What is Girl Around Town?
It’s 5pm and you and your BFF’s are ready for a night on the town, but the inevitable questions follow – Where should we go? What will we do after? And what are you going to wear?
Girl Around Town is your one-stop-shop to answer those “always asked” questions.
Our expert editors and contributors chat with our audience just as honestly as we gab to our friends over cocktails and have created a go-to resource for hot spots, activities, style and beauty so you will always know what to do, where to go and what to wear.
Who is Girl Around Town?
Co-Founders
Leigh Evans: A true to form Gemini who must to try everything life has to offer. Lover of fashion, fun, high heels and her puppies, Lola & Chuck.
Leigh Evans has worked for Creative Artists Agency, Red Wagon Entertainment, as well as directly for the founder of Tribeca Productions and the Tribeca Film Festival. Leigh then went on to become Special Projects Producer for the Doha Tribeca Film Festival’s 2nd year, helping form the inner workings of the festival and guiding it towards success. Leigh created Girl Around Town in 2009 when she moved back to Houston and began to rediscover the city of her youth. Quickly realizing the format fit more than one city, Leigh expanded Girl Around town to New York City in 2010 with Mary Cunningham and the two re-launched the enhanced site in 2011. Currently she works as a communications and media consultant, is the Houston editor of GoTidbits.com, the movies editor of Examiner.com, and co-editor-in-chief of GirlAroundTown.net.
Talk to me: leigh {at} girlaroundtown {dot} net
Mary Joan Cunningham: Like any self-respecting Sagittarius, Mary’s favorite accessory is luggage. And when she’s grounded in Manhattan, she’s absorbing all the city has to offer.
Mary started her career in entertainment working for a film financier and producer in Los Angeles, and soon moved on to the GRAMMY Awards/The Recording Academy, building strategic alliances within The GRAMMY Marketing & Business Development group, and working directly with GRAMMY Partners; PEOPLE Magazine, Hard Rock International, Nokia, Inc., Yahoo! Music, Evite & the TV Guide Channel. Deciding it was finally time to make the move to New York, Mary joined Nokia’s digital music group, where she negotiated deals for music rights with the major labels and created events at major music gatherings: Midem (Cannes), The GRAMMY Awards (Los Angeles), South by Southwest (Austin), writing Girl Around Town NYC all the while. Mary left Nokia to re-launch Girl Around Town with Leigh in 2011, where she is the co-editor-in-chief. She is also a freelance writer. Because she just has so much to say.
Talk to me: mary {at} girlaroundtown {dot} net
Editors
Julie Bortnick, Style: Julie would love to write a cute one-liner about being a Capricorn, but turns out astrology’s not really her thing, fashion is.
Julie Bortnick started working in the fashion industry during her college years, while studying Fashion and Retail Merchandising at Lasell College. She interned at IMG in their models division, while working at Mercedes-Benz fashion week one season. She also spent a few summers at the well-known retailer, Intermix. Julie graduated Magna Cum Laude from Lasell College and immediately started on the buying team at J.Jill, in Quincy, MA. Her love for New York City eventually brought her back to work at Oscar de la Renta in their wholesale division and later working for supermodel and philanthropist, Petra Nemcova. Currently she is still working with Petra while freelance writing in Houston, and managing her fashion and lifestyle blog, from prosecco to plaid.
Diana Horwich Diller, Los Angeles: A complex Pisces on the cusp, Diana is at home in five-star hotels or off camping in the woods. Her husband Jeremy is always ready to join her for the next adventure, whatever it may be.
Diana, born and raised in downtown Chicago, moved from her hometown to attend film school in Boston before relocating across the country to explore Los Angeles. After five years working for independent film production and international distribution companies like Myriad Pictures and 2929 Productions she made a career change to event planning. Now in her sixth year as Program and Event Planner for Trust Company of the West in LA she coordinates a variety of events nationwide including the company’s award-winning training program TCW University. Never one to sit still for long Diana finds interesting things happening – on a dinner plate, in a wine glass, on stage, or in a hot air balloon – wherever she goes. Her blog This Is Me highlights the good in every day moments, big and small. Diana is thrilled to contribute to Girl Around Town and share a slice of Los Angeles life with readers nationwide.
Lauren Mills, Houston: A down-to-earth Taurus, Lauren has an insatiable appetite for fashion, food, and fun. She loves to explore all Houston has to offer with her husband Scott.
Lauren, a native Houstonian, has spent nearly a decade making a name for herself in the oil & gas industry. Feeling more at home in the dressing room than the boardroom, however, she started Sunday Beach blog as a creative outlet to the corporate nine to five. Lauren joined Girl Around Town in 2012 to share Houston’s sizzling restaurant scene.
Karina Schroeder, New York Arts & Culture: A fun-loving Taurus with an eye for creativity, Karina enjoys taking full advantage of life in New York City. When she’s not in New York, she’s jet setting around the world- opening her mind and challenging her ideas.
Karina, born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, is a relatively recent transplant to the Big Apple. A 2011 graduate of the University of Iowa, she moved to New York City last year to pursue her dream of a big city journalism career. And she’s loved every minute of it. You can often catch Karina exploring the little vintage shops lining the East Village, checking out the most talked-about art exhibits in town, or seeing the latest no-name indie film with critical acclaim. She’s a total arts and culture geek- but that’s why New York is so perfect for her. Currently working at an architecture firm, Karina has written freelance for a wide variety of online blogs/magazines- mostly in the realm of arts, culture, and travel. She writes her own blog, KarinaSchroeder.com, and has contributed to Socially Superlative, Bohemian Trails, and PassportMagazine, in addition to Girl Around Town.
Jessica Shia, Resident Stylist: Like a true Leo, Jessica loves making friends and meeting new people wherever she goes. She is constantly defining and redefining her personal style, and loves helping others do the same.
Jessica was born in San Francisco and moved to Hong Kong at the age of seven. Since then, she’s been to boarding school in California, a year of college in Massachusetts, and then earned her Bachelor of Laws in England. After college she started working at fashion magazines, writing, editing, interviewing artists and designers, and producing and styling photo shoots. She moved to New York not long after, and is now a personal stylist with Keaton Row (get styled by her or sign up to be a stylist here), and manages her style blog, The Jess Journals. Got a style question for Jess? Email her at stylingbyjess {at} gmail {dot} com and your question may be featured next!
Emily Welsh, Resident Chef: Another Pisces to join the team, Emily is ever adaptable and is currently learning the ropes of her new home town, Los Angeles, with her husband.
Emily was living her version of the dream in New York City: marrying her college boyfriend, going for daily jogs in Central Park, working at Vogue, going out to try the latest restaurant, and blogging as she learned to cook. Flash forward a few years and the dream has slightly shifted: husband was transferred to LA, daily jogs are now on the beach, and she learned how to drive again (on the freeways!). Along the way she’s grown to love her new city and found that the west coast has a chill vibe, great restaurant scene, and amazing farmer’s markets. Emily is currently the Los Angeles Marketing Manager at The Wall Street Journal. She has worked in publishing for Conde Nast Corporate, Vogue, and Advertising Age. Separately, Emily has also worked with Chef’s Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, and The Judy Moon & Associates Wellness Spa in Philadelphia, PA. She’s still blogging about food and inspiring recipes at To