Terence grew up everywhere and liked to make things. He discovered photography as a medium with endless creative possibilities and studied the craft at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. “Now I try to figure out how to balance shooting ads and magazine work in between storytimes with my children and matching piles of socks that are endless,” says Terence, who photographed this month’s feature on young professionals, which involved a day-long studio shoot. “I wouldn’t choose any other man’s life over the one I live or any other career — each experience is part of the process.” For more, visit www.terenceduffy.com.
By this person
![Winnie Comstock-Carlson is the president and publisher of Comstock's magazine. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/adayinthelife.png?1720805150)
A Day in the Life of Comstock’s Publisher
Winnie Comstock-Carlson describes an average weekday as this magazine’s founder, president and publisher (for 35 years).
![Leo Zlimen is CEO of Ladris, a startup that provides AI-based software for emergency management. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/zlimen.png?1717630738)
Young Professionals: Leo Zlimen
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
Leo Zlimen, 25, is CEO of Ladris, a fast-growing startup based in Nevada City that provides AI-based software for emergency management.
![Vidhu Shekhar is government strategy leader at Microsoft. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/sekhar.png?1717630672)
Young Professionals: Vidhu Shekhar
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
Vidhu Shekhar is government strategy leader at Microsoft. He is directing the mega-company’s mission to help state and local authorities improve their effectiveness through generative AI.
![Carli Schrader is the owner and operator of the McDonald’s Golden State Restaurant Group. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/schrader.png?1717630558)
Young Professionals: Carli Schrader
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
Carli Schrader and her family operate 43 McDonald’s in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Amador and Stanislaus counties.
![Emiliano Rosas serves as chair of the West Sacramento Parks, Recreation and Intergenerational Commission. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/rosas.png?1717630484)
Young Professionals: Emiliano Rosas
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
Emiliano Rosas is a “proud product” of east Yolo County, where he now serves as chair of the West Sacramento Parks, Recreation and Intergenerational Commission.
![Joaquin Razo is Blue Zones projects solutions lead, Metro EDGE chair and United Way California Capital Region vice chair. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/razo.png?1717630388)
Young Professionals: Joaquin Razo
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
As project solutions lead at Blue Zones, Joaquin Razo is working to bring the way of life of the world’s longest-lived communities to his home city.
![Brandon Pace is Kaiser Northern California’s chief operating officer. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/pace.png?1717630319)
Young Professionals: Brandon Pace
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
At 39, Brandon Pace is Kaiser Northern California’s youngest chief operating officer.
![As executive director of the San Joaquin County Historical Museum, Phillip Merlo understands the importance of cultural narratives. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/merlo.png?1717526128)
Young Professionals: Phillip Merlo
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
As executive director of the San Joaquin County Historical Museum, Phillip Merlo understands the importance of cultural narratives.
![As public information officer for Sacramento State, Lanaya Lewis acts as a spokesperson for the university, staying in-the-know with everything happening. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/lewis.png?1717525855)
Young Professionals: Lanaya Lewis
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
As a PIO for Sacramento State, Lanaya Lewis acts as a spokesperson for the university, staying in-the-know with everything happening.
![Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya is the founder and artistic director of Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/guitierrez.png?1717523415)
Young Professionals: Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya founded Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre, whose mission is to translate the work of local nonprofits into art.
![Kevin Dobson is founder and executive director of Capital College & Career Academy, a public charter high school that trains teenagers to work in construction. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_0731.png?1717460035)
Young Professionals: Kevin Dobson
Meet the emerging leaders who envision a bright future for the Capital Region
Kevin Dobson is founder and executive director of Capital College & Career Academy, a public charter high school that trains teenagers to work in construction.
