self-worth, self-confidence. And you do that by growing independence.” Too often we’re doing the opposite, he says. “We’re actually regressing them. We’re developing a generation of anxious and avoidant kids.”

Changing the culture is, obviously, a tall order, since it involves “the entire ecosystem of kids” and then some, Meghan Skelton of the Weston schools says. “Everyone’s got to jump on board.”

The schools do appear to be finding their footing as they recognize the enormity of the problem. Justin Carver says Darien High lightened his workload at critical times. Kristin Hunter recalls how Staples sent a small delegation to her house to delicately coax her daughter back to school, one class at a time. In 2013 the school’s guidance department launched the Staples Resilience Project in response to rising anxiety and depression; it’s designed to foster “emotional agility”—to help students gain a healthier perspective on inevitabilities like failure and rejection. Last year, Darien inaugurated Fitch Academy as an alternative high-school program for kids dealing with severe anxiety and related issues. And as schools put mental health and well-being at the forefront of their agendas, they turn increasingly to cutting-edge outfits like the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence in New Haven. The new emphasis on emotional skills (starting with the ability to understand one’s own emotions and to read others’ emotions) is hardly accidental: They are essential for healthy growth and learning, and yet numerous studies show they are under assault.

Meanwhile, the hope is that students who need help will ask for it rather than suffer in silence. Consider Justin.

“I’m feeling great,” he says, drumming the tabletop. “The anxiety still comes in little waves—but it used to be this big tsunami. Now, like Japan or New Orleans, we’re cleaning F up, and sooner or later it’ll be a nice city again.”

5 TIPS FOR PARENTS

Having a child with an anxiety disorder can leave parents feeling overwhelmed, but therapists say these practical guidelines provide needed support.

1

Listen. In the hurly-burly of daily life, we may hear our kids without listening to them and, thus, miss their distress signals. Despite appearances, our kids want you to get beyond the monosyllables. So don’t just ask them how their day was; ask them what they think about things.

“You know how friends can realize that something is wrong?” asks one Darien High School senior. “A parent could do that if they listen.”

“Be curious, not furious,” advises Kristin Hunter,* a Westport mother whose daughter suffers from anxiety. “Ask them, in an empathetic tone, what they are worried about, what is keeping them from going. Try not to get mad or frustrated or ask what is wrong with them—that just shuts them down.”

Finally, refrain from lecturing.

“What they want,” says Weston schools social worker Meghan Skelton, “is to connect.”

2

Limit Screentime. This is a battle in every household, but the evidence is increasingly clear: social-media addiction leaves teens feeling less satisfied with their lives and more depressed and anxious. While social media can be great for connecting, it, ironically, leaves more kids feeling lonely and excluded (ask your teen about FOMO—fear of missing out).

“When I take my daughter’s phone away, it’ll be twenty-four hours of hell—and then six days of bliss,” says Kristin Hunter. “Then she says, ‘I don’t feel as stressed. I don’t feel as much pressure to keep checking my phone.’”

While they’re offline, have them read psychology professor Jean Twenge’s iGen, which warns of a

looming mental health crisis among our young. If they won’t read it, pin them to a chair and read choice passages aloud.

3

Encourage Good Habits. Do your kids exercise? Do they eat well? Do they go to sleep at a decent hour (social media often leads to nocturnal hours)? Do they get together—in person—with friends? These eternal good habits are among the things getting lost to digital addiction.

4

Lighten the Load. Between multiple AP courses, sports, clubs and volunteer work— the better to build an impressive college application—many kids feel they have too much on their plate and not enough time to discover, explore, imagine. The healthiest choice for your child might be to do less. Distressingly, mental health professionals tell us, it is often the parents who won’t let kids put on the brakes.

5

Understand. Sometimes a parent will view anxiety as a character weakness and encourage his child to “toughen up” or “snap out of it.” Greenwichbased anxiety therapist Dan Villiers’ own father took this view when Villiers suffered from social anxiety in his youth. But it’s misguided, he’ll tell you. Let’s remember that Thomas Jefferson suffered bitterly from anxiety; closer to home, so did Steve Young, the Greenwichraised Hall of Fame quarterback.

Our anxious kids are battling a neurochemistry they cannot hope to defeat—not without guidance, tools, understanding and, in some cases, therapy.

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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Join Us!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 • 8:45 a.m.— 2:30 p.m.

