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SAN ANTO NIO MAG AZINE / O CTO BER 20 13 / THE IT LIST

The It List

Meet the 2013 It List B

M R

R E

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Texas Capital Bank Greenhouse Mall Medif ast Calif ornia Closets CKC Custom Homes St. Mary's University Blue Haven Pools Phyllis Browning Woodhouse Spa

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Photography By JoJo Marion, Illustrations By Kyle Hilton

In one of the f astest-growing cities in the nation, it's not hard to f ind innovators. We looked to the people building buzz and leading the Alamo City in 10 dif f erent categories. Some make headlines on a regular basis, while others toil away humbly, avoiding the spotlight. T hey are by no means the best or the only locals creating change, but they’re indelibly leaving their mark on this town. Meet the 2013 It List.

Community Darryl Byrd Future Shaper It’s really easy to predict the f uture. T hat is, of course, if your wild guesses have no real impact on people’s actual lives. Envisioning and creating a better f uture is an altogether dif f erent matter. And that’s just the task SA2020 President and CEO Darryl Byrd has bef ore him. Launched in 2010 by Mayor Julián Castro, SA2020 was simultaneously an acknowledgement that the city would change PDFmyURL.com

drastically over the next decade—thanks largely to a rapidly increasing population—and a directive to shape changes in everything f rom arts and culture to community saf ety to downtown development and economic competitiveness. If meeting a wide range of goals in everything f rom employment rates to diabetes-related deaths sounds like a big job f or the head of a nonprof it with a small staf f , well, it is. Byrd says he has plenty of help. “I am most excited and energized by the f act that SA2020 is the product of thousands of San Antonians creating a bold shared vision f or the f uture of their city and, more importantly, taking ownership of bringing that vision into reality,” he says. But don’t tell Byrd individuals are getting involved; he says they’re making an investment. “It’s a more powerf ul action word. When someone sees himself or herself as an investor, they expect a return. San Antonians now expect real returns f rom their community engagement,” he says. Byrd has some pretty direct experience reimagining San Antonio. His last job was CEO and managing director f or Pearl Brewery LLC, where he oversaw the transf ormation of the old brewery into one of the city’s premier cultural and culinary hubs. Not bad training.

Robert Labrutta Commander PDFmyURL.com

With thousands of current personnel and military retirees calling the area home, San Antonio comes by its Military City, USA label honestly. And, as of May, the man at the top of the leadership chain f or that community is Brig. Gen. Robert Labrutta. He is the commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio—which includes Lackland and Randolph Air Force Bases, Camp Bullis and Fort Sam Houston. Together they f orm the largest joint base within the Department of Def ense. Labrutta is a central decision maker and voice in the region on topics ranging f rom the economy to education to health and training. He returns to SA af ter starting his career as a basic trainee at Lackland in the 1980s. Robert Rivard Storyteller Many San Antonians are f inding their daily dose of local news f rom T he Rivard Report, an online independent news venture created by Robert Rivard in 2012. His dedication to telling stories of the community is a call to action: “We hope to be a catalyst f or urban transf ormation and progressive economic and cultural development.” James Lifshutz Preservationist T he site of the San Antonio State Hospital, built in 1892, would later become a turn of the century resort known as Hot Wells Hotel and Spa. Now in ruins, the natural hot sulf ur destination is set to rise again under James Lif shutz, a man who is no stranger to resurrecting historical landmarks. If this venture is anything like his previous work on T he Cadillac Lof ts or Blue Star, it is sure to be transf ormative. Susan Hughes Environmentalist, gardener Susan Hughes’ conservation résumé reads like a who’s-who of Texas wildlif e and community programs. She’s served on multiple committees and boards to protect natural resources and wildlif e, including the South Texas Farm and Range Forum, of which she was a f ounder, and the Edwards Aquif er Authority Board, where she is vice chair. As executive director of Green Spaces PDFmyURL.com

Alliance of South Texas, she works to create a network of community gardens and to conserve open spaces in rural and urban areas.

