FEATURED INTERVIEWS
Each month the editors will choose one interview to feature.
This featured interview will be linked from our Home Page and mentioned throughout social media.
Click on photo for interview.
This featured interview will be linked from our Home Page and mentioned throughout social media.
Click on photo for interview.
Photo Credit: Mercy Chefs
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Ann LeBlanc (July 2019 Featured Interview) is the co-founder and Vice President of Marketing and Development for Mercy Chefs. Mercy Chefs is a nonprofit, disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization. In addition to her role as vice president, Ann also served on the founding board of Mercy Chefs and has been a part of the organization since the first deployment to Conklin, New York in 2006. Throughout her journey with Mercy Chefs, her passion has been to provide children with nutrition and joy in the midst of disaster. In the early days, she consistently requested to see “more green” on the plates Mercy Chefs served, and she focuses on providing a sense of normalcy to the children by providing coloring stations on site and bringing toys and activities for them to enjoy.
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Photo Credit: Michael Williams
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Cristina Ferrare (May 2019 Featured Interview) is a former fashion model, New York Times bestselling author, TV host and entrepreneur. During her modeling career, she graced the covers of every major fashion magazine, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan. Cristina hosted or co-hosted several TV programs, including AM Los Angeles, Cristina and Friends, Home and Family, and she was a substitute co-host on Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. Her primetime series for CBS, Shame on You, was one of the first magazine format shows that featured consumer fraud and awareness. Cooking with Cristina was featured on Oprah.com. Her latest cookbook, Food for Thought (Post Hill Press) is excerpted in this issue of Sanctuary. Currently in remission after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2016, Cristina has since co-founded Flourish, a company committed to the health of body, mind and soul.
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Keri Bowers (April 2019 Featured Interview) is co-founder of The Art of Autism, a nonprofit which provides a forum for displaying, selling and promoting the art of autistic individuals. She is also the founder of Normal Films, an indie film/production company producing documentary films in autism and other developmental disabilities. Her son Taylor, who is on the spectrum, came up with the title Normal People Scare Me (2006), the company's first film, which he co-directed with Keri. Keri’s work as an advocate, artist, filmmaker and writer has spanned nearly three decades and has helped to create a positive impact on the autism community throughout the world.
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Dianne Zager, Ph.D., (April 2019 Featured Interview) is an internationally-recognized pioneer in autism education and Head of School for Shrub Oak International School in Mohegan Lake, NY. She has consulted with school districts across the U.S. to develop autism educational programs and founded one of the nation’s first college support programs for students with autism. Dianne has served as president of the International Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities and has over 30 years of experience directing graduate and post-graduate programs to train school personnel in autism.
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Lesley Goldwasser (March 2019 Featured Interview) is co-founder and board chair of Zara’s Center, an after-school haven for AIDS-impacted children in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe that has served thousands of children ages 5-18 and the surrounding community since 2007. She is co-president of the PG Family Foundation, a private foundation with a commitment to education, community building, and the arts. Lesley is also principle co-owner of The Betsy-South Beach, a hotel in Miami Beach, FL known for its community-based philanthropic work and a deep commitment to arts and culture.
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Ruth C. Browne, SD, (February 2019 Featured Interview) has been the president and chief executive officer of Ronald McDonald House New York since September 2016. Prior to assuming her role there, Ruth served for 12 years as Chief Executive Officer of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH). She is also an active member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Manhattan Chapter, advancing leadership opportunities for African-American women and girls.
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Cindy Campbell (January 2019 Featured Interview) is co-founder of the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation (TLC Foundation), a nonprofit organization that funds innovative research and clinical trials specifically geared toward the treatment of the most aggressive childhood cancers. Cindy created the foundation in Ty’s honor to raise awareness for pediatric cancer through the story of his courageous battle. To this date, the TLC Foundation has raised 1.6 million dollars.
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Featured Interviews: 2018
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Susan Hammond (December 2018 Featured Interview) is the executive director of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA), which was established in 1889 and is the oldest women's art organization in the U.S. She is also a contemporary photographer who has been published with Canon and Nikon, and her work is a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Art in Lakewood, TX. Susan is a member of 15 art organizations and is on the board of Studio Montclair in Montclair, NJ.
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Photo Credit: Gordon Parks
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Gloria Vanderbilt (November 2018 Featured Interview) who was born into the prominent Vanderbilt family of New York, is an artist, author, actress, and designer of textiles and fashion. She is known for her high-profile relationships, her myriad paintings and books and also for her designer blue jeans line which was all the rage in the 1970s. Since 1984, Gloria has devoted nearly all of her time to painting and pastel work. In 2001, she opened her art exhibition "Dream Boxes" at the Southern Vermont Arts Center (SVAC) in Manchester to critical success. Gloria has written two books on art and home decor, four volumes of memoirs and three novels. She has received many awards, including The National Society of Arts & Letters Gold Medal of Merit, the Anti-Defamation League Woman of Achievement Award, and an Excellence in the Arts award from the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW).
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Mary Clementi (October 2018 Featured Interview) is the executive director and music director of Highbridge Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to helping at-risk youth through an eclectic music curriculum and an academic component focused on remediation, skill development and sustained achievement. As music director, Mary conducts the Chamber Choir which she has led in several high-profile performances, including a concert for the Justices of the United States Supreme Court and performances of the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden.
