Tableau Magazine Fall 2022

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to the Fall issue of Tableau!

We can’t believe it’s been two years of the little online magazine that could. Our team started Tableau on a wing and a prayer to highlight the people, places, causes and stories we felt weren’t getting the attention they deserved in Orange County, and a bit beyond.

Through the process, we’ve gotten to know some wonderful people who have started small businesses, who have beaten the odds in so many ways, who are working to make a difference in our communities and who are just plain awesome humans. We’re so thankful for that.

We also are in gratitude to the talented journalists, designers, photographers, artists and editors who I have given their time to the magazine. We know you are enjoying their unique perspectives and exceptional talents.

In this edition, you’ll discover the latest in OC, be inspired by a local family, learn about nonprofits we know you’ll want to support, and so much more.

If you haven’t yet, please visit our website at tableauofficial.com. It’s gorgeous, easy to navigate and full of wonderful stories for you to enjoy. And, if you’d be so kind, would you tell a few friends about Tableau? That would be the best birthday gift of all.

With gratitude,

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Sara Hall

Sara has nearly 14 years of experience at several daily and weekly newspapers, including The Record Searchlight in Redding, The Daily Advocate in Greenville, Ohio, the Newport Beach Independent, and most recently at Stu News Newport and Stu News Laguna. Her work has included photography, writing, design and layout. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and pets.

Alyssa Hamilton

Alyssa is a lifelong Southern California resident. She has been writing professionally for over 20 years, primarily for health websites and magazines. She is an MFA candidate at Sierra Nevada University and is currently working on a novel. She enjoys biohacking and preventative health practices, full soil immersion in her native garden, and spending time with her two teenage sons and their black Lab named Bear.

Allison Hata

Allison Hata is a freelance writer and editor based in Southern California. She lives and breathes OC, covering food, style, design and culture around town for over a decade. A former editor for Newport Beach Magazine, Allison is passionate about telling stories that capture the fascinating people and places that shape her community. Her work has appeared locally in Modern Luxury, Pelican Hill Magazine, Design OC and more.

Amy Senk

Amy is a CDM resident and a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. She has worked at the Kansas City Times, Kansas City Star, Contra Costa Times, Coast Kids and Coast Magazines, and is a regular contributor to StuNews Newport. A recent empty nester, she spends her free time with her husband and planning elaborate imaginary vacations.

TABLEAU STAFF

AKA The Kitchen Table Marketing Team

Carrie Freitas, Editor-in-Chief + Publisher Akil Burgos Cagatao Serber

TAKE NOTE

By Carly Serber

A Space to Create

If you’re in need of an outlet to let your creative juices fly, head to this Costa Mesa studio that encourages participants to think outside the box. For Your Imagination offers classes for kids and adults, with limited spots available for each session to give every student personalized attention. Textured platters, candle pots and ceramic antlers for holiday wreaths are just a few of projects explored in the adult ceramics class. For kids and young adults, after-school sessions combine painting, photography, clay and printmaking with a sprinkle of art history and culture. fyiarts.org IG: @fyi.foryourimagination

Strengthen Your Soul

Who doesn’t need a little peace and relaxation? Dennis Mataviesko, founder of Half Moon Reiki in Huntington Beach, is a practitioner who can offer you exactly what your mind, body and spirit need — whether that’s a sound bath, reiki session or yoga classes at a peaceful location, at his own open-air studio and in the privacy of your home. In addition to teaching yoga at Ekam Yoga & Pilates in Newport Beach and several other studios, Dennis also partners with Chris Lake of Costa Mesa’s Brain Body Reboot Center for group sound baths on a dreamy beach in Newport. Private couples and dual reiki sessions are only the beginning of his unique offerings, so grab your bestie or your partner and book a class online. You’ll reap the benefits of this energy work personally, while also building a deeper connection to whomever you bring along. halfmoonreikiyoga.com

Modeling Sustainability

A scenic hillside property in Laguna Beach has been transformed and developed into a fully operational biodynamic farm. This family-owned labor of love is called Bluebird Canyon Farms and it’s chock-full of fresh produce and herbs. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the sustainable farm and discover its rich history by getting hands-on with medicinal herbs harvested right on the grounds. Farm tours under Laguna’s blue skies last one hour, while three-hour lunch-and-learn sessions include organic snacks, drinks and hands-on activities led by experts that include a certified Chinese medicine herbalist and local acupuncturist. From a meditation circle to cooking classes that turn into farm feasts, there is something for everyone. bluebirdcanyonfarms.com IG: @bluebirdcanyonfarms

Giving Belongings a Second Life

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Christy Pacella Berube, owner of Details Estate Sales, takes that saying to a whole new level. Estate sales are more popular than ever, combining the thrill of the hunt with amazing prices and the feeling of an “event” — all while shopping sustainably. Working with owners who may have inherited a home, are moving out of state or are just downsizing, Christy and her team creates curated estate sales that are treasure troves of jewelry, watches, coins, books, vintage clothing, stamps and home decor. In fact, her sales are frequented by local interior designers on the hunt for one-of-a-kind pieces. Follow Details Estate Sales on Instagram for upcoming events and for exclusive access to special flash sales. detailsestatesales.com | IG: @detailsestatesales

