Interesting People
Ballroom Glitz
When you step inside The Ballroom of Sacramento, you have stepped into a bygone era. The spacious ballroom floor is roughly the size and color of a basketball court. Throughout the mirror-walled dance floor, strings of tiny lights snake up 20 feet of support beams. Fred Astaire wearing a top hat and tails would feel right at home.
Hitting Back
Hitting Back
Melissa Ausilio boxes her way to business success
By R.E. Graswich
August 2019
The thing about getting punched in the face, Melissa Ausilio says, is you either like it or you don’t.
Ausilio realized she liked it when she was 21. She was in a boxing ring, wearing boxing gloves and gear, and circling and throwing jabs at her opponent. The experience was thrilling. But a punch in the face was still a punch in the face.
“There’s no middle ground with boxing,” she says. “You learn pretty quickly whether it’s the sport for you or not.”
A Family Affair
Josh Nelson, co-founder and CEO of The Kitchen, along with stepdad Randall Selland, mom Nancy Zimmer and sister Tamera Baker have recently earned themselves a Michelin star—the first one ever to be awarded in the Sacramento region. There’s something special about this family that sets them apart. Aside from stellar food, a strong local following (Selland’s Family Restaurant Group, anyone?) and an unshakeable bond, keeping customers at the forefront of everything is their recipe to success. I had the pleasure of chatting with Nelson—while he was on a family trip to Hawaii, no less—about their journey, what guests can expect from The Kitchen and everything in between.
Rarified Winner
Raquel Atawo is among the best tennis players in the world. She has made more than $2.2 million and built a comfortable life with her husband in Sacramento on the strength of her speed, reflexes and groundstrokes. She is tenacious and tough and plays with energy that does not betray her age, 36.
The Big 5-0
In one of his many teachings, Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote of aging, “At fifty, I knew the will of heaven.”
Evette Tsang, Grace Liu and Tian Li Wu thought a lot about this insight as the three friends—who all hail from different parts of mainland China and settled in Sacramento—approached their 50th birthdays.
Wander Woman Erin Elizabeth
Sacramento is changing. The evolution was driven by people who want to build a vibrant “creative class” that explores ideas, personal creativity and engagement in new and unique ways.
Erin Elizabeth personifies the new Sacramento—and our new creative class.
Elizabeth is not new to Sacramento. Her family has farmed in Yolo County for six generations. She graduated from Arizona State with a journalism degree and has worked in public relations around the world, from Mexico City and Bogota to Bangkok and Casablanca. Elizabeth is home now, living in Winters and making a difference in Sacramento.