GREENWICH COUNTRY CLUB • 19 Doubling Road

FULL DAY PROGRAM INCLUDES:

FOR TICKETS GO TO WOMENINBUSINESSFC.COM

EMILIE RUBINFELD

KEYNOTE SPEAKER President, Carolina Herrera

WELCOME BREAKFAST 8:45-9:30 a.m.

INTERACTIVE SPONSOR SESSIONS 9:30-10:30 a.m.

–

First County Bank’s Sara Tucker & Sandra Greer with Special Guest from Jade Marketing Solutions, Suzanne Stillwell Present “Personal Branding & Authentic Messaging”

–

Nichols MD of Greenwich’s Dr. Kim Nichols Presents “Looking Your Best at Any Age”

11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.

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Pullman & Comley Attorneys: Nancy A. D. Hancock, Karen Jeffers and Megan Carannante Present “Legal Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs”

–

Darby Fox, Child and Adult Family Therapist, Presents “Shifting the Parenting Perspective: How to Bridge the Gap with Your Adolescent and Enjoy Raising Your Teenager”

–

Atria Senior Living’s Melanie Bedell Presents: “Better This Year: Atria’s Whole Person Approach to Greater Well-Being”

NETWORK WITH OUR EDITORS, EVENT SPEAKERS AND SPONSORS 12:45-2:30 p.m.

–

Luncheon, Keynote & Women of Influence Awards Presentation Hosted by Rebecca Surran

–

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION by Emilie Rubinfeld, President, Carolina Herrera

ENTER TO WIN! THE ASHA ESSENTIALS PACKAGE: Jewelry and accessories that can take you from the beach to the boardroom VALUE: $2,500

Provided by ASHA by Ashley McCormick

Melani Lust Photography

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE HONOREES

ALISA BAHL, PhD CORPORATE LEADER Senior VP of Clinical Solutions, OptumHealth

FLAVIA CATTAN-NASLAUSKY and CAMILLA GAZAL ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR Co-owners of Zaniac Greenwich and Co-CEOs of Summit 7 Holdings, LLC

TRACY CHADWELL WOMEN’S BUSINESS ADVOCATE Founding Partner, 1843 Capital

PRESENTING SPONSORS:

SIGNATURE SPONSORS:

2

WINE SPONSOR:

EXCLUSIVE WATER SPONSOR:

FLORAL SPONSOR:

LIMITED SPONSORSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE,

Contact Caroline Steber 203.571.1631

•

A portion of the ticket proceeds benefitting:

caroline.steber@moffly.com

BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BUSINESSWOMEN IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY >

MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

Emilie Rubinfeld Keynote Speaker PRESIDENT, CAROLINA HERRERA 501 Seventh Avenue, 17th Floor New York, NY carolinaherrera.com

Emilie Rubinfeld has been a leader in luxury fashion for over a decade. Throughout her career, she has built brand marketing and communications strategy for iconic U.S. and European-based fashion houses.

Today, Emilie Rubinfeld is the global president of Carolina Herrera—the New York-based fashion brand internationally recognized for bold elegance and sophistication. Founded by Carolina Herrera in 1981, the design house and namesake creates women’s luxury ready-to-wear and bridal collections distributed globally at over 200 points of sale. As president, Emilie is leading the organization to be at the forefront of women’s luxury fashion while building a thriving and enduring global brand for the future. Prior to the role of president, Emilie held the position of chief marketing officer at the

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company. During her nearly two-decade career in fashion, Emilie has had senior marketing and communications roles at the U.S.-subsidiary of Italian fashion brand Giorgio Armani, as well as the Swiss-based women’s luxury brand, Akris.

Emilie has recently joined the Fashion and Luxury Council of NYU/Stern School of Business. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a liberal arts degree, majoring in art history and political science. She currently resides with her family in New Canaan, Connecticut.

MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

Alisa Bahl, PhD Women of Influence Honoree Corporate Leader OPTUMHEALTH Senior Vice President alisa.bahl@optum.com

Dr. Alisa Bahl is a senior vice president at OptumHealth, a division of UnitedHealth Group.

She has been an executive leader at one of the largest and most innovative health care organizations for the past twenty-six years, and led a private group practice prior to joining Optum. She serves as executive sponsor to Fortune 100 clients who are committed to enhancing the emotional well-being of their workforce. She leads a team that manages the most senior national relationships across major consulting firms, and drives both growth and innovation in the company’s clinical business.

