Syracuse Woman Magazine - March 2022

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MARCH 2022

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

march GUEST COMMENTARY Lisa Smith Celebrating the everyday heroes among us............... 6

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SPECIAL FEATURE Jeanette Epps Being an astronaut is latest chapter in incredible career.................................................................................8 Lifting spirits with a smile........................................................ 17 WISE FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR Jeannie Brockmyre....................................................................

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PAST EVENTS Red Cross honors local heroes........................................... 16 ON THE COVER Lisa Wiles Twice a life saver.................................................................... 19

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WOMEN'S HEALTH Dr. Nicole Anzalone, AuD., CCC-A Hearing Loss in women..................................................... 24 Chef Eric Rose Cauliflower is the new potato........................................ 28

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INSPIRE Sabrina Revette and Erin Pallett ..................................... 30 Tamica Barnett ........................................................................ 32 Michelle Cuttler ....................................................................... 34 UPCOMING EVENTS............................................................................. 36

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MOVERS & SHAKERS.......................................................................... 38

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GUEST COMMENTARY

Celebrating the everyday heroes among us Lisa Smith

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very now and then, an unselfish and extraordinary action on behalf of a neighbor, a co-worker or even a stranger can change another person's destiny and, at the same time, our own.

In an instant, real people become real heroes!

The American Red Cross knows a lot about heroes. Our founder, Clara Barton, risked her life bringing supplies and providing nursing care to soldiers during the Civil War. These activities defined her life and earned her the nickname “Angel on the Battlefield.” In 1881 Clara founded the American Red Cross, with a mission to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

She served as Red Cross president for 23 years. Her legacy lives on, reflected in the spirit of Red Cross volunteers and employees, bringing help and hope to people in need in our community, across this nation and around the world.

Every year the Red Cross honors people who turn compassion into action by helping others in times of crisis. Our 23rd Annual Real Heroes Breakfast was held virtually in January. A few of our honorees included Kaley Taggart who, while driving, noticed a woman perched on the edge of an overpass along a busy stretch of highway.

Kaley stopped, talked to the distraught woman, pulled her off the overpass and saved her life. Mady Alcock who at 15 years old was babysitting a six-month-old who stopped breathing. As the infant’s lips began to turn blue, Mady administered CPR. The training she received saved the baby’s life.

Danielle Lowe calls herself an average country girl, but her dedication as a blood donor is extraordinary. Danielle has donated over nine gallons of blood in her lifetime. She was only 10 years old when she needed a blood transfusion for an emergency surgery and now, as a grateful adult, she dedicates an hour of her time every eight weeks to share the gift of life with others. Little Emma Wells, at 5 years old, jumped into action when her mother had a seizure, calling her grandmother who called 911. Her mom has since recovered and calls Emma her little hero. The five-year-old says she’d like to find a way to help more people when she grows up!

These are just a few examples of the extraordinary women and young girls who live in our community. Our heroes are many and not always apparent. People who selflessly help others, show compassion for those who have less, make time to be kind and are brave enough to stand up for those who can’t stand for themselves.

These heroes change lives and enrich our community. They deserve to be celebrated.

As executive director of the Central and Northern New York Chapter, I am fortunate to be surrounded by heroes and to witness their extraordinary contributions every day. Ninety percent of the Red Cross workforce are volunteers.

Locally, about 700 volunteers provide essential programs and services throughout our community. In the past year they responded to 300 local disasters, providing relief to 542 families impacted by home fires and other emergencies; trained 13,000 people in first aid, CPR, water safety, babysitting and other lifesaving skills; provided more than 4,800 case services to aid veterans, service members and their families; and collected 54,000 units of blood to support patients in need.

Let’s all take some time to celebrate the heroes in our lives and if you are willing to share your talents to help when heroes are needed, send us a note at joineny@redcross.org. SWM

SyracuseWomanMag.com contact@syracusewomanmag.com

PUBLISHER

David Tyler dtyler@eaglenewsonline.com

DESIGN

Andrea Reeves

PHOTOGRAPHERS Alice G. Patterson S'Marie Photography

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Nicole Anzalone Alyssa Dearborn Jason Klaiber Lorna Oppedisano

Eric Rose Lisa Smith Ken Sturtz

Cover photo by Alice G. Patterson

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The magazine is published 12 times a year by Community Media Group, LLC and Eagle Publications, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206 Copyright © 2022 Community Media Group, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or republished without the consent of the publishers.

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Lisa Smith is the Executive Director for the Central & Northern NY Chapter of the American Red Cross.

MARCH 2022

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SPECIAL FEATURE

JEANETTE EPPS

Being an astronaut is latest chapter in incredible career Ken Sturtz

Photos courtesy of NASA

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here’s a story Jeanette Epps likes to tell when asked what sparked her interest in becoming an astronaut.

She and her twin sister were about nine years old when their older brother came home from RIT for the weekend. The girls had their report cards and were excited to show him.

“He was really proud of us and he said, ‘Well you know with grades like this you could probably become an astronaut or maybe even an aerospace engineer,’” Epps says.

She thought it was impossible to become an astronaut, but an aerospace engineer seemed possible. That moment stuck with her. She says she tells the story often to remind people, especially parents, that words matter.

“And if you speak negative things into a kid’s life, they’re going to do negative things,” she says. “But if you speak positive things you never know what they’ll latch onto.”

Epps went on to become an aerospace engineer, but she never let go of her dream of being an astronaut. The dreaming, and years of hard work, eventually paid off.

She’s preparing to make her first trip to space next year, including a six-month stay on the International Space Station. Epps was born in Syracuse and grew up on Kennedy Street. She and her twin sister, Janet, were the youngest of seven children. Epps says her mother married at 17 and her father moved the family from Mississippi to Syracuse. They initially prospered in Syracuse and enjoyed living in a tight-knit community. But Epps says their fortunes took a turn in the 1970s and 1980s. Her father, who worked in construction, lost several properties he owned. Her parents eventually separated, which put a burden on her mother.

“I’m sure she had to get a lot of help,” Epps says. “It was not easy.”

The one constant was that her mother was adamant about SYR ACUSE WOMAN MAGA ZI N E

the importance of education.

Neither of her parents had gone to college.

Epps began thinking about her education while a student at Corcoran High School. Among the options she considered were the U.S. Military Academy, Syracuse University and a full scholarship to Colgate University.

But those choices were too big or too far away for her mother, who wanted to protect Epps and her sister and didn’t want them to leave home.

“Our neighborhood was one of those neighborhoods that was really nice when she moved into it and then it turned,” she says.

“So, she was really over protective of Janet and me.”

