SFBayStyle: Who We Are

SFBayStyle is a collaborative effort. Listed below is information about those who dedicate time and energy to this endeavor. For additional photos, see our contributor photo archive.

Management Team:

Founder, Publisher & Managing Editor, Sarah Granger has over fifteen years of experience in web startups, writing and editing. A midwest transplant, she found herself drawn to the San Francisco Bay Area where she has lived since 1995. Sarah studied computer science, creative writing and performing arts in college, while moonlighting as a model, so tying it all together was the easy part. An active volunteer and philanthropist, she currently serves on the Board of the Junior League of Palo Alto/Mid-Peninsula and she previously served on the Operating Board for the Ballet San Jose. She advises a wide range of organizations on using the web and social media through PublicEdge, and she contributes to a variety of publications including The Huffington Post, Ecofabulous, BlogHer, Piper magazine, and Bay Area Parent. An active traveler and event evangelist, Sarah has covered New York Fashion Week, the White House, national conventions, and a myriad of gorgeous galas.

Co-founder & Business Development Director, Pamela Hornik, a Bay Area native, studied fashion and retail from a young age, shopping at I. Magnin and spending weekends in Union Square. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she co-founded the Silicon Valley Moms Blog and she is an active volunteer for the Cantor Museum at Stanford. Pamela works closely with new designers while organizing "Shop For a Cause" events benefiting local charities, and she loves exploring new cafes and boutiques all over California or while traveling to New York, London or Paris. Questions about children's designers? She knows them all as a mother of four.

Senior Editor, Moya Stone started her lifelong enthusiasm for fashion at the age of four with a navy blue knit sailor suit complete with a tam. A gift from her mother, the suit traveled all the way from England. Moya was already a collector of handbags so she quickly accessorized her new outfit with a white patent leather satchel and white patent leather Mary Janes. The dye was cast and she has been accessorizing ever since. A San Francisco native, Moya explores the Bay Area finding unique boutiques and designers to help create her signature style. She has a particular interest in vintage clothing and antique jewelry and has been collecting both since she was a teenager. Moya has a MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College in Oakland. She is a stringer for Glamour magazine and a freelance journalist working with various east bay newspapers. Her work has also been seen in 944 magazine and SFLUXE. Other passions include theatre, vegan baking, and BBC radio drama.

Associate Editor & New York Correspondent, Rose C Ravasco, is originally from the East Coast and lived in San Francisco for the past 10 years before relocating to New York City. She has a degree is in food marketing, and in her free time, she is constantly in search of her next great meal. With a background in Interior Design and Event Planning, she frequently plans events professionally and for friends. She also writes a food blog, called SF Food Maven now Urban Food Maven, which involve writing about anything food-related from reviews, photography, recipes and general musings & views on food. She has always loved food, some may even say that she is a bit obsessed. Having moved from Philly to San Francisco and now New York - one foodie city to another - only helped her obsession with food to grow. She is often found throwing impromptu dinner parties and tweaking recipes to make them her own. When she’s not doing that or working her day job, she is trying new restaurants, dining in old faves, traveling around in search of that next ‘great meal’, and attending as many food and wine events as she can.

Contributing Writers:

Soraya Azafar has lived in the Bay Area for 23 years and recently moved to San Francisco. Ready for a new adventure in the city, she is immersing herself in the world of SF style by studying Fashion Design. Soraya also has a degree in Communications and Business from San Jose State University and she's experienced in sales. A yoga practitioner and diver, her passion for artistic design and self expression runs deep - she loves creating and observing as a writer.

Elisa Camahort is a co-founder and COO of BlogHer, managing its events, marketing and corporate operations. She co-founded BlogHer as a labor of love in 2005 with Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, and BlogHer is now the number-one guide to and source for blogs by women. BlogHer serves its mission of creating opportunities for education, exposure, community and economic empowerment with its web community, sold-out conferences and advertising network that now features over 1,800 publishing partners. Elisa has been blogging since 2003 and, including SF Bay Style, now contributes to nine blogs. She blogs at various times about marketing, health issues, green and eco-conscious living, being a vegan, and reality TV talent shows like American Idol and Project Runway. She also has a monthly column in the Silicon Valley Metro called "Silicon Veggie".

Andrea Gardley Kamali has an keen eye for everything beautiful - arts, clothes and food included, but her real passion is for helping others look and feel their best, and her knowledge of skin care and make-up products is astounding. A graduate of the San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology, Andrea is a licensed esthetician at Club One at Santana Row in San Jose. Her philosophy is that each person has his or her own individual beauty. For her it is always about balance. Balancing her right and left brain, she is an engineer by day and esthetician (and now style writer) by night. She considers herself a beauty engineer who researches the tools people need to enhance their appearance and she has refined both the art and the science.

Elizabeth Hadley was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, pursuing a degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications on her way to becoming a fashion journalist. She has a background in retail from working at Nordstrom, Crossroads Trading Company and Abercrombie Kids. Her love of art history and theatre prompted her to study with the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, and she enjoys spending time at museums all over the world. A contributing writer for the W27 newspaper at FIT, she splits her time between New York and California.

