Playa Vista entrepreneur finds success with multiple ventures By Bridgette M. Redman The entrepreneurial blood runs thick in Geoff Shames’ veins. From selling marked up candy to classmates to co-founding two marketing-related agencies, the Playa Vista entrepreneur has made a career of building businesses that cater to his passions and talents. It all started in the […]
Championing Diversity
Adrian Blake Mitchell opens access for local ballet dancers of color By Bridgette M. Redman (Courtesy photo) Adrian Blake Mitchell is determined to see that other young people—especially youth of color—are able to have the same access to ballet that he did. Mitchell and his partner, Andrea Lassakova, recently fled Russia after Ukraine was […]
Transforming People’s Health and the Planet
‘Master Chef’ contestant Alejandra Schrader makes plant-based eating sustainable By Marin Heinritz Former “Master Chef” contestant Alejandra Schrader got signed to work on her first book the same weekend she found out she was pregnant for the first time. At 46 it was the best possible news, a longtime dream come true for the Playa […]
Resolving Grief
Author and painter Terre Reed shares her journey through loss By Bridgette M. Redman Grief is a multilayered experience and there are many ways to explore, process and live through it. Terre Reed, who lives in both Playa Vista and Santa Fe, shared her grief in a book called “The Wind Blows and the Flowers […]
Dating Smarter
Coach Kev helps people achieve personal goals and build healthy relationships By Kamala Kirk After a successful career as a business change consultant and entrepreneur, Kevin Thibodeaux (aka Coach Kev) decided he was ready to pursue a new challenge. “I helped companies implement huge change projects and initiatives, new processes, strategies, technologies and did […]
The Woman Everyone Knows
Playa Vista’s HOA director celebrates 20 years of building community By Bridgette M. Redman / Photo by Chris Mortenson Dawn Suskin didn’t really plan to be where she is—the executive director for the homeowner’s association of Playa Vista Parks and Landscape—a woman sometimes called “the mayor of Playa Vista” because she knows everyone and everyone […]
Women in Business: Local Market Expert
Tami Humphrey helps clients find their dream homes in Playa Vista By Sara Edwards / Photo by Chris Mortenson Real estate has been a big part of Tami Humphrey’s life since she was a child. Her parents were real estate partners who owned a brokerage, and family conversations at the dinner table were […]
Women in Business: Dynamic Duo
Rudi Behdad and Sam Araghi are a successful mother and son real estate team By Srianthi Perera / Photo credit: Sina Araghi Rudi Behdad’s real estate career has grown in tandem with Playa Vista. She bought a condominium there in 2003, when the planned community established itself in the land formerly owned by […]
Women in Business: Memorial Project
Sisters open European Wax Center in honor of mother By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski / Photo by Chris Mortenson The Velasco family sought to open a European Wax franchise as a family project. When their matriarch, Dr. Lisa Velasco, passed away of pancreatic cancer at age 52, the mission took on a greater cause. “We […]
Women in Business: Style and Function
Nicole Longo of NEAT Method Los Angeles South Bay offers luxury home organizing services By Kamala Kirk / Photo by Chris Mortenson Growing up in a military family, Nicole Longo developed a passion for organizing at a young age. Due to her father’s career in the Air Force, they moved frequently so she […]