Epps and her sister applied to Le Moyne College at their mother’s

urging and received full scholarships. Epps majored in physics and says Le Moyne helped prepare her to pursue a career as an aerospace engineer. She planned to do a dual degree program that included three years at Le Moyne followed by two years at an engineering school, but after undergrad she and her sister decided to attend the University of Maryland at College Park for graduate school.

When Epps and her sister moved to Maryland for graduate school, their mother moved to Maryland to be near them. Their other siblings had already grown up and moved away. Although she used to be embarrassed to tell people, Epps says graduate school required so much work and attention that it left little time for

anything else and her mother’s help with everything from grocery shopping to laundry benefited Epps and her sister greatly.

She received a master’s degree and a doctorate in aerospace engineering in 1994 and 2000 respectively.

After completing her doctorate, Epps accepted a position with Ford Motor Company as a technical specialist in its scientific research laboratory. She worked on technology designed to dampen vibrations in vehicles.

The work resulted in a provisional patent. She also contributed to research dealing with crash location detection and countermeasure systems.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Jeanette Epps from page 9 She was at an event in Florida recruiting for Ford and the man next to her happened to be recruiting for the Central Intelligence Agency.

“And we struck up a conversation and we exchanged cards and I was shocked that he called me and brought me on board,” she says. “I had no clue what I was getting into, but I knew it would be different.”

She spent seven years working as a technical intelligence officer; much of her work is classified.

It opened the world up to her.

In graduate school she’d worked on helicopters and smart materials, but as an aerospace engineer she could work on just about anything mechanical. At the CIA Epps did technical analysis on foreign weapons systems such as fighter aircraft, drones and missiles. It involved reverseengineering things like propulsion systems and avionics.

The CIA changed her view, especially as it related to being an astronaut. An astronaut has to possess technical skills as well as operational skills. Until she went to the CIA, Epps had mainly worked in labs. Being an astronaut requires the operational skills to handle things like a spacewalk, making repairs and conducting experiments. She says the CIA gave her that operational experience.

Throughout graduate school and then working for Ford and the CIA, Epps had never completely given up on being an astronaut, but she knew it was a long shot.

“I knew a lot of people in graduate school applying for the astronaut program and they weren’t getting in,” she says. “I never thought it was an option for me as an aerospace engineer.”

But when NASA began taking applications for a new astronaut class – the first since 2004 – Epps applied. She was 38 years old and she reasoned that she might not get another chance. A good friend who was an astronaut also encouraged her to apply. She made it past the initial hurdles, but after

several rounds of interviews was left to wait and wonder.

In 2009, she was driving when she got a phone call from the head of the Astronaut Office.

She pulled over and parked and got the news that she’d been selected as one of nine members of NASA’s new astronaut class, beating out thousands of applicants.

“I was stunned, absolutely 100 percent stunned,” Epps says.

“It was emotional too. I could feel the tears coming up.”

She couldn’t believe her dream had come to fruition. She called her boyfriend, her friends and her family. That night she was still trying to process the news.

Her mother, who was in the hospital at the time and passed away less than a week later, was overjoyed to hear the news.

When Epps joined NASA it was an agency in transition.

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Its program to send humans back to the moon was canceled and its fleet of space shuttles was about to be retired. From 2011-2020, it didn’t have the ability to send astronauts to orbit and was forced to buy seats on Russian rockets.

Before becoming certified, astronaut candidates endure a roughly two-year gauntlet of intense and seemingly endless training. Candidates learn Russian, train for spacewalks and study robotics. There’s T-38 jet training, geology training and wilderness survival training.

Even after being certified, Epps continued training. In 2014, she spent nine days working on the world’s only undersea research station, three miles off Key Largo and 62 feet below the surface. She’s also worked as a crew support astronaut for two expeditions and worked in

Photo courtesy of NASA

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mission control communications.

Being an astronaut comes with many sacrifices. The days can be long and stressful. Extensive travel means time away from family. The demands can strain personal lives; divorce is not uncommon among astronauts.

Epps says the challenges can be somewhat different for the men who become astronauts, especially if they’re already married.

“I got married during this whole thing and I think the sacrifice was not being able to share everything with your spouse,” she says. “I think that was one of the biggest sacrifices and not intentional sacrifices.

That’s just how it worked out.

Because it really is hard for someone on the outside to understand what’s going on.”

Epps subsequently divorced.

At the suggestion that Jack Swigert, the lone Apollo astronaut who never married, was better able to handle the demands of training and travel, Epps agreed.

With so much training, so much to learn and so much on the line, it can become an all-consuming endeavor. Over time, however, Epps says that’s changed for her.

“I’m at the point that I’ve been there so long that things are becoming routine,” she says.

“The saving grace is that after having done it so many years, it becomes routine and then you can take a little bit of yourself back.”

She was preparing for a June 2018 launch to the space station on a Russian spacecraft when, six months before launch, NASA announced without explanation that it was bumping Epps and replacing her with another astronaut.

It’s not unheard of for astronauts to be pulled from missions for medical reasons, but Epps has said she didn’t have medical or family problems that would’ve kept her from going to space.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Jeanette Epps from page 10 The setback was difficult, but Epps says she has had a lot of good mentors who offered advice “on how to manage things and how I view things and how to see them correctly.” After years of training including logging more than 400 hours of spacewalk training in NASA’s giant neutral buoyancy pool, Epps says there wasn’t much else she could have done.

“You know I’m probably the strange one that I never thought about when I would fly,” Epps says. “I just felt like I want to be as prepared as I can and I’m just going to focus on that.”

Epps currently works in the International Space Stations Operations Branch. In 2019, she spent a week underground with a team of astronauts exploring a cave system in Europe.

The experience is meant to simulate the challenges of living and working in space.

In 2020, NASA assigned Epps to the Starliner-1 mission, the first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s new spacecraft.

can begin regular flights.

During a test flight in 2019, Starliner failed to reach the space station due to several issues. A redo of that test flight was postponed last summer when valves on the

“I had no clue how much of a life change it would be and a great one, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

—Jeanette Epps Boeing still needs to send its spacecraft on a successful unmanned mission to the space station and then perform a manned test mission before it

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spacecraft’s pro-pulsion system became stuck. That flight is now tentatively scheduled for this March.

Epps’s flight could come as

soon as early next year, depending on when Starliner is ready.

She’ll launch atop an Atlas V rocket in Florida bound for the space station 250 miles up.

While living on the orbiting laboratory she’ll zip around the Earth at 17,500 mph, or five miles per second, experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets each day.

When Epps speaks to students she often repeats the story of how she was inspired to become an astronaut. She reminds them that although she knew it was an impossible dream, she never gave up.

