Letter from the Editor: September/October 2011

Early on, Whitney Solcher was fascinated by business and finance. She had lemonade stands, of course, and recalls using the school pay phone to call her broker to buy stocks in AOL. After earning a business degree and working eight years at Goldman Sachs, she returned to her hometown to join four partners and start San Antonio Capital Management, LLC, which she serves as president. She is our Profile subject.

The women in Up Front have been successful, too, but their accomplishments lie in overcoming childhood poverty, discrimination, lack of education and, in one instance,  brutal parental abuse. Read about Melissa Anderson, now the mother of seven and a recent graduate of St. Mary’s Law School; Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, who left a poor neighborhood in Laredo to attend college and serve in the Army, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Support Field; and Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, who once believed she was “not college material,” and is now the inaugural president of Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Their stories are truly inspiring!

Our Role Model, Elizabeth Rosenblum, drew on her passion for running and other healthy pursuits to become co-founder and executive director of Street2Feet, a fitness program that partners with SAMMinistries to promote transformation in the lives of the homeless through running.

Environments visits two adjacent homes in Olmos Park that serve as the Ruiz-Healy family’s residence as well as Patricia Ruiz-Healy’s art studio. Both are filled with outstanding art. Focus on Food proves that there are recipes for pumpkin besides pumpkin pie.

Fashion for fall is tailored, structured, layered, all with a touch of glamour.

Artbeat features artist Joan Frederick, who incorporates her photographs into lampshades, mobiles, chair seats and other unconventional objects. Arts and Culture reminds us that it’s time for Fotoseptiembre, this year with a Taiwanese connection.  There’s also a rundown on museum shows, theater, music and dance during the busy fall season.

You’ll find articles on women choosing legal careers today, innovations in women’s health, the significance of birth order in families, the importance of having a valid will and the pleasures of value wines. Relive some of spring and summer’s gala occasions in Scene Around Town, and visit Roaring Fork restaurant with our reviewer. Shop SA will help you compile your shopping list for fall bargains. 

With the approach of the fall social season, we’ll all be paying more attention to our appearance. Beauty & Fitness presents the wide range of choices in makeup, hairstyle and fashions, while Health Matters reviews noninvasive cosmetic procedures for a better body image.

Be sure to read the special section on the March of Dimes, the progress being made in treating premature infants and the stories of families that have benefited from this agency. Also on our website, you’ll find blogs and photos from some of our writers. We also invite you to be our friend on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Just stay in touch.