Kelly Barr is a creative professional and MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Certified Practitioner. She specializes in helping introverts like herself build and launch their personal brands.
Kelly has been a part of Comstock’s since 2007. She served as the art director until 2019 and continues to work as a contributing designer and writer. She has also earned professional recognitions for her work, including both MAGGIE and California Journalism awards.
Kelly spends most days trying to balance parenthood and work from her home in Orangevale, where she lives with her husband, three daughters and one oversized puppy. You can find her online at kellytheintrovert.com.
By this person
Apprenticeships Aren’t Just for Carpenters and Firefighters Anymore
Many experts see apprenticeships as the best way to match people looking for jobs with those that are in demand.
How Sacramento’s Advanced Manufacturers Are Developing a Talent Pipeline
The California Mobility Center was founded to help early-stage mobility companies turn pilots and demonstration projects into viable products.
The Comeback of the House Call
House calls are convenient for the patient and can give the visiting physician or nurse a big-picture idea of the environmental factors affecting the patient’s health.
Connected Care
The pandemic led to a decade’s worth of progress for telehealth in less than a year. What does that mean for the future?
It’s unclear if telehealth will remain on its current trajectory once the pandemic is over, but one thing is clear: Decisions made now will be critical for the future of its innovation.
Power Surge
The Capital Region is emerging as a clean energy technology hub
Here are four innovative companies helping drive the clean energy
revolution in the region.
Promise for New Proteins
Advancements in the alternative-protein space ignite in the Sacramento area
In September, UC Davis was awarded the first federal funding
given to a university to research cultivated meat, positioning
the Capital Region to serve as a hub of the advancing
technology.
Vaccination Anticipation
UC Davis researchers join the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine
UC Davis is participating in a global clinical trial being run by Pfizer — one of the most promising vaccine trials to date.
Do You Need a Coach?
Most family businesses could benefit from one — but finding the right fit is key
No longer relegated to sidelines and dugouts, professional coaches are available to help people conquer a wide variety of goals and tasks.
Artists, is Your ‘Personal Brand’ Eating Your Paycheck?
Making a career as an artist is rarely easy, sometimes impossible and usually totally worth it. Sometimes we catch a break and get to skip ahead more quickly than anticipated. Other times we have to put in (very) long hours. Here are a few pitfalls I’ve learned to avoid:
Mysteries of the Gut Instinct
Unraveling the science of the body’s ‘second brain’ offers insight into the role the stomach plays in our mental health
We’ve all been there: You’re waiting to give a big presentation, maybe you dread public speaking, and you feel your stomach twist itself into a pretzel. Or maybe you meet someone new, someone interesting, and when they make eye contact you feel your stomach do a joyful little flip. It happens all of the time. We feel things before we have time to mentally process.
Saving Families, One Child At A Time
Yolo Crisis Nursery provides a safe, temporary home for children during family crisis
For local families — like Michelle and her children — in crisis situations, the safe home and services provided by Yolo Crisis Nursery are nothing short of life-changing, and lifesaving.
From Vine to Glass
Sitting on the deck of his family’s tasting room, Warren Bogle looks out over the vineyard his grandfather planted in 1968 in the low-lying land of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. That first planting of 20 acres of vines in Clarksburg transformed the Bogle family from row crop farmers to one of the region’s most successful winemakers.
Joy Ride
At Lincoln’s equestrian-based therapy program Ride To Walk, riders with disabilities gain strength, knowledge and skill
The Ride to Walk program has been in operation since 1985, and they have been improving their ranch since moving in 18 years ago. Use of the property is available to the public from dawn to dusk. To keep up with costs, the ranch also boards non-therapy horses, and the lake on site is also open for catch and release bass fishing for a $5, recommended donation.
Instruments of Change
Sacramento Guitar Society Orchestra encourages one young musician to give back to his community
The Sacramento Guitar Society Orchestra is one of several programs run by the Sacramento Guitar Society, a nonprofit that’s been around for more than 50 years. Among these programs, the Society also hosts concerts, offers scholarships for guitar camps and facilitates guitar donations for various music programs
A Healthy Bottom Line
Once considered trendy, vegetarian-friendly restaurants are becoming the new norm in Sacramento
Today, Sacramento is home to nearly a dozen vegetarian and vegan restaurants, a shift that’s reflective of evolving dietary trends nationwide.