“I had no clue how much of a life change it would be and a great one,” she says. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.” SWM

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WISE FEATURED ENTREPRENEUR

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Spring Fashions

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PAST EVENTS

Red Cross honors local heroes

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he Red Cross of Central and Western New York recently held its 23rd annual Real Heroes Breakfast, at which a number of local people were honored for their acts of heroism. Among the honorees were Emma Wells, 5, of Hannibal, who thought quickly to call her grandmother after her mother became unconscious after a grand-mal seizure, saving her mother’s life with her quick response.

Also honored was Syracuse firefighter Jonathan Maye, who responded

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to an extensive apartment building fire in May of 2021, where he saved a life under an extremely difficult situation. Honored for being medical heroes were Karalynn Donegan, Cullynn Morley, Daniel Donegan, Kaitlin Langtry, Ericka LaMay, Kristina Donegan, and Richard Donegan. Individuals involved in a horrific jet ski accident were saved when Kristina and her group of friends conducted CPR and fashioned a splint out of an oar to stop a massive leg bleed. SWM

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Lifting spirits with a smile Jason Klaiber

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aving caught wind of a Brighton Towers resident known to brighten people’s moods with his smiley face sign, Margaret Ingraham knew she had to continue that trend over on her side of town.

On that whim, the Manlius mother of three bought materials from a local arts and crafts store, but in time she decided to depend on Kassis Superior Signs for a less rippable smiley face made from corrugated cardboard.

From there, Ingraham began floating around the east side to wave around the large, yellow expression of cheer, usually gravitating to street corners with a high volume of passing traffic.

Her favorite spot is by the stoplight in front of the East Genesee Street Wegmans—a location that poses little endangerment to her safety and minimal distraction for drivers, so long as they keep from “whipping by too fast,” she says.

Though she started by holding up her sign only periodically through the earlier days of the pandemic, she stepped up the frequency to multiple times a week this winter, not minding the cold once she gets to moving around enough.

“This past Christmastime, the weight of the world was on everybody’s faces,” Ingraham said. “We’ve been living through a pandemic, worldwide confusion, fear, and suffering, so I figured anyone feeling down and out could use a reminder to smile.”

Sometimes joined by friends and relatives for her joy-spreading exercise and sometimes all on her own, Ingraham is nonetheless always accompanied by danceable music from the likes of Donna Summer, Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald while she twirls her sign.

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“It’s like going up on stage and doing a performance at times because you’re standing in a public place and trying your hardest to make a difference for people,” she said. “Mentally you have to not care what anybody thinks about you.”

Ingraham said she derives her biggest delight from jumping up and down on the sidewalk

next to stopped school buses, moments that have provided noticeable laughter to children onboard who have their smiles covered, she recalls.

Others she refers to as “go get ‘em types” have been willing to honk their horns in support or fist pump out their rolled-down car windows.

Some have even handed

her complimentary hot chocolate and doughnuts in thanks for the boost in spirit. SWM Manlius resident Margaret Ingraham (left) has made it a mission to bring out smiles with her routine sign waving.

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COVER STORY

LISA WILES

Twice a lifesaver Ken Sturtz

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hen Lisa Wiles replays the events of April 9, 2020, as she has many times, she’s reminded that things easily could’ve ended differently.

She worked a half day, napped, ran errands and then showered.

It was her brother’s birthday so she and her husband, Dan Wiles, were about to eat dinner before joining a Zoom call with family.

If her schedule had been different or her husband had been somewhere else, say in the backyard with their dogs, no one would’ve been there when he went into cardiac arrest.

“When something like this happens, everything has to be perfect for there to be a good outcome,” Wiles says. “All that stuff had to happen exactly perfectly and did for him.”

The couple were late for the Zoom call and had thrown together a quick dinner to eat before joining the virtual get together.

Lisa remembers her husband took his food into the living room of their Marcellus home and she was getting ready to follow. She heard him swear and assumed he was watching television.

“I just walked out there and he was gone,” she says. “He was sitting on the couch and he was making these horrible breathing sounds.”

For a moment Wiles thought her husband was choking, but she quickly realized that wasn’t the problem. She slapped his face and shouted his name. No response.

“His eyes were kind of looking somewhere else,” she says. “It’s like he wasn’t in there.”

She darted for a phone. A 911 dispatcher heard the noises Dan was making and said she needed to start CPR. Lisa dragged him onto the floor and began chest compressions.

She remembered where to place her hands from a CPR course she’d taken nearly two decades earlier.

Continued on page 20

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COVER STORY

Twice a lifesaver from page 19 The 911 dispatcher was an amazing help, Lisa says, staying on the line with her to count compressions, encourage her and keep her focused. Wiles continued compressions. One minute passed.

Two minutes. Then three. She repeatedly asked why wasn’t anyone coming? The dispatcher promised help was on the way. It felt like an eternity.

After four minutes a sheriff’s deputy burst in with an automated external defibrillator (AED). As the deputy set the device up, Lisa continued compressions. The AED indicated Dan’s heart wasn’t in a shockable rhythm, so a second deputy who’d arrived took over compressions. They tried again to use the AED, but with the same result.

Firefighters and paramedics arrived and began working on her husband. By now he’d started to turn blue.

“There were a lot of people there and everybody was quiet,” Lisa says. “That worried me; I was thinking he was dead.”

The defibrillator from the ambulance indicated a shockable rhythm and, after a shock, his heart started beating again. Total time: 13 minutes.

Dan was conscious and making noise.

The paramedics loaded him onto a stretcher and hustled outside. It was then that Lisa realized how many people were there. The police cars, fire trucks and ambulance had all arrived without her noticing.

She’d assumed that she would be able to go with her husband to the hospital, but was quickly reminded that because of Covid restrictions she’d have to remain behind.

“I am good in a crisis, not too good after, but I am good in a crisis,” Lisa says.

She found herself in an empty house with little evidence of what had transpired besides some moved furniture and medical debris.

Not being allowed into the ER was terrible, she says. She was eventually allowed to see her husband in the hospital for about an hour, but couldn’t bring anyone with her. Dan had a broken sternum and suffered some short-term memory loss. He was still disoriented, couldn’t remember his wife’s name and initially kept repeating himself.

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COVER STORY

Twice a lifesaver from page 20

MARCH 2022

But when Lisa walked into the hospital room, she was relieved that he recognized her. After that brief visit, she didn’t see him for five days.

Lisa and Dan learned he’d suffered atrial fibrillation, during which the heart’s upper chambers get out of sync with the lower chambers and beat irregularly. Then his heart went into ventricular tachycardia – a rhythm problem caused by irregular electrical signals in the heart’s lower chambers – which led to cardiac arrest.

He’d been diagnosed in 2012 with atrial flutter but was treated with medication and an ablation procedure. He was later diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and underwent a second ablation. After the incident in 2020, doctors implanted a cardioverter defibrillator in his chest.

