The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Naava Katz

What Is The Best Advice You Ever Received?

by RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN AND ILLUSTRATED BY NAAVA KATZ

Steve Biren

“Be easy on the people, but hard on the issues.’ This advice has served me well in my careers as a ‘rocket scientist’ engineer and an intellectual property attorney and has been revived in retirement as I administer several social media groups. So many people today have it backwards; they argue and call each other names, and then wuss out when it comes to discussing the issues. The best way to approach the difficult issues of the day, in my opinion, is to have a vigorous discussion on the merits while treating each other with dignity and respect.”

Steve Biren is a long-time Chappaqua resident. Now retired and widowed, he is as an editor for The Examiner, a docent for the Pray Museum, spends time with his Chappaqua family, and plays golf and tennis.

Dana Dince

“The best advice came years ago during yoga shavasana. While we all embraced stillness and the summer breeze through the open studio windows and doors, the teacher said, ‘Allow Peace.’ Unexpectedly, I burst into tears on the mat. The weight of years of absorbing life’s challenges stoically hid a deeper craving for inner peace. Those two words changed me.”

Dana Dince has been a SPED Teaching Assistant at Bell for 17 years; co-runs the Bell Green Bulldogs Club featuring Hydroponics, Bell (traditional) Gardening and Sustainability; and works with the PTA as a school administrator and coach for the 2025 Science Olympiad.

Elissa Weinhoff

“The best advice I’ve gotten is to do your absolute best in whatever you are doing.”

Elissa Weinhoff has been married to her high school sweetheart Greg for 30 years and has three sons Nate, Spencer, and Ben. She owns Sugar Hi in Armonk with her twin sister, is a first responder at Armonk Fire Department, and has been an EMT for over 10 years. Her passion is saving lives and helping people in her community.

Stacey Winnick

“The best advice I ever received was my father’s adage: ‘Roll with the punches.’ Ed Winnick was the youngest of six boys growing up in the depths of the Depression. He served in WW2 and exhibited a mental toughness perfectly captured by his advice to take life as it comes. When I didn’t get into my first college choice, I was devastated, but his words rang true. I got an appointment with the admissions director, took two summer classes, and was finally accepted. ‘Roll with the punches’ is my mantra: a reminder of my father and life’s trials and tribulations.”

Stacey Winnick is a vintage clothing and sustainability influencer. She appraises and blogs on antiques on her Instagram “Turn your Cutter into Cash” and serves on the Briarcliff Sustainability Advisory Committee.

What is One of Your Favorite Holiday Traditions?

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BY RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN AND ILLUSTRATED BY NAAVA KATZ

Nick Bruel

“Mid October: Haul tree out of basement because we’re bored and forgot to make plans for Columbus Day weekend. Next, spend afternoon looking for decorations in a box labeled ‘Xmas,’ but it’s behind another box labeled ‘broken lamp.’ Swear to family that the lights were not this tangled when I put them in the box last April. Go to CVS to buy new lights. Buy Batmobile ornament that hangs in office because it’s too good to share with the family. Go back to CVS because I forgot to buy lights. Plug in tree. Switch to outlet that works. That’s how we do it every year. And we like it just fine.”

Nick Bruel lives in Pleasantville and is the creator of the NY Times bestselling Bad Kitty series.

Ellen Byck

“Given being born on Thanksgiving, it has always been the most special holiday for me. The tradition of making everyone’s favorite dishes, setting a beautiful table and the scent of roasting turkey creates a warm and welcoming environment. As a child, we spent Thanksgiving at my aunt’s home, and she always had a birthday cake for me with sparklers. Music and singing after dinner was a given and my dad and uncle Sam would dance across the living room which brought lots of laughs from everyone.”

Ellen Byck lives in Chappaqua and works as a medical device sales representative for Abbott.

Rita Madonna Santelia

“Christmas Eve continues to bring my family together for an evening of family time, laughter, and Nonna Rosaria’s original, fresh seafood recipes. I remember, as a child, setting the huge Christmas table in the basement of our Brownstone in the Arthur Avenue section of the Bronx. Decades later, we resume our traditions, now alternating host houses yearly to accommodate 60! Mom continues to make seafood salad, bacala, and stuffed lobster to name a few of ‘the 7 fishes.’ Since moving to Chappaqua, we never miss St. John and Mary’s children’s mass with its pageant and beautifully simulated story about the birth of Jesus.”