![Morgan Ragan and Dave “Deuce” Mason are the hosts of the popular “The Deuce & Mo Podcast,” which goes live after every Sacramento Kings game and major NBA events. It has 15,600 subscribers and can get more than 10,000 listeners an episode. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_0050.png?1715303265)
The Power of Podcasting
Podcasts have become a popular media option in the Capital Region
The anything-goes medium encompasses all kinds of local practitioners, from storytellers recording in their home offices to laughing exchanges recorded in band rehearsal rooms.
![Dr. Luke Wood in the boxing room at The Well, the multi-purpose gym facility at Sac State. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_0525_2.png?1714751232)
Giving Students a Fighting Chance With Combat U
When Dr. Luke Wood was finding his sea legs as Sac State’s new president, he walked over to Urijah Faber’s Ultimate Fitness gym on Folsom Boulevard, put on his boxing gloves and sparred with the gym owner. Then a light went off in Wood’s head. Since he was reinventing the university anyway, why not use the opportunity to partner with Faber in setting up a system so students could go to school for fighting?
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_0285.png?1714591044)
The Bold Vision of Dr. Luke Wood
Sac State’s new, young president is creating an AI hub, Black honors program, college for foster youth and Combat U
Dr. Luke Wood has set his competitive sights on remaking his university into an institution that can compete academically, not just with other CSUs — he is clear in his ambition to make the beautiful, tree-filled and ethnically diverse campus the flagship university in the CSU system — but with the University of California campuses and other top-tier institutions around the country.
![The California State Railroad Museum gave Anna Judah her due in a recent exhibition. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_9775.png?1714068771)
Anna Judah: Far More Than Theodore Judah’s Victorian Housewife
Through her artistry, she brought the transcontinental railroad to life — before it was built
You wouldn’t know that a tragic love story led to the railroad that connected the East and West coasts for the first time.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0124_dept_icon.png?1705465401)
Gary Gerould Offers Some Play-by-Play About His Life and Career
The sports announcer goes off-mic to do his own color commentary
Gary Gerould, aka The G-Man, has spent more than six decades as a sports journalist and play-by-play announcer. His greatest gift may be that you don’t have to care that much about the sports he’s covered (basketball, auto racing, sumo wrestling and football come immediately to mind) to be familiar with his name, his distinctively even-keeled voice and his remarkable unflappability.
![Angelo Tsakopoulos, 87, is the owner and founder of AKT Development. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1023_dept_icon.png?1697679594)
An Audience with Angelo Tsakopoulos
A conversation with the region’s best-known developer, history-loving philanthropist and undeniable influencer
All sagas have to begin somewhere. For Angelo Tsakopoulos, it was nighttime when he heard people crying on the upper deck of the ship that brought him, at 15, and hundreds of other immigrants to the United States in 1951.
![Denene, Ralph and Andrew Lucchetti grow peaches and other fruit on the 1860s-era ranch that Ralph’s parents bought in 1945. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_8965.png?1696439756)
A Piece of the Pie
Family business spotlight: The Fruit Bowl has been providing peaches and more to Stockton for 76 years
Over the course of summer and the first weeks of fall, over 60 varieties of peaches and nectarines pass through The Fruit Bowl, a 76-year-old produce stand on the rural outskirts of Stockton.
![It's all hands on deck at Sub Sea Systems. Jim Mayfield, right, is president and CEO, alongside wife Melissa, daughter Hannah de Bie, and sons Kyle, left, and Keenan Mayfield. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_996500001.png?1696439127)
Submersibles That Run Deep
Family business spotlight: World leader in marine tourism is buoyed by family values
The Mayfield siblings grew up in the charmed nautical world of their father’s imagination. At the Sub Sea Systems workshop in Diamond Springs, power tools whir as two generations work side by side to build custom submersibles that resemble something out of a Jules Verne novel.
![Ceronix founder Don Whitaker and his daughter, Sheri Bomhoff, the sales and service manager, at the company’s manufacturing center at Auburn Municipal Airport. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_8778.png?1696368356)
Gambling on Gaming
Family business spotlight: How an Auburn-based company cornered the gambling market
In his lifetime of entrepreneurship, Don Whitaker has managed to mostly avoid competitors. “You try to find a niche where you have no competition,” Whitaker says of his approach to business. He found his niche market with Ceronix, which he started in 1984 out of his Auburn home.