All Good in Laguna

Good Together House is your one-stop shop for stylish and unique home decor, fashion, art and jewelry. The Laguna Beach storefront is open daily to showcase a fabulously curated selection that is constantly changing. Snap up some silver-plated cutlery straight from Paris, uncover a showstopping antique jewelry piece or check out the shop’s collabs with popular local brands. Among the recent additions to the Good Together House lineup is Ellis Sea, a custom monogramming and embroidery business founded by stylist Leslie Christen. Customize your Good Together House purchases on the spot, or bring in your favorite tote bag, drink coasters, napkins, bathrobes and more to get embroidered with a monogram or favorite saying — ideal for gift-giving! IG: @good.together.house IG: @its_ellis_sea

Photos courtesy of Details Estate Sales, Good Together House, Sherry Pollack Walker, and Hi Def Humans

Light and Color

Splitting time between Newport Beach and Rossland, British Columbia, artist Sherry Pollack Walker’s passion for fine arts and her roots in drawing and painting are evident in her gorgeous canvases. Sherry specializes in 3D work, still life and mixed media painting, describing her work as “an exercise of patience and concentration.” She plays with color, light and brush strokes and is influenced by Italian painter Giorgio Morandi, which differentiates her latest series from previous work. Her process was deliberate — studying lighting, positioning and tranquility versus chaos — in creating her newest collection of paintings, which focus on a combination of observation and improvisation. While the full collection can be viewed on her website, some paintings are on display and available for purchase at Huit Laguna in Laguna Beach. sherrypollackw.com

Life in High Definition

Who doesn’t want to become a more full, bright and clear version of themselves? Spearheaded by two best friends, Hi*Def Humans uses the tools of human design theory to help you better understand how you are uniquely wired. With this knowledge, you can let go of advice and any “shoulds” that are not meant for you. This form of decluttering your mind will peel back every layer until all that remains is your unique and vibrant self. In addition to personalized human design guides and readings, group workshops are offered to help add more flow to the workplace or bring a new layer of energy to social gatherings. Every participant will learn how to tap into their unique gifts and strengths to approach work, relationships and life in a way that feels more aligned and joyful. hidefhumans.com | IG: @hi.def.humans

Stacked Macarons Oil Painting Fine Art, Sherry Pollack Walker

By Allison Hata DO GOOD

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Raising a child is no solo act. From basic needs, such as shelter, food, clothing and medical care, to positive role models and creative play, children need many different forms of support to thrive.

Recognizing that kids are society’s greatest asset, an Orange County-based foundation was formed. The first Festival of Children event was held at South Coast Plaza in September 2002, and the organization has since grown to impact around 37 million kids nationwide.

Two decades later, the organization continues to give hundreds of youth-focused nonprofits a platform during National Child Awareness Month every September. Throughout the month, nonprofits join together to educate the community, fundraise, recruit volunteers and collaborate to create the greatest possible impact for kids.

This year, celebrate National Child Awareness Month by getting to know five Festival of Children member organizations doing big things in 2022, and learn how you can make a difference as a community volunteer.

BEYOND BLINDNESS

For this organization that’s served Orange County children with visual impairments since 1962, it was time for a bold new direction. Formerly the Blind Children’s Learning Center, Beyond Blindness is celebrating 60 years in 2022 with a brand transformation, including a new name and logo revealed at its first-ever hybrid fundraiser last year. The major milestone and name change also signaled an evolution for the nonprofit, which has expanded to serve a wider population of children with other disabilities and their families. Through programs focused on early intervention, education and enrichment, and family support, Beyond Blindness offers services like counseling, inclusive family events, low vision clinics, and transitional and individualized education plan support to children ages 0 to 22.

How to get involved: Beyond Blindness volunteers can lend a hand in the classroom or assist with administrative tasks at the Santa Ana headquarters. Several special events throughout the year also require volunteer support, including the annual dining in the dark gala, golf tournament, and Destination Independence Walk + Family Fair. beyondblindness. org | IG: @beyondblindness

GIRLS INC. OF ORANGE COUNTY

As part of its effort to launch more girls into leadership roles, the Santa Ana-based Girls Inc. rolled out a new program in 2022 called Project Accelerate. Serving young women who are in college or recent high school graduates, it’s an extension of the nonprofit’s teen mentorship program with a goal of shaping the future workforce in Orange County. The first cohort launches this fall, with a group of around 30 professional women who have stepped up to guide first-year college students through the earliest phase of their career journeys. Young women will attend career panels and networking events, participate in informational interviews and office tours, and spend time one-on-one with mentors to receive coaching on topics like office culture and navigating barriers to leadership.

How to get involved: While the Project Accelerate pilot has already launched, Girls Inc. needs volunteers for other programs like Literacy Lab, College Bound Grad Lab and SupHERvision, which offers an extra layer of motivational support for girls to promote academic participation and accountability. girlsincoc.org | IG: @girlsinc_oc

After a decade-long, four-phase capital campaign and years of construction, Orangewood Foundation’s Samueli Academy celebrated the completion of its 7.1-acre campus this spring. A new gymnasium and soccer field round out the final improvements to the innovative public charter school, which serves students in the community in addition to providing foster youth an opportunity to achieve better educational outcomes. Through Orangewood Foundation’s Youth Community Program, students in foster care can participate in a hybrid residential model, where they live on-campus in college-style suites during the school week and with their foster families on weekends. This model helps minimize challenges kids face when their foster placement changes, giving them stability in both their academic and living experience so they can excel in school and beyond.

