By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski For as long as Paula Pruett can remember, her son, Stefan Pruett, was obsessed with two things—basketball and music. His heart condition pushed him out of basketball, so his mother persuaded him to pursue music. The Carefree musician was just about to turn music on its head as The Guidance when he was found unresponsive in his Downtown LA apartment at age 35 in June. He died of ...

By Jacqueline Robledo Amelia Joyce moved to the Valley five years ago in hopes of turning her musical passion into a career. Twenty-four years ago, Joyce was born in Jackson, Michigan, with five siblings, all of whom would perform together. She took piano lessons throughout middle school and high school. “Growing up in a small town, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for me to stay and try and develop my ...

By Annika Tomlin Founded by Olympic medalist Bryan Clay and Joe Culver, Eat the Frog Fitness was born from decades of elite, science-based athletic training and expert knowledge of the fitness industry. The company’s name is inspired by Mark Twain’s quote, “Eat a live frog first thing every morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” This 24-hour-accessible facility opened a new locat ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Susan Clark is all about education. When her Clark Bodywork Therapies clients visit her, she shares her treatments on an oversized muscle chart on her wall. “I show them where muscles connect and why I worked the areas,” Clark says. “A lot of people who have low back pain have super tight psoas and illiacus muscles, which are in the pelvic region. They’re amazed at how their lo ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pizzicata owner Federico Venturini considers his guests and employees family at his Carefree Italian restaurant. Guests impart stories of visits to Italy, from which Venturini hails. In turn, Venturini shares authentic dishes like Pinsa Romana, pizza (starting at $10) with 48% less sugar, 85% less fat and no cholesterol. “We’re the first to make Pinsa Romana in Arizona,” Ventur ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Look around the airy and bright interior of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue, and the wood walls are covered with awards from the eatery’s 11 years in Cave Creek. Owner/chef Bryan Dooley chalks it up to good food and the staff’s caring nature. “We’ve made a conscious effort in the beginning to make sure that we take people’s names,” Dooley says. “Guests are not just a number. We ...

By Annika Tomlin "Shop Local” means something special to Tucson-based Creations Boutique. Olivia Verma Smith’s family features its Angie Brand throughout the store, the latest of which opened at Desert Ridge Marketplace. Dubbed the “boutique in the desert,” Creations is peppered with locally made candles, artists and creators. “Many things that are developed by local makers, like our main candles, are produ ...

By Connor Dziawura Larry Foppe commonly heard in Carefree that a laidback gathering place was missing—the key word now being “was.” So, he took his local cigar shop, moved it and rebranded it as Sticks Golf & Cigar Lounge. Located off Cave Creek Road and Tom Darlington Drive, the new venue is like Topgolf mixed with a cigar lounge, but with a country club feel. “The one thing I commonly hear from the lo ...

By Kamala Kirk For almost 40 years, Dr. Georgine Ray has helped improve the quality of people’s lives by diagnosing and treating various hearing disorders. From young children to the elderly, she works with people who are struggling with issues such as hearing loss and tinnitus, offering an advanced level of expertise, quality care and support to her patients. “I see patients of all ages because hearing los ...

By Kamala Kirk Throughout the years, Rebecca Owen has helped a significant number of clients reach successful outcomes with divorces, child custody and other family-related legal matters. Named one of the top 50 attorneys in Arizona by The Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education, Owen has been practicing law since 1997 and founded her Phoenix-based law firm in 2007. “I enjoy helping people get t ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Whether it was through her work as an attorney or as a true crime author, Kerrie Droban has made her mark. As a former Maricopa County attorney, Droban has been a criminal defense attorney for 27 years, litigating major felonies, complex white-collar fraud cases and death penalty matters. Her capital appeal, State v. Timothy Ring, was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. The de ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Dr. Julie Lam shadowed an optometrist as a youngster and one thing struck her: Patients aren’t afraid to see their eye doctor. “I’m a people person, and that fits with the profession,” Lam says. “I communicate with people. It’s a rewarding profession, and that was my goal.” In 2013, Lam founded Eye Care North in Cave Creek to treat patients like her grandfather, who suffered fr ...

By Carol Pener At age 42, CarolAnn Tutera felt she had the insides of a 92-year-old woman. She had all the classic signs of menopause. “I don’t know how I was putting one foot in front of the other,” she says. She turned to her now-late husband, Dr. Gino Tutera, for help with feeling better. She wanted to get her life back as where all others who were receiving pellet therapy. She is now the co-founder and ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Kristi Morrow likens her job as a financial adviser to a puzzle. She and her partner in InReach Wealth Advisors, Jason Ayala, help clients make sense of their financial situation using pieces of their lives. “I like to do puzzles and play games in my free time,” Morrow says. “I take a million little pieces and see how they fit together. A lot of creativity goes into being a fin ...

By Alison Bailin Batz Hohokam Elementary School is undergoing a year-long update to revitalize an important piece of Scottsdale’s history. “Hohokam Elementary School was originally constructed in 1959 and designed by renowned architect Ralph Haver,” says Vicente Terán of CHASSE Building Team, which is working with the school district and SPS+ Architects on the build. According to Modern Phoenix’s Ralph Have ...