Business Francis Wearden Advertising Ace One of Francis Weardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s f irst jobs was in his f atherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s translation company, which f ocused on aiding Mexican businesses that wanted to expand into the U.S. It was a natural job f or Wearden, whose American f ather moved to Puebla, Mexico, to marry a local and stayed to open the f irst English-asa-f oreign-language lab in the country. T hese days, Wearden does translation of a dif f erent sort, helping companies like Whataburger and CocaCola reach the increasingly important Hispanic market. PDFmyURL.com

Wearden uses his extensive cross-cultural experience—he traveled back and f orth across the border as a kid and half of his extended f amily spoke no English while the other half spoke no Spanish—to help the clients of his FPO Marketing Agency deliver messages that resonate. “T he best def inition I’ve heard about marketing is that the brand is a story, but it’s a story about you, not a story about the brand,” says Wearden, who launched FPO in 2003. In other words, ef f ective marketing campaigns targeting Hispanics have to speak their language, both literally and f iguratively. For instance, FPO was brought in to collaborate with Dove’s general marketing agency as it worked to introduce Dove Body Wash to Hispanic women. While ads in the U.S. concentrated on the idea that women of all shapes and sizes are beautif ul, research showed the concept of beauty was dif f erent among many Hispanic consumers. “For Latinas, real beauty is something internal, it’s how you behave, what you do, how you f eel and how those things shine through to the outside,” he says. So instead of f ocusing purely on the physical, Wearden and his colleagues built a campaign around a spokeswoman named Giselle Blondet, known as the Hispanic Katie Couric. “She resembled the brand in her optimism and in the f act that she encouraged women to make the most out of lif e,” he says. Josue Robles Military advocate Josue Robles took the reins as president and CEO of f inancial services behemoth USAA in 2007, serving the f inancial needs of military f amilies at one of the only f ully integrated f inancial services organizations in America. Fast f orward six years and Robles—who was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, draf ted as a private during the Vietnam era and retired as a major general in 1994 af ter serving 28 years in the U.S. Army—has helped the company rack up an enviable record. T he city’s second largest private-sector employer, USAA has consistently received outstanding awards PDFmyURL.com

and ratings f or member service, employee well-being and f inancial strength. And, Robles has f ound another way to serve military veterans: by hiring and training them. He was honored at the White House earlier this year f or USAA’s commitment toward incorporating veterans in the workplace. Graham Weston Top Racker No single person is responsible f or San Antonio’s quick and continuing emergence as a technology hub, but it would be hard to imagine it all happening without Graham Weston, whom we f eatured as one of last October’s “Men of the Year.” T he inveterate entrepreneur—he launched his f irst venture in seventh grade—was a co-f ounder of open cloud giant Rackspace, where he now serves as chairman. Weston is also actively supporting the city’s tech scene and entrepreneurs hoping to f ollow his lead with the downtown business incubator Geekdom and is a major supporter of ST EM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Alan Baxter and T im Maloney Economic Developers Af ter a f raud and embezzlement scandal a couple of years ago, it would be understandable if the city of Windcrest was struggling to rebuild its reputation. But it’s not. T hanks in large part to the leadership of Mayor Alan Baxter and Tim Maloney, the executive director of the Windcrest Economic Development Corporation, the city is earning a reputation as one of the most businessf riendly locales in Texas. Looking to build on its success as the corporate headquarters f or Rackspace, Windcrest actively helps businesses cut through red tape and provides matching grants f or small business improvements. T he city has even made it a goal to completely eliminate residential property taxes, which would be a f irst f or Texas.

Education Kathy Bruck PDFmyURL.com

Pre-k Leader She’s worked 15-hour days and weekends since April, but Kathy Bruck doesn’t let it show. At the start of the second week of Pre-K 4 SA classes, the CEO of the city’s early childhood education program sounds as excited and energetic as the 4-year-olds in the classrooms. Af ter a 37-year career with Harlandale ISD that including teaching, early childhood and special education supervision, principalship and administration, ending with 12 years as executive director f or curriculum and instruction, Bruck says it was hard to leave the district—but the of f er f rom city manager Sheryl Sculley to serve as interim CEO f or Pre-K 4 SA was just too great to pass up. “I said, ‘Wow. T hat’s exactly what my passion is,’” Bruck recalls. “It was just like a dream. I jumped on board.” PDFmyURL.com