Most recently, she played a leadership role in combatting the opioid crisis in our country by championing initiatives aimed at stemming the growth of this devastating epidemic; aditionally she serves on the Advisory Board for the

UnitedHealth Group Opioid Task Force. Echoing Optum’s stance that no single entity can remedy the problem alone, she holds partnership and collaboration among her key business practices. Optum has joined with care providers, pharmacists, governments, health plans, clients, individual consumers and community organizations that fight substance misuse to confront the enormous social, economic and human costs of this national health care crisis.

Bahl also serves on the scientific board of Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the devastation addiction causes families, and has been involved since its inception. Every day, Shatterproof advances its mission to reduce the stigma of addiction and spread knowledge about evidence-based care that will save countless lives. While in her

hometown of Miami Beach, she served for many years as a vice president on the board of trustees of Temple Beth Sholom, where the congregation of 2,000 families has a strong culture of social justice.

She is also the mother of three wonderful boys and active in their school and sports’ activities. Bahl is married to Tracy Bahl, an executive at CVS Health and resides with her family in Greenwich. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and received her PhD from the University of Miami.

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MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

Flavia Naslausky & Camilla Gazal Women of Influence Honorees Entrepreneurs of the Year

CRISTINA PYE PHOTOGRAPHY

Zaniac, a Zane Prep company, delivers a retail math and science experience that engages, excites and motivates K-8 kids, while making parents feel proud about providing their children with real academic advantage. Zaniac is the go-to afterschool activity for parents who want their children to develop a passion for exploring and innovating.

It is like school at its best—an active, inspiring place that is filled with friends and friends-to-be, where real math and technology learning is fun.

The company’s mission is to provide K-8 students with a quality supplemental education program that addresses STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).

FLAVIA NASLAUSKY In her professional life, Flavia has always been involved in financial markets and focused on

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emerging markets. Flavia worked as director of Latin American currency strategy at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Connecticut, covering economic and financial market developments.

She traveled regularly to the region to market strategy product in Europe and Asia. Prior to her work at RBS, in 1999 Flavia worked at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York in the emerging markets fixed income research group.

Flavia holds bachelor degrees in economics and political science from NYU. Flavia is currently Co-CEO of Summit 7 Holdings, which opened its first Zaniac franchise in Greenwich in 2013 and the second one in Westport in 2015. In 2017, she received the U.S. Small Business Award for Entrepreneurial Success. Flavia resides with her husband and two children in Riverside, Connecticut.

ZANIAC 644 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 201 Greenwich, CT 203.918.9264 zaniaclearning.com

CAMILLA GAZAL Camilla is a brand management professional with strong experience in finance, communications and analysis. She is highly skilled at interpersonal relations, is multilingual and has expertise with international clientele. Camilla has a master’s degree in hospitality industry studies, with a concentration in brand management from NYU. Camilla received her BA from FAAP, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and worked as a trader for the former bank Unibanco. After moving to New York in 2000, she worked for BBVA Securities and Santander Securities as a senior vice president in fixed income sales. Camilla is the Co-CEO of Summit 7 Holdings. In 2017, she received the U.S. Small Business Award for Entrepreneurial Success.

Camilla lives with her husband and three children in Riverside, Connecticut.

MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

Tracy Killoren Chadwell Women of Influence Honoree Women’s Business Advocate 1843 CAPITAL 52 Mason Street Greenwich, CT 917.902.6406 tracy@1843capital.com 1843capital.com @tchadwell

Tracy is the Founding Partner of 1843 Capital, an early stage venture capital firm, located in Greenwich. 1843 invests in technology and consumer product companies that have at least one female founder. Companies with a female founder in 2017 received around 2.19 percent of total venture capital dollars, despite research showing that they outperform. This is due in part to the fact that only 7 percent of venture capital fund partners are women. 1843 Capital aims to realize above market returns by investing in a “missed” space, and help solve the funding gap for women at the same time. By funding and supporting the next generation of women CEOs, Tracy is creating a new class of role models and mentors for women. With 11.3 million femaleowned businesses in the United States, generating $1.6 trillion in revenue, there is a lot of opportunity.

Beautycounter, a company launched in Greenwich, is one of Tracy’s most successful investments. In addition to having an incredible female CEO, the company promotes the removal of toxins from personal care products and has created jobs for the 20,000+ consultants it employs. A common misperception is that women don’t build large businesses or highly technical companies. Tracy’s portfolio proves otherwise. In total, the companies she has invested in have created a combined enterprise value of over $1billion.