Rita Madonna Santelia lives in Chappaqua. She is the mom of 5 and forever a teacher. She works at Grafflin Elementary School.

Cheryl Lynch

“The house feels warm and cozy, filled with love – my family, my sons, my cats, dogs, animals, and chickens in the barn. The trees are lit, cats lying underneath. The room is filled with beautifully decorated gifts and warmth. On Christmas morning we pick leftover herbs from the garden and start cooking. My mom is setting up the cookies. Ryan’s chopping in the kitchen, Jeffrey and my husband Jeff take care of the animals. Aromas fill the air, and the Lord is in our hearts as we await the family.”

Cheryl Lynch is a long-time resident of Armonk and owner of Cherylynn Salon.

Ronni Diamondstein is a journalist, photographer, retired school librarian and the author of Jackie and the Books She Loved. She lives in Chappaqua with her dog Maggie Mae. ronnidiamondstein.com

Naava Katz is an illustrator who lives with her family in Chappaqua. naavakatz.com

Naava Katz: Creating Love Letters of Art

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Naava’s drawing of her daughters, Talya and Shira

In Hebrew the name Naava means lovely and Naava Katz truly lives up to her name. The expression of love is a theme for Katz who has a passion for creating emotional and inspiring art about children and motherhood.

Katz has been drawing since she was a child. After attending art school, she spent a decade as a graphic designer. Katz went back to graduate school with a goal to work in media for children. She then worked as a website producer for Scholastic and one day had an epiphany and became an art teacher.

“Never in a million years did I think I would stay home,” says Katz. The entire time she was pregnant and after the birth of her children, she found she was more creative than ever. “I had always drawn things in the moment I’m in. When I was a teen, I drew a lot of cartoons about teens. When I became a mother, I drew about being a mother.” Katz took photographs of herself with her daughters and then drew them. “It helped me process the experience in a much better way,” says Katz. She then posted those drawings on Instagram and people started noticing and she received requests for commissions.

When both girls were in school Katz had the time to learn more about women in business and the world of licensing. She started submitting art to Minted.com and sold a greeting card to Target. She now has a line of greeting cards at Trader Joe’s.

Then she started taking commissions from families. “I fall in love with every family that I get to draw. The stories these families tell me are so profound,” says Katz.

Social media helped Katz spread her art. Instagram posts of her portraits have caught the attention of people like Rachel Zoe, Mena Suvari and Nancy Pelosi as well as countless others. “Someone said this is the best time to be an artist because of social media. I have been drawing my entire life and in the past you would put it on your refrigerator or under your bed. Now within seconds you can share it with the entire world,” says Katz.

Naava’s self portrait

Katz has started taking commissions for holiday cards. “It was a way for me to do something I love,” says Katz. “It’s not something they just keep in their homes.  They send them out to their friends and family and now all those people get to hold my art in their hands in a very personal, sentimental way. It’s always about deep emotional connections and relationships.”  From the experience of putting the cards together, this led her to a new avenue she’s pursuing of custom stationery that includes portraits of people. Katz has already done this as gifts for her children’s friends and new babies. “Handwritten notes are so personal. I especially love the idea of putting a portrait of the child on the stationery.”

Katz’s father, a professional artist and photographer who worked in the fashion district had a great influence on her creative life. After he passed away, Katz imagined what it would be like if he were alive now and how he would interact with her girls, Talya and Shira. She drew it and that gave birth to her idea for “In Memoriam Portraits,” another commission option.

Katz has learned a lot from her experience on her creative journey and has advice for artists of all types. “The most important thing to do is to find your voice and it’s also the hardest thing. Just be yourself so deeply with your art so there is no denying who you are. Trust what you are here to say.”

“I can’t believe that I have created a job where I get to draw every day–that was my childhood dream–and for my daughters to see their mother doing this,” says Katz. She is grateful for the support of her husband Ariel Simon, a teacher. “Artists are inherently insecure and second guess ourselves. I owe a tremendous amount to him.”

Katz isn’t sure of what comes next, but she is excited about taking on larger projects in the future.

It comes as no surprise that “love” is Katz’s favorite word. “I put the word love in the name of my business,” says Katz. “I felt that all the art that I do now are love letters to people from me and for people to give to other people.”

For more information and to view her work go to her website lovenaava.com.