The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Megan Klein

About Megan Klein

Megan Klein, who graduated from Boston University in May 2022, has found the perfect combination of sports and communications in her job with PUMA. She also freelances for Boston publications and for the Inside Press.

Discover Your Personal Brand with Stacey Cohen’s BRAND UP

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Photo by Randi Childs

I was meeting with my manager who was helping me prepare for an upcoming job interview. I came ready with a piece of computer paper suffocated with a study guide of answers to potential questions and all my past experiences that qualified me for the role. The first thing she asked me when we both sat down was, “Megan, tell me… what is your brand?” Suddenly, I was at a loss for words. That was one question I didn’t have a prepped answer for.

It sounds like a simple enough question, but it’s actually one that takes a lot of thought. In fact, there are people who help others uncover their personal brand and amplify it through media channels for a living. Former Chappaqua resident Stacey Ross Cohen is one of those people.

In case you are wondering what a personal brand is, Cohen describes it as “the public’s perception of you” and the “authentic and curated parts of the story that highlight your best self in order to help achieve your goals.”

Clearly, you aren’t the only one who is curious to learn more, considering that Cohen’s personal branding TEDx Talk entitled “Branding from Birth: What’s in a Name?” has over one million views on YouTube.

Whether it’s applying for college, a job, an audition, a scholarship, a leadership position, or you’re just preparing for your next move in life, Cohen believes that your personal brand will help take you there.

The CEO of marketing and PR firm Co-Communications and mom of two kids (who went through the competitive school district here in Chappaqua) had an epiphany while watching her eldest go through the college admissions process. In a sea of success, sports, and spectacular grades, how were kids supposed to stand out? The answer? Start marketing yourself early. And so, the pro-marketer set out on the journey of writing Brand Up: The Ultimate Playbook for College & Career Success in the Digital World.

“My hope for this book is to make personal branding and digital leadership part of every student’s high school curriculum,” Cohen said. “I want it to give all teens an edge, no matter what their path in life.”

Cohen said the book poured out of her, as she was able to write it in only three months. The guide touches on topics that can be applied to different stages of life, not just when applying to college. Things like networking, interview tips, empathy, email templates and more are all covered in the 189-page playbook. The chapter on Linkedin is especially useful, as Cohen wants readers to know that the platform isn’t just for professionals.

Since college admission counselors spend an average of 10 minutes on each application, Cohen believes that leveraging social media will help you rise to the top of the list – creating a Linkedin account in high school and using it as a sort of portfolio is one way to do so. Whether it’s posting images from your latest volunteer work, your soccer team winning sectionals or your most recent college visit, it’s just about building a platform that houses all you do.

On top of connecting with your college recruiters on Linkedin, just as you would with a company recruiter, some other tips include utilizing the valuable real estate that is your email tagline and making sure you are intentional with your posts – “Recruiters can smell a phony miles away.”

One activity in the book involves finding the perfect adjectives that best describe you. While Cohen recognizes that this might not be the easiest thing for people of all ages to do, it’s important to be self-reflective or ask others why they think you stand out. These answers will help you come up with your personal brand.

“Self awareness is not something that a 15 or 16-year-old is comfortable with,” Cohen said. “I think that comes later in life. But start digging in now – it’s just going to jump start your success for later.”

Cohen wants to be clear that there is a difference between being self-aware and self-absorbed and that having a personal brand doesn’t make you the latter. “Personal branding is no longer a luxury, it’s a requirement,” Cohen said on the Tedx stage in Hartford, CT in 2019. “It doesn’t matter whether you are a 50-something professional or a college-bound high school student, a strong personal brand can make all the difference.”

Next time you are prepping for an interview and cram the entire English language on a piece of paper, be sure to have an answer or some adjectives to help describe your brand somewhere on there.

So, who’s up to Brand Up?

Getting to Know Fire Chief & Local AUTHOR, Thomas Dunne

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Fire Chief Thomas Dunne

With a scone in one hand and the morning’s paper in the other, Thomas Dunne sat in the corner of Starbucks observing the walks of life that came in and out of the doors. The commuters in a hurried state, businessmen with their briefcases and mothers with their young children were all unaware that 24 hours before Dunne had been fighting fires and saving lives. It’s that exact contrast that Dunne struggled with as a FDNY Deputy Chief and Chappaqua resident.