Tracy is also an attorney, well-versed in corporate structures, and was formerly a Partner of a growth capital venture capital fund, Baker Capital, which had more than $1 billion under management. Tracy also has a broad network within the female-founder community. Recently,

she testified before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on the hurdles women face getting funding. She is a frequent speaker and judge of start-up competitions. Most recently she spoke at the MIT VC Conference and at the UBS Project Entreprenuer program, and was a judge for the Cornell (Johnson) Business School Women in Tech Competition. She is featured in a chapter of the book The Internet of Women, a UC TED talk for NYIT TEDx, and was in the documentary Dream, Girl about female entrepreneurs. She is a board member of Marstone and of Sachs Insights and was the former treasurer of The Belle Haven Land Company. Passionate about service, she proudly serves on the advisory board of the MIT Enterprise Forum, the New York Institute of Technology and as an executive advisor for the Echoing Green Foundation.

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MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

Rebecca Surran Host NEWS ANCHOR/COHOST

Rebecca Surran

Rebecca began her career as a founding member of Cablevision, now Altice USA’s regional News 12 network, where she started as a reporter. She went on to cohost News 12 Connecticut’s daily live talk show, The Exchange, interviewing key figures in news, entertainment, lifestyle, technology and sports. During her fifteen years in this role, she was nominated for three Boston/New England Emmy Awards in the “Best Talk Show Host” category.

Rebecca also served as senior news anchor, developing extensive experience in live breaking news coverage including the 9/11 terror attacks, Hurricane Sandy, and the Sandy Hook School shooting. She also worked as a feature reporter.

During her time as anchor/reporter, Rebecca won a New York Emmy Award for “Best Daytime Newscast” and was nominated for five others, including three for her feature reporting work.

Rebecca’s career has also included work as a contributing editor for Walt Disney’s

FamilyFun magazine, serving as an on-air brand representative on WNBC’s Today in New York, The Today Show and Good Morning America, among numerous other local and national programs.

After leaving News 12 Connecticut, Rebecca went on to work for the boutique public relations firm, The Dilenschneider Group in Manhattan, assisting clients in media relations, strategic communications and reputation management.

She has also spent years in community outreach work supporting local fundraising events in various role, including Mistress of Ceremony and Panel Moderator. Much of that work is with organizations focused on women’s business development, the Alzheimer’s Association and groups working to support the hungry, homeless and underprivileged.

Rebecca graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and spent a semester of study at Bath University, Bath, UK.

Yonni Wattenmaker Event Beneficiary BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE 48 Maple Avenue Greenwich, CT 203.861.0014 breastcanceralliance.org Yonni graduated from The George Washington University in 1993, and from HUC-JIR in New York City with an MA in 1996. Upon graduation, Yonni spent ten years as director of education at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, New York; two years as development director for Tikva Children’s Home, a charity supporting homeless and abandoned children in the former Soviet Union; and four years as director of lifelong learning at Central Synagogue in Manhattan.

Yonni has been the executive director of Breast Cancer Alliance since June 2011, a once regional but now national breast cancer charity headquartered in Greenwich. The mission of Breast Cancer Alliance is to improve survival rates and quality of life for those impacted by

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breastcanceralliance

@BCAllianceCT

breast cancer through better prevention, early detection, treatment and cure. To promote these goals, BCA invests in innovative research, breast surgery fellowships, regional education, dignified support and screening for the underserved.

Yonni is also an active volunteer, currently

breastcanceralliance sitting on the Community Advisory Board of Greenwich Hospital and the National Council for Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University, and is a consultant for an addiction recovery center based in Los Angeles. Yonni resides in Bedford Corners with her son, Max.

MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

Darby Fox Presenting Sponsor 203.313.1662 Darby@darbyfox.com darbyfox.com @askdarbyfox

Darby Fox is a child and adolescent family therapist. With over twenty years of experience, she has deep empathy for children and families from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds and is an expert on parenting, child psychology and family topics. She appears regularly on-air and in print media, covering parenting questions and discipline techniques to current trends in child development. She has also collaborated with Meath Media Group to develop a television series called Fractured Family with Darby Fox. Darby is committed to the community and has provided pro bono individual and group therapy to Bright Horizons Foundation for Children students and parents throughout Fairfield County for the past twelve years. Bright Horizons Foundation for Children is a national organization that focuses on at-risk

children and families. She has served on the board of directors at both Horizons and The Open Door Shelter (a homeless shelter in Norwalk, Connecticut).