![Mark Snyir, co-owner of Two Men and a Truck moving company, worried he’d lose his business over a Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA, lawsuit filed by a former employee. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0823_feat_law.png?1692381062)
How to Keep an Employee Lawsuit From Taking You Under
A Private Attorneys General Act complaint can end your company. Here’s what’s coming next on PAGA
February 9, 2017, was a bad day for Mark Snyir and the Sacramento moving company he co-owns, Two Men and a Truck. He and his partner started the business in 2005, growing from two trucks and five employees to 16 trucks and 80 employees.
![Kitty O’Neal has been anchoring news at KFBK for an astounding 37 years. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_5697.png?1692124130)
Kitty O’Neal: A Rock Star on Radio and in Her Off Hours
Catching up with the broadcast legend and community gem
Learning of this interview with local media legend Kitty O’Neal, who has been anchoring news at KFBK for an astounding 37 years, a fan of hers gushes, “Wow! I watch her on the radio all the time!”
![Attorney and McGeorge Law Professor Michael Vargas is Elk Grove Unified School District's first openly LGBTQ+ trustee. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/vargas_lead.png?1689281033)
Young Professionals: Michael Vargas
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
As a newly elected member of the Elk Grove Unified School District — one of the largest in the state — a partner in a law firm representing high-tech companies and a molder of young legal minds as a professor, it’s important for Michael Vargas to give back to the community.
![Jade Rodgers is responsible for general oversight of the 916 STEAM Academy AmeriCorps program, which addresses literacy and STEM education for K-12 students along with digital art design. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/rodgers_lead.png?1689280561)
Young Professionals: Jade Rodgers
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
When it comes to navigating life and work, 916 Ink’s Jade Rodgers is a firm believer in “ubuntu,” an African word meaning “my humanity is tied to yours.” “Our experience in this life is interconnected,” she says.
![A former Emmy award-winning reporter for ABC10, Ananda Rochita is now vice president of communications for the California Manufacturers & Technology Association. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/rochita_lead.png?1689279880)
Young Professionals: Ananda Rochita
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Ananda Rochita’s first language was Indonesian; by the time she started kindergarten, however, she also spoke English — thanks to time spent in front of the television watching the news. Years later when it came time to decide on an area of study, perhaps unsurprisingly, she chose journalism.
![After working in the state legislature, Julie Phillips is now president and partner at Sacramento-based PR firm Randle Communications. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/phillips_lead.png?1689279233)
Young Professionals: Julie Phillips
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Julie Phillips had a good idea early on where her interests lie. After growing up in Roseville, she attended UC Davis as a political science major and got strongly involved with the Greek community there. She wasn’t interested in pursuing politics; public policy fascinated her instead.
![Lauren Oto oversees marketing and communications for both the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce, an organization representing Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned businesses around the state, and the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, which centers its efforts on the Capital Region. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/oto_lead.png?1689278662)
Young Professionals: Lauren Oto
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Oto oversees marketing and communications for both the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce, an organization representing Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned businesses around the state, and the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, which centers its efforts on the Capital Region.
![Dr. Nkiruka Ohaegbu left a key role at Pacific Gas & Electric to start her own public affairs company, Adaptive Strategies. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/ohaegbu_lead.png?1688768604)
Young Professionals: Dr. Nkiruka Ohaegbu
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
The pandemic forced many parents of young children to reduce their volunteer time. Dr. Nkiruka Ohaegbu was not one of them. While guiding an essential government service from her home computer and overseeing her children’s remote education, Ohaegbu maintained her extensive commitments to the community.