How to get involved: Orangewood Foundation is always in need of qualified resource families for its programs, including the Youth Connected Program where parents will provide a home for foster youth on weekends and during school breaks and holidays. You can also make a difference as a Samueli Academy mentor or lend your professional expertise to students participating in a career-focused, workbased learning program. orangewoodfoundation.

PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER

Orange County’s only marine mammal rescue center welcomed a new CEO in May, with retired bank exec Glenn Gray tapped to run the Laguna Beach nonprofit. It was also recently named the No. 1 STEM educator and best place to take kids in Orange County by Kids Out and About. While rescue, rehabilitation and release are cornerstones of the organization, its mission is also advanced by educating the next generation about marine science and conservation. More than 10,000 children each year participate in distance and on-site programs that include research labs for teens and field trips covering topics that range from pollution solutions to marine mammal sensory systems. There are also a variety of free programs for underserved children in the community, as well as children’s hospitals. The center’s educational facilities will be undergoing a significant expansion next year, bringing its ocean stewardship programs to even more kids in 2023.

How to get involved: In addition to adult volunteer roles, Pacific Marine Mammal Center has a robust teen volunteer program for youth ages 14 to 17. Among the opportunities is a chance to serve as a junior education instructor, which includes preparing teaching materials and facilitating fun activities for younger campers. pacificmmc.org | IG: @pacificmmc

Photos courtesy of Orangewood Foundation, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and Orange County Children’s

ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN’S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER

With a goal of creating more access to the arts for youth from economically challenged parts of the community, Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC) offers several multicultural programs for all ages and differing abilities, from early start options as young as six months to family mentoring support for those who have a child with a disability. This year, thanks to the Festival of Children Foundation, a group of students from the organization’s Preparatory Arts Academy had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play alongside international recording and touring artists El Santo Golpe at Gold Pacific Studios. It was the culmination of a year-long project featuring 14 special needs and typical students, two teachers and lead vocalist Ulises Rodriguez from El Santo Golpe. The original song they recorded, “El Mundo Entero,” will be featured as one of OCCTAC’s featured ensemble performances at Festival of Children, as well as released on music streaming services later this year. How to get involved: Whether you’re creatively inclined or just have a passion for the arts, there’s an opportunity for you at OCCTAC. Volunteers from all backgrounds are invited to lend a hand with roles that include events and engagement activity support for the community outreach team, tutoring transitional-age youth, leading early start activities for students, and assisting teachers at the Preparatory Arts Academy. occtac.org | IG: @occtac

TO ORDER

SGT. PEPPERONI’S PIZZA STORE

By Amy Senk

Celebrating nine years with owners who believe in the power of community September is a big month for Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza Store and its four-family ownership team. In 2013, they took over the 46-year-old restaurant at 2300 S.E. Bristol St., upgrading both the building and the menu. They’ve since expanded and are having success at new locations in Aliso Viejo and Irvine.

Family and community are important to the Sgt. Pepperoni’s family and owners Jeff and Erica Roberts, Andy and Grace Hong, Ellen and Rob Dodman, and Jennifer and Stan Frazier (the former drummer and songwriter for Sugar Ray). Their entire three-restaurant enterprise is personal, and the connections go back to the original Sgt. Pepperoni’s pizza place, which opened in 1976. Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza

“After every soccer tournament, after every football game, after swim meets, we went to Sgt. Pepperoni’s,” Jeff says. “I grew up there.”

Once after a swim meet when he was 8, his older brother was showing off for his buddies and dropped red pepper flakes down Jeff’s pants. He laughs now but cried then, and he says nothing has changed over the years when it comes to families and kids.

“The same things go on today in our restaurant,” he says of the pepper incident. “That’s what’s so unique. How many places can you go into where the same things are going on that occurred when we were children, 40-plus years ago?”

The Roberts family ended up living in a home just 500 yards from the restaurant and would get pizza there after games and tournaments. He’d take his daughters, but the place had faded.

“It was a very tired restaurant and needed some love,” he says. “It wasn’t for sale, but, unsolicited, I approached the owner one day about buying.”

The owner thought about it for about five months before calling Jeff back. He immediately hopped on his skateboard for a meeting, then he and Erica reached out to their friends, Andy and Grace. Later, Ellen and Rob joined the team, and finally Stan and Jennifer.

“It’s just amazing how everybody has sort of naturally taken on a role,” Jeff says.

His wife, Erica, for example, brought a lifetime of restaurant experience and has specialized in bringing their dessert menu to life. Stan, who won the BBC America show “Chef Race,” lends his culinary talents and food flair, and Jennifer serves as the social media director. Meanwhile, Ellen is their “banking wizard,” Rob (aka “MC Spreadsheet”) offers his experience as CFO of Winchell’s Donuts, and Grace handles human resources and benefits.

In the beginning, the self-funded team each contributed to getting the newly improved Sgt. Pepperoni’s up and running.

“In the first week, it was all of us in there cleaning the bathrooms and getting prepared for construction and doing the demo and staying seven days straight for a remodel,” Jeff says.

