Party Hopping
YMCA on mental health
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas focused on mental health during the 2022 YMCA Key Leaders Luncheon presented by Southwest Airlines on Oct. 18 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
Panelists Sonya Parker Good from Grant Halliburton Foundation, Dr. Madhukar Trivedi from UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Jessica Gomez from Momentous Institute, and Cynthia Izaguire, a WFAA anchor and journalist, addressed the topic.
“The Y values and supports mental well-being,” said Curt Hazelbaker, president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas. “We hope this event gives visibility into our efforts to educate and refer our community members to experts when they need it most. By just starting the conversation, we can help remove some of the stigma that often attaches itself to mental health.”
Retina Foundation breakthroughs
With age-related macular degeneration on the rise, personalized medicine through stem cell research could make a difference.
The Retina Foundation addressed that topic during its Eye on Innovation lecture on Sept. 14 at the Dallas Country Club.
“The Retina Foundation is committed to accelerating our stem cell research efforts to realize a profound impact on patient care, ultimately improving the vision and quality of life for AMD patients,” said Dr. Karl Csaky, the foundation’s CEO and chief medical officer. “Our only priority is our patients.”
Csaky was joined by Dr. Srinivasa Sripathni, director of the AMD Stem Cell Laboratory, to discuss how utilizing a patient’s stem cells can create healthy retinal cells. These stem cells can help identify which medicines would be most effective in preventing eye cells from dying for specific patients, they added.
Dallas Contemporary gala
Dallas Contemporary honored its fall exhibit artists Gabrielle Goliath and Shepard Fairey during a gala celebration at the East Quarter in downtown Dallas.
“In her work Chorus, Gabrielle asks us to mourn the many black, brown, femme, and queer lives that have been lost to gender-based violence in her native South Africa,” said Dallas Contemporary assistant curator Emily Edward.
Artist Fairey’s While Supplies Last also received acclaim from such long-term friends and supporters as musician Henry Rollins and Chuck D, frontman of the hip-hop group Public Enemy who performed Fight The Power and Can’t Truss It in his lively set.
“One of my favorite aspects of Shepard is his intellectual courage to let the truth hang out there, knowing there’s going to be the resultant slings and arrows coming his way,” Rollins said.
Concert for recovery
Scotty Alexander, a Texas country singer/songwriter, took to the Kessler Theater stage on Sept. 20 to perform toe-tapping country sounds and talk about the perils of addiction.
The Power of Prevention concert, presented by the Recovery Resource Council, included a pre-show silent auction in the lobby.
Alexander spoke about friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry and family members he has seen struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse.
