By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Gabriela Tsimanis was fed up with drivers recklessly navigating their way near Playa Vista Elementary School. So, the member of Girl Scout Troop 2155 researched the problem for her Girl Scout Silver Award project. The Silver Award requires a 50-hour commitment. She found that drivers speed and do not halt at stop […]
Bettering the World: PDR’s Ali Patton studies conservation in Mongolia
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Ali Patton doesn’t take being a marine biologist lightly. The Playa del Rey resident is diversifying her educational pursuits by studying terrestrial and marine animals — all in the name of becoming a great scientist. She’s earning her master’s degree through Miami University and its Project Dragonfly, which allowed her to study […]
Walk for Talk: Playa Vista resident honored for advocacy
By Laura Latzko Toni Gold has long suffered from spasmodic dysphonia, but, frustratingly, the rare disorder is often mistaken for laryngitis or drunkenness. To raise awareness and donations for research for the voice disorder, Gold will participate in Walk for Talk, which is set for October 12 to October 15. During the event, participants around […]
Playa del Rey mom is fighting back with Westside Activists
By Srianthi Perera When Ahmanise Sanati was looking for a career change in 2006, a relative introduced her to a hospital social worker. The organization’s code of ethics contained the words “challenge social injustice.” It felt like a calling. “There was no turning back,” recalls Sanati, who currently counsels youth affected by foster care, homelessness, […]
Building Businesses
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 […]