Business was great, and the team decided to open a second location in Aliso Viejo. They signed the lease in November 2019, with construction to begin in February 2020.

“When Covid hit, that was the darkest time for us as a restaurant,” he says. Employees, including some in management, quit. Indoor dining was banned. The new restaurant’s future was in jeopardy.

“Every member of our ownership group was pitching in,” Jeff says. “We were all there just to keep the doors open. When the dining area had to close, we really had to work on pivoting to delivery. We came up with a make-your-own pizza kit. We had to get really creative.”

Within a few months, dining restrictions eased, and business picked up at both locations. In 2021, the group had an unsolicited invitation from the Irvine Company to open a third location at Campus Plaza across from UC Irvine.

“While many were kind of hunkering down during the pandemic and just trying to get by and decide what was going to be next, we were bullish on a concept we had, that people loved,” Jeff says. “We went for it. We expanded in the pandemic and opened two new shops, and I’m proud to say that they’re now beacons in the community.”

The owners are proud of their engagement with each community where Sgt. Pepperoni’s has a presence, from hiring local high school students to organizing events with UC Irvine athletic coaches acting as “beertenders.” They support schools’ team fundraisers with in-store events and make donations to various foundations.

“We feel very fortunate to be a part of a great community and have an opportunity to serve,” Jeff says. “We’re thankful.”

And while October may be national pizza month, at Sgt. Pepperoni’s, September will always be one of the most important times of the year. In

September 2022, the team will celebrate the ninth year of raising money for CHOC Hospital and Julian’s LEGO Corner, named for and inspired by Julian Dunn, a Newport Beach student who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 and died five years later. Julian loved LEGO sets, so money raised for Julian’s LEGO Corner at CHOC provides new kits for hospitalized kids.

Julian and his family were neighbors of the Roberts, and their children attended school together.

Jeff and Erica’s daughter, Lauren, held lemonade stands in support of her friend growing up and later launched a high school project called Sweet Things for a Sweet Cause. It eventually led to fundraising for Julian’s LEGO Corner through desserts sold at Sgt. Pepperoni’s.

Raising awareness and funds has since become a September tradition. This month, all profits from the restaurant’s cheesecakes (New York and Oreo), cookies, brownies and s’mores-like Wow Bars will go to Julian’s LEGO Corner, as well as proceeds from the pizza of the month — a cauliflower crust with your

choice of toppings, inspired by fitness guru Da Rulk.

Jeff said they’ve raised more than $100,000 over the years, and his goal this year is another $50,000.

“Every year, it just grows in awareness,” he says. “Every September, we’re going to support CHOC Hospital and Julian’s LEGO Corner and the memory of Julian. Every year, for the rest of our adult lives and for the rest of our existence, we will spend our efforts and energies to bring other people into the fold as well in support of Julian’s LEGO Corner, the Dunn family and the kids at CHOC. “

Helping sick kids while marking the ninth anniversary of their restaurant ownership fills Jeff and the others with a deep sense of gratitude.

“Four families united and put together this campaign to bring Sgt. Pepperoni’s back to life,” Jeff says. “And as we sit here, nine years later, there’s nothing that brings us more joy than to sit in our restaurant any evening of the week and watch the place just fill up, [with] a line out the door [and] families celebrating around what we think is the best pizza in America.”

Photos courtesy of Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza Store

WELLNESS

The Body Detective

By Alyssa Swanson Hamilton

Gina Calderone, a physical and energetic therapist and founder of the Empowered Health Foundation, began her career over two decades ago in a busy orthopedic clinic.

“I was seeing close to 30 patients a day, working at an extremely fast pace, primarily treating a high volume of people with musculoskeletal pain,” says Gina, then a physical therapist. “Even then, I knew it wasn’t just a matter of giving them an ultrasound or a massage. On a heartfelt level, I sensed that they needed more. People were coming in looking for connection.”

She valued her work and did her best to listen to her patients and help them heal. In an instant, however, a deeper calling revealed itself.

One day, a man came in complaining of shoulder pain. She asked him if anything had happened in his life lately. He told her that his father had just died.

“It was a powerful moment, like the volume was suddenly turned up,” she says. “I heard heartbreak. The lungs are the seat of grief, and I sensed immediately that his shoulder pain was a direct reflection of that.”

His chest had contracted and wrenched his shoulder inward, radiating the sudden unexplained pain.

“It seems sudden, because we are not trained in connecting our life experiences with our physical pain,” she explains. “However, our bodies contain the pain that we are not ready to feel. From that moment, this truth revealed itself to me over and over.”

Shortly after, Gina left the orthopedic practice and struck out on her own, opening Centripetal Force Studio in Long Beach. The studio became a personal

research and development lab where she examined the intersection between physical and emotional pain.

She had long been interested in energy medicine (energy, she says, “is emotions in motion — these emotions, such as grief, can get stuck and cause pain”) along with physical therapy. Her experiences with her patients further compelled her to follow that path.

Through a modality she pioneered called Physioenergetic Therapy™, she guides patients toward healing by addressing not only the physical symptoms, but the emotional or energetic root cause. Physioenergetic Therapy addresses how life experiences affect the physical, like the autonomic nervous system. This therapy acknowledges what Gina references as “the invisible wound,” a pain so deep that it is in hiding, tucked away while the patient is in survival mode.

