Social Scene

Alliance Stars Among Us gala draws celebrity models and immigrants who achieveddreams

Ingoma Planet, a group of incredible drummers from Burundi, performed for theaudience.
Clifford Pugh, second from right, shows off his bow tie.
Ingoma Planet in action.
As the gala drew to a close, guests each lit a candle. Chan Nguyen, right, SoniaAzad, left.

The 13th Annual Stars Among Us Scholarship Gala, benefitting the Alliance for Multicultural Community Services, was filled with surprises. Celebrity journalists walked the runway at the Westin Galleria hotel Sunday in outfits expertly tailored by immigrant refugees at the Alliance Center Tailoring Services, with the help of fashion designer Simran Rihal.

"My focus is to contribute to the local community by producing here in Houston and I am really overjoyed to see such tailoring talent right here in Houston," Rihal said.

The models included Channel 13 reporter Miya Shay in a flowing bejeweled gown, Channel 2 producer Amber N. Wills, delighted to be wearing a sari for the first time, meteorologist Ayna Sehgal in a colorful dress made from a sari, Huffington Post writer and cupcake queen Reyne Hirsch in a fitted hot pink dress, Channel 13 reporter Sonia Azad in a purple and gold bolero and CultureMap editor-in-chief Clifford Pugh, wearing a bow tie of the same fabric as Azad's bolero. (I also participated, wearing a lovely copper-colored gown.)

Bellaire city council member Corbett Parker emceeded the fashion show and engaged each model in a conversation about the Alliance's many services, which range from teaching new immigrants how to drive to tilling community gardens.

The gala also honored immigrants who have made significant contributions to Houston. Litho Printing Co. founder Abey Girma, Amy Food Inc. owners Phyllis and Victor Hsu, and Mandy Kao, vice president of Titan Management, each praised the city as the land of opportunity.

Among those applauding the honorees were State Rep. Scott Hochberg, Houston city council member Ed Gonzalez and his wife Melissa, legendary tennis coach John Wilkerson, Sugar Land Mayor Pro-Tem Jacquie Chaumette, Alliance board of directors chair Sue Davis, Yu Ru Huang, Chau Nguyen, Donna Cole, University of Houston-Downtown president William Flores, Patrick Leung, Tsige Amare, Kheang Ven, Alweena Cooper and Kristian Carr.

Ingoma Planet, a group of master drummers from Burundi, also delighted the audience with a high-energy performance.

The Alliance promotes the well-being of refugees, immigrants and low-income residents of Harris County in order to provide a better quality of life by making them self-sufficient. Proceeds from the gala are used to fund scholarships for refugees.

Ruchi Mukherjee is a lifestyle feature journalist for TV Asia and host of Lights Camera Action, an online magazine that covers Houston Indo-American society news.

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Painted with Purpose

21 Houston doctors trade scrubs for canvases at Arts of Healing gala

Photo by Alida Bonifaz

Chita Craft, Bethany Buchanan, and Nora Jarrard.

Turns out, creativity isn’t just for the canvas. It pulses through the hands of healers, too.

Photo by Alida Bonifaz

Chita Craft, Bethany Buchanan, and Nora Jarrard.

That was the spirit of The Arts of Healing Eighth Annual Gala, where physicians traded lab coats for aprons and oils to showcase their artistic prowess at The Post Oak Hotel on November 8.

Guests — close to 500 — were greeted by a floral fantasia courtesy of Blooming Gallery. A grand circular bar anchored the room, while a curated silent auction, wine pull, and an ultra-chic Valobra raffle for a diamond necklace tempted attendees. The centerpiece? Art by 21 physician-artists being honored that evening lining the entire ballroom.

Among the physicians celebrated for their contributions both in hospitals and on canvas were Dr. Shetal Amin, Dr. Deepak Bedi, Dr. Mark Dannenbaum, Dr. Meshann Fitzgerald, Dr. Matthew Goldman, Dr. Brandon Goodwin, Dr. Mollie Gordon, Dr. Maysoon Hamed, Dr. Emily Jamea, Dr. Henry Kuerer,Dr. JP LeFave, Dr. Dean Moore, Dr. Marlene Morales, Dr. Sehar Najamus, Dr. Eric Powitzky, Dr. Terrence Wadley, Dr. Cindy Williams, Dr. Jose Miguel Yamal, Dr. Sarrah Zadeh, and Dr. Isaac Raijman, who, alongside his wife, Lori Raijman, founded the Arts of Healing Foundation.

Co-chaired by Rachel and Warren Ellsworth IV and Natalie and Mark Bordman, the evening marked a fundraising high, collecting more than $560,000 to support The Arts of Healing and its Sunshine Kids Summer Camp collaboration. The initiative brings children facing cancer from across Texas together for creativity, connection, and joy.

A special musical cameo brought the house down when honoree Dr. Jeff Ross took the stage, trumpet in hand, for a guest appearance with Dry Water Band. The dance floor stayed thumping well into the night, a tribute to the spirit of creativity as medicine.

Summoning their inner Picassos were Sarah Collins, Michele and Youval Meicler, Kristen Collins, Betsy and Jimmy Montgomery, Courtney and Zac Harmon, Kristen Cannon, Cathleen Fishel, Stephanie Wilcox, Alexis Rosales, Faith Majors, Bethany Buchanan, Susan and Steve Beatte, Larry Doty, Vanessa and Chuck Ames, Dana Barton and Robert Clay, Rita Shuma, Jennifer Wisler, Dr. Rukmini Rednam, Dr. Victoria Chang, Dr. Danielle Antosh, Katie Tsuru, and Dr. Kathy Nguyen.

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