As the digital news editor for the books section of the Chicago Tribune and cohost of the Sunday afternoon radio show WGN Weekend with Alex and Amy on WGN 720, Amy Guth comes off as brainy with a dash of brash. “They wanted me [for the show] because I’m a raging smart-ass,” is how she puts it, grinning through cat’s-eye glasses... Read more
March 2011
Inspired by her father, a surgeon in the small town of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Tonia Kim says that she had planned to become a doctor from the age of five. She completed the premed track at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and, in 1997, moved to Chicago to work as a research assistant at Rush University Medical Center. But she soon realized that her heart just wasn’t in it... Read more
“They told me I’d see the world, and I only saw five countries,” says Paul Koch, whose years in the air force sent him to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait (with side trips to Syria and Iraq) before he returned to his home state to earn an engineering degree at the University of Illinois. Then it was off to New York, where the pilot pursued his other great fascination... Read more
Erin Martin is almost famous, she can feel it. “It’s right around the corner,” she says, ticking off her breakthroughs of the past year: appearing on the BMI stage at the Hard Rock Hotel during Lollapalooza, playing at Summerfest in Milwaukee, partnering with a new manager she met at the Elbo Room, and meeting with record label execs in New York and L.A. When Martin was 12, her parents gave her a piano for Christmas... Read more
At six feet six, Martin is often the tallest man in a room. His stature served him well last summer when he spiked his way to a gold medal in volleyball at the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. Back in Chicago, he’s the director of finance for CouponCabin, a website that publishes discounts, such as free shipping, for a roster of almost 3,000 merchants... Read more
“My mom and dad are Pakistani, but most people think I’m Puerto Rican,” says Fawzia Mirza, a onetime lawyer (“for all the wrong reasons—marriage avoidance, making my parents happy”) who left litigation for acting five years ago... Read more
Michael Mork, the director of strategic planning for the law firm Sidley Austin, describes himself as a “creative corporate person.” “I come up with ways to meet needs that are always evolving,” he says. Mork came out as a gay man late in life; his two teenage children live with their mother in Florida. With his daughter’s 18th birthday and high-school graduation both happening this year, Mork says if he... Read more
Five years ago, Hughes N’Cho-Allepot landed here as part of the design team working on the original Chicago Spire, a skyscraper project that changed ownership and was eventually shelved. “I hope they’ll give it a shot when they can,” he says. “Chicago deserves to have it.” In any case, N’Cho-Allepot and his wife... Read more
Jillian O’Neill’s goal is to create sanctuaries for her clients that feel personal for them and their families. “People ask about my aesthetic, and rather than defining myself by one category—sleek, modern, traditional—I think it’s more about the use of textures and scale and editing things down.” She does admit to a fascination with French design... Read more
Often recognized as the woman on WGN who draws the numbers for the Illinois Lottery, Tamberla Perry says strangers sometimes follow her down the street, blaming her for their financial woes. “I have fans, too,” she says. “They send thank-you letters—but never any money!” A former executive recruiter, Perry traded the corporate world for acting... Read more