Chi Huang comes from a technology marketing background where, as a product manager in her 20's, she discovered that great clothes made her job easier and more fun. She started wearing heels in earnest when she found her new boss was 15 inches taller - and he liked to work through problems while walking around. Now as a mom, she is on an eternal quest for stylish and functional handbags. With degrees in biology and philosophy, writing about fashion may seem another divergent facet in this shopaholic's life, but that's why she fits in with SF Bay Style.

Kaari Jacobs' move from Iowa to California was - embarrassingly enough - largely based on how sunny it looked on Beverly Hills 90210. A harsh reality check and a degree from the University of San Francisco later, she began a career in Public Relations and Celebrity Management. She went on to help create, launch and manage Who New LLC, an online networking community serving niche cultural communities. Kaari is the consummate party planner, throwing dozens of parties and events for local organizations and friends every year. A self-proclaimed foodie, she also loves discovering the treats and eats the world has to offer. Kaari loves incorporating vintage elements in decorating and design, a passion visible in her prized collection of vintage European posters. She recently started her own blog, The Mostess, chronicling the ins and outs of a party girl living in suburban Silicon Valley.

Samantha Matalone Cook has always loved the arts. Ever since she overheard a museum curator claim to control how the public experiences exhibits, she has commited herself to the public’s perception, interpretation, and education of art and culture. With degrees in Studio and Fine Art, Humanities and Archeology, and a Masters in Museum Education, she believes there is no such thing as being over educated or having too many passions. Creating and combining interests through writing, traveling and art have been consistent threads in her career, which include internet start-ups, forming her own non-profits, and working for a number of museums around the country including the Smithsonian. Sam believes that style is an essential expression of individuality and encompasses all the things that we are drawn to and surround ourselves with, for aesthetics as well as function. Currently, Sam is on the Board of Directors for Birthways, and works on freelance projects helping non-profits refresh their public image and programs. Sam is also into Steampunk, film, printmaking, and homeschooling her two boys.

Michelle Tung is an award-winning artist and designer who has a degree in architecture from UC Berkeley. Her background is deeply rooted in all aspects of design, including fashion, photography, architecture, graphic design and art. Licensed in real estate, she practices architecture and real estate together in addition to writing. She has an eye for style and a strong passion for fashion. Michelle is always ready to get her creative juices flowing and contribute her experiences in all elements of style around the bay.

Additional Contributors:

Beth Blecherman is an expert in online publishing, including blogging technology and virtual partnerships. She brings a busy mom's perspective to fashion and lifestyle with three boys at home. Her history in high-tech culminated with senior management for Deloitte before becoming a parent and launching the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, its sister sites, and Techmamas.com. She has become an expert in putting together outfits that combine elements of both practicality and form. Excellent at picking out what works for those with lifestyles requiring a lot of juggling, Beth's no-nonsense approach to style epitomizes the fast-pace of the Bay Area.

Sarah Dreyer is an interior designer who makes it her business to create beautiful, comfortable and functional environments for her clients. When she’s not searching for that perfect item, she’s busy chasing down her 3 year-old son or shooing the dog off of her designer sofa. Hence, she has an excellent understanding of what it takes to design homes that support the way people actually live. Sarah’s interest in fashion can be tracked to her boarding school days where she carefully raised the hems of her uniform skirts to the maximum allowable height and put dimes in her penny loafers. She went on to study Political Science and Modern American Literature at Tulane University, where she experienced the curious Southern custom of wearing matching outfits, an idea that still makes her cringe. Sarah has 3 hard and fast rules to dressing: 1) always wear good shoes, 2) only wear the colors that look best on you, and 3) never, never wear pants that are too tight.

Melissa Black Palecek is a professional stylist, talented at mixing and matching looks from edgy to classic, trendy to eclectic. With a Stanford MBA and a finely tuned eye for unique designs, her killer combination of skills makes her great at her work. Mother of three girls, she is always coming up with new ways to reuse or give new life to clothing. Eco-conscious and adventurous, Melissa recently styled the Atherton Green Eco Fashion Show and she helped with the Gorgeous & Green show. Melissa helps women and men step outside their comfort zones to embrace new images and her wit dazzles our pages.

Maria Ross managed to survive a childhood of pink and purple ribbon barettes, white roller skates with sparkly blue laces, Midwest bangs, and a painful New Kids on the Block period. Hopefully still trying to stay hip to the latest entertainment, dining and wine (and still not quite over a closet love of boy bands), Maria owns a Marketing and Branding Consultancy, Red Slice. She is also a freelance writer who has written winery and wine bar reviews for San Francisco Downtown and Dining Out SF. She does a monthly wine column, "Red on Reds", at IntoWine and keeps her Red Slice blog updated with La Dolce Vita rants and raves. Maria recently relocated from the Bay Area to Seattle.