“The dichotomy of living in a place that is attractive with deer walking around and working in run down communities with a lot of issues and drug activity always struck me,” Dunne said. “Separated merely by a 45-minute drive, it seemed like one world was totally oblivious to the other world. And yet, I got a window into each one.”

Growing up in Brooklyn and working for a government employment agency, Dunne’s initial interest in joining the FDNY was sparked from the urge to do something different just for a year. Well, 33 years, four rank promotions and roughly 3,200 fires fought later, he became consumed by the fire-fighting feeling and all that came with it.

Whether it was the adrenaline rush, the camaraderie in the firehouse, or a chance to gain new insight on life, serving the greater New York City area for three decades was an honor he never planned on having. But, with one foot in suburbia and one boot in the fire house he couldn’t fully express exactly what it was like for him to be in both worlds–neither of which he felt totally comfortable being in.

After all, how is one supposed to explain what it was like to be a part of the response and recovery team during 9/11 and for months after? It’s not exactly a cocktail party conversation, which is what it became at a neighbor’s New Year’s Eve party he went to after showering off the dust that was still in Lower Manhattan’s air even months later.

Once he retired, Dunne decided to convey his feelings as a firefighter in words and in a work that was easy for readers to understand–and so, Notes From The Fireground: Memoir of a New York Firefighter was born. His second book A Moment in Time is a novel based on his own life and work-related struggles.

One chapter in his first book is dedicated to his very first fire, something he hasn’t forgotten 40 years later. He will also never forget the horror of the Happy Land Social Club fire and all the support his family has given him. On the morning of September 12th, 2001, his wife met him in the driveway after Dunne had been gone for 36 hours straight. She was wearing socks on the wet morning ground and cried in his arms. Between his absence at family holidays and the nervous anticipation that he left them with every time he walked out the door, his family made sacrifices that he will forever be grateful for.

But most of all, he is grateful for the opportunity this line of work provided him with to see how other people live and help them the best that he can. “Every day truly is a gift.”

Visit chieftomdunne.com to learn more about his experiences and to purchase his books.

A Magical, Musical 30 Years at Music in Chappaqua!

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Angie Angier, founder and owner

Thirty years and 7,500 students later, Music in Chappaqua has set the bar high in town. With pupils ranging from toddlers in early childhood development music classes to a man in his 90s wanting to learn how to sing, it just goes to show there is no time stamp on when to start.

As for how the music school itself came to be, it all started when owner Angie Angier was 27 years old. She had six years of touring all over four continents with an orchestra under her belt when she decided that her next step would be to settle down.

After moving to New York City, she soon realized that the music scene downtown was nothing like the music scene in Italy–it was much more competitive and difficult to make a living. She started to consider other careers.

Some family members suggested she try law school, as they had done. Despite scoring well on the LSAT, Angier decided that returning to music was what she was meant to do.

“Let’s be real, most parents have all told you, be a doctor, not a musician,” she said. “People who have gotten into music love music. And they love to impart that.” Angier loves music, and she wanted to share her knowledge and passion with anyone willing to learn.

Music in Chappaqua today is not what Music in Chappaqua was in 1993. It started out as private piano lessons, seven days a week, all day long. As word of mouth spread, the teachings soon expanded to orchestral instruments, singing and more, and the business that was once a classical based program has continued to evolve with the times and the demand ever since.

Today, the school offers programs ranging from audition preparation to music production, private lessons in all instruments and genres ranging from drums to saxophone to songwriting and even DJing courses.

New teachers offered new ways of instruction that didn’t necessarily involve learning to read music off the page, but by ear. Students were suddenly learning and getting better faster.

Rock and roll and the electric guitar became popular, so much so that they even have multiple bands meeting weekly and a five-week summer day camp dedicated to learning the genre through the decades.

Angier is excited about it because students will learn rock history through playing the instruments. For questions regarding registration, call 914-238-3123.

With the digital age, people can teach themselves to play an instrument simply by mastering a YouTube tutorial. To Angier, this has totally changed the potential of becoming a musician. No matter what phenomenon or new style comes up, Music in Chappaqua is ready and willing to teach you. “We really, really care. The business is secondary,” Angier said. “We really love what we do.”

In fact, one of Angier’s favorite things about running the music school is finding out the goals and dreams of each student and doing whatever she can to make them come true.

