Lisa Helfert Photography

Another inspiring woman from Bethesda Magazine! The Newsroom and Marissa were more than nice about me popping into their workspace. Fun to see.

"Marissa Mitchell knew at the age of 9 that she wanted to be a journalist. “Unlike other kids that age, I didn’t run home and watch cartoons. I watched my local news and The Oprah Winfrey Show,” she says. “I wanted to be just like those women on television who delivered information that mattered.”

Today the four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist is FOX 5 DC’s main morning anchor and co-host of the news and lifestyle show Good Day DC. She’s also one of the most altruistic on-air personalities in the Washington, D.C., area, donating hundreds of her off-duty hours to charitable causes, from women’s empowerment to raising awareness for missing Black youths “who don’t get the on-air coverage that they deserve,” she says.

Over the course of her career, she’s covered events from the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march on Selma to the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. She has interviewed celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Clint Eastwood to wellness guru Deepak Chopra. Many of her stories have earned national recognition, including her celebrity-filled tribute to the late “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin, which earned her a Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. She’s also been inducted into Emory’s Hall of Fame, and its 40 Under 40, which “celebrates young alumni who represent the very best in achievement and service,” according to the university.

The stories that mean the most to her, though, are those that show how regular people can inspire others, she says. This summer she won a Capital Emmy award for a discussion series she produced and hosted on mental health awareness, and earlier this year she introduced the weekly Fox 5 feature Motivation with Marissa, where she profiles local women who have overcome tremendous odds. She brought the idea to fruition “in hopes that [their] stories will inspire and empower others,” she says. “To develop trust and to be effective, you have to be a part of the community that you report on, and you should want to be.”

To read the article:
https://moco360.media/2024/08/28/2024-women-who-inspire/

Meet Simona Cabana another inspiring woman featured in Bethesda Magazine this month.

Cabana is president and CEO of a local coffee and restaurant empire. She’s grown Java Nation to include four locations—in North Bethesda, Kensington, Silver Spring and Gaithersburg—plus a commissary in North Bethesda and a roastery in Frederick.

Her staff numbers more than 130, she says, and includes both an executive chef and a pastry chef who create an extensive menu of cocktails, salads, entrees, desserts and breakfast pastries that are trucked daily to each restaurant. This year, she says, Java Nation sales are expected to exceed $10 million.

Many of Cabana’s original employees have moved into leadership roles. A few had ties to small coffee farms in their home countries, and Java Nation, with Cabana at the helm, has provided equipment so these farms can grow the high-end beans used in Java Nation’s specialty brews. The company has even supported the villages where they are located, Cabana says, donating funds to one town after it was hit by landslides, and computers and uniforms to local orphanages.

And the food is yummy!!!

Read more about her in the article
https://moco360.media/2024/08/28/2024-women-who-inspire/

Bob Schieffer is as nice, smart and charming as he appears on TV. Not only is he a Emmy Award winner for news reporting but he also had a solo painting show at AU last spring. I had a wonderful chance to photograph him for an article about his new talents for the TCU alumni magazine.

Here is the article :

https://magazine.tcu.edu/summer-2024/bob-schieffer-cbs-face-nation-vietnam-kennedy/

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Fun shoot at the Sienna School for Bethesda Magazine & Bethesda Beat

The Face of Dyslexia Education The Siena School 301-244-3600 TheSienaSchool.org The Siena School, a national leader in dyslexia education, serves bright, college-bound students with language-based learning differences on campuses in Silver Spring, MD. (grades five through 12) and Oakton, VA. (grades three through 11).  Beginnin...

Lehigh gave me the opportunity to hang out with Brooke Eby again. Taking her portrait is fun! I love Beth Murphy's choice for the cover and so happy to see Brooke's voice being shared so widely. Her humor in her fight against ALS has raised almost 1 million. Here is a link to the article and video. https://flippingbook.lehigh.edu/FallBulletin-23-interactive/
Way to go

FallBulletin-23-interactive Harnessing Generative AI page 34 page 5 Compelling Perspectives Launches page 40 What is Your Favorite Lehigh Football Memory? Future Makers Brooke Eby ’10 uses