Preserved to Perfection
Preservation & Co. offers customers a new take on an old tradition
Jason Poole accidentally came across what would become his next career by way of a national contest. Poole submitted a Bloody Mary recipe, and before he knew it he was making his way to New York City as a finalist for the 2012 Absolut Best Bloody Mary in America contest.
Leader of the Flock
For years, California has led the way in energy policy — what happens when the federal government shifts course?
It wasn’t taken as a joke or a typo or an anonymous quote from some trolling conspiracy theorist. It was a real-live tweet from a billionaire with mystery hair: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
Local Loomis Unveiled
Placer County town has cultivated a niche food scene frequented by locals
An idyllic, family-farm community in south Placer County, Loomis is proud of its small-town heritage and quaint downtown dotted with unique shops and cafés. This rural village of about 7,000 residents caters to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a slower pace. Loomis has managed to keep its hometown feel for decades, jealously guarding its open space and passing on chain stores and malls.
Not Your Ordinary Restaurant
American River College’s Oak Café offers fine dining for customers and hands-on learning for students
This is no ordinary restaurant. Students enrolled in the college’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program run both the front and back of the house (with guidance from instructors) as part of their course requirements.
Meat, Water and Global Warming
Despite environmental impacts of livestock, restaurants aren’t giving up their meat
According to some ecologists and experts on global agricultural trends, our eating habits must change dramatically if we are to overcome environmental issues facing the planet and its future generations.
Keeping the Doors Open
Wind Youth Center is able to continue their mission in the homeless teen community thanks to local donors
It was as close to a miracle as you can get. Just when all hope seemed lost for Wind Youth Services, the only homeless teen shelter in Sacramento, a financially-solvent fairy godmother swooped in to save the day.
It Takes a Village
California’s education foundations connect communities to their schools
With California’s public school finance system undergoing dramatic changes in recent years, some public school districts now rely more on education foundations to supplement the districts’ budgets for traditionally school-funded resources and enrichment programs.
Just Play
Next Move Sacramento helps homeless families get back on track and lets homeless children experience normalcy
Next Move serves more than 10,000 people in the Sacramento area every year. They provide a safety net of services that range from arranging for bus passes to maintaining permanent housing for the disabled or mentally ill.
A System of Support
Court Appointed Special Advocates give years of their time and support to local foster youth
Family upheaval cast Jairus into foster care at age 5. Now almost 19, he’s taking his first steps into adulthood. Even after a life in the foster care system, he’s thriving, thanks to his resourcefulness and optimism and support from his Court Appointed Special Advocate — his CASA — Dennis Beasley.
Waste Not
Sacramento restaurants reduce food waste and help build healthy soil
Though largely hidden from the consumer’s eye, food waste is hardly insignificant. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we waste between 30 to 40 percent of food each year — and with it water, money and the chance to feed food-insecure people.
The Show Must Go On
Sacramento’s performing arts nonprofits find new ways to engage the community
When money grows tight in a town like Sacramento, nonprofits must get creative to stay afloat. This is particularly true for the performing arts. But the region’s creative nonprofits have risen to the challenge in recent years, finding innovative means to engage the community and fill both seats and coffers.
Death of the Family Doctor
As health care evolves and hospitals grow, running an independent practice becomes less feasible for more and more doctors
The friendly family doctor with a black bag who would come for house calls, remove swollen tonsils, check a child’s temperature during the flu season, deliver a young woman’s baby and carefully tend to the sick and dying in their own beds is gone.
Where the Wild Things Are
Local conservation and rehabilitation nonprofits fight for the rights of wildlife
We often only extend care and concern to the domesticated animals that share our homes with us — but Mittens and Rover aren’t the ones in danger here.