passion is,’” Bruck recalls. “It was just like a dream. I jumped on board.” Af ter voters approved a 1/8-cent tax increase to f und the prekindergarten program, a signature initiative of Julián Castro’s mayoral tenure, preparations were f ast-tracked f or two centers to open this f all (two more are slated to open with the 2014-15 school year). Besides the logistics of preparing the centers, developing curriculum and overseeing enrollment, Bruck spent a lot of time craf ting the right team of teachers and directors. More than 500 people applied f or the 44 teaching positions, which include several academic coaches, a model that proved successf ul in Harlandale. Bruck says they looked especially f or educators willing to try something new. Bruck is keenly aware the work has just started and many eyes are on the program. “T here’s a little bit of [pressure]. I know how important it is to the mayor,” she says. “All I can do is work hard, work collaboratively and take advice. I’m not af raid of criticism. I think it’s healthy, as long as it’s done in a positive way.” Joey Lopez New Media Master In the University of Incarnate Word’s Convergent Media Program, Northwest Side native Joey Lopez teaches students skills in the digital mediums that have become imperative in nearly every industry: social media, new media narrative, web design and others. Lopez approaches his courses with a unique hands-on, tailored teaching style that puts power and responsibility f or personal growth in the students’ hands and gives students a chance to develop media strategies f or large organizations such as Bexar County Bibliotech, Cox Media and the San Antonio Food Bank. Gregory White Cyber Security King As the director of the Center f or Inf rastructure Assurance and Security and an associate prof essor in computer sciences, UT SA’s Gregory White may be the most important man in the city when it comes to the f uture of cyber security, a booming industry in the local economy. T he Education Leadership Award winner also served in the U.S. Air Force in cryptology and computer science capacities. PDFmyURL.com

Marco Cervantes T he Hip-Hop Professor An assistant prof essor in UT SA’s Mexican American Studies Program, which is part of the Department of Bicultural and Bilingual Studies, Marco Cervantes is much more than your average teacher. His passion f or racial harmony bleeds through into his culturally aware hip-hop endeavors as a member of T hird Root and his solo project, Mexican Stepgrandf ather. “Both my roles as academic and artist are in constant dialogue, inf orming each other and of ten overlapping,” he says. “T his is rewarding and has allowed me to approach education in some new and interesting ways.” David Robinson NBA Legend, Student Inspiration T his Spurs legend traded in his basketball f or pencils and f ounded Carver Academy 12 years ago, a kindergarten through sixth grade Christian private school. T he two-time NBA champion’s school partnered with IDEA Public Schools to turn Carver into a charter school in 2012, and David Robinson continues to of f er inspiration f or students: in 2011, he earned a master’s degree f rom University of Incarnate Word.

Sports Russ Bookbinder Sports Exec Since arriving in San Antonio in 1987 to become executive vice president of business operations f or the Spurs, Russ Bookbinder has PDFmyURL.com

seemingly had his hands in everything involving a ball, bat or puck going on in the city. Indeed, besides his work with the Spurs —where he retired in 2008 —Bookbinder helped launch the Alamo Bowl, was active in SA’s hosting of the U.S. Olympic Festival, served on the board of the San Antonio Sports Foundation f or 20 years and ran the business and basketball operations f or the WNBA’s Silver Stars. T hese days, Bookbinder spends his time trying to bring the tangible benef its of sports to as many people around the city as possible. As president and CEO of the nonprof it San Antonio Sports, Bookbinder and his 16-member staf f try to expand opportunities and locations where kids can play. “One thing we know we lack is parks,” he says. To rectif y that, Bookbinder’s group is heavily involved with the SPARK parks program, which helps turn public elementary and middle school property into neighborhood parks that are open even when school is not in session. Additionally, Bookbinder is enthusiastic about the nonprof it’s “i play!” af ter school program, which provides kids f rom 30-area schools instruction in sports, nutrition and character education. PDFmyURL.com

He is also working hard to bring major sporting events to San Antonio. In some ways, it’s an easy sell. “We have the climate, culture and f un. T his is a destination city,” he says. Although it’s true attracting more high-prof ile events helps raise the prof ile of San Antonio, Bookbinder’s pitch about the wisdom of doing so comes down to dollars and cents. Since 1991, San Antonio Sportshosted events alone have generated an estimated $446 million in economic impact. Kawhi Leonard NBA Hotshot True, everyone in San Antonio was distraught to see the Spurs’ heroic playof f run come up so achingly short. But if you’re looking f or a silver lining, just ponder the amazing f uture Kawhi Leonard surely has. T he sof t-spoken Leonard averaged nine rebounds and 13.5 points per game throughout the playof f s. T he usually reticent Leonard made a little news this summer when he declared (in a quiet and polite manner, mind you) that he wants to be an NBA superstar. We hope so, too, Kawhi. Mike Carter Volleyball Pro When Mike Carter f irst started coaching volleyball at Randolph High 24 years ago the sport was little known in SA. T here were just two volleyball clubs; today there are more than 40, many of them churning out players who receive college scholarships. Much of the credit f or this explosion of popularity can be credited to Carter, who spent the past 14 years at Reagan High and is now club director f or the Alamo Volleyball Association. Not bad f or a guy who had never even seen a high school volleyball game bef ore he was hired as Randolph’s head coach. Larry Kennan Coaching Legend When the talent on the f ootball f ield at the University of the Incarnate Word begins to rival what’s on the sidelines, their opponents better watch out. Head f ootball coach Larry Kennan, who was hired in 2011, brings an astonishing depth of experience, having spent 16 years as an NFL coach and the past 13 as executive director of the NFL Coaches Association. Kennan will likely need his PDFmyURL.com

