Local Salon Owner Living Her Dream
When Catalina Fitzgerald was a little girl growing up in Mexico, she dreamed of being a top international hair stylist and traveling the world. She did travel the world and she did become a hair stylist. Another of her dreams was opening her own salon, a dream that came true about eight months ago when >> Read More…
Community-Minded Vera Eyeing Council Seat
David Vera spent 33 years with the Phoenix Fire Department first as a fire fighter, retiring as a deputy chief. “We don’t get invited to weddings and christenings, we do get invited to the knife and gun club on weekends,” he said joking about the life of a firefighter, paramedic.“We really do meet people at >> Read More…
Advocating for Education
When Reginald Bolding was a child growing up in Akron, Ohio, he thought lawyers were fictional characters only seen on television. It wasn’t until he was chosen for an internship in high school that took him out of his low-income neighborhood and placed him in the corporate world, that his eyes were opened. “I learned >> Read More…
Planning to Lead by Example
Raised in West Phoenix, he attended church, did volunteer work and gave back to the community, participated in after-school programs, hiked South Mountain, played basketball in high school and dreamed of making it to the NBA, devoted himself to the Phoenix Suns, went away to college and law school, and moved back to work as >> Read More…
Ramirez Helping Lead Flock at St. Catherine
He shops for presents at the mall. He knows the words to Justin Bieber pop songs and can do the “party shuffle.” He stores his calendar and contacts in a cell phone. He may be a priest, but Thielo Ramirez, who goes by “Father Ramirez,” is as hip as any other 31-year-old. “I’m a man. >> Read More…
Passion for Community and Real Estate
“Carlie is as knowledgeable about real estate in South Mountain as anyone,” said Glen Fitzgerald, who is owner of the Keller Williams Lifestyle Realty in South Phoenix. “And for that reason she probably has fun making a living,” he added. “Carlie” is Carlie Back, a real estate agent whose business is The Carlie Back >> Read More…
Johnson Takes Reins at Laveen Elementary
When Bill Johnson was asked to apply for the job of associate superintendent of business and operation for the Laveen Elementary School District, he and his wife Ravae did some investigating. Pretending to be a couple interested in relocating to the area, the Johnsons visited several of the Laveen schools as “secret shoppers.” They >> Read More…
Fulfilling a Woodworking Dream
After 25 years in marketing for franchise restaurant chains, Felisa Benton decided to turn her passion into a full-time career and become a custom furniture designer and home remodeler. You could say it was in her genes—the Kentucky native’s grandfather was a contractor and her father built furniture. In fact, it was in her >> Read More…
Maintaining A Family Business
As a 7-year-old “foodie” he enjoyed eating oysters, but it wasn’t until Dustin Christofolo began managing the dining room and servers at Quiessence, a restaurant at the Farm at South Mountain, that he fell in love with the family business. “That’s when I was introduced to the restaurant business—not catering,” said Christofolo, 30, a >> Read More…
Ambition, Life Experience Driving State Representative
On May 1, Ruben Gallego was picking up his wife Kate from Sky Harbor International Airport when he heard on the radio that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan. The couple quickly returned home to watch TV. Later that evening, Gallego, who served a tour in Iraq as a Marine, met several of >> Read More…