“Some people are carrying the memory of experiences so heartbreaking that if they allowed them to surface, it could flatten them,” she says. “The wounds are compartmentalized to allow the person to function in daily life.”

These are heavy burdens we carry in the body, and they trigger the creation of a fight-flight-freeze state that must be felt, processed and rebooted, she says. Otherwise, this unresolved trauma and toxic grief manifests as physical pain, illness and disease.

“I became the person folks called when they’d exhausted the traditional healthcare medical model, as well as dabbled in the alternative therapy world with little to no success healing the pain in their body,” she says.

Her patients, presenting with conditions ranging from skeletal fractures and chronic pain to ADHD, depression and autoimmune disorders, found that as they healed their autonomic nervous systems (ANS) and released emotions using Gina’s methods, they were no longer in survival mode. They were able to heal their physical symptoms and their emotional state in a way that had not been possible before.

“Using a combination of physical therapy and energy anatomy, I was able to reprogram the ANS from constant survival mode to ‘rest, digest and repair,’ to enable the body’s innate healing ability,” she says. “As the pain ceased, my patients could sleep better, make

healthy choices in eating and exercise. They shed extra weight as their health improved. The impulsive survival way of life waned, and they could see the big picture, finding purpose and love again in life instead of focusing on an endless loop of pain and depression.”

In a paper titled “Defining Moment” for the American Physical Therapy Association, Gina writes, “I recognized that the feelings and memories of pain experienced by my patients outweighed their diagnoses. When I used massage and hands-on soft-tissue mobilization to unravel their tense muscles, stories of unresolved trauma and grief came up. Their body stories showed me, people in physical pain are in emotional pain. I became deft at unraveling, listening, and deducing the true roots of pain. In healthcare, we fail to ask the right questions to lead us to the source of the pain. Instead, we are stuck in old models of trying to silence the symptoms with prescription medications. These outdated practices have led us into this ‘pain-demic.’”

She recalls that she once asked a 16-year-old patient what she wanted to do when she grew up. In turn, the teen asked what Gina, as a young girl, had imagined she might pursue in adulthood.

“I told her that I had wanted to be a detective,” Gina says. “She responded, ‘Well, you are a detective. A body detective!’”

Gina laughs. “She was right.”

Her calling paved the way for the Empowered Health Foundation, where she utilized her newfound wisdom

to help people in all stages of life to solve the most puzzling, life-threatening diseases that defied even Western medicine. Likewise, she stretched beyond the walls of her studio, landing in the classroom and on the playground of her children’s elementary school. She helped students connect their brains and their core, a synergy that can be disrupted by traumatic experiences in the home. She and her team fine-tuned their motor skills, leading to an improvement in their confidence, reading skills and classroom behavior. In hospital settings, Gina guided patients out of physical and emotional pain that was imprisoning them and creating disease. These varying experiences with profound healing inspired her to make a transition.

In January 2020, Gina closed her studio to dedicate herself to research and collect data that further supported her experiences with her healing methods. Then in March, the pandemic hit. She found herself with multiple requests to see teenage boys, many presenting with anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, and began seeing patients in her home office.

“This generation doesn’t want to deny their emotions,” she says. “They want to feel it all: grief, sorrow, joy, courage. It’s like they are on a different operating system, often at odds with the generation of men raising them who were themselves taught to stifle any emotions that might betray weakness. I also saw an uptick in panic attacks in teen girls; they were functioning as the containers for pent-up energy within the household.”

The old systems are breaking down, and it’s time to build new ones, she says.

“I’ve spent years conditioning a new generation to find value in understanding your feelings and how to express your emotions in your body, while teaching

adults the importance of releasing toxic stress from childhood or after a divorce or death of a parent,” she notes. “When we can center ourselves and plug into the power of our emotions and our body, we will find ourselves feeling good and loving our lives. Pain vanishes because the body has no reason to signal crisis anymore, it doesn’t have to hide in your body any longer. You’re free!

“People are now more open to exploring their emotional bodies and healing from the inside out,” she continues. “There is more of an awareness that your biography becomes your biology.”

In addition to her current practice and research, Gina is also on the cusp of obtaining a Ph.D. in physical therapy. Her vision is to create a new kind of hospital and research facility — a healing house for the body, mind and soul, focusing on addressing generational and emotional trauma.

“This new kind of hospital would provide the framework to heal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the body, so that we, as well as future generations, don’t have to carry familial burdens of unhealed historical trauma,” she says.

“Our bodies are profoundly intelligent. I’d like to focus more on prevention of illness,” she says. “Oftentimes, people are tested for multiple issues, but their bloodwork comes back fine. Based on past trauma, a person might be carrying the ‘imprint’ or shadow of a disease before that disease is made manifest. It’s not detectable in a lab, but it’s there. We need to heal that trauma at the root. It’s like a necrosis. We cannot heal in the same environment in which we became ill.”

Gina envisions the new center as “a beacon” of evidence-based research that will power a new future for healthcare through clinical research, education and outreach training of healthcare practitioners, educators and justice system advocates on the frontlines of childhood trauma recovery.

“Physical therapists go to school to learn how to treat pain in the body,” Gina says. “If you really pay attention to your client, they will always tell you what’s troubling them. You just have to listen.