reservoir of f ootball smarts as he (and new hire assistant coach Ricky Williams, a UT grad and Heisman Trophy winner) leads his team into Division Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Southland Conf erence. Lynn Hickey Athletic Visionary What a dif f erence two years makes. Bef ore 2011, the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners had never f ielded a f ootball team, a sporting omission as large as the state of Texas itself . But thanks to the tireless work of longtime athletic director Lynn Hickey, the Roadrunners have more than just a team. T his year UT SA is competing in its f irst season in Conf erence USA and held its own in its home opener against perennial powerhouse Oklahoma State at the Alamodome.

Politics Leticia Van de Putte State Senator, Fighter Becoming the f ocus of national, even global, attention was quite literally the last thing State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte had on her mind when she rushed to the state Capitol on June 25. Earlier in the day, Van de Putte delivered the eulogy f or her f ather, who was killed in a car accident â&#x20AC;&#x201D;just a month and a half PDFmyURL.com

af ter her youngest grandson died suddenly. “I got there and had no emotional energy lef t,” she recalls. Van de Putte says she f elt compelled to go to Austin to support her colleague Wendy Davis’s ef f orts to f ilibuster Senate Bill 5, which put severe restrictions on abortion. Af ter attempting unsuccessf ully to be recognized to speak on the f loor of the Legislature, Van de Putte uttered a sentence that has now been repeated to her in places as distant as Scotland. “At what point must a f emale senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?” T he instant reaction to her f rustration was titanic; Van de Putte says the granite Capitol literally shook as thousands of the people who descended on the building roared their approval. Van de Putte realizes now that her comment struck a chord because it was an expression of f emale f rustration about multiple issues. “It was about when are [men] going to pay attention to what we say and value us f or what we’re worth?” Still, despite what Van de Putte calls the “toxic” nature of the special legislative session, the senator expresses great f ondness f or colleagues on both sides of the aisle—many of whom provided much-needed support to her f amily during their trying times. Joaquin and Julián Castro Dem Party Stars PDFmyURL.com

You can’t have a political it-list in San Antonio—or anywhere these days—without mention of the Castro brothers who, a year shy of 40, carry the hope of a blue Texas on their shoulders. Love them or hate them, these brothers have cache. Julián (the older one) is mayor of the nation’s seventh-largest city, a political hotshot with a rising national prof ile. Joaquin (the handsome one —he likes to tell people who conf use the identical twins) is a f reshman congressman who’s a regular on the national talk show circuit and was selected to speak alongside other Democratic leaders, including President Barack Obama and f ormer presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, at an event honoring the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. T heir party buzzes with hope f or bigger and better things—governor? Maybe, president?—f rom the Democratic twof er. Will they or won’t they? Strategists and pundits can’t help themselves. Only the Castros know and they aren’t saying. Eyes f rom both sides will have to keep watching. Diego Bernal Grassroots Politician Is he f or real? All signs point to yes. District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal redef ines grassroots politics with an approach to constituent issues that is as revolutionary to some as it is f ace-palm common sense to others. T he civil rights lawyer became popular with constituents f or his ef f ort to walk in their shoes—f rom riding public transit, to sitting f or a monthly cof f ee with neighbors (his treat). Most recently, he set his sights on a controversial update to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance that adds protections f or sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as veteran status. T he issue became highly divisive but passed in an 8-3 vote in early September. Susan Pamerleau New Sheriff in Town Her campaign f or sherif f raised eyebrows. Her victory made history. And now she promises to raise the bar. Sherif f Susan Pamerleau, the f irst woman elected to the position in Bexar County, had no law enf orcement experience when she won the 2012 election. What she brought to the of f ice was lif e experience that guides her philosophy. As sherif f , Pamerleau commands an army of 1,700 deputies, detention of f icers and civilian employees. In this, she has experience. She served in the U.S. Air Force f or 32 years, and retired as a major general. She's approached her new of f ice PDFmyURL.com

with executive f ocus, challenging precedent and shaking up convention.