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Photo Credit: Safe and Sound Schools
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Alissa Parker (left) and Michele Gay (September 2018 Featured Interview) are the founders of Safe and Sound Schools, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing parents and school communities the tools and resources necessary to ensure school safety. Alissa and Michele were inspired to make a difference after losing their daughters in the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012. The mission of Safe and Sound Schools is to support school crisis prevention, response and recovery, and to protect every school and every student every day. "We have always - and only - focused on school safety. We are firm in our mission and firm in our resolve, and we will continue to provide research-based education, tools and resources to ensure the safest possible learning environment for the youth of our nation."
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Photo Credit: Phelan Marc
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Major Jas Boothe (July 2018 Featured Interview) is a U.S. military veteran, cancer survivor, philanthropist and author.
She deployed during the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom campaigns. In August 2005, she lost everything she owned due to Hurricane Katrina. Within a month, she received a devastating cancer diagnosis and was unable to deploy. She was facing discharge from the military and was directed to the Department of Veterans Affairs, but she was told there were no existing programs for female veterans with children and that she should explore welfare and social services as an option. After dedicating years of her life to the military, Jas found herself homeless. In 2010, she founded Final Salute Inc., a nonprofit organization designed to meet and understand the unique needs of homeless women veterans and their children. Jas is the recipient of numerous awards for leadership and community service, including the Standing O-vation Award (presented by Oprah Winfrey and Toyota). |
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Deepak Chopra, Kabir Sehgal & Paul Avgerinos (June 2018 Featured Interview: Celebrating the Men in Our Lives): Deepak Chopra, author of over 85 books, alternative medicine advocate, and prominent figure in the New Age movement, worked with Kabir Sehgal, composer, producer and military veteran, and Paul Avgerinos, Grammy-winning composer and performer of New Age music, on HOME, a collection of poems and songs which celebrate the extraordinary journeys of U.S. immigrants. From Yo-Yo Ma to Audrey Hepburn, Albert Einstein to Celia Cruz, HOME symbolizes the many roads that lead to America. Deepak, Kabir and Paul discuss working together, their unique family stories, the inspiration behind some of the poems and songs, and how the project has been received in the community.
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Photo Credit: Little Stones
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Sophia Kruz (May 2018 Featured Interview) is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Driftseed, which seeks to empower women and girls in the U.S. and around the world through the art of documentary storytelling. Her award-winning film Little Stones (2017) unites the personal narratives of four women around the world using art to create positive change in their communities. Formerly a producer in PBS Detroit's National Documentary Unit, Sophia produced Ride the Tiger (2016), a documentary on neuroscience and bipolar disorder, and Beyond the Lightswitch, Hour 3 (2015) for national PBS broadcast. Kruz's documentary work is supported by the following organizations: National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, Marian Chace Foundation, International Expressive Arts Therapy Association and Womanity Foundation.
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Photo Credit: Rex Sanchez
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Temple Grandin, Ph.D. (April 2018 Featured Interview) is a world-renowned advocate for those on the autism spectrum, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and an animal behavior consultant to the livestock industry. As a highly sought-after speaker who shares insights about her personal journey, she has championed the idea that “thinking differently” should not be perceived as having an inferior intellect. She is inventor of the “squeeze machine” (or “hug box”), a device to calm those on the spectrum and the “double rail (center track) conveyor restrainer system,” a humane, cattle handling system. She has been interviewed by numerous national media outlets and is the author of several acclaimed books on autism. Her numerous accolades include an international award from World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and her 2017 induction into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. Temple Grandin, a 2010 Emmy-award winning motion picture, was based on her life.
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Diana Freedman-Shea (March 2018 Featured Interview) is the current president of the New York Society of Women Artists (NYSWA) which was founded in 1925. NYSWA maintains a clear focus on art itself and, more specifically, on making public the fine works of talented women, in galleries, cultural spaces, museums, embassies and other quality venues. Diana received a BFA in art education from Pratt Institute and an MFA from Brooklyn College. She taught in New York City high schools for 34 years and was an art reviewer for a decade. She has exhibited at the Bronx Zoo, the Wisconsin Primate Center, the Prince Street Gallery, Noho Gallery, Kennedy Gallery, NYC, The Minnesota Museum, The Hammond Museum, The Katonah Gallery, The Flinn Gallery, and many other venues.
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Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R (February 2018 Featured Interview) is president and clinical director of Westchester Group Works, a Center for Group Therapy in Harrison, NY. She is also co-founder and clinical director of “Thru My Eyes,” a nonprofit 501c3 organization that offers free, clinically-guided videotaping services to medically ill individuals who want to leave video legacies for their children and loved ones. Michelle is adjunct faculty at New York University's (NYU) graduate program in the Silver School of Social Work and also maintains a private practice. She is the author of Free Your Child From Overeating: 53 Mind-Body Strategies For Lifelong Health and is a Huffington Post blogger. She has been quoted in The New York Times, the Daily News, Fitness, Woman’s Day, Parents, and many other publications.
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Photo Credit: Kofa Boyah
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Brittney Castro (January 2018 Featured Interview) is the founder and CEO of Financially Wise Women, a Los Angeles-based financial planning firm whose mission is to teach women and couples the art of managing their money in a fun and simple way. She has become a well-known financial expert featured on CNN, CNBC, and CBS as well as in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Glamour, Woman's World, Investment Newsand Entrepreneur magazine. Brittney is a Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, Accredited Asset Management Specialist, entrepreneur and speaker who loves sharing her wisdom about finance, entrepreneurship and smart investing.
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