“I am more than a healthcare professional,” she continues. “I became a healer, and we need more healers in the healthcare system.”

OF INTEREST

SURVIVING THE “AFTER”

By Amy Senk

New book from Wahoo’s Fish Taco co-founder Ed Lee explores grief after a child’s Ed Lee is a fixture in the Orange County restaurant community. He and his brothers started Wahoo’s Fish Taco in 1988, growing it from a store in Costa Mesa to more than 60 locations in six states and two countries. He founded Tableau Kitchen & Bar at South Coast Plaza, Toast Kitchen & Bakery, a donut shop and more. Professionally, he’s been dubbed Orange County’s “restaurant whisperer.” He surfs, he runs, he’s a family man, and back in 2016, he thought his life with his wife and two teenage sons was as close to perfect as he could ever hope.

On Wednesday Dec. 5, 2016, all of that became the “before.” By lunchtime, he was thrust into the “after” when a police officer called to say his son, Emilio, had been injured. Ed hurried to the hospital where he learned Emilio was suffering from a selfinflicted gunshot wound. Emilio never regained consciousness and died at 17.

In the days, weeks and years that followed, Ed struggled, eventually reaching out for help and figuring out ways to cope with his devastating loss.

This summer, he and his longtime friend, Ron Ottenad, released a book called “After: Learning How to Live After the Death of a Child,” available on Amazon as an e-book or paperback.

The book, Ed says, fills a void in the self-help category by presenting a strong, honest and personal male perspective on grief.

“When you start the grieving process, for some crazy reason, men are more competitive,” he says. “Whatever it is within us, we want to race through this thing, and most men think this is a fixable problem. It’s not. It is not fixable. It took me a year of a lot of counseling and anger issues.

“They say, ‘Time heals all wounds,’ and it doesn’t,” he continues. “But they keep telling you this, and for some crazy reason, it doesn’t resonate in your mind. Then seven, eight months into the process, I’m like, ‘Shit. This thing is not ever going to go away, and no one has ever told me that.’”

For Ed, the early months after his son took his own life were an unimaginable blur of pain and confusion. His son’s death, he wrote, was not like a hurricane that built up with obvious clues like a history of depression, mental illness, or suicidal thoughts or attempts.

“Emilio’s suicide was more like an earthquake,” he wrote. “No warning. He did not suffer from depression or mental illness. He had no history of suicidal ideation, and he had never done anything harmful to himself. In an instant we found ourselves at the epicenter of a violent quake that sent shockwaves of destruction through the landscape of our lives. There was no time to brace our hearts.”

His wife, Michal, handled her grief differently, was open to help and support from the beginning. Ed felt hollow.

“In the first year, nothing was making sense,” he says. “Anybody that would approach me, if they were telling me how to grieve or trying to give me advice, it made me absolutely crazy. Christians would come to me and say, ‘It’s part of God’s plan.’ What the eff are you talking about? What kind of God would take away the greatest joy of my life, one of the best things that happened in my life? Why would he do that? How could that be God’s plan?”

He sought relief and numbness and escape with alcohol — something that nearly destroyed him, but eventually led him to ask for help.

“You cannot use alcohol or drugs to think you’re going to numb this pain,” Ed says. “That will be the darkest road you’re going to walk through.”

Ed finally turned to his longtime friend, a pastor and now co-author, Ron Ottenad. For six months, he focused on getting his drinking under control. Later, he began meeting regularly with a grief counselor and then began group therapy.

Ed strongly believes that grieving men should reach out for help, but that they should do it on their own time, perhaps starting with a trusted friend or perhaps a faith-based choice.

“Everybody grieves at a different pace, so you’re not going to be able to go, ‘Oh, I can find a counselor within three months,’” he says. “For me, it took two years. … It’s a long journey for most men. First, you’ve got to admit you are broken. I hated all that process. But then you get over the first hump.”

Then, he says, you realize that there is no future date when you will realize you are “fixed.”

“You’re never going to get to the end,” he says. “I felt like, ‘This is so annoying, why can’t I get fixed? I don’t want to go through this anymore.’”

Many men, he says, have had similar experiences. He hates to generalize, but men often grow up being told not to cry, to be tough, that being a good man means being able to fix things and handle your business.

“It’s hard to ask for help,” he says. “My guy friends are amazing people, but we weren’t sitting there, crying on a Friday night, going, ‘Oh I’m sad.’ We don’t do that. I don’t want to generalize things, but my wife was much more open about getting help.”

By sharing about his journey and how it was different from his wife’s, he hopes the book will be useful to men struggling with their grief. The male outlook, told from personal experience, was something he craved but never found in other books.

He liberally uses surf metaphors, like how his grief felt like wiping out and being “ragdolled,” or tossed helplessly in the waves — how avoiding grief can be like “duck diving,” or pushing your surfboard beneath the surface and submerging yourself under the energy of the oncoming wave. He writes about feeling competitive, even about grief process, wondering if others are “ahead” of him on their emotional path.

The book also has two appendixes, one with “dos and don’ts” for someone suffering a loss and advice for friends of the grieving person, and another with a list of resources.

The idea to write a book came up about a year ago, when he and Ron were talking about Ed’s notes, which he wrote daily when he began counseling.