Youth Sebastien De La Cruz El Charro de Oro Af ter wowing audiences with his mariachi skills on NBC’s America’s Got Talent in 2012, 11-yearold Sebastien De La Cruz returned to his hometown and dazzled crowds during the NBA Finals. Along with having the musical prowess of someone well beyond his 11 years, De La Cruz also showed the kind of wisdom and grace most adults could only hope to possess when strangers f looded Twitter with racist remarks f ollowing his perf ormance of “T he Star Spangled Banner” prior to Game 3. T he little musician inspired his PDFmyURL.com

hometown when he responded via social media by thanking his supporters and saying to “not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the ‘American Dream.’ T his is part of the American lif e.” Impressed by his character, the Spurs invited him back f or an encore bef ore Game 4 in which he was congratulated by the Spurs and Heat coaches. Mayor Julián Castro—who told the pre-teen, “You are a true talent and you represent the best of our nation’s f uture.”—introduced De La Cruz bef ore the game. His perf ormances didn’t stop there, either. He was invited in July to star as guest perf ormer at New Mexico’s Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque. Whether he continues to wow as a mariachi musician or grows up to f ollow another dream, we f eel certain De La Cruz’s f uture is bright. Cosmo Albrecht Debate Champ Speaking on the lingering political ef f ects of slavery in the U.S. isn’t an activity f or which most high school students volunteer. But Cosmo Albrecht, 17, isn’t like most students. A senior in the International School of the Americas magnet program at Lee High School, Albrecht not only volunteers f or such tasks as a competitor in the National Forensic League, but earlier this summer won third place giving a speech on just that topic at the National Speech & Debate tournament in Alabama. Af ter graduating, Albrecht hopes to take his passion f or current events and make an impact through political analysis or international af f airs work. “It really dictates our lives,” he says. Sarah Ellis College Teen When Sarah J. Ellis, 16, was born with a def ormity, doctors said she would never perf orm at the level of other students her age. Ellis set out to prove them wrong, skipping the seventh and 12th grades despite being placed in special education classes as a child and enrolling at St. Mary’s University this f all with dreams of becoming a multimedia journalist. PDFmyURL.com

Jose Muzquiz T he Anti-Hacker A f reshman at University of Texas at San Antonio, Jose Muzquiz, 18, spent his f inal years in high school developing techniques to prevent cyber threats and attacks. His skills, and those of his peers, helped the Holmes High CyberPatriot team place among the top 35 in the country in 2013. Af ter Muzquiz graduates with a degree in inf rastructure assurance, he might just be SA’s next great cyber def ender. Alexa Fisher Poker Star When Alexa Fisher, 10, started learning poker at age 3, her dad, Justin, thought it might help develop her math skills. Seven years later she not only excels in math, she’s also on a f irst-name basis with prof essional poker players and has beat out enough adults in local charity tournaments that she’s won and donated more than $800. She’s not eligible f or the World Series of Poker until 2024, but she’s already making plans to be a top contender. And watch out f or her sister Aria, 7, who’s eligible in 2027 and already f ollowing in her big sister’s f ootsteps.

Philanthropy Jocelyn “Joci” Straus A&E Superstar To discover the f ountain f rom which Jocelyn Straus’ Las Casas Foundation sprung, one must go back to its f ounding year: 1988. But to study the vast garden PDFmyURL.com

of arts and entertainment it sustains, one need merely look to last night, when the house lights dimmed at the Majestic and Empire theatres. With every note, every turn, every laugh under the stage lights, Straus’ seeds are sown. Twentyf ive years since the f oundation’s f irst steps, her ef f orts are immortalized. T he complex was renamed the Joci Straus Perf orming Arts Center at a lavish May gala, in honor of Straus’ lif elong commitment to the theaters’ preservation and to perf orming arts in San Antonio. It is the heart of the city’s A&E beat. And she is its lif eline. “Both the Majestic and the Empire are historically signif icant, but that’s not what makes them important,” Straus says. “It’s the experiences they deliver that make them true works of art. Art is so important—we all need it in our lives. Go to the theater and enjoy a perf ormance. You’ll come out of the theater without any cares.” T he civic leader and philanthropic powerhouse (also proud mother to Republican House Speaker Joe Straus) created the Foundation f or Cultural Arts, serves as chair emeritus f or the Texas Medal of Arts Awards, and is also a tireless f undraiser f or arts scholarships. T his year, Las Casas awarded $85,500 to local students. “We want them to have the ability to pursue their dreams, whatever those may be,” she says. PDFmyURL.com

