Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg |
 |
|
Photo: Philip Kaake |
|
|
In California, women owned 1.2 million privately held companies in 2004—48.6 percent of all privately held firms in the state. But women business owners aren’t the only ones making a big impact on the economy. At all levels of business, there are women working as CEOs, running top companies and nonprofit organizations, as well as managing law firms and entertainment venues. Here, we take a look at 10 of Oakland’s most extraordinary women in business.
Alexandra Barnett, 34, chief executive officer of Chabot Space and Science Center. She holds an astrophysics degree from the University of Leicester in England, her native country, and spent six years developing the United Kingdom’s National Space Center before coming to the U.S. three years ago. Her biggest struggle is keeping Chabot operating in the midst of a $1.2 million shortfall and financial crisis.
Her Perfect Day: My perfect day would probably start off at breakfast with any one of my major donors just to get their feedback on what we’re doing— more exhibits and efforts to reach all audiences, including blind students. And then I would show some new potential partners some exciting programs, like showing them all the kids at the space center and having those moments with the kids when you see the lights go on.
I think at lunchtime, it would be good to share my lunch with someone inspirational in astronomy or science, maybe one of the latest Nobel Prize winners or an astronaut returning from space. Someone inspiring. In the afternoon, I would do a radio interview on some interesting topic in space. That afternoon would be fun to host some special groups at Chabot.
And then, in the evening, it would be nice to get dressed up and go to a big gala dinner. Maybe it would be a gala where I could bid on and win a trip to space. And at the gala dinner, I meet the man of my dreams.
Leslee Stewart, 50, general manager of the Paramount Theatre for the past seven years. A native of Canada, she has a history degree from McMaster University in Ontario. The Paramount, with 3,040 seats and no obstructions, is owned by the city of Oakland and operates as a self- supporting nonprofit organization. The theater celebrates its 75th anniversary in December.
Particular Achievement: Making the Paramount hip. The theater was rundown and shuttered in 1971, but today, 35 years later, it draws performers who want to avoid the “Arena Rock” phenomenon. In the past year, the Paramount has hosted Bruce Springsteen, David Grey, David Gilmour, Björk and Elvis Costello.
I think a lot of artists dig being in this kind of setting. It’s a good size, a very nice size for artists who enjoy that intimacy. You’re not in an arena sitting with 13,000 to 18,000 people.
Why Oakland Rocks: I think the artists choose to play here because of the diversity of the market. This is really an area of the country that has a very sophisticated taste. We have a lot of choices. We get the best of the best. This is where you need to play to gain that exposure.
Master of His Domain: Jerry Seinfeld has played at the Paramount a number of times. This is one of the buildings that’s on the top of his list.
Jane Garcia, 52, executive director of La Clinica de La Raza of Oakland, which provides healthcare to 42,000 people in the East Bay who are uninsured or members of the working poor. She oversees 22 clinics and has a budget of $42 million. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Yale University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley.
Defining Moment: I’m originally from El Paso, Texas. I grew up uninsured. I used to get my immunizations at the recreation center in my neighborhood. I was always attracted to health care, and I always wanted a clinic. My father was a professional house painter. I was about 11 years old, and I wanted my own clinic. And my father said someday he would paint my clinic for me.
Why She’s a Public Health Advocate: We’re providers of health care. We’re an integral provider of the safety net. Hey, I got started in the ’60s. Now, we’ve really evolved into an integral part of the healthcare system. We’re more than that, actually. We’re 600 people employed as a corporation. I feel that part of my job is to advocate for our communities. They have a face.
The Communities She Serves: Right now, we have about 1,400 families from Ethiopia. We have more immigrants from Afghanistan. Our neighborhoods are changing. There’s an increase in the Vietnamese population. We used to serve a predominantly Mexican population, but it’s a much more diverse group now.
Jennifer Duston, 53, executive director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony for the past 10 years. At a time when many arts organizations, like the Oakland Ballet, are closing their doors, the symphony completed its 11th consecutive year in the black, an impressive record for an institution with an annual budget of just under $2 million and about 60 contracted musicians.
How to Get People Off the Couch and Out to See Live Music: We are facing a lot of competition from home entertainment options. We have to really make a case for the experience of live music. In the past, we really didn’t need to make a case for live music.
Just about any chance to do anything different and unique, we do it. In December, we hosted a sing-along Messiah, but ours was different. We had a Mariachi band, a Latin singer and a cabaret singer as part of it. It was extremely successful, and we will reprise it next year.
We performed Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, a rarely performed piece of music. It was such an exciting performance. We had multiple choruses. We had electric instruments. And we had dancers in the aisles. It was really almost a multimedia experience.
Deborah Vaughan, artistic director and principal choreographer for Dimensions Dance Theater. The dance company’s goal is to preserve, promote and create African and African-derived dance. Vaughan co-founded Dimensions in 1972 and today it includes adult and youth companies as well as a program that brings dance to the schools. She has an undergraduate degree in dance from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in dance from Mills College.
Her Inspiration: We had been studying dance for a length of time with Ruth Beckford, she’s an icon in the Bay Area and in Oakland. She’s in her 80s now. She founded the Oakland Parks and Recreation modern dance department. Many thousands of children came through that department. As we graduated from high school, we wanted to continue the study of dance.
How She Found Her Niche: When you look at the African diaspora, there are so many countries that Africa has touched. There’s so much music and dance that’s been touched by Africa. In the performances, we look at our events through history and bring those to the stage and translate that into story and dance as a way of preserving and promoting and creating and teaching.