In addition to private practice, Darby works directly with parents in small groups or lectures to help them focus on specific age related concerns. She feels there are not enough resources available for parents needing help.

Her years of work with adolescents allow her to equip parents with insight and perspective needed to guide their parenting. She works with children of all ages, yet is especially focused on helping adolescents.

As the mother of four, Darby has wellearned insight into the teenage mind and offers a unique approach to adolescence.

She encourages parents to meet them where

they are, work to facilitate their growth and development instead of fight for control and build on their strengths to position them for happiness, success and fulfillment in life. When parents of teenagers have the opportunity to learn from Darby, they feel relieved that they are not alone and excited to shift their relationship with their teen.

Darby received a BA from Middlebury College, graduating cum laude in sociology and biochemistry. She went on to graduate from Columbia University summa cum laude, earning her MA in social work. Since Columbia, she has pursued extensive specialized training at Yale Child Study Center, NYU Silver School of Social Work, Mel Levine’s All Kind’s Of Minds Institute, Harvard Medical School and The Ackerman Institute for the Family.

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

PHOTOGRAPH BY KASEY HILLEARY

Pictured, from left to right: Livia DeFilippis Barndollar, Jessica Grossarth Kennedy, Jill Bicks, Karen Wackerman, Amy Murray, Marcy Stovall, Rachel Ginsburg, Judge Anne Dranginis (Ret.), Karen Jeffers, Elizabeth Austin, Judge Lynda Munro (Ret.), Martha Royston, Kelly Scott, Margaret Bartiromo and Nancy Hancock.

Pullman & Comley, LLC Presenting Sponsor 2 Stamford Plaza, 281 Tresser Blvd.

Stamford, CT 850 Main Street Bridgeport, CT 33 Riverside Avenue Westport, CT

203.330.2000 info@pullcom.com pullcom.com

The attorneys pictured above are members of the Women’s Leadership Initiative practicing in the Fairfield County offices of Pullman & Comley, a full-service law firm with locations throughout Connecticut and in White Plains, New York. We are close and trusted partners to our clients, and are committed to providing the highest levels of service and value through innovative thinking, hard work and by delivering real results.

Since 1919, Pullman has earned a reputation as one of Connecticut’s preeminent providers of legal services, continuing to grow and adapt to meet our clients’ evolving needs. We serve emerging businesses and public and private companies of all sizes, as well as not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions and

government entities. Our family law and trusts and estates attorneys provide a full range of services to individuals and families, offering trusted, personalized counsel at every stage of life.

We have played a vital role in shaping our local communities and contributing to the legal profession. For the past twenty years, our Women’s Leadership Initiative has been committed to fostering an environment that supports the professional advancement of women, while also seeking to enrich the lives of women in our communities. We are committed to: • Advancing women’s careers in our communities through networking events, substantive roundtables, educational programs and informal coaching.

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PullmanandComley @PullmanComley

• Providing networking opportunities.

Our women’s networking events draw a dynamic range of female business and community leaders, while showcasing the important work of not-for-profits serving women and children.

• Supporting women’s and family-focused organizations in our communities as board members and sponsors.

• Addressing concerns such as heart health and breast cancer, managing financial well-being, and the importance of workplace diversity and inclusion.

At Pullman & Comley, “Pulling Together, Succeeding Together” is more than just a tagline. It’s a reflection of our culture of camaraderie and working together to serve our clients and the community.

MOFFLY 8 T H A NMEDIA’S NUAL

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION WOMEN, WEALTH AND WISDOM

SARA TUCKER

SANDRA GREER

Sara Tucker and Sandra Greer Presenting Sponsor FIRST COUNTY BANK 3001 Summer Street Stamford, CT

sgreer@firstcountybank.com; 203.462.4364 stucker@firstcountybank.com; 203.462.4362 firstcountybank.com

SARA TUCKER Sara Tucker is a senior vice president and director of business banking at First County Bank, and has been a woman in business for over twenty-five years. Passion, diligence, enthusiasm, adaptability and genuine interest in people have fueled her success. Sara’s career journey started in the financial services industry in the mid-1980s, where she discovered an affinity for providing financial support to businesses. Sara left the corporate world to raise her children, during which time she became fully engaged in the community, working closely with nonprofits and on several boards. Reentering corporate life brought many challenges, however she returned with an augmented perspective gained from the nonprofit world, and also from parenthood.