“Writing notes of the day, what’s happening in your life and timelines are part of the process of getting better,” Ed says. “Ron said I should put them in book

form to let other people know about the emotions I’d been through.”

Ed took a month or so to review three years of notes, trying to decide if such personal and emotional entries should be turned into something public.

“It was hard to go back through my notes and look at some of the dark moments of my life,” he says. “It was just really tough to go through it. Then I took a little breather, and I started.”

They would go back and forth on the book collaboration, organizing chapters and editing.

“It was therapeutic, reading the book as it was being written, over and over and over,” Ed says. “Parts of it, I remember exactly the choice I had to make, and it was to live. I know that Emilio would be here saying, ‘Daddy you have to live. Don’t let me hold you back.’”

With the book complete, Ed says he’s been making good on the choice to live. He decided to cut back on work, stepping back from Wahoo’s at the beginning of the year and limiting his workdays so he has Mondays through Wednesdays free to “dillydally.” The other days, he’ll stop by Tableau or Toast, where he’ll work for a few hours and hang out with his team.

At 58, he still runs and surfs, sometimes at 32nd Street, but more often these days at Morro Bay, where he can catch waves in the morning and later visit Paso Robles for wine tastings.

“That has become my happiest place on earth. You can surf and have amazing wines in the same day,” he says. “But that’s also been the hardest part, to start living all over again. I used to think, four-anda-half years ago, that the best part of my life is gone. Well, if that was the greatest part of your life, gone now, then why are you living? It was a really good part of your life, and greater things are going to happen, and you have to look forward to that.”

Editor’s note: September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call or text 988, the country’s first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis that went live this summer and will connect callers with trained mental health counselors.

ENVIRONS

SAVE THE MONARCH

By Sara Hall

The monarch, arguably America’s most beloved butterfly, is in trouble.

A spotlight has recently shined on the imperiled pollinators after an international conservation organization placed the iconic insect on its endangered list following decades of declining population numbers. Locally, groups and businesses have campaigned to help bring the migrating monarch back to the California coast.

A Laguna Beach-based nonprofit, the Pollinator Protection Fund, is dedicated to the protection and rehabilitation of monarch butterflies and the preservation and creation of monarch butterfly and pollinator habitats in Southern California.

The organization’s aim is to educate through interpretive signage, community outreach talks, gardening days and volunteer work, said PPF Managing Director Laura Ford in an email to Tableau.

“We create beautiful pollinator habitat to enrich the environment for both people and pollinators,” she said. “Our work is vital in creating pesticide free safe habitats for pollinators to live, feed and reproduce.”

The monarch butterfly population, particularly those in the western half of the U.S., is in trouble, said Ron Vanderhoff, general manager/ V.P. of Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach, in an email to Tableau.

“An insect so common just 30 years ago is now a fraction of its former abundance,” he said.

The California population was estimated at 4.5 million in the 1980s. The numbers declined to about 1.2 million in 1997, to fewer than 30,000 in 2019, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During the winter of 2020-21, volunteers counted less than 2,000 adult monarchs in the entire state.

Orange County once had several thousand monarch butterflies roosting along the coast, from Seal Beach to San Clemente, said Vanderhoff, who assists with the annual fall and winter monarch census in the OC.

In 1997, more than 4,300 monarchs were counted. In the winter of 2020-21, at OC’s 17 historical wintering sites, volunteers counted just one adult monarch.

“It’s serious; monarchs need help,” Vanderhoff said.

Pollinators in general have seen a steep decline in recent years due to modern agricultural practices such as the overuse of pesticides and use of neonicotinoids, removal of habitat and monarch butterfly overwintering habitats, and lack of native milkweeds foodplants.

“The cause of this incredible decline in monarch numbers is not from one factor, and no single solution exists,” Vanderhoff explained. “It’s complicated, and most experts list a mixture of causes.”

Although there has been some positive news recently that gives hope to the struggling population.

In 2021, the Xerces Society, which focuses on the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats, reported a surprising 247,237 monarch butterflies observed across western overwintering sites. These numbers signal the possibility of a rebound, however, the population is still drastically lower than the millions migrating just a few decades ago and remains in serious danger.

This summer, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the migratory Western Monarch population endangered. IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

Although a significant step, the July 21 announcement doesn’t have any policy or regulations impact for conservation in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holds that power and FWS has not listed the monarch butterfly as an endangered species.

“The IUCN declaration is terrific, but unfortunately it has been a bit misrepresented in the media. In the U.S., a species is not endangered until Fish and Wildlife says so,” Vanderhoff said. “The IUCN is a wellrespected international, science based, conservation organization. However, with no regulatory power, it has limited influence in the United States.”

The FWS declaring them endangered is the action that the monarch conservation community is really waiting for, he noted.

“When this happens monies will become available, regulations will begin and the real conservation will get underway to save this species,” he explained.

In 2020, FWS found that adding the monarch butterfly to the list of threatened and endangered species was “warranted but precluded” by work on higher-priority listing actions. With this decision, the monarch becomes a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, and its status will be reviewed each year until it is no longer a candidate.

“Basically, they said, yes the western monarch is endangered, but we don’t have the resources to deal with it and have other species that we need to work on first,” Vanderhoff explained. “Until the Fish and Wildlife Service adds it to the U.S. Endangered Species List, we are still without the full set of tools

They are worthy of our protection because the monarch butterflies offer the world their iconic beauty and so much more, Ford noted.