The Internet of You
Cutting-edge technology brings sensors into every aspect of our daily lives, making them safer, more convenient — and a little scarier
Imagine a piece of technology the size of an aspirin. It can go anywhere, be embedded in anything and keep track of any action, movement or sound — imparting huge amounts of data, like tiny puzzle pieces that can be correctly fitted to form the picture of your life. It sounds Orwellian, the ability to monitor your habits at all times.
West Sacramento Clears Path for Urban Farmers
City’s agriculture movement shows value of farms to the larger community
The Center for Land-Based Learning launched the Urban Farm Program in 2014 on a city-owned lot and with seed funding from two local banks. Fiery Ginger uses land owned by the Washington Unified School District. Other farmers use private property, for four sites total, representing six separate farm businesses — with two more to be added by 2017
Wong Family Celebrates 40 Years in Sacramento Restaurant Scene
Iron Horse Tavern latest addition to brothers' empire
You may not know them by name, but their successes have defined Sacramento’s culinary scene: Thanks to brothers and native Sacramentans Mason, Alan and Curtis Wong, the energy on a two-block spread of L Street comes to a rapid boil on game nights, weekends and holidays — that is to say, most nights of the year.
Pool Party
Grooming the next generation of scientists while fighting to save one of California’s most unique ecosystems
Bright bursts of yellow flowers amid a sea of rolling green grass are an easy find in April at Mather Field. But just months ago, these dramatic swathes were completely swamped with water, and later this summer their beds will be bone-dry and baking hot.
Two Sides to Every County
Business creation and job growth are usually positive things for a growing county, but some El Dorado County residents are vehemently opposed to building over the rural land they love
For the past 48 years, Mike Doran has watched El Dorado County evolve— slowly. He recalls the days when the county was a peaceful, low-density community — long before the Home Depot came to Placerville, before the Dollar General got the greenlight for Georgetown, back when Highway 50 was nothing but a two-lane road.
Seeing The Possibilities
Sacramento’s Society for the Blind helps workers stay working beyond vision impairment
Since 1953, Sacramento’s Society for the Blind has been serving employees and employers who have been affected by vision impairment. As one of their services, the Society’s trainers will come to an office or workplace to assess how circumstances can best be adapted for a visually impaired employee.
Carb-Loading With A Cause
Andrea Lepore, co-founder of Hot Italian, runs a master class in following your passions
Hot Italian is one of the hottest food brands in Sacramento, and Lepore is a leading proponent of sustainable building design. Her brick-and-mortar restaurant in midtown Sacramento, the Hot Italian Pizza & Panini Bar, has been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as silver LEED-certified.
A Tale of Two Bistros
The Capital Region’s neoclassical French dining trend offers something for everyone — and more than a bit of history
Considering that there are so many places and styles claiming the moniker “bistro,” it might be one of the easiest things to define — since you really can’t be wrong. But the term does evoke a sort of fancy casualness that feels simultaneously like spoiling yourself and making sound life decisions.
The Psychology Behind Why We Tip
Studies show it has little to do with the quality of service
Last summer, Magpie Café in midtown Sacramento added a line on their customers’ checks. It gave them the option to tip the cooks separately from the servers. It gave diners what they universally say they want: more control.
Status Check: Crüze Control
Food truck master makes plans for brick-and-mortar restaurant
Last July, we reported on Chef Keith Breedlove — the quirky food truck owner driving authentic brand development in a congested mobile scene with his one-of-a-kind Culinerdy Crüzer (“Crüze Control” by Andy Galloway). Now, Breedlove and his wife and partner Amy have since decided to open an 1,800-square-foot brick-and-mortar restaurant by August 2016.
Putting the ‘CA’ in Fast-Casual
Sacramento puts its farm-to-fork stamp on the latest national food trend
The influence of the Golden 1 Center kitchen will likely be national. It represents something more accessible than slow food, and more refined than the nuclear orange goop we associate with stadium cheese.
Pot’s Barrier to Legit Banking
Legal weed outlets, flush in cash, struggle to find financial institutions
There is an old jest that says the fastest way for a business to run off its customers is to adhere to the motto, “In God we trust; all others must pay cash.” But for Kimberly Cargile, director of the East Sacramento medical marijuana dispensary, A Therapeutic Alternative, cash and carry is her only option. And it really is no laughing matter.