Harvey Najim Big Spender Workers began laying the f oundation f or the new San Antonio Children’s Museum during the summer. Philanthropist Harvey Najim started long bef ore, with a personal $2 million gif t toward its construction. When Najim, the retired CEO of Sirius, writes a check, it’s no small note. “Ten or 20 grand doesn’t make as big a dif f erence as a seven-f igure gif t,” he told us last October (“Men of the Year”). Since the year af ter its f ounding in 2006, the Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation and Najim have donated or pledged about $45 million to 162 children’s charities, including $3 million in July to the construction of T he Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Elisheva Nawrocik Caregiver When it debuts Oct. 2 at an event at Medlars Jewelry, the Michelle Kuri Foundation will honor the memory of its namesake, who suf f ered f rom severe cerebral palsy until 2008 when she died at age 37. It will also aim to support f amilies who care f or ailing loved ones, specif ically those who are non-verbal and non-ambulatory. Its f ounder, Elisheva Placeres Nawrocik, Michelle’s mother, understands the needs f irsthand. “My experience helped me def ine the three key support areas of the f oundation,” she says. Financial help; education and resources f or f amilies and medical providers to better communicate with non-verbal patients and their caregivers; and emotional support are all key needs the f oundation will address through a number of programs. Daniel Edelen (Young) Man of the Year T he monsters in Daniel Edelen’s closet were real: high-risk T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, diagnosed when he was just 7. He f ought back—during three years and f our months of chemotherapy, three surgeries, including one to remove a portion of his right lung, 21 spinal taps, 22 blood and platelet transf usions, 88 days in the hospital, and more than 55 IV treatments. It worked, and then some. Now 16, the Churchill High School student keeps f ighting f or others with the disease. His f undraising ef f orts earned a record-breaking $466,000 f or the Leukemia and PDFmyURL.com

Lymphoma Society and made him the organization’s top f undraiser in the country and 2013 National Man of the Year. Elisheva Nawrocik Caregiver When it debuts Oct. 2 at an event at Medlars Jewelry, the Michelle Kuri Foundation will honor the memory of its namesake, who suf f ered f rom severe cerebral palsy until 2008 when she died at age 37. It will also aim to support f amilies who care f or ailing loved ones, specif ically those who are non-verbal and non-ambulatory. Its f ounder, Elisheva Placeres Nawrocik, Michelle’s mother, understands the needs f irsthand. “My experience helped me def ine the three key support areas of the f oundation,” she says. Financial help; education and resources f or f amilies and medical providers to better communicate with non-verbal patients and their caregivers; and emotional support are all key needs the f oundation will address through a number of programs. Gordon Hartman Special Needs Champion T he success of Morgan’s Wonderland made Gordon Hartman a household name f or f amilies with special needs children, wounded veterans and the communities who care f or them. His latest philanthropic venture was a risk—investing in a local pro soccer team with a charity f undraising arm. T he risk has now returned a reward. Soccer f or a Cause and the San Antonio Scorpions this year are reporting a net prof it to benef it Hartman’s Family Foundation. His ef f orts, which serve special needs communities in imaginative and enchanting ways, are changing the way the city sees and serves them as well.

Food & Drink Steve Newman Craft Beer Afficionado Blink and you’ll miss it. PDFmyURL.com

Miss it and you’ll regret it. From the mind behind T he Friendly Spot and Alamo Street Eat Bar, the Tuk Tuk Tap Room is Steve Newman’s latest collaboration to bring together partner Jody Newman and pal, chef David Gilbert, f or a new adventure in daily bread and beer. Always beer. T he soon-to-be-open Tap Room promises to stick to Newman’s winning f ormula: a casual, chef driven menu and plenty of taps—60, and a beer garden out back. Tucked between two buildings along a f ast-changing stretch of Broadway known as River North, the storef ront is neighbor to Pearl and two new mixeduse complexes, the Mosaic and 1800 Broadway. “One of our goals is to be a real neighborhood place to hang. We love the growth in Government Hill and in the Pearl, and really want to be an everyday place where people can chill,” Jody Newman told us in May (“SAM Says”). T he menu is an homage to Asian PDFmyURL.com