“The pollinator population of an area is a great indicator of the overall health of an ecosystem,” she pointed out. “It’s vital that we protect pollinators if we wish to live on a planet that continues to sustain us and is hospitable to life.”

Some of the same sound conservation and environmental decisions that will help monarchs will also benefit many other wild creatures as well, Vanderhoff added.

“Habitat must be restored, expanded and preserved, foodplants must be protected, planted and encouraged, pesticides must be reduced, and commercial agricultural practices must be altered,” he explained. “Healthy habitats are critical.”

and the resources needed to conserve this iconic creature.”

These winged beauties also play a crucial role in the country’s food and agriculture.

In the United States, one-third of all agricultural output depends on pollinators, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are vital to the production of healthy crops for food, fibers, edible oils, medicines, and other products.

Consider their amazing migration.

They migrate from all over the United States and southern Canada to their winter grounds in Mexico and coastal California, Ford explained. Western monarchs gather to roost in eucalyptus, Monterey cypress, Monterey pine, and other trees in groves along the pacific coastline, arriving around late October.

“Their tiny bodies, which weigh less than a paperclip, fly thousands of miles – across multiple generations – to make their final destinations,” Ford said. “The western population of monarch butterflies that visit us in Southern California travel huge distances defying all manner of obstacles and dangers.”

Similar inspiring journeys of monarchs defying the odds to fly between their summer breeding grounds and their winter habitat can be found across the United States. They travel from as far south as Mexico to as far north as Canada. The eastern and western populations might even mingle if they cross paths near the Rocky Mountains.

During this great migration, monarchs are powerful pollinators.

While bees are the primary pollinators in the U.S., birds, bats, and beetles are often overlooked for how much pollinating work they put in. Together, along with butterflies, they pollinate much of the food we eat and support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife.

“The almost invisible ecosystem service provided by pollinators is an incredibly precious resource that requires our understanding, attention and support,” Ford said.

There are a number of ways people can help out the monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

It’s an interesting situation, but also a huge opportunity, Vanderhoff noted.

“Unlike most species that might be in peril, the monarch is in our own backyards (or at least should be),” he said. “This isn’t about some animal that we seldom ever see, that lives in a mountain canyon or some area far away. This is an animal in which we, gardeners, play a significant role. Our actions in our own gardens can either help monarch recovery – or not. We, gardeners, can actually do something.”

Planting California native milkweed in the garden at home is a good step.

“Home gardens can and do attract many different pollinators,” Ford said. “If you want more monarchs in your garden make it easy for them to find the milkweed to lay their eggs on.”

Ford suggested placing it apart from other plants or surround it with a mulch circle. She also recommended planting native flowers in clusters –blues and purples for bees and orange and red for butterflies and hummingbirds – and chose flora with a variety of bloom times to ensure that there’s always food available for pollinators.

Placing rocks or flat stones to absorb the sun’s heat and act as a resting space for monarchs. A small pan or dish filled with coarse sand and dampened with water will act as a drinking and mineral source.

Vanderhoff suggesting setting aside a portion of your own garden specifically to support native wildlife,

such as native pollinators, birds, lizards, bugs and so on. Direct some of that garden attention specifically toward monarch butterflies, he said.

“In particular, add some locally native milkweed to your garden and remove any bright orange tropical milkweed. Then, add nectar producing plants to your garden, especially those that flower in the winter, while monarchs are resting locally,” he said.

The more generic tropical milkweed (not native to the U.S., but commonly found in commercial garden shops) works, but it needs to be significantly cut back after the leaves have been eaten by the caterpillars in order to reduce the risk of transmitting a debilitating parasite that can live in abundance on tropical milkweed, but can deform and kill the monarchs.

The Xerces Society recommends only planting locally native milkweed species, and do not recommend planting tropical milkweed.

Gardeners can receive one free native, narrow-leaf milkweed plant, when a tropical milkweed is removed and brought to Roger’s Gardens.

Also at Roger’s Gardens, fans of the fluttering insect can show support for the research and education needed to help recover monarch butterflies by visiting store, donating $5, writing a wish on a

wooden monarch, and hanging it on the Garden’s “wishing tree.”

The local shop has already raised more than $5,000 toward their $7,000 goal, which will be donated to the Xerces Society.

But first and foremost, nature lovers who want to protect the butterflies and other pollinators should learn more about their plight.

“The first thing to do – the easiest thing to do – is to notice and think about monarch butterflies and other pollinators,” Ford said. “Awareness and appreciation in itself is a good start.”

Carefully research through science-based websites, Vanderhoff suggested, and then talk about the issue and share what you’ve learned with others. Lobby for good ecological and conservation practices in general, he added.

Vanderhoff agreed it’s important to learn the issues.

It’s not enough to just preach “Save the monarchs,” he said, “we need to act intelligently and in a scientifically appropriate manner.”

For more information, visit protectmonarchs.com, rogersgardens.com/pages/milkweeds-for-monarchs, and xerces.org.

LAST LOOK

Sherry Pollack Walker Fancy Glass II Oil, 12x12

For more information, visit the artist's website at www.SherryPollackW.com