Feast Your Eyes on This
True gourmet dining starts with the plate, a canvas for culinary art
“There is an old adage that we eat with our eyes,” says John Weatherson, co-owner and co-chef, along with wife Nyna, of Restaurant Trokay. In his experience, the brain is conditioned to pre-determine the quality of a dish’s taste by the way it looks, and how a dish is plated ultimately helps to maximize the diner’s gastronomic experience. Located in the historic district of downtown Truckee, the couple’s culinary creations at Restaurant Trokay take center stage, but the presentation is no afterthought.
So, You Want To Be the Next Big Thing?
5 tips for launching a successful product
Sometimes, a real no-brainer, problem-solver of a product can crash and burn spectacularly upon entering the market. This isn’t limited to the Pepsi Clears of the world, where sheer ridiculousness doomed the idea from the start: According to Nielsen data, 85 percent of new consumer packaged goods will fail within two years. Marketing snafus, bad luck and timing aside, pitfalls in the process of product design are often to blame. Catching oneself before blundering into them takes a conscious effort, as several local designers and makers illustrate.
The Marvelous Mentor
Chris Johnson’s massive success affords next-gen business leaders the opportunity to grow
In the coming months, Chris Johnson will ask a lot of his employees, whose average age is just 24 years old. He expects to do $30 million in retail sales this third year of manufacturing, recently signed a powerful licensing deal with Disney’s Marvel, and plans to expand from the four products currently on shelves to more than 100 next year. But Johnson’s hiring strategy emphasizes passion over experience, something he says his team has in spades.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Cask & Barrel brings approachable dining to Del Paso Boulevard
At Cask & Barrel in north Sacramento, there are no entrees. The restaurant has a small kitchen staff and high-end food at low prices. Chef Gabriel Glasier and his pastry chef, business partner and fiancée, Kristel Flores, are bringing something different to a corner of Del Paso Boulevard that’s proved to be enigmatic, to say the least, for two decades.
Skate with Friends
Cool nonprofit ramps up support for Sacramento kids with special needs
SkateMD connects youth with special needs with volunteers to learn how to skateboard. The Sacramento-based nonprofit was created by Melanie Tillotson (the “M”) and Andrea “Drea” Bibelheimer (the “D”), who saw a need in the community for a cool program in a safe space that would spread kindness to children facing developmental, physical, emotional and family challenges.
Global Flavors Next Door
The rising popularity of ethnic grocers is impacting everyday dining
Where in your local supermarket do you find the curry leaves? How about dumplings filled with red bean paste, or maybe smoked duck. Does your local grocer have fresh menudo, warm tortillas right out of the oven, or miso broth prepared that morning on-site? Independent grocery stores focused on specific ethnic cuisines are thriving in Sacramento, enjoying a boom in customers from beyond their base cultural markets.
Please Wait to Be Seated
Dozens of new restaurants will be opening their doors in Sacramento in the coming months. But are there enough patrons to fill all those seats?
This strip between 14th and 15th street not long ago was a dead zone. Now it’s filled with bars and restaurants. Still, many worry that Sacramento could be roaring into a restaurant glut that could put pressure on current restaurants and those arriving soon.
Pull Up a Chair
Restaurateurs are feasting on expansion opportunities across Sacramento
Around the Sacramento region, the Mulvaney’s attitude is rare. So many other chefs and owners are taking up those offers or have their own plans to expand. 2015 is proving to be a banner year for restaurant expansions, and as Sacramento’s new Golden 1 Arena rises, 2016 will surely continue the trend. Here’s just a partial lineup of what’s shaking down around the region:
Crüze Control
Driving authentic brand development in a crowded mobile food scene
This is Chef Breedlove’s third attempt, more or less, at branding a mobile food business, and this time he’s letting his personality and mad-scientist approach to mobile food define the brand.
Strategic Thinking for the Future of Higher Ed
Acuity with Steven Currall
Steven Currall is the Chancellor’s Senior Advisor for Strategic Projects and Initiatives and a management professor at UC Davis, where he is leading campus-wide deliberations about the vision for the university’s long-term future.