street f ood, the kind Gilbert f ound in his travels to Southeast Asia, where beer pairs with regional tastes and ingredients. T he name plays of f of the word f or an auto-rickshaw, a small, af f ordable, urban transportation solution. T he idea is another winner f rom this innovating trio that’s elevating casual f are—one savory bite, one cold gulp at a time. Eugene Simor Brewer, Beer Champion T his guy is always wearing beer goggles. We think that’s a good thing. T hrough them Alamo Beer Co. president Eugene Simor has seen the f uture. He revived the Alamo brew that disappeared during Prohibition through the creation of his Alamo Golden Ale. And, in December he plans to break ground on a brewery near the Hays Street Bridge. His initiative was approved unanimously by the City Council. Now, a small preservation-minded group is trying to halt f urther expansion. T hey’ve f iled a lawsuit scheduled f or trial this month that would stop the city f rom selling a plot of land to Simor f or a f uture restaurant and retail component next to the brewery. Simor, who plans to open his brewery to the public in October 2014, says with the support of the city and neighborhood association, he’s pushing on. Lisa Wong Tex-Mex Goddess Celebrated restaurateur Lisa Wong f ought the law and lost in a controversial Southtown land deal in late 2012 but bounced back—quickly, with plans to expand her empire north. To the delight of Northsiders, Wong’s beloved Rosario’s is coming to San Pedro Avenue. T he f amiliar concept is one of Wong’s winningest: classic Mexican adapted to Texas palates, served with a touch of f unky-cool. T hink Frida Kahlo holding a margarita. Pink walls. Retro-style f urniture. It’s Wong’s Midas touch—turning dime-a-dozen ideas into salsa-dipped gold. Quealy Watson Chef, pop-up winner Chef Quealy Watson stated the obvious when he named his weekend pop-up spot “Hot Joy.” Sunday and Monday nights in Southtown were indeed hotter and more joyous when Watson’s PDFmyURL.com

Asian operation took over T he Monterey. “It’s great, divey Asian f ood presented in a nice way,” Hot Joy f an and f ellow chef Tim Rattray, of T he Granary, told us in April (“Where the Chef s Go”). T he two-night collaboration with El Monty’s Chad Carey created a sensation among patient patrons who delighted in the news that Hot Joy has lef t its pop-up days behind f or a f ull-time shif t on South Alamo Street, opening in November. More good news f or f ans of this duo: T heir open-late pizza joint, Barbaro, opened in late summer. Steve McHugh Chef, Carnivore If what ails you is a hunger f or slow-craf ted, hands-on cooking, Chef Steve McHugh has Cured —a new addition to Pearl’s impressive culinary set, opening this f all. It’s been a little more than a year since McHugh lef t celebri-chef John Besh’s Lüke to open his own spot. Cured will f ocus on the art of house-made everything—f rom the cocktails at the bar to the pickles on the plate and the charcuterie selections. See McHugh’s beef y display of talent Nov. 2-3 at Pearl’s Meatopia f ood f estival.

Arts & Culture Michael J. Fresher Performing Arts Guru Michael J. Fresher has an exciting year ahead of him. With less than 12 months to the opening of the Tobin Center f or the Perf orming Arts, its new CEO and president, who arrived in May, is already busy meeting with as PDFmyURL.com

many arts organizations, nonprof its, f or-prof its and city and civic leaders as possible. Beating out more than 250 applicants in the Tobin’s national search, Fresher brings impressive experience to San Antonio. In his 17 years in live entertainment, he’s worked at some of the f inest perf orming arts centers, including New York’s Madison Square Garden and the Bushnell Center f or the Perf orming Arts in Hartf ord, Conn. Fresher says he’s looking f orward to helping promote SA’s thriving arts and culture community with one of the most technologically and acoustically advanced centers in North America. “Along with our chairman of the board, Bruce Bugg, and the rest of our very supportive board of directors, the Tobin Center staf f is extremely excited to bring f orth a world-class perf ormance venue to the city of San Antonio as well as to the perf orming arts community,” he says. “It is our goal to be a convener f or the arts community and to serve as a uniter and promoter f or these groups to allow them to f lourish and develop into vibrant cultural arts assets to the region.” Right now, Fresher says he’s f ocused on “getting a better understanding of expectations.” His next priority is solving one of his most f requently asked questions: “Where will I park?” A national PDFmyURL.com