The device monitors the heart and delivers a shock if it detects an irregular heartbeat.

Although his recovery took several months, Lisa says Dan is “almost 100 percent healthy” now.

But as grateful as she was for the outcome, she says the incident was difficult to deal with. It upended their lives. Her husband’s family were the longtime owners of Mid-Lakes Navigation, the popular Skaneateles Lake tour boat company. The family had sold the business a few months prior to the incident and Lisa says her husband, who’d been a captain for nearly 40 years, was finally looking forward to relaxing for a few months before going back to work.

The recovery was also made more difficult by the forced isolation of the pandemic. And Lisa spent months dealing with the trauma of what had happened and, worried it might happen again, feared leaving her husband alone.

As they approached the one-year anniversary, Lisa says she decided she wanted to use what happened to her husband to encourage more people to receive CPR training. They teamed up with Marcellus Ambulance Volunteer Emergency Services (MAVES), including one of the paramedics who’d worked on Dan, to offer community CPR classes.

They received so much interest that they ended up organizing a class in Marcellus and two in Rochester, where Lisa is from. In total, 51 people received training in CPR. Five of their nieces also walked a marathon to raise $3,500 to buy equipment for MAVES. The weekend after Thanksgiving 2021, Lisa and Dan boarded a cruise ship bound for the Caribbean. The couple had been on cruises before, but this time they decided it would be just the two of them.

After everything that had happened they needed to get away, Lisa says.

They had a relaxing trip and a week later were disembarking in New Jersey. Lisa and her husband entered the terminal to pick up their luggage before waiting for a relative to pick them up when something several hundred feet away caught her attention.

“I hear this woman yelling,” she says. “I see her and her husband is laying on the floor right next to the luggage. And no one was helping her.”

They walked a bit farther and still no one seemed to be helping.

Lisa decided she had to do something and, without saying a word to Dan, walked toward the woman.

By the time she reached the man someone had placed him on his side. She asked his wife what was wrong. The 77-year-old had undergone bypass surgery recently. The man wasn’t breathing and had begun to turn purple. She decided to start CPR. “I was doing compressions and I kept looking up and all I could see was this sea of yellow vests just staring back at me,” she says. “And they were just deer in headlights.”

The people in the yellow vests were porters, there to help carry luggage. She called for someone to find an AED. She continued compressions for a couple minutes until two men approached, told her they had military training and offered to take over compressions.

She stepped back, but stayed with the man’s wife.

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“I didn’t want to leave her,” she says. “I had been in her position; I thought I knew what she was feeling and I wanted her to know people were trying to help.”

Someone called 911 and a porter came running with an AED. Lisa helped pull the man’s sweatshirt up so they could attach the pads.

She stayed until Port Authority officers arrived. The scene was chaotic and she wanted to get away. She was concerned about her husband, who had never witnessed CPR being performed. And she didn’t think the man was going to survive since he hadn’t been responsive or even making noise.

She found out later that the man had survived and spoke briefly with his wife. The incident, and the fact that so many people in the crowd

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didn’t know what to do, inspired Lisa to continue encouraging people to receive CPR training.

Such training really can mean the difference between life and death.

According to the American Heart Association, about 90 percent of people who go into cardiac arrest outside a hospital die. It’s possible, however, to double or triple a person’s chance of survival if CPR is administered right away.

Lisa is planning to organize more classes this year in the hope that more people will know what to do if a cardiac arrest occurs.

“I can’t wait for the day someone tells me they took that CPR class and someone lived because of it,” she says. SWM

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HEALTHY WOMAN

Hearing loss in women Dr. Nicole Anzalone, AuD., CCC-A

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any women delay or avoid getting their hearing checked for many reasons. Family members often have to coax their mothers, sisters, and friends to agree to have their hearing tested. It may take a lot of family arguments until someone decides to make that call to have their hearing tested. It’s often a sensitive subject amongst family members.

There are many reasons for the reluctance of women to get their hearing tested and putting off their own hearing healthcare. I often hear concerns about the stigma associated with hearing loss.

Women may think people will consider them as old or perceived as a handicap.

Sometimes patients might say “I hear just fine, people just mumble.”

This is one of the most common signs of the beginnings of hearing loss. They may be concerned about the possibility of having to wear hearing aids, often thinking that they are the large, clunky hearing aids of yester year like the ones their parents or grandparents may also reluctantly wore, but we know that modern hearing aids have improved significantly over time.

Gender difference in hearing loss When it comes to hearing, there are differences between hearing in men and women. Men are twice as likely to have hearing loss than women, mostly due to occupation and recreational lifestyles.

Men also are less likely to consider hearing aids then women.

However, some women may tend to miss their own hearing difficulties due to comparisons with their companion’s potentially poorer or different hearing difficulties.

It is estimated that 8 million women in the US have hearing loss.

Unlike men, many women tend to have poorer hearing in low frequencies than men, which is thought to be related to cardiovascular diseases or associated with hormonal changes.

There are a number of other chronic diseases that are associated with hearing loss, which are not always necessarily age-related.

Some hearing disorders are more prevalent in females than males due to genetic factors, some of which begin at a young age in females.

Women may tend to ignore other signs of hearing loss like tinnitus.

About 90 percent of people who suffer from tinnitus will have some degree of hearing loss. These are some reasons why it is important to get a hearing test as soon as hearing difficulties are suspected.

Women may also ignore hearing loss because they perceive wearing hearing aids as a sign of “old age.” Some perceive hearing aids as large and clunky which is definitely not the case with most modern hearing aids. Eyeglasses are much more conspicuous than modern hearing aids. Most modern hearing aids are pretty invisible whether they are behindthe-ear or in-the-ear styles. Hearing aids are also more accepted by younger adults because many people are wearing earbuds or other devices in their ears on a regular basis, which are visible and high tech. Modern hearing aids have amazing Bluetooth connectivity features, rechargeability, sophisticated and sleek designs and miniaturized computer technology with amazing sound processing capabilities.

Some women do express concerns of cost of hearing aids, but even when hearing aids are completely covered in countries with socialized medicine, only about 45 percent of people with hearing loss will wear hearing aids, versus about 30-35 percent acceptance rate in the US. So, we know that the acceptance of hearing aids is not always related to cost perception.

Continued on page 26

Dr. Nicole Anzalone AuD., CCC-A

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HEALTHY WOMAN

Hearing loss in women from page 24

Hearing for balance and safety The advantages of hearing aids outweigh the consequences of untreated hearing loss. Hearing loss negatively impacts quality of life.

