About this column:
You know those parents in town who just seem to be able to do it all? They work at a really cool job, or do hours of volunteer work, or manage to be fully involved in all aspects of their children's lives. Many parents do some combination of these, and for doing the best they can and doing a great job at it, Patch is proud to announce a weekly column called "She's All That" or "He's All That." Every Monday Patch will profile a mom (or a dad for "He's All That")—a person someone thinks is "all that." We'll share their sneaky time saving tips and have them confess what they often let slip (no one can really do it all). If you'd like to nominate someone in town, email Shelley@patch.com. We want to hear from you!Meet a Montclair mom who has found a balance between maintaining her mental and physical health, working, helping breast cancer survivors, and, oh yeah, being an involved mom to her busy athlete/musician son! SHE’S ALL THAT: Gigi Gould MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: I’m originally from Melbourne, Australia, and moved to Montclair in 2008 by a rather circuitous path. I travelled to many countries working with international dance companies, then met my now husband while visiting NYC and the rest is history. We lived together in New York for years, had our son there, and when it was time to leave the city …
Jonathan Bonesteel loves being a full-time stay-at-home dad to three busy girls. He's also a moderator on the Montclair Watercooler, and has just been elected President of the Board of the Adult School of Montclair. HE’S ALL THAT: Jonathan Bonesteel Read on to find out how this plugged-in dad keeps his busy family on track during the week, and what’s on tap at the Adult School of Montclair. IN HIS WORDS. . . WORK/VOLUNTEER: The bulk of my training and work experience is information technology and computer science, but my last paid position was serving as the Pastoral Associate of Stewardship …
SHE’S ALL THAT: Sabine LaBonne Find out how Sabine Labonne balances the labor-intensive job of being a midwife (couldn’t resist, sorry) with raising her own five children as a single mom. Meet Sabine LaBonne, a single mom to five children, dedicated midwife, and Sunday school sex-ed teacher. Read on to find out how she does it, and some behind-the-scenes information about what being a midwife is really like. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: We moved here about eight years ago, by way of DC and the UK. KIDS: Oldest son: Junior at Boston Conservatory, earning BFA in Musical Theater; son, 19, figuring out …
SHE’S ALL THAT: Deb Williams Meet Deb Williams, who has been a single mom to three active boys, co-founded and runs Asana House, practices yoga, and oh—did we mention she also has another, fulltime ‘day’ job? Read on to get some solid advice on boys, business, yoga, and keeping it all balanced. IN HER WORDS. . . TYPICAL MORNING: The alarm goes off at 4:30. I’m at the studio at 5:30. Then I do a quick change, go to work, work all day, then back to the studio, dinner, etc. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: 20 years ago, pregnant with the twins. KIDS: 3 boys: 20-year old twins and a 16-year-old. I had a …
Meet a mother who of two, who also works two what-should-be-fulltime jobs—a ‘career’ job and a newer, dare-to-reinvent-yourself-and-do-what-you’re-passionate-about gig. Read on to find out more about how and why she does it, and surprisingly, what scares her. SHE'S ALL THAT: Susan MacLaury. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: 18 years ago this month, May 1993, from NYC, Upper West Side, across from Columbia. KIDS: A daughter who is the Associate Commissioner in the Department of Consumer Affairs in NYC, and a son who went to Nishuane, Hillside, Glenfield, Montclair High School, and is now at Stanford. PETS: …
Meet two local moms and business owners, Tory Brangham and Jane Winston, the women behind the popular Church Street shoe store, Tory Janes. Read on to find out more about the women behind the shoes, and the story behind the store. THEY’RE ALL THAT: Tory Brangham and Jane Winston MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: Tory: 2001 from NYC, Chelsea Jane: 2005 from Larchmont KIDS: 3 each Tory: Boy, 10, 4th grade, Watchung; boy, 8, 2nd grade, Watchung; girl, almost 6, K, Watchung. Jane: Girl, 13, 7th grade, Glenfield; boy, 11, 5th grade, Watchung; girl, 7, 1st grade, Watchung. WHY THEY’RE ALL THAT: Tory and Jane are…
Meet a devoted mom of eight who seems to be everywhere in town at once, always cheering on her active brood in their many activities. Read on to find out why Coldstone Creamery and Cavalry Baptist Church are her two favorite Montclair hangouts, and her secret for holding it all together. SHE’S ALL THAT: Anika Taylor. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: Born and raised here. KIDS: Eight. Daughter, 22, lives in Alabama Son, 19, lives in East Orange Daughter, 16, Horizon High School (run by CPNJ/Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey for people with multiple disabilities) Daughter, 13, 7th grade, Glenfield Daughter, …
Meet Judith Germano, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Tough Mudder, and Montclair mother of two. Read on to find out how she manages to keep it all together at home while helping to keep New Jersey safe, and just what a Tough Mudder actually is. SHE’S ALL THAT: Judith Germano. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: Eight and half years ago; in September 2002 from Manhattan, UWS, 88th and West End. KIDS: 2 children; ages 5 & 7. PETS: No pets. It would be fun to have a dog but can’t add one more mouth to feed. WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Judi is a federal prosecutor and heads up the …
Meet a mom who has lived in many places around the world, and speaks six languages, and find out why she loves Montclair. SHE'S ALL THAT: Deborah Zafman. WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Deborah Zafman comes to Montclair by way of California, Jerusalem, Florence, Berlin, and Paris. She is half Ecuadorian, half Jewish and is fluent in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Hebrew. She has thrown herself into her new Montclair community, and specifically the Montclair Cooperative School, by being the driving creative force behind the Coop’s wildly successful DreamStream benefit, and is bringing her …
Meet Deb Levy, who is much more interested in counting her many blessings than in accumulating a houseful of stuff. Read on to find out why "She's All That." SHE’S ALL THAT: Deb Levy. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: January 2002 from the Upper West Side, 92nd and Broadway. KIDS: Three boys: 5th grade Hillside, 1st grade Nishuane, and pre-k at the Montclair Community Pre-K. Deb will have three kids in three schools until her oldest finishes high school. PETS: Two cats. WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Deb is raising three active boys, writing a book, two blogs, and various articles; completing numerous and …