parking company has been called in to assist staf f in resolving the issue, and Fresher is conf ident there will be plenty of space—and entertainment—when the center launches in 2014. Sarah Castillo Gallery Gal Sarah Castillo is one busy creative. A graduate student in bicultural studies at UT SA, she’s also a member of a multimedia art installation collective known as Mas Rudas, and this year f ounded Lady Base Gallery, an “experimental initiative supporting the creative practices of practice-based research and cross disciplines.” T he gallery exhibits works f ocusing on women and the LGBT Q community and Castillo invites artists to work within the space. Arturo Infante Almeida Curator, Artist At the University of Texas at San Antonio, Arturo Inf ante Almeida is the art specialist—that’s literally his job title. A prof essional artist, Almeida oversees all aspects of art exhibitions and acquisitions f or the university, including the Institute of Texan Cultures’ popular Texas Contemporary Artists Series. He also works hand in hand with UT SA President Ricardo Romo as an art consult. Steven M. Karr Western Art Expert T he long-anticipated Briscoe Western Art Museum is scheduled to open in October under the guidance of executive director Steven Karr, who joined the museum in November of 2011 af ter seven years as director and Ahmanson curator of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian at T he Autry National Center in Los Angeles. Alex and Annie Comminos Creative Couple T he dynamic husband-and-wif e team and f ormer gallery owners of Comminos Studio and Gallery in Lonestar Arts District launched CARP in August. T he Comminos Alternative Residency Program PDFmyURL.com

will f oster the ceramic arts community with a live/work program. T he f irst residents are University of Texas at San Antonio grads Eric Owen and Andrew Leo Stansbury.

Health Alan Peterson PT SD Researcher Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has long been considered a chronic illness. But Dr. Alan Peterson, a retired lieutenant colonel and chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine within the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science CenterSan Antonio, says it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be that way. Af ter retiring f rom the Air Force in 2006, Peterson set out to do something about PT SD. From the Health Science Center, he established (and now serves as director f or) PDFmyURL.com

the South Texas Research Organizational Network Guiding Studies on Trauma and Resilience (ST RONG STAR). Initially f unded in 2008 through a $35 million Department of Def ense grant, ST RONG STAR involves the collaboration of more than 125 investigators who are working to determine how PT SD, under various circumstances, can be treated to the point of remission. Between additional grants received since 2008 and a $45 million award f rom the DOD and Department of Veterans Af f airs in August, Peterson’s team has now been granted more than $100 million. T he latest grant will include new studies conducted under a consortium called ST RONG STAR-CAP (ST RONG STAR Consortium to Alleviate PT SD). “Dr. Peterson is heading the most important initiative supported by the Department of Def ense and the Department of Veterans Af f airs to come our way in a generation,” says Terence Keane, director of the Behavioral Science Division of the VA National Center f or PT SD. For Peterson, the goal is simple. "We're here f or the troops," he says. Larry Miller Inventor, Life-saver For Dr. Larry Miller, the f ormer ER chairman f or Baptist Health System, seeing patients die because their veins collapsed and they weren’t able to receive lif esaving f luids through an IV f ast enough was simply unacceptable. So, he created a needle and drill system that would provide access to the uncollapsible veins that exist inside of bones. Years later, his company, Vidacare, is continuing to save lives through medical innovations. T heir latest, a specially craf ted system known as the TALON will enable military personnel to insert a needle into the sternum bone and deliver IV f luids to patients while still in the battlef ield. Jayne E. Pope Health Care Hero Jayne E. Pope took the reins as CEO at Hill Country Memorial—which was named a 100 Top PDFmyURL.com

Jayne E. Pope took the reins as CEO at Hill Country Memorial—which was named a 100 Top Hospital by Truven Health Analytics f or the second consecutive year—early this year but her leadership began long bef ore. She served as Hill Country’s chief nursing of f icer f or nearly two years and also led the way in nursing in Canada, in an Austin clinic system (where she led best practice ef f orts that resulted in Joint Commission Accreditation) and in Georgetown (where she established a clinical preceptorship program). Sandy Morander Fat Fighter Cutting SA’s obesity rate hasn’t been an individual ef f ort. But Sandy Morander, Mayor’s Fitness Council member and YMCA of Greater San Antonio CEO/president, has certainly been a driving f orce. Under her leadership since 2011, the Y has spearheaded Síclovía, of f ered f ree health services at the Y Living Center, managed the city’s f itcitysa.com resource site and, starting this month, will of f er f ree diabetes prevention programs in partnership with the city’s Metropolitan Health District. Suzy Monford Natural Foodie Bringing healthy options to San Antonians has been Suzy Monf ord’s mantra—both as a f ormer exec at H-E-B and at EZ ’s, where as CEO she nixed the use of trans f ats, genetically modif ied f ood items and MSG. T he Helotes native is now taking her passion f or f reshness to Australia, where she moved recently to work as an executive with grocery giant Woolworths. This article appears in the October 2013 issue of San Antonio Magazine Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to San Antonio Magazine » Add yo ur co mment:

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