New editor here…actually, the Director of Content & Creative Services–our new take on the traditional editor role. Coming in from Summer Splash, I’ve had the honor of meeting some amazing readers, Connects Club members and Austin Woman fans, along with new and former staffers and contributors. My heart is full to be in this company of intelligent, empowering and diverse women.
One of my hobbies is skateboarding–I’ve done it for more than half of my life. As a girl skateboarding in front of my parent’s house, I wish I had a girl–or group of girls–to skateboard with, but at the time it wasn’t a sport that welcomed girls or women like it does now. It thrills me to see skateboarding in the Olympics for the 2nd year in a row. The 2024 Summer Olympics energized me and many other women. We saw social media posts that fought the stigma of the “ideal body”, thanks to athletes like Ilona Maher. The U.S. Women’s basketball team brought home the gold for the 8th consecutive year. Texas athletes took home more medals than many other countries. And, who could forget UT athlete, Julien Alfred, bringing home the first-ever medal for her country–and a gold medal, at that!
Amongst a strong group of Austin women, we sat down with fashion icon Loreal Sarkisian about her philantrhopic work that combines coaching and style. We also called back our July 2023 cover woman and Austin FC’s Alison Roscoe to give us some updates on her efforts to bring more women into sports.
We sought advice on building a community of boss women (jefas), preparing for the annual gynecological exam and hosting a girls night in. We swung through a spa for tips on healthy aging, took a seat at a mocktail bar to learn why zero proof cocktails are on trend and discovered some of Austin’s hot spots that are women and LGBTQIA-friendly places for coffee or dancing.
In this issue, you’ll notice that this is our 22nd anniversary of Austin Woman magazine. It’s also our 2nd year of Uplevel Her, our professional development summit (I love learning, so I can’t wait for our event on September 13)! Also, I’ll let you in on a little secret: 2 is my lucky number. Because we’re in a bit of a transitionary period, I couldn’t feel any more excited to join this group of Austin women that Melinda, Neha, Shuronda, Gretel, Ana, Lana, Terry and Lynelle have created.
Halie Ramirez,
Director of Content & Creative Services