Based on current studies, hearing aids can help serve to maintain our cognitive function, balance and safety. It is important to be proactive about treating hearing loss because we know now that treating hearing loss is time sensitive. Untreated hearing loss can put us at risk of impairing our abilities to recognize and understand sounds and speech if we deprive ourselves of hearing for too long. This is true of any degree of hearing impairment including mild hearing loss. Waiting too long may impair cognition, cause memory loss and possibly early onset dementia. At Syracuse Hearing Solutions, we can screen for these potential problems related to hearing loss.

Untreated hearing loss can lead to the loss of independence, making conversations difficult and negatively impacting relationships with family and friends. Being able to hear conversations by wearing hearing aids gives them more confidence and abilities to participate without the fear of misunderstanding, being seemingly confused, or replying with a wrong response in conversations.

Hearing aids can eliminate the embarrassment or fear that they are a burden on their families because they frequently must ask others to repeat themselves.

I became interested in audiology because I saw how disruptive hearing loss was to a mother and her children and how their relationship was regained when the mother could hear and interact

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with her children again. It is so rewarding to the patient and their families when they can hear better and easier. SWM Dr. Nicole Anzalone is a doctor of audiology at Syracuse Hearing Solutions in Camillus.

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HEALTHY EATING

Cauliflower is the new potato Chef Eric Rose

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hy are we so crazy about cauliflower? For many of us, it was at the top of our least favorite foods as a child.

This was probably because it was usually served steamed or boiled and its texture was very fibrous. I was one of those people! But now, cauliflower has changed from my most detested childhood vegetable, to the one I can’t seem get enough of. I literally eat it three to five times a week, and it appears I’m not alone.

These days, everywhere you look there seems to be a new use for cauliflower.

It’s often utilized as a gluten-free, low-carb alternative.

This versatile, mild-tasting vegetable has gained popularity as cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower gnocchi, mashed cauliflower, and on and on.

As a Chef and Certified Health Coach at Rose Health, I find myself using it because it’s a nutritious chameleon. Anything you can do with a potato you can do with a cauliflower. It's an amazing source of vitamin C, high in fiber and folate, and has a texture that allows it to be used in many ways.

I like to smash it for lighter mashed "potatoes", grate into "rice" or sautéed as a side.

It's also popular as a gluten-free pizza crust – just pulverize, blanch, and combine with cheese and egg. It can be cut into large or small slices and roasted to use as a cauliflower steak or ½ inch slices to use as healthy nachos. I even make bread out of it! The uses are truly endless making it a chef’s dream vegetable and a health coach’s best tool.

In 2018, The New York Times documented cauliflower’s rise in popularity, but even since then, the trend hasn’t lost any momentum. In fact, according to Data Essentials the acceleration of cauliflower rice alone has grown in popularity so much, that it’s finding its way on U.S.-based menus like Chipotle and has seen a 682 percent increase in U.S. restaurant chains over the last four years. Cauliflower wings have increased 1098 percent and cauliflower pizza crust options have increased 313 percent on U.S. menus.

Who knew that cauliflower could be so versatile and bring so much epicurean satisfaction? SWM

Chef Eric Rose has been a professional chef for 25 years and was the 2006 ACF Chef of the Year. He is also a certified health coach and the owner of Rose Health. He resides in Baldwinsville.

Scan QR Code for more amazing cauliflower recipes from Epicurious.com.

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Rosie’s Cauliflower Shepherd Pie Makes 2 portions

INGREDIENTS: 14 oz raw lean ground beef – should yield 11.25 oz cooked 2 cloves minced garlic ½ c low-sodium beef broth 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ¼ tsp onion powder 2 cloves minced garlic ½ tsp black pepper 1 Roma tomato (or ½ cup of tear drop tomatoes) 2 c green beans, chopped & steamed 1 c mushrooms, sliced 1 head cauliflower, chopped & steamed

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until tender – should yield 1½ c cooked 1½ tbsp (= 1 tbsp + 1½ tsp) milk ½ tsp garlic powder 2 Light Laughing Cow cheese wedge – I like the “Creamy Swiss” flavor ¾ c moderate fat shredded cheddar

DIRECTIONS: 1. In nonstick pan, fully cook meat and minced garlic 2. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and pepper; simmer for a few minutes until liquid dissipates then fold in diced tomato 3. Pour mixture in baking dish (no need to spray)

5. Add beans and mix in pan; spread over meat mixture in dish 6. Using an immersion blender, combine well-steamed (should be VERY tender) cauliflower, Laughing Cow cheese, milk and garlic powder, salt and pepper until smooth; spread over veggies in dish 7. Top with cheddar cheese 8. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes, until heated through and garnish with parsley and tomato

4. Add mushrooms to empty pan; cook 7-10 minutes until softened and golden

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INSPIRE

SABRINA REVETTE AND ERIN PALLETT

Photo by Alice G. Patterson

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Heroes in healthcare Lorna Oppedisano

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rowing up, Sabrina Revette had no hesitation about her future.

“I’ve always been a people person and knew from a really young age that I wanted to be a nurse,” Sabrina said. “I had health issues when I was younger and had a nurse who was really good to me through those issues, who inspired me to want to get into the field.”

Sabrina took the long route to the position she holds today at The Centers at St. Camillus, she explained. She started her career as a certified nursing assistant, followed by becoming a licensed practical nurse and then a registered nurse. She has also worked her way up at the facility, having joined the team as an assistant nurse manager and eventually becoming promoted to the Director of Nursing.

She was never unsure of her drive or goals along the way.

“I always knew I enjoyed leading a team,” Sabrina said. “I set my goal on eventually working my way up to really help shape the building as a whole.”

Sabrina’s colleague, Erin Pallett, The Centers at St. Camillus’ Assistant Director of Nursing, was also sure of her path from an early age.

“Both my parents were people persons and were always kind and giving,” Erin said. “I wanted to do something where I could continue to do that as I grew up.”

Erin started as a licensed practical nurse working through nursing school and has been a nurse for two decades. Having grown up near The Centers at St. Camillus, she was glad to join the staff about two years ago. The team-focused atmosphere has increased her passion for nursing, Erin said.

“Within nursing, you have a camaraderie in the group environment in which you work,” Erin said. "Your work people become your work family.”

Sabrina and Erin make sure the roughly 300 people they oversee know the duo have their backs and are available any time, even when they aren’t physically in the building. They explained they would never ask a member of their team to do something they themselves wouldn’t; Sabrina and Erin have been in their shoes and understand the challenges the nursing staff faces daily. Though they oversee the department, they continue to take every opportunity they can to help hands-on.

Their careers in nursing, not just at The Centers at St. Camillus, have impressed upon Sabrina and Erin the importance of prioritizing, expecting the unexpected and being able to turn on a dime when necessary.

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“That’s one of the things about being a nurse,” Sabrina said.

