Interesting People
Kids’ Stuff
The SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity is busy with field trips, learning labs, planetarium shows and other activities to inspire students toward careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
Last school year, 24,000 students visited the museum. Executive Director Andrea A. Durham expects more this year. In its mission to build interest in science, Durham says serving as role models is the most important work for museum staff.
“Students don’t pick careers they don’t have any exposure to,” she says. “So, when you ask a 4-year-old what they want to be, there’s a reason they say a policeman or a firefighter or a teacher, because those are they careers they see in their life.”
Design Minded
It’s not often a high-end retail store moves from the Bay Area to the Sacramento area. But the village of Fair Oaks is the new home to Terrestra, a destination for handcrafted home accessories.
After establishing locations in San Francisco and Mill Valley, Terrestra co-founders Amy Satran and Ray Kristof decided to downsize and move their gallery closer to the Sacramento home they purchased six years ago.
Satran and Kristof are a tech couple with backgrounds in multi-media. They met decades ago at Apple and started Terrestra in 2003. Today they consider themselves semi-retired in Fair Oaks Village while overseeing the gallery.
“Amy and I have always been collectors, and I grew up in France and enjoyed it from an early age,” Kristof says.
Loss Leader
Grieving a loved one’s death is never easy, as I learned 20 months ago when my husband Jim passed away.
My biggest challenge was managing my publishing business alone. Jim retired several years earlier, but he was my business partner for more than two decades.
My focus was off, my employees unsure how to deal with me. No one wanted to deliver bad news. I struggled with decisions. It took time, but we all adjusted.
All That Jazz
Daniel Owens has a theory. He says, “In every art form, there are envelope pushers and archivists. Both play very important roles. But it’s been very helpful for me to figure out which one I am.”
Throughout his career as a musician and teacher, Owens pushed. He was halfway through a degree in classical trombone performance at San Jose State when he realized he didn’t fit the classical world. He transitioned to jazz and salsa, composing and performing his own work.
His decision to study trombone was unconventional. Raised in a musical family and playing piano, in middle school he craved the community of a band. He switched from piano to trombone and “caught the bug,” joining every band possible.
We Mean Business
We Mean Business Women entrepreneurs help next generation By Kristen Simoes September 2024 Lucia Hash discovered a wonderful way to overcome shyness. The St. Francis Catholic High School junior became an entrepreneur. “I’m a person who gets very...
Killer Laughter
If you can’t picture yourself laughing about death, read “Almost Family,” a debut novel by Ann Bancroft.
The Land Park writer will have you chuckling along with the characters as they face death from various forms of cancer. But it’s not a cancer book.
“The topic isn’t cancer, it’s about relationships,” says Bancroft, 71, who twice battled cancer. “We all live until we die and, surprise, we’re all going to die. I wanted to make it easier to discuss death, to make people more comfortable with illness and dying, so I tried to use humor. Cancer’s not one thing. You’re still worried about what’s for dinner. You’re still a whole person.”
