I’ve got between five and a hundred things running through my mind at any given moment. A mental to-do list that sits atop of my physical to-do lists. It’s also a race to get what’s swirling around my head done before it has to be written down. When that happens, I count them as successes.
We’ve all experienced the responsibilities that we assume, that seem to always fall our way. And it seems like during the past year, as the world was forced to slow or shut down, women were tasked with picking up more and more. The pandemic showed the desperate need for significant improvements to public policy and for corporations to better support working women and to shrink pay disparities. The mental load still weighs heavy. We shouldn’t be made to figure out how to “have it all.” But at the same time, I am so thoroughly impressed by our tenacity and resiliency.
This year, like the eight before it, we produced our annual women’s issue in which we highlight several truly incredible women who better our city every day. It’s always my favorite to put together because truly there is no shortage of women who belong on these pages. I love meeting, reconnecting and learning more about each one. I believe Heather Pownall, who’s featured on page 67, says it best: “Every woman who is living her life, showing up, giving what you got, doing the best you can, with good intentions – you are a woman of achievement.” So, my fellow women, consider your own achievements as you read these stories (starting on page 54) – because, if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t think on them enough and give yourself credit when it’s due.
Here, I’ll start by taking my own advice – this also happens to be our 100th issue of Durham Magazine, and I’ve been around for 80 of them. From fact checking our old hotel guides (I didn’t make many friends with front desk attendants back then) to the excruciatingly hard process of selecting the cover subject (each of our honorees deserves her own cover) and photo, I’ve got to say I’m proud of the work I’ve put in, and I’m privileged to share it with the city I live in and love. – Amanda MacLaren
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
54 Anabel Rosa
Shareholder/partner, Offices of James Scott Farrin
56 Rachael Classi
Founder and CEO, Tiny Earth Toys
58 Angelica Stroud Greene
Battalion chief, Durham Fire Department
60 Elizabeth Turnbull
Co-owner and bar director, COPA; senior editor and partner, Light Messages Publishing
62 Erin Kauffman
Executive director, Durham Central Park
64 Dr. Priya Kishnani
C.L. and Su Chen Professor of Pediatrics; Medical Director, YT and Alice Chen Pediatrics Genetics and Genomics Center; Chief of Medical Genetics & Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center
65 Susan Stewart Taylor
Principal, Charles E. Jordan High School
66 Anna Jones
Documentary filmmaker, “Chairman Jones – An Improbable Leader”
67 Heather Pownall
Strategy consultant, (ISC)²; founder and CEO, The Confidence Labs
68 Jennings Brody
‘Shopkeep’ at Parker & Otis, Chet Miller, Tiny and Parker Paper Co.
70 Phyllis Coley
CEO and publisher, Spectacular Magazine
72 Susan Amey
President & CEO, Discover Durham
FEATURES
12 The Big Picture
Staff photographer John Michael Simpson captures Durham in one shot
34 All Smiles
A nonprofit changes the way low-income patients access oral health care
DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS
8 Go.See.Do.
Our top events for May
18 In Her Words
Tianna Spears honors the women who impacted her life
52 What We’re Eating
Dumplings at Sister Liu’s Kitchen
74 Home Team Advantage
The Hogan family sought the help of local experts to renovate a Hope Valley house into their dream home
96 Wedding
Tying the knot, Bull City-style
DURHAM INC.
91 Networking
Take No Bull Women’s Series hosted by the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
92 RTP’s Growing Class of Women Leaders
Meet four women who continue to blaze the trail at science and technology companies
PEOPLE & PLACES
14 Groundbreaking of Lyons Farm Elementary School
15 Discover Durham’s Women’s History Month Virtual Panel
17 Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties’ Community Leaders Breakfast
SPONSORED CONTENT
20 Healthy Durham
An homage to the late MaryAnn Black
73 Adopt A Pet
Two pets waiting on their forever homes with the Animal Protection Society of Durham