“You have to be able to be flexible because you never know what you’re walking in to.”

Above all else, each decision the nursing staff makes is based on the best interest of their residents.

Erin stressed the importance of getting to know those they care for as whole individuals, learning their pasts and what formed them into the people they are today. That knowledge then informs the residents’ everyday care at The Centers at St. Camillus.

“Growing up, my grandmother was a resident here and that’s what I saw,” Erin said. “That’s what made me love being here even more.

They looked at her as a grandma, as a mom, as a sister. She was treated like the human being that she should be, with that personal extra touch.”

Their residents become like family, Sabrina explained, especially since The Centers at St. Camillus is their home. Like family members, the nursing staff is trusted to protect them. In turn, the team becomes emotionally attached and invested, Sabrina said.

Those connections became even more important when the pandemic began and the staff became the crucial connecting piece between residents and their families. Along with their typical pre-pandemic responsibilities, the staff facilitated everything from tele-visits to phone calls to window visits to help residents maintain connections with their families.

“Every team member in the facility did what they could to make sure that the residents could feel the love and the attention from their families, even though they weren’t physically here with them,” Erin said.

Sabrina and Erin emphasized how important it was to them to make sure their team understood how appreciative they were of the immense effort and care they showed the residents each and every day.

As the pandemic now reaches the two-year mark, daily changes in rules and regulations continue to unfold. With no extra time to spend on worry, the pandemic has taught them to move forward and make it work, Erin said.

“That’s one thing that COVID has definitely taught us. You just have to keep going,” Sabrina said.

Though the pandemic has added extra stress to careers already laden with responsibility, it’s clear neither Sabrina nor Erin would dream of changing their paths or where they are now. They agreed that anyone considering entering the field should not hesitate.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than to be a nurse,” Erin said. SWM

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INSPIRE

TAMICA BARNETT Blazing a trail Jason Klaiber

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pon becoming the first-ever black woman promoted to a lieutenant spot in the Syracuse Fire Department, Tamica Barnett knew for certain that she didn’t want to be the last.

That milestone was reached last May, about a decade into Barnett’s career as a firefighter and just short of 150 years after the establishment of the department. Since then, the born-and-raised Syracusan admits to downplaying the celebration of her landmark promotion so as not to discomfort her peers, though the importance was not lost on her.

“You gotta keep breaking these barriers,” Barnett said. “What gives me motivation is knowing that everything I do in this position is setting a platform for someone else to advance.”

Independent of the challenges that come with being a first responder and her feeling of being under a microscope as the department’s first black female lieutenant, Barnett said her favorite part of the job has been her visits with local schoolchildren.

“I take great pride in teaching inner city kids the little life-saving things that could make a difference and telling them it’s achievable to be a Syracuse firefighter,” Barnett said.

These drop-ins to schools she attended herself, like H.W. Smith Elementary, have routinely incorporated fire safety drills catered to grade level, with lessons including tips on “stop, drop and roll” technique and the detection of carbon monoxide in households.

In the push for “community cultivation” as she calls it, the department has also allowed children to climb behind the wheels of the parked fire trucks and go on guided tours of the stations.

Back when she was their age, Barnett didn’t know any firefighters on a personal level—something that pushed her to be an example for the kids on her block.

Once she graduated from the fire academy in November 2011, she spent three years on duty at Syracuse Fire Station 10, located right in the vicinity of her childhood home on East Genesee Street.

“I knew everybody on the calls, which was kind of a gift and a curse,” Barnett said.

With this dynamic, she noticed the impact of her aid even after clocking out of her shifts, but often enough she would also have to treat shooting and stabbing victims who grew up with her on the east side, already aware of their dates of birth and the names of their parents.

Now taking on the role of lieutenant, Barnett views the safe return home for her crew members as her primary responsibility. In addition, she seeks to move up the ranks while taking Officer II and III classes to prepare for a greater variety of situations.

“Things have been going really well since I’ve been promoted, but continuous learning is important, especially for a job like ours,” she said.

In her day to day, Barnett is also a fire marshal and a certified lab instructor, meaning she instructs emergency care providers on their way to receiving state certifications.

Barnett earned a seat on the Syracuse City School Board in 2019. She also serves as a commissioner for the Boys & Girls Club and as a board member for both the district’s Educational Foundation and the local organization On Point for College.

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Late last spring, Tamica Barnett became the first black woman promoted to lieutenant in the 145-year history of the Syracuse Fire Department. Spread out over 12 stations, the department has been assigned the highest fire protection rating by the ISO.

On the side, Barnett owns and operates Who Want Smoke BBQ, a full-service caterer for residents of Syracuse.

Her knack for mentorship has further carried over to her organization of a biddy basketball league for 5 to 12-year-olds at the Boys & Girls Club on East Fayette Street, not to mention her appointment to a seat on the board of On Point For College, a Syracuse-based nonprofit aimed at helping students both enter higher education and achieve success with their careers.

In 2019, she was named to the Syracuse City School District’s board of education. She is currently the vice president. For the district, she also sits on the board of the Educational Foundation, which has lent support by holding sporting event fundraisers and recognition breakfasts while procuring grants for innovative academic projects.

In Barnett’s spare time as a grillmaster, she enjoys serving up ribs and char-grilled chicken wings on top of teaching youth at Salt City Market the ways of the culinary arts, specifically the optimal approach to storing cutting boards, knowledge of food temperatures, and the ins and outs of meal preparation.

Just like the protective coverage of the fire department she knows so well, Barnett’s business, Who Want Smoke BBQ & Catering, delivers to the entire Syracuse metropolitan area. SWM Lt. Tamica Barnett has a 14-year-old son named Adrian and a husband named Vernon, whom she married in February.

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INSPIRE

MICHELLE CUTTLER Alyssa Dearborn

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o the staff at Loretto, Michelle Cuttler is a hero. With more than 30 years of experience as a social worker, her dedication to helping others succeed is a gift to the long-term care industry. What makes her talents even more special is the fact that Cuttler’s position is the only one of its kind in the Syracuse area.

“One of the things with Loretto offering this program to employees is that it’s the only company in the area that is offering an employee coach.” Cuttler said, “And it’s so important because with new employees in particular, they’re starting off, this might be their first job or they’ve had several jobs, and as we know, that itself is a struggle.

Learning how to navigate different jobs, different systems. So as the employee coach, what I do is help them get transitioned to a new company, a new job.”

“All new employees I reach out to when they start so that they know who I am and what my role is and how to get in touch with me.”

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she continued, describing the details of how she helps new workers, “And then I provide on-going support to them, check-ins with them, as they’re going through the beginning parts of their journey with Loretto to make sure they’re doing well, their job’s going well, if they have any challenges on the job. We help them navigate that and eliminate any challenges that they might have.”