Meet a mother of two who works fulltime and volunteers, and find out why her main challenges include dinner and enjoying enough eye contact with her kids. SHE’S ALL THAT: LaTascha Willie Foster WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: LaTascha works fulltime, takes care of her home and family, volunteers at her kids’ school and at church and is an all around “all that” busy mom. LaTascha understands that it’s important not only to do your best, but also to be happy with and realistic about just how much you and others can accomplish. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: June 2000 from NYC. We needed to leave our UWS apartment …
Kuae Kelch Mattox worked as a news producer for many years but then surprised herself by becoming a stay at home mom. Now she's the mother of three aspiring actors and the national president of Mocha Moms. And she's wondering how to translate all her years of volunteering into something that will earn money. SHE’S ALL THAT: Kuae Kelch Mattox MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: August 1999 from 96th Street on the UWS KIDS: Three: Oldest daughter, 8th grade, Glenfield; son, 5th grade, Watchung; daughter, 2nd grade, Watchung. PETS: One guinea pig and two dwarf African frogs. WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Kuae started …
Meet the co-executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart—and a mother of two—who has somehow managed to get the work/life balance right. SHE’S ALL THAT: Kahane Cooperman (I finally changed my last name for my 10th wedding anniversary). MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: May 2002 from Manhattan, East 22nd Street. KIDS: 10 year old son in 4th grade at Hillside and an almost-5-year old daughter at the Montclair Community Pre-K. WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Kahane works fulltime in NYC. At the same time, she’s a very involved parent to her two children, and is one of those hardworking, happy few who seem to …
Meet a mother of one who works, sings, and volunteers—but whose biggest challenge right now is holding on to her job. SHE’S ALL THAT: Leslie Masuzzo MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: About 14 years ago from Edison, New Jersey. KIDS: One son, 3rd grade at Bullock WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Leslie works fulltime as a teacher’s aide at Bradford and lately has been in the forefront of the effort to save the classroom aides’ jobs. She also runs the after-school program at Bullock where her son attends school, and is the go-to person for pretty much all members of her large, extended family. Leslie also devotes much …
This mother of two works with Music Together, volunteers at Hillside, and even grows her own food. And she launched her own music development blog and designs jewelry too. Whew! Why does she do so many different things? Partly so that she can be with her kids when they're not in school. SHE’S ALL THAT: Anne Sailer MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: December 1998 from Cobble Hill, Brooklyn KIDS: 5th grade son and 3rd grade daughter, both at Hillside WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Anne has two kids and a dog, works with Music Together as an instructor and at their main office, designs and sells jewelry, leads workshops …
Introducing Jackie Mroz—and read on to find out where this writer, teacher, volunteer, and mother of three active boys had lunch last week! SHE’S ALL THAT: Jackie Mroz MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: 1997 from Hoboken KIDS: Three boys at Northeast for that one great year when they’re all in the same school: 5th grade, 2ndgrade, kindergarten WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: In addition to taking care of three active sons and volunteering at Northeast Elementary in several capacities, Jackie also writes for several publications including New Jersey Monthly and the New York Times, teaches a journalism class at Rutgers, …
Meet Amelie Tseng, a single mom of two active boys who can also cook up a storm, even if she doesn't have the best kitchen. WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: A single mom of two active boys, Amelie Tseng manages to balance their multiple activities while holding down a more-than-fulltime job, cooking up a storm for her family and family of neighbors, and volunteering at school and community groups. See how she does it, and what interest she’d love to share with other like-minded moms in town. MOVED TO MONTCLAIR: From Manhattan in 1994. HOMEFRONT: I’ve been in the same house for 17 years. It was a three-…
This week our "She's All That" person is Zara Phillips, who is a singer, songwriter, performer, advocate for adopted people, and mother of three. SHE’S ALL THAT: Zara Phillips WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Zara Phillips has three children, a dog named Snoopy, a father overseas who frequently requires her assistance, and a husband who travels for weeks at a time. She is a working singer and songwriter, performing often, and soon releasing an album. She is also an advocate for adopted people, giving workshops and presentations on adoption issues, and has just published a book entitled: …
Krista Grinkin swears she's not nearly as busy as a lot of moms but, even so, she works fulltime helping homeless children, is a marathon runner, volunteers, and attends loads of kids' events and activities. SHE’S ALL THAT: Krista Grinkin WHY SHE’S ALL THAT: Although she can’t figure out who nominated her for this column and swears she’s not nearly as busy as many of the other moms we’ve profiled, we think Krista Grinkin is a perfect example of an “all that” Montclair mom. She works fulltime helping homeless children, volunteers at school and privately, goes to a million kids’ activities, …
Like many stay-at-home caregivers in Montclair, here's a dad who gave up a major career in New York City to stay home and raise his chidlren. He does all the shopping, cleaning, cooking, driving, as well as a load of volunteer work. Find out why Peter Wert is "all that" and more. This column is a departure from our regular weekly She's All That column that, each week, profiles a different Montclair mom. HE’S ALL THAT: Peter Wert WHY HE’S ALL THAT: He has thrown himself into his ‘new’ career with gusto, taking care of twins and a large house in Montclair, as well as an aging mother an hour …