![Nathan Langley is co-founder and CEO of RxGuardian, a company that develops and manufactures abuse-deterrent devices for safer medication storage. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/langley_lead.png?1688767915)
Young Professionals: Nathan Langley
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
For Nathan Langley, entrepreneurship has meant integrating his drive to save lives with his passion for innovation and sales, and the synthesis has helped him succeed. “Everybody is different, and their experiences are different, but I would find it much more difficult to have overcome some of the challenges that we’ve faced over the years if it wasn’t something I believed in,” he says.
![Ken Imwinkelried serves as senior vice president and senior credit manager for River City Bank and holds the No. 2 position for oversight of the bank’s $3.2 billion portfolio. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/imwinkelried_lead.png?1688767347)
Young Professionals: Ken Imwinkelried
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Ken Imwinkelried went to work for River City Bank around the time of the Great Recession. Logging extra time on nights and weekends, he learned everything he could about his profession at a very challenging time in the banking industry. And over the course of several years, his extra work paid off with promotion after promotion. But about five years ago, as Imwinkelried implored other staff to not stay too late, he realized he had to do the same.
![Former teacher and administrator Phillip Hon is now the executive director of Unbound Stockton, a nonprofit focused on education and opportunities for elementary-aged students. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/hon_lead.png?1688766417)
Young Professionals: Phillip Hon
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Phillip Hon, executive director of Unbound Stockton, left
the sea breezes of Hawaii behind to pursue a dream. In 2013, the
nonprofit Teach for America offered him the opportunity to work
at Iroquois Point Elementary School in Oahu, where he served as
vice principal and on the National Advisory Board of the
Collective, Teach For America’s national association for alumni
of color.
![After working for “Good Day Sacramento” and the Roseville Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Hernandez is now marketing director for the beloved Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap Meet in Roseville. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/hernandez_lead.png?1688764218)
Young Professionals: Kevin Hernandez
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Clad in a faded Star Wars T-shirt, Kevin Hernandez begins
introducing elated kids to Darth Vader and Rey Skywalker in the
flesh. The children start getting light saber training from these
live-action characters, slashing and twirling their replica space
swords around the heart of Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap
Meet.
![Phil Oates is chairman of the board of the Buzz Oates Group. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_9188.png?1687196237)
Phil Oates Is a Strong Believer in God, Philanthropy, the Sacramento Kings and Candor
At 71, the commercial real estate tycoon continues to earn community-wide kudos — and straight A’s in college
Oates rarely does “the least” he can do. He is chairman of the board of the Buzz Oates Group — a $3 billion commercial real estate investment, management and development firm founded by his late father.
![Todd Michaud is the president and CEO of HuLoop Automation. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0423-startup-lead-template.png?1680805427)
Startup of the Month: HuLoop Automation
AI bots streamline workflows to free up human workers from mundane tasks
Too many employees get stuck doing tedious tasks on legacy systems that can impact job satisfaction and the bottom line. This is why Todd Michaud launched HuLoop Automation, a Sacramento-based AI-powered solution to transform the way work gets done.