But helping new employees transition to the healthcare sector is only the beginning of what Cuttler does. She is a presence throughout every step of an employee's professional journey.

“Everybody in life has some sort of struggle or challenge in their life.

My role is to help them navigate whatever struggles they’re having by providing support and resources to them. I work with all employees and I’ve been working with all employees across the Loretto system.”

“We are a 24-hour operation, so as you know, when someone has a life challenge, work challenge, tragedy, or illness, they can’t always H EROES EDITION

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wait to talk to someone between the hours of 9 to 5. For employees, having access to someone who they can turn to confidently is important.” In addition to the usual challenges faced by employees, Cuttler saw firsthand the new obstacles brought to the healthcare industry by COVID. Among healthcare employees, mental health issues, burnout, and challenges concerning family obligations were all common obstacles in the workplace.

“I think one of the challenges is that, during COVID, mental health was a big issue,” she explained. “Some people may have already been struggling with it, so there was an increased need for support for these people. On top of that, a lot of these changes were on the job for people, and that’s very stressful. So being able to provide them with the support while they’re at work was also very important.”

The effectiveness of what she does is seen in the life-changing impact she has on Loretto’s employees. Cuttler has received messages from employees and colleagues like: “Loretto has the perfect individual for your job and you do it well. I felt very comfortable talking with you and didn’t feel any judgment.”

“You saved my life right when I wanted to give up. You and your family will always be blessed.”

“I am in a so much better space mentally and emotionally…

I appreciate you so much. Sometimes all a person needs is a hug and to be told they can do it.”

“I think it’s important for them to know that there is somebody that’s there to help them when they are struggling with things,” she said when talking about the impact she hopes to have. “For instance, they may be coming onto a new job and might not have transportation that’s reliable. So I will help connect them with reliable transportation.

The same thing with childcare. Those are a couple of areas that are challenges for employees. So we have several different resources that we have them update. We provide them with transportation options, so now they can rely on that if their transportation falls through.

We have a backup babysitter list that has people who have said that they’re willing to help out our employees. So if their babysitter cancels, they can reach out to one of those on-call providers so that they don’t have to call in to work. There are resources available, and the goal is to support them as much as we can so that they can be successful here at Loretto.”

Cuttler’s area of work is something that other companies and organizations should consider adding to their own workplaces.

Providing vital resources and emotional support to employees not only improves the workers’ wellbeing, but it also creates a more successful and empathetic workplace. It is this work–helping others and creating a more wholesome environment–that makes Michelle Cuttler excited about her job.

“I love my job at Loretto as employee coach. Each day I come to work knowing that I am able to make a difference in our employees’ lives. I may not be able to fix the issues they are encountering, but I can listen to them so that they know they are being heard. I can provide them with resources and tools and encourage them to use them. At the end of the day, I know that I have done everything that I can do to help the employees that I interact with to feel supported and to be successful.” SWM SYR ACUSE WOMAN MAGA ZI N E

Custom acrylic paintings of your beloved pets.

(315) 481-6524 or areeves.design@gmail.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS Through March 13

Saturday, March 12

What: Syracuse Stage offers a rare opportunity to see this world premiere musical. Inspired by the real life journey of the author’s mother (Reina Quijada) from El Salvador to the US and by L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. When: Show times vary Where: Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse Info: syracusestage.org

What: The 40th Anniversary Parade, founded by Nancy Duffy, began with a meeting at Coleman’s Pub and Nancy’s strong desire to bring her Irish heritage and culture to the streets of Syracuse. 2022 Grand Marshalls are Sean Kirst and John Francis McCarthy.

When: Noon to 3 p.m.

Where: Downtown Syracuse Info: syracusestpatricksparade.org

Friday, March 4 through Sunday, March 6

Tuesday, March 15 through Sunday, March 27

Somewhere Over the Border

Brave Brews

What: The first annual weekend long festival kicks off Women’s History Month in Auburn.

The celebrating was inspired by the Pink Boots Celebration Brew Day event that Prison City Brewing owner Dawn Schulz has hosted for the past four years. This year, the event has teamed up with the city’s Historic and Cultural Sites Commission and the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center to expand the annual ritual into a weekend of events.

When: Throughout the weekend Where: Venues around Auburn Info: bravebrewsfest.com

Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade

Hamilton!

What: Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre— a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics and education.

When: Show times vary Where: The Landmark Theater Info: landmarktheatre.org/events/hamilton/

Friday, March 18

Friday, March 4

Brit Floyd World Tour

What: Includes musical performances by area artists/bands. Awards will be presented in 12recording categories, in addition to the People’s Choice awards in four categories, Brian Bourke Award for Best New Artist, Jack O Bocchino Spirit of the Sammys Award and our Community Spirit Award.

Where: Crouse Hinds Theater When: 7 p.m.

Info: syracuseareamusic.com

Saturday, March 19

The SAMMY's

Saturday, March 12

Symphoria Masterworks: Latin Inspiration

What: Music from Spain and Mexico is the centerpiece, with Arturo Márquez’s Danzon No. 2 and Joaquín Rodrigo’s beautiful Concerto de Aranjuez. Enjoy a celebration of Spain’s beauty with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnole and Maurice Ravel’s beloved Boléro When: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Where: Mulroy Civic Center, 421 Montgomery St, Syracuse Info: experiencesymphoria.org

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What: Brit Floyd originated in 2011 on the initiative of musical director, guitarist and singer Damian Darlington "simply because he felt he could do it one better" than his previous band, The Australian Pink Floyd Show. Everything is more perfected and there's a passion coming off that stage,” he continued. “It's a coherent, emotional journey through Pink Floyd's catalog."

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater Info: asmsyracuse.com/events/2022/britfloyd

Symphoria Pops: Movies And The Masters

What: Violinist Lisa Dondlinger joins Symphoria for a fusion of classical and movie music like you’ve never heard before. Hailed by Peabo Bryson as "the finest first chair in the business", Lisa Dondlinger is being recognized as a game changer in the music industry. Equally at home in the worlds of classical and pop music, Lisa combines the technique of a studio musician with the charisma of a leading artist.

Where: The Oncenter Civic Center Theaters, 411 Montgomery St, Syracuse Info: experiencesymphoria.org

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Two take on city communications roles

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has named Kelly Montague as the city’s public information officer specifically focused on city infrastructure and Brooke Schneider to the role of senior public information officer in the city’s Office of Communications.

Montague will be responsible for a wide range of public information and communication activities supporting the departments of public works, engineering, water, and fleet management. In this new role, Montague will produce a range of public communications and content for web, print, and social media, as it relates to activities and public projects affecting roads, sewers, pedestrian traffic, and public spaces. She will develop and distribute public information to proactively educate and engage Syracuse residents and media in ongoing and upcoming major infrastructure projects and initiatives such as supplemental sidewalk snow removal, snow safety, road reconstruction, and I-81 construction.

