Stephanie: I was born in Upstate New York, in the Albany area. I moved to New York City for high school, and then attended college and medical school in Boston. Fifteen years ago, I moved to Greenwich and then to North Stamford 8 years ago so I could be closer to my daughter’s school and she could take the bus to school and make friends in the neighborhood.
I have one daughter who is almost 14 years old. Time flies! Hanna is now in the eighth grade and is the light of my life. She is calm and even tempered, a force to be reckoned with. Her passion is for animals and animal rescue. She rides (horses) and loves dance. She takes class at LPAC (Locust Performing Arts in Stamford) and like all other teens, is addicted to Instagram. At last count she/ the dog’s account had almost 20,000 followers! I love nothing more than having a house full of her friends who are all brilliant young ladies! She is finding having a salon “in the family” pretty wonderful and we both have our hair blown out before going to Bar Mitzvah parties.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I think people would may be surprised about many things about me: I eat ice cream every night before I go to bed; I love murder mystery books and crime shows on TV and Netflix. I want to do a cross country nachos tour and try nachos in every dive I can find. I love singing when I speed down a hill on my bike (or in spin class at equinox.) .I am super mushy about my daughter and my dogs (I have five of them.) I have a barn full of chickens and love my fresh organic eggs! I have figured out a million egg recipes and I love to give away the eggs as gifts. Nothing tastes as wonderful as a really fresh egg.
Anyone special you’d like to thank for helping you through parenthood?
My daughter, for being such an easy going child! I am constantly amazed at how lucky I am that she is even tempered and reasonable, even in middle school. Her school and teachers have also been a great resource for both of us. And, one friend in particular (also named Stephanie) who thoughtfully filled my fridge with fresh groceries when I was traveling home with my daughter (who was adopted internationally) so that when we arrived home it was filled with food and love. She was a constant source of good, useful and practical advice. I have to give credit to my parents who raised six children and were a wonderful example for me.
Favorite things to do with your kids?
I think anything you do together as a family is great – it serves to cement your bond and the quality time doesn’t have to be always be an “activity.” Sometimes, quiet time is my favorite. Hannah and I love traveling together and I love to include my daughter in all kinds of adventures, to expand her mind.Last summer we travelled to Iceland together and then to Amsterdam where I dragged her to the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Franke house. I wanted her to see the art and the history come alive.
But in the last few weeks, some of my favorite activities we have shared were apple picking (because we could actually pick the apples we ate and include the dogs, which was a riot of silliness), the Westport Mac & Cheese and Chili Challenge at Sherwood Island in Westport, and mother-daughter manicures and pedicures.
I love being active in my community and I am a working mom. Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day…..Actually, it always feels that way!
I am an ophthalmologist, in private practice. As a surgeon, my passion is restoring vision to those who cannot see. In that capacity, I have a busy full-time medical practice and also do volunteer missions in the underdeveloped world. These missions are under the umbrella of SEE International (Surgical Eye Expeditions) most recently in Ecuador and I have a trip coming up to Roatan (in Honduras).
I also own The Loft Salon and Spa on Long Ridge Road in North Stamford where I am able to get much more involved with the community at a local level. I love being involved in the beauty industry and having the opportunity to support local not for profits on a deeper level. We recently hosted a cocktail party and fundraiser to support Paint the Town Pink and the Bennett Cancer Center at Stamford Hospital. My entire team is motivated to give back and it makes us all feel good.
We are also involved with a local pet charity called STARelief which helps support victims of homelessness, domestic abuse or illnesses whose pets are in need of emergency food, veterinary and foster care. We are helping raise funds now at the salon to support their “Safe Pet Program.” We are donating 15% of the proceeds from any new customers that come into the salon during the month of November and we are hosting a fundraiser event and book signing with Celebrity Petographer, Jim Dratfield on November 30 from 5-7pm.
We are a pet-loving family. My daughter and I were recently approved by the North Shore Animal League for the puppy foster program. Right now we have a foster puppy named Rufus that is on hold for adoption pending his cardiac echo. We get to pamper him until his check up and get him all ready and socialized for his new life with a loving family. Being kind is one of my life “mantras” – Kind to people, kind to animals and kindness as a family is an aspiration of mine.
How has this community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
I love the community I am part of now. I feel they have been tremendously supportive of my desire to make The Loft Salon and Spa a hub of local charitable activity and generosity. Our clients are lovely and they come from all over from Greenwich to New Canaan to Bedford NY as we are located right off the Merritt Parkway with easy parking.