![Since 2012, Sandy Smoley has become a Midtown Sacramento landmark hosting “porchies”: informal al fresco get-togethers at the rented home she moved into after she was widowed. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_6370.png?1679700089)
A Visit with the Capital’s Real (and More Beloved) Powerhouse
How Sandy Smoley saved the Sacramento Symphony, got those lights installed on the Tower Bridge, chummed around with Ronald Reagan, and thinks we should all sit on our porches
Sandy Smoley was once ubiquitous in local and state government, in the arts, in charity, in civic beautification and ultimately, as an in-demand public affairs and health care consultant for The Smoley Group. We check in with the local icon to see what she’s up to now.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/marisasharkey.png?1678925878)
Women in Leadership: Marisa Sharkey
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
Before starting her shoe company Birdies, Marisa Sharkey
described herself as risk averse. Eight years in, her bold moves
have paid off.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/cathilearobinett.png?1678921105)
Women in Leadership: Cathilea Robinett
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
Cathilea Robinett is CEO of e.Republic, a Folsom-based media and research company focused on state and local government and education. She drives the company’s mission to improve government and education through strategy, stability, growth and expansion.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/cindypetersen.png?1678884444)
Women in Leadership: Cindy Petersen
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
As superintendent and CEO of Gateway Community Charters, Dr. Cindy Petersen has grown Gateway Community Charters from a single school in 2003 to nine today, which serve over 5,000 children and employ 700 staff.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/risaomega.png?1678752289)
Women in Leadership: Risa Omega
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
Risa Omega is president and general manager of ABC10, currently the most-awarded newsroom in the Capital Region.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/carrielane.png?1678407034)
Women in Leadership: Carrie Lane
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
A 31-year veteran of the California Association for Highway Patrolmen, Carrie Lane has risen through the ranks to become CEO.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/lakhwinderkaur.png?1678318745)
Women in Leadership: Lakhwinder Kaur
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
Lakhwinder Kaur started out as a teller, and was quickly promoted to a personal banker. From there, it was a long, steady climb to her current role with Five Star Bank, where she oversees the Sacramento Valley market with an emphasis on community involvement and outreach.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/beckyjohnson.png?1678316583)
Women in Leadership: Becky Johnson
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
As tribal administrator of the United Auburn Indian Community, Becky Johnson provides recommendations and implements decisions relating to programs such as the tribal school, social services, and cultural and historic preservation.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/bonnieferreira.png?1678297092)
Women in Leadership: Bonnie Ferreira
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
Bonnie Ferreira helms the Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Leadership Forum, a cohort from all walks of life, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and industries that represents multiple counties to explore challenges facing the region, connect with one another and develop their leadership skills.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/reginacuellar.png?1678142317)
Women in Leadership: Regina Cuellar
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
Regina Cuellar is chairwoman of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, a Placerville-based federally recognized tribe — one of 109 in California.
![(Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/leahburdick.png?1678077858)
Women in Leadership: Leah Burdick
Our annual salute to extraordinary women breaking barriers and rising to the top
As chief growth officer of PRIDE Industries, Leah Burdick connects people with disabilities with resources and ultimately jobs.
![Minami Ogawa is the co-founder and director of Optimized Foods. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0323-startup-lead-terenceduffy.jpg?1677891277)
Startup of the Month: Optimized Foods
Davis company cultivates caviar without harming fish
Optimized Foods, a Davis-based food tech startup, has created a new kind of caviar that is sustainable, nutritious and, most notably, fish-free.
![Jacqui Lopez is the founder of Advance Ag. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0223-startup-lead-template.jpg?1675365127)
Startup of the Month: Advance Ag
Agtech company aims to bring real-time data tools to farmers
Using Internet-of-Things devices and sensors, the Sacramento-based startup analyzes real-time plant data to monitor the health and performance of crops and water soil saturation.
![Marcy Friedman is an artist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. (Photo by Terrence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0123_icon.png?1673918177)
The Quality of Marcy
Catching up with the region’s tireless philanthropist, art collector and painter
Marcy Friedman is one of the greater Sacramento region’s
best-known and most personally beloved philanthropists, as well
as a genuine influencer.
![Samuel Taylor, a former professional baseball player who studied sports science at USF, hopes to improve athletes' performance with his Elk Grove-based startup Core Impact. (Photo by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0123-startup-lead-template.jpg?1672968577)
Startup of the Month: Core Impact
Wearable tech company aims to enhance peak performance of athletes
For athletes, consistency can lead to greatness. Performance data can help get them there. The sports technology startup Core Impact offers a targeted solution through its patent-pending wearable technology.
Sponsored
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/amanda_mg_3457_0.jpg?1672790982)
NECA
WOMEN IN NECA - AMANDA KING
Amanda King, the leadership coach on the Foreman’s Development and Leadership Training NECA team is encouraged and inspired by NECA’s efforts to support women and make them feel valued.