Technology might still be a male-dominated field, but at a Girls in Tech event two weeks ago, it was all about the women.
Girls in Tech, a global non-profit organization for women who work in technology, staged an evening of fashion and food at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills as part of the city’s participation in Fashion’s Night Out, a Vogue-sponsored celebration of fashion and retail.
The event, hosted in the department store’s fifth-floor lounge, included pink cocktails, finger food, a live DJ and free makeovers. Attendees also received 15 percent off any purchases at Saks that evening.
“We’re a community of women interested in technology, but we also like to shop,” said Laurel Kaufman, the L.A. director of Girls in Tech and co-founder of Santa Monica consulting group Adelekan Kaufman. “I bought a nice pair of shoes, so I was happy.”
Guests at the event included “eBay for Dummies” author Marsha Collier; Mollie Vandor, product manager for Hollywood social website Ranker.com; and Dimple Thakkar, founder of online marketing company Synhergy Entertainment.
“It was one of our best events to date,” Kaufman said. “There were almost 200 people there and I think they really enjoyed themselves.”
A few men even joined in.
“Of course, men are allowed,” Kaufman said.
No Bowls
The USC football team may be under NCAA sanctions and banned from bowl games for the next two years, but that hasn’t stopped USC alum and big booster Ed Roski Jr. from showing his team spirit.
Roski, the 71-year-old billionaire developer and chief executive of Majestic Realty Corp., plans to attend all the USC home games with his wife, Gayle.
The NCAA hit USC with a two-year bowl ban and four years probation, among other sanctions. The university is appealing.
But Roski said the penalties haven’t dampened his enthusiasm.
“Of course, we will attend the USC football games,” he said. “There was never a question for my wife or for me. We have been long-term Trojan supporters since our college days and we try our best to manage our busy schedules to attend as many university events as possible throughout the year.”
But what about the bowl games, which had become an almost annual tradition for the Roskis?
“I haven’t given that any thought,” he said. “We just plan to enjoy the season.”
Booking Time
It’s only been nine months since family law attorney Steve Mindel self-published his first book, and he’s already working on two more.
The managing partner of West L.A. law firm Feinberg Mindel Brandt & Klein LLP is a self-described foodie who enjoys orchestrating large events, whether it be his son’s bar mitzvah or a John Kerry fundraiser. He published a cookbook in December, “Cooking for Our Friends,” that featured step-by-step instructions on cooking for parties of 40 or more. The book can be purchased online at Blurb.com.
Mindel, 51, was at work on a second cookbook expanding on the same theme when an adventure of another sort took priority.
“We are majorly sidetracked right now, because this summer my oldest son decided he wanted to climb a 14,000-foot mountain,” he said.
The Mindel family spent most of the year training together, going on longer and longer hikes, finally reaching the top of Mount Langley in the Sierra Nevadas this summer. Mindel decided it would be a good book, too, and he expects to finish it by Christmas. He also expects to wrap up the second cookbook by next summer.
“It’s fun to write books,” he said. “They’re about how to take your goal, create a plan, monitor progress and achieve those goals. It’s the same story if you’re hiking to the top of Mount Langley or if your goal is to become a gourmet chef or to get a job. The same principles apply.”
Staff reporters Natalie Jarvey, Howard Fine and Alfred Lee contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