What She Wishes She Knew When She Was Starting Out: I wish I had known how challenging this would be. In the beginning, I think that there was a little bit of naiveté in terms of the struggle. It wouldn’t have changed anything, because I still would have made the same choices.
Jean Bellas, 53, founder and president of Space, an Oakland-based consulting firm that acquires, builds and designs work space for businesses. Bellas was born in Chicago and raised in Massachusetts. She received her professional architect’s degree from the University of Illinois. She has a master’s degree in architecture and urban design from Harvard University.
Five Ways to Revamp the Office
1. Get Rid of the Coveted Corner Office. We need integrators and participants, fewer controllers. That corner office has been converted. It’s a meeting space now.
2. Examine the Work Week as We Know It. Break down the 24-hour-days, five-day-a-week barriers.
3. Reduce Individual Workspace. We need more space for group work, including big rooms with high definition monitors.
4. Create Drop-In Work Sites. Companies will cosponsor a “headquarter suite,” where you rent space and it’s flexible. It will be more than a Starbucks and less than a headquarters. It will be shared by 10 companies that have some kind of synergy about them.
5. Employ Better Technology. Screen sizes are going to be enlarged, because we’re all getting tired of looking at small-sized screens. Visual imagery quality will go up. There will be more big flat screens, less paper.
DeeDee Towery, 48, president and chief executive officer of ProActive Business Solutions, Inc., headquartered in Oakland. ProActive provides staffing to companies to manage their technology, from simple desktop support to complicated semiconductor management. The company also manages technology moves when companies relocate. Towery, originally from Atlanta, has a degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley.
Gadget She Can’t Live Without: My cell phone. I don’t have a Blackberry. Yet. I have an earphone, but I don’t walk around with it. I use it in the car only. I just feel like I need to be connected, because I need to know what’s going on. City Pride: I live in Oakland. I put ProActive in Oakland, because I believe in Oakland. My husband and I just recently built a house in the Oakland Hills, and we just moved in, in May. I wake up and I can’t believe I’m living where I’m living.
Morning Routine: I get up at 6:30 a.m. When I wake up in the morning, our black Lab, Henry, and the orange tabby kitten, Ernie, come running in and wake me up. I go down and get my coffee and read the papers (the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today). I usually focus on the business sections. Then, I go up and check voicemail and e-mail and take a shower and get into work. I usually work three days in the office and I spend a lot of time out in the field
What She Drives: A 2004 Jaguar XJ8. I love it. It’s a great car.
Linda Hothem, 44, chief executive officer of Pacific American Group, a logistics company that provides transportation, warehousing, unloading of containers and repackaging of goods that are shipped to the Port of Oakland, mostly from Asia. She has a B.A. in political science from Monterey Institute of International Studies and a master’s degree in organizational development from the University of San Francisco.
What She Wanted to Be at Age 18: I realized I wanted to do something international— maybe diplomacy? For three years, I studied at the University of Barcelona in Spain and learned Spanish, and I really think that was one of the best things I ever did. I’ve always had a desire to do something international.
The Talent She Covets: I’m a people person, and that’s probably my greatest talent. I’m pretty compassionate, and when I’m in a sales situation, I can read people and figure out what they need. We need to create a trust with our clients that their goods will be taken care of.
The Word That Best Defines Her: Pioneer. The warehousing and transportation industry has been a good-old-boy network, and most of my colleagues are males. I really enjoy being able to break through. There’s a lot of room for women to come into this field.
Evelyn Wesley, 59, president of Merritt College since 2001. A native of Oakland, she is a graduate of Berkeley High School and Merritt College. Wesley has a B.A. in psychology and a master’s degree in educational psychology and counseling from California State University, Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). She has a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco.
Presidential Philosophy: What I am trying to do is to work with the faculty and staff and administrative team to provide accessible education opportunities to anyone in the community who wants to pursue a degree in higher education.
While I don’t view myself as a businessperson, certainly there are business aspects of this college. It has a $15 million to $16 million budget and 125 acres of land. I’m responsible for the business aspects of being an educator.
Personal Heroine: My maternal grandmother, Hattie Glover. She was a very resourceful person. Although she didn’t have lots of monetary riches, she was one of the richest people I know, in terms of her spirit and the encouragement she offered to myself and other family members. She taught me the family motto: “Take what you have and make what you want.” She had that can-do spirit.
What She’s Reading: Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza. It’s about a young woman who survived the civil war in Rwanda by hiding in a bathroom with seven other people for 91 days.
It’s very inspirational, kind of that can-do spirit. All of her family members were killed. When she came out, she had this incredible spirit of forgiveness.
I’m also reading The Covenant with Black America by Tavis Smiley. It’s an agenda for political and social change in the African-American community.
Sonja Weissman, 40, managing partner of Reed Smith Crosby Heafey LLP, a top 20 international law firm, based in Oakland. Weissman’s own practice focuses on litigation and trial work in commercial litigation, product liability and mass tort litigation. She also manages the Oakland office, which has 77 lawyers and a total staff of 200. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, she has a law degree from Hastings College of the Law.
Greatest Misconception about Her Job: When you go to law school, they don’t train you in management. We have an executive education program with Wharton Business School at University of Pennsylvania that
is tailored for Reed Smith’s management team. Each year, we go to Philadelphia for one week of training.Who She’d Like to Meet: Hillary Clinton. She’s a highly accomplished woman. She’s been kind of a role model of mine for a while. She’s handled crises with style and grace.
What Most People Don’t Know About Her: I was a cheerleader in high school, specifically for the wrestling team, and was known as a “Mat Maid” at Bristol High School in Tennessee. Go Vikings!