When it comes to how the school operates, Angier bases it off of everything she wishes she had from a teacher growing up. Instructors make it known that you are allowed to make mistakes. They can identify the needs of their students, whether it’s confidence or fine-tuning a technique. Angier likes to call her teachers “teacher intuitives” because they understand what their students need and give them that through music.

Decades’ worth of students have carried their teachings with them even after they leave Chappaqua and have found success. Whether it’s being accepted into a prestigious acapella group in college or winning a Grammy, Angier is proud of all her students and has kept in touch with many.

To her, music is invaluable. It’s fundamental. It’s healing.

Whether you haven’t played an instrument since middle school or you’ve never played an instrument at all or whether you like to sing in the shower or you like to sing for people, Music in Chappaqua has been here ready to hear you, and will continue to do so.

Visit www.musicinchappaqua.com

Discover The Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack

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Outstanding Ensemble Emphasizes Creative Freedom & Pay it Forward in its ‘Artistic Homeplace’

The Importance of Being Earnest
Photo by Stephanie Berger

To be, or not to be: that is the question.

Or, to be at the Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack: that is the real question. The answer? Yes. Be there!

After a two-year postponement due to the pandemic, the first annual Phoenix Festival will take place in Nyack on weekends from September 16 through October 16, showcasing carefully selected theater productions meant to resonate with current times, engage audiences and lift spirits.

The Festival is produced and presented by the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. All performances will be held outdoors at the Marydell Faith & Life Center in Upper Nyack and the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center in the heart of Nyack village.

Headlining the program are three classic plays: The Skin of Our Teeth, an “epic,” humorous tale celebrating the “triumph of the human spirit,” The Importance of Being Earnest, acclaimed by many as the “funniest play ever written in the English language” and Chekhov’s rarely performed gem The Harmfulness of Tobacco.

“All three plays are family-friendly, high-spirited–and just plain hilarious,” said Craig Smith, Executive Director of the Phoenix ensemble and the Festival.

Another comedy favorite on the program is Love’s Labour’s Lost to be performed by the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre company–a Rockland County-based troupe of kids aged 8 to 18 who have bravely and masterfully delivered the Bard’s plays for 23 consecutive seasons.

Festival-related pop-up events will include film screenings, jazz performances, art exhibits and more. Tickets are now on sale at 833-681-4800 and NyackArtsFestival.com. Discounts are available using the code “WEST.”

Nyack Is the Stage

All live theater performances will be presented in the afternoon to allow Festival-goers time to enjoy Nyack village. Covering just a little over one walkable square mile, Nyack packs in an amazing array of first-class restaurants, one-of-a-kind shops, lively night spots, hiking, biking and river recreation opportunities–plus access to the Governor Mario Cuomo bridge pathway offering majestic vistas of the Hudson River.
For visitors interested in combining art and entertainment with an exploration of Hudson Valley culture and history, the Festival team has created a special program for this event–entitled Nyack Digital Dreaming-AR Adventures–an exciting multimedia, family-and phone-friendly introduction to the village and its lore and legends, incorporating walking tour narratives, documentary video, and augmented reality.

The Phoenix Rises – and Uplifts

“During the pandemic, we saw how hard everyone was struggling to keep going,” Phoenix Ensemble Artistic Director Elise Stone said. “We’ve always believed that performing arts uplift everyone. The Festival offers something we all need after the challenges of the past couple of years.”

Stone and Smith know the territory. Both are long-time actors and theater-makers who met, married and worked together for years in repertory theaters in New York City. They together founded the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble in 2004–today an internationally recognized leader in the world of creative contemporary theater and winner of multiple awards for excellence in theater arts.

The ensemble prides itself not only in the work they do, which is primarily classical theater (more than just Shakespeare), but also in the creative freedom they give to their actors, directors, designers, writers and others on the team. If one of their costume designers has an idea for a show, they’re all ears.

“At Phoenix, everyone has a voice,” said Smith. ”That’s what makes this Festival a special experience for our audiences.”

Festival ‘How To’: Build the Community Foundation

Skin of our Teeth
Photo by Stephanie Berger

After moving to Nyack in 2018, Smith and Stone saw the potential for getting the community involved in theater arts, but also for the ensemble to get involved with the community itself–one of their core values.

They started by producing benefits and shows for organizations such as the Nyack Library and the Rockland Holocaust Museum & Center for Tolerance and Education. The idea of a festival soon came to mind.

