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Valerie Watson started dance lessons at age four and a half. At nine, she created her own choreography, charging friends a nickel for Saturday morning tap classes. “My parents didn’t know that by giving me dance lessons they were preparing me to follow my destiny,” she said. Now 80, she’s still dancing. “As long as ...
The year was 1963 in Sacramento, Calif. Irving Rothstein was pushing, shredding and pushing more paper in a job he didn’t find very interesting. But, as he recalls, “sometimes out of boredom comes birth.” He followed an ad and nailed a tutoring position. That was the incubator from which he realized his life’s work — ...
At an early age, Wendy Bertrand developed a fascination with the use of space in and around buildings, particularly the out of the ordinary. It all started with sleeping arrangements in her childhood and summers spent in Mexico. When she was six, her divorced mother bought a vintage 1918 cottage in La Jolla, Calif. Initially, ...
Diane Reynolds relocated to the Bay Area when she was 26. San Francisco is “so accepting of things, I knew this was the home I was looking for.” Four years ago, she returned to Maryland, where she was born, to be available when her mother needed her. It was not an easy decision. Leaving meant ...
“Power,” said Chester Williams, “is in relationships and what you can do for others. I flourish by what I do for others.” It’s a lesson he learned from his parents and is one he still strives to live by. Over the years, the multi-talented Williams has opened many doors for San Francisco’s Black community. As ...
Catherine Bauman began experiencing symptoms four or five years before she received the official diagnosis: multiple sclerosis. First, there were numb spots. Maintaining her balance became a challenge. Then, 10 years ago, the former San Francisco city planner began using a wheelchair – first, a manual (“too much pushing”), then later, an electric. As her ...