Montague, a Syracuse native, moved to the District of Columbia after her graduation from Syracuse University, receiving her bachelor’s degree in geography and minoring in environment and society.

She spent time building her career first with National Geographic Maps and then the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer, working to establish the District’s GIS mapping and enterprise services before moving back to Syracuse in 2017 to work as a GIS Analyst at environmental consulting firms.

In her most recent role as marketing and design assistant at the Erie Canal Museum, Montague created and assessed community outreach opportunities, produced multimedia assets for the Erie Eats: The Erie Canal Foodways Project, and aided in the development of the museums marketing.

Montague is a member of the Communications Committee of the New York State Geographic Information System (NYS GIS) Association, where she supports communications social media and web. She has received several awards for her work in design from NYS GIS and the Esri Mid-Atlantic Users Conference for her work in digital maps and poster design. She recently joined the board of the George & Rebecca Barnes Foundation, contributing to work at the historic Barnes-Hiscock Mansion.

Schneider’s work for the city concerns public policy communication, media relations, digital content creation, and community engagement support. In this role she is responsible for planning, preparing, and communicating critical information on government activities, services, programs, projects, and objectives to Syracuse residents, and community partners.

In her previous role in the private sector, Schneider worked as an account executive at the international communications agency BCW Global, planning and directing media content and strategies while leveraging engagement across multimedia channels.

With a background in public diplomacy, global communication and international relations, she spent time in Brussels, Belgium working with the communications unit of Global Union Federation, Education International (EI). Schneider also worked in New York City on the New York Public Affairs team at BerlinRosen, a firm specializing in strategic communications, creative services, digital strategy and media relations.

Schneider received her Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. As a Newhouse student, she was named social media director for The NewsHouse’s #HighStakes campaign. In this role she earned national recognition for her social media strategy with awards from the Associated Collegiate Press, the College Media Association, the Society for Features Journalism, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Society for News Design.

Schneider also completed her master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, with an emphasis on International Development Administration.

At Loretto, Smith promoted and Conan returns

Loretto has promoted Julie Smith to marketing and communications manager. Formerly senior marketing coordinator, Julie Smith started at Loretto in 2020. She holds a bachelor of science degree in business management with a concentration in marketing and a minor in Communication/ Journalism from St. John Fisher College. Smith resides in Liverpool.

In her new role, she is responsible for implementing comprehensive communications campaigns to advance the goals of employee recruitment and retention as well as fostering support of The Loretto Foundation. Smith is also responsible for managing Loretto’s social media channels along with coordinating employee and community outreach events.

“I look forward to continuing to work with our Loretto team to recruit and retain employees who have the potential to grow their careers with us,” she said. “I also am excited to continue to fundraise and implement valuable programs that benefit our residents and employees through our Loretto Foundation.”

Loretto has also hired Kate Conan, RN, as senior outreach coordinator. Formerly an outreach coordinator for Loretto, Conan was rehired in 2021 to head a new admissions program to assist families in finding the right level of service where and when they need it.

Conan, a Skaneateles resident, studied business at Syracuse University and Niagara University before receiving her associate degree in applied science in nursing from Cayuga Community College to become a registered nurse.

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Conan brings years of diverse experience to Loretto. She previously worked at Crouse Hospital, where she received clinical training in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In addition to clinical experience, she brings business insight to her new role, with previous experience selling enzymatic wound ointments for Knoll pharmaceutical as an RN/sales representative.

As senior outreach coordinator, Conan will work closely with referral sources, hospitals, outside agencies, providers, and families to help identify individuals in need of services - and work collaboratively to direct them to the most appropriate facilities and level of care. She will provide valuable insight on the continuum of care services Loretto has to offer – from PACE CNY to assisted living, skilled nursing facilities, and dedicated memory care communities.

“I look forward to assisting families and residents as they navigate through the health care system and transition into Loretto’s facilities with different levels of care and services - ensuring the process is seamless for them,” Conan said.

Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs announces two hires

Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC has announced the addition of Tammy Reyes, CPA/PFS, CGMA, MT who joined the firm as a principal in the tax department.

Reyes has more than 24 years of experience in the public accounting industry. She joins the firm with previous tax leadership experience and a specialization in the taxation of trusts and estates and high net worth individuals. She also serves corporate and partnership clients and is a certified public accountant (CPA), a personal financial specialist (PFS) and registered financial consultant (RFC).

Reyes received a bachelor‘s degree in accounting from Binghamton University School of Management, a masters in taxation from University of Denver, and a certificate in financial planning from Kaplan College.

She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants. She is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Central New York and serves as the treasurer and board member for the Landmark Theatre. She is also a past board member and treasurer for Wester Federal Credit Union and Baltimore Woods Nature Center. Reyes resides in Camillus. DB&B also announced the recent hire of Bailey Davis as an associate in the Syracuse office. Davis joined the firm as an associate in the tax department. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from SUNY Buffalo and a master’s degree in accountancy from The City University of New York at Baruch College.

Bailey joins the tax department after interning with Dermody, Burke & Brown in 2021. She is working to complete the certification process to earn her designation as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). She resides in Manlius.

Leadership Greater Syracuse announces board appointments

Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS) is pleased to announce that Amy Lawler, senior vice president of finance for CenterstateCEO, has been elected as president of the board of directors. She will serve a two-year term as board president.

Lawler participated in the LGS Class of 2011 and immediately started volunteering upon graduation. She joined their program committee and their finance committee. Lawler was elected board treasurer in 2014 and most recently served as board vice president from 2020-2021.

Renae Rokicki, senior leadership and development coordinator at SUNY Upstate Medical University, was elected as LGS board secretary following six years as a board member including two years on the governance and nominating committee. She will serve a two-year term as secretary.

Additionally, Jin Gwak, chief digital and information officer of AmeriCU Credit Union, was elected to a three-year term as a board member. Gwak was a member of the LGS Class of 2015.

Ryan McDermott, vice president of commercial banking at M&T Bank, was elected as board vice president and treasurer. McDermott participated in the LGS Class of 2011 and joined the organization’s finance committee in 2013. He was first elected as board treasurer in 2020. He will serve a two-year term and vice president and treasurer.

The officers were elected at the organization’s annual meeting in November of 2021. “LGS is honored to have these high caliber professionals serve on our board of directors,” said LGS Executive Director Pam Brunet. “These individuals are leaders within their organizations and they epitomize the LGS mission by taking an active role in the community.” For more information about Leadership Greater Syracuse, visit http://www.leadershipgreatersyracuse.org.

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