Over the past few years, Smith and Stone have built an infrastructure to support the new Festival by reaching out to local government and collaborating with civic organizations such as VisitNyack.org, the Nyack Chamber of Commerce and Nyack Village, and listening to merchants and businesses on how the Festival could work for everyone.

As part of Festival due diligence, for example, Phoenix commissioned a study conducted by Brockport Research Institute, polling 2,000 tri-state arts enthusiasts and Rockland residents. The results point toward high Festival attendance, as well as significant financial benefits–upwards of half a million dollars in net revenue to local businesses.

Come One, Come All

The Festival is very much for everyone, Stone and Smith emphasize. Both believe that the arts should be accessible to all with no obstacles, whether financial or geographic. The Festival includes a “pay it forward” program to provide tickets to families who can’t afford the full price. A special program for public school students is also part of the plan.

Geography should also pose no barriers. “Whether you’re coming from Westchester or Rockland or Jersey, a first-class professional theater experience is available right on your doorstep,” Stone said. And as she wants to remind those in Westchester, “We’re right across the bridge!”

So, to be at the festival or not to be at the festival … is that even a question?

For details and ticket purchases, visit NyackArtsFestival.com or call 833-681-4800. Discount tickets available with the code “WEST.”

Visit nyackartsfestival.com/become-a-sponsor to learn more about becoming a sponsor for the event. For further information regarding family discounts and student programs, contact Craig Smith at Craig@PhoenixTheatreEnsemble.org or 917-717-1617.

Time to Visit Chappaqua’s Bustling Downtown Dining Scene!

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After graduating college, moving to a new apartment and starting a new job all within a few weeks’ time (#adulting), all I wanted to do when I came back home for a few days was hit my regular spots with my parents and enjoy the time off. For example, it’s a requirement to go to Old Stone Trattoria for their Zucchini Fritti (a personal favorite) and if we are hosting family and friends, Le Jardin du roi BBQ catering never fails. And Bobo’s Cafe, the relative newcomer at the train station, has become a place where I simply can’t enter to get a smoothie without seeing at least five people I know.

Between those three, and Little Thai Kitchen and Waka for my occasional fried rice and spring roll cravings, and of course, Lange’s for my fiesta salad and chicken cutlet hankerings, I’m usually all set for the few days I’m home.

To my surprise, however, there were also some exciting new restaurants and several new shops which opened up since the last time I was home. But for now, let’s focus on the main event (or in this case, main course)–the food!

Sure, the sunshine brings people out of their homes and into town a little bit more and a little bit later than other times of the year. But, it was nice to drive through town on a Saturday night and see restaurants, new and old, busy!

Tables at Basso, a new Italian dining establishment who moved from midtown to Chappaqua in the late spring, were filled to the brim, with eager eaters and conversation overflowing onto the King Street sidewalk.

Meanwhile, the very newest addition, Mentor’s Mediterranean Steakhouse, had its floor-to-ceiling window doors wide open, letting in air and intriguing curious customers. A drive by alone will have you dazzled by the sleek and beautiful décor. But don’t just gawk please. A number of rave reviews about its creative menu with plenty of options for every palate (in case you are not a steak lover) have appeared on social media pages, including one from this very publisher. Needless to say, these two new spots have been added to my go to list for the next time I’m home.

Ice cream and frozen yogurt lovers of all ages are also grateful for Frannie’s which had families pouring in for an after-dinner treat, ranging in all ages. It has been years since I was in middle school and went to get frozen yogurt at Frannie’s after seeing the Lego movie or Frozen at the movie theater in Mount Kisco. Even though my stomach was always full with buttery popcorn and blue raspberry slushies, everyone knows that there is always room for dessert.

And that still rings true. After eating dinner my parents and grandma and I went to satisfy our sweet tooth–it runs in the family. Sitting outside on a bench eating my frozen concoction (which consisted of more toppings than yogurt) was peaceful and I realized there was nowhere else I would rather be on a Saturday night than right there.

I saw someone I went to high school with there with his family along with much younger families who I hope continue to get ice cream together as the years pass. After all, you’re never too old for ice cream (or family time). Here’s to the new bustling downtown scene for the 914 food lovers!

Chappaqua based restaurants mentioned who are also 2022 Inside Press Sponsors:

Le Jardin du Roi
lejardinchappaqua.com

Mentor’s Mediterranean Steakhouse
mentorssteakhouse.com

Old Stone Trattoria
oldstonetrattoria.com

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–Grace Bennett, Publisher & Editor