Sara believes that her rise to leadership positions

has been influenced by her philosophy that people drive an organization. “When you listen, coach and guide with a people-first approach, you can help teams manage an ever-changing environment and achieve results.” Also, working in a field that is male-dominated, Sara observes that “Women bring a perspective to the table that is different, often more collaborative, more purposeful and more intent on making a difference every day. This is a balance that is needed.”

SANDRA GREER Understanding the critical elements that build, nurture and sustain meaningful, trusted relationships is central to Sandra Greer’s personal and professional life. In her role as vice president of First County Advisors, the wealth management division of First County

FirstCountyBank @FirstCountyBank

Bank in Stamford, Connecticut, it is her commitment to a highly customized, holistic planning and investment approach that resonates with her clients.

Sandy has over thirty-five years of institutional investment and personal wealth management experience. Prior to joining First County Bank’s wealth management division in 2014, Sandy was a senior portfolio manager with BNY Mellon Wealth Management in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut.

Sandy has held many board of director and volunteer positions in organizations of professional, personal and charitable interest.

Recognized by the Greenwich YWCA with the 2013 BRAVA Award, Sandy’s understanding of the numerous and conflicting demands faced by women is reflected in her own balancing act.

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Don’t Miss This

BY COLLEEN CROWLEY

FAIRFIELD EVENTS IN MAY AND JUNE

MUSIC LOVERS

TOWN TRADITIONS

FUN RUNS

Time to dig out your running shoes for the Beardsley Zoo’s first annual Tiger Trot on Saturday, May 5. The family-friendly walk is followed by a day of activities and all-day admission to the zoo. Go to beardsleyzoo .org. Then go the distance at the Faxon Law Road Races on Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3. fairfieldhalf.org

Indigo Girls

Dive In T Rhiannon Giddens

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ake a drive up to the Ridgefield Playhouse to see a variety of worldclass acts right in your backyard.

First up is the Grammy-winning folk rock duo Indigo Girls, who have been making music history for more than thirty years. See the pair hit the stage on Wednesday, May 16, at 8 p.m.

Also, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will treat

Concerts, festivals and charity runs will get you up and moving this spring

audiences to a night of their signature contemporary swing sound on Friday, June 1, at 8 p.m. Stop by early for a complimentary wine reception and art viewing. For multicultural bluegrass, check out MacArthur Fellowship Grant winner Rhiannon Giddens on Wednesday, June 20, at 8 p.m. See more at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

INDIGO GIRLS COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS; RHIANNON GIDDENS BY DAVID MCCLISTER; RUNNERS, PAVEL1964-STOCK.ADOBE.COM

The beloved Dogwood Festival returns to Greenfield Hill Church from Friday, May 11, through Sunday, May 13. Browse antiques, greenery and artisan-crafted items perfect for gifting. Then head to Jennings Beach from Friday, May 18, through Sunday, May 20, for the Holy Family Church Carnival. Finally, after the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28, spend the afternoon enjoying family activities, crafts and games at the Fairfield Museum and History Center Memorial Day Picnic.

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS AUTOMOTIVE

FOOD, CATERING & LODGING

Jaguar Fairfield . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4

Flipside Burgers & Bar . . . . . . . . . 8

BUSINESS & FINANCE

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Cummings & Lockwood LLC . . . . . . 8 GuardHill Financial Corp./William P. Man & Kimberly Weintraub . . . . 11

Fairfield University . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Atria Senior Living . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Memorial Sloan Kettering Physicians at Norwalk Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Norwalk Hospital/Western Connecticut Health Network . . . 21

ENTERTAINMENT

JEWELRY

The Ridgefield Playhouse . . . . . . . 39 Star 99.9/The Anna & Raven Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Westport Country Playhouse . . . . 12

Henry C. Reid & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 5

EDUCATION & CHILDREN

EVENTS 2018 Near & Far Aid Golf Classic . . 27 The Alzheimer's Association Connecticut Chapter Sixth Annual Celebrating Hope 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 A-list Awards 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Best of the Gold Coast . . . . . . . . 43 Best of the Gold Coast Online Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Greenwich International Film Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Light a Fire 2018 . . . . . . . . . Cover 3 Moffly Media's 2018 Event Lineup . 36 Navigators Stamford KIC/IT Races to Benefit Kids in Crisis/Swim Bike Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Rose of Hope Annual Luncheon to Benefit the Norma Pfriem Breast Center . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The Glass House Summer Party . . 41

FASHION Mitchells . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2, 1

PLAN AHEAD

WEEKDAYS 5:30-10AM

LANDSCAPING, NURSERY & FLORISTS Homefront Farmers . . . . . . . . . . . 7

PHOTOGRAPHY Bob Capazzo Photography . . . . . . 39

WOMEN IN BUSINESS Alisa Bahl, PhD/OptumHealth . . . . 55 Darby Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Emilie Rubinfeld/ Carolina Herrera . . . . . . . . . . 54 Flavia Naslausky & Camilla Gazal/Zaniac . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Pullman & Comley, LLC . . . . . . . . 60 Rebecca Surran . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Sara Tucker & Sandra Greer/ First County Bank . . . . . . . . . . 61 Tracy Killoren Chadwell/ 1843 Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Yonni Wattenmaker/ Breast Cancer Alliance . . . . . . . 58

MISCELLANEOUS Big Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Westy Self Storage . . . . . . . . . . . 39

COUPLES COURT 7:40AM

Teens to Watch

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER AD RESERVATION CLOSE: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1

MAY/JUNE 2018 FAIRFIELD LIVING

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TRIBUTE OUR FOUNDER, JACK MOFFLY

Clockwise from left: The skipper on his honeymoon in the Virgin Islands in 1959, hoping his first mate would take to sailing; the publisher emeritus of Moffly Media; the party boy on a bucking bull at a Greenwich Riding & Trails benefit; the honorees— Donna and Jack—at Richards raising money for SoundWaters

John Wesley Moffly IV W

ITH HIS CAPTIVATING CHARM,

engaging wit and, of course, that signature bow tie, Jack Moffly was the life of every party. But he was far more than a fixture on the social circuit.

Whether in a boardroom of one of the many nonprofits he served over the years; on a dance floor (the man loved a dance floor); behind his computer crafting a balanced and thought-provoking article; or on a sailboat (a lifelong sailor, Jack was known as much for his skill as his grace and calm under pressure), Jack’s aptitude and passion for people were ever-present. He endeavored to connect—truly connect—with whomever he was speaking. And he wanted others 64

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to connect with one another. He wanted to foster community. That desire spawned the magazine you now hold in your hands.

Jack, along with Donna, his wife of fiftyeight years, launched Greenwich magazine in 1990. It would serve as the foundation for the Moffly Media of today—a company of town, shelter and custom publications, events, marketing services and digital properties. Even after turning over the business to son, Jonathan, Jack remained a guiding force. His hearty “Hello there!” echoed down the halls when he stopped by the office for a visit. He was always ready to offer sage advice based on his sixty-year publishing career (thirty at Time Inc.).

Yes, Jack left an indelible impression on anyone lucky enough to cross his path. The hundreds of letters, emails and social media posts following his passing were evidence of that. Some were from close friends, others from people who didn’t know Jack well—or personally at all, in some cases—yet each one felt the loss of a great man who made very real and meaningful contributions to life here in Fairfield County.

Jack Moffly, you will be missed. You most certainly will never be forgotten, and your legacy lives on in all that we do.

—Cristin Marandino TO READ OUR FULL TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE AND WORK OF JACK MOFFLY GO TO GREENWICHMAG.COM/JACKMOFFLY

CONTRIBUTED/VENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY/BOB CAPAZZO/ BROOKE NEUMAN FOR GREENWICH POST

AUGUST 5, 1926 — MARCH 11, 2018

2018 Here’s your chance to honor those who give back!

Visit ilovefc.com to nominate those individuals and organizations who have gone beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary in their support of those in need. Honorees will be featured in the November issue and celebrated at a special awards ceremony.

PLEASE VOTE TODAY!

Go to ilovefc.com/lightafire Voting Deadline: June 30

Nominations being accepted in the following categories: Most Involved in the Arts Most Dedicated Committee Member Outstanding Philanthropist Outstanding Teen Volunteer Best Friend to Children Best Health Advocate Lifetime Achievement Best Friend to Seniors Most Involved Couple Corporate Good Neighbor (Organization)

fairfield living, greenwich, new canaan•darien, stamford, westport, athome in fairfield county, ilovefc.com