![](https://atxwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Letter-from-the-Guest-Editor-image-1-edited.jpg)
Hello my old friends! Guest editing this issue ofAustin Woman feels like coming home. It’s been eight years since my last issue of AW went to press, but jumping back in temporarily brought back memories and the excitement I always felt in anticipation of each issue. The women and topics included in these pages always provide insight and inspiration, and it’s double the fun with this summer issue. Both Tina Canon and Meme Styles are women of action—activists and entrepreneurs—both are extremely involved and committed to building community in a way that makes Austin better, not only for women, but for everyone. In this issue you will also meet a group of women that are giving back by partnering with Habitat for Humanity to provide housing for those that need it most. AI is the talk of the town—especially in a tech savvy city like Austin. Discover a fun, futuristic restaurant where robots are the servers. Learn how AI will revolutionize mental health care and how one Austin Woman puts ethics and inclusion at the heart of technology. Everyone will want to be in Paris for the Olympics and AW takes you there. We’ve got insight from Austin Olympic gold medalists Cat Osterman and Sanya Richard-Ross as well as 2024 Olympic hopeful Kaitlin Knifton. We’ve also got the scoop on when, what and who to watch in each eagerly anticipated competition. We’ve even got official Team USA pajamas that the whole family can wear while cheering on their favorite athletes. Although it’s not yet an Olympic sport, with the incredible growth of the sport, pickleball will most likely be included very soon. I have to admit that I understand the allure of the pickleball craze. Discover why Austin Woman Tina Canon and former cover women Kendra Scott and Mellie Price are at the forefront of the fastest growing sport in America. Growing up, I spent most of my summers either poolside or at the beach reading a good book, and that is my favorite guilty pleasure to this day. We looked for fun ways to beat the heat by making a splash at family-friendly vacation spots and recommended our favorite beach reads. In the past eight years I have been pursuing my passion of travel, visiting five continents and more that 65 countries, writing and teaching iPhone photography. I am writing this letter from the editor while on a river cruise down the Danube as we put another issue to bed. Thank you to Melinda Garvey for allowing me the privilege ofcoming home once again. Wherever I may roam, I am forever Austin Woman.
Deborah Hamilton-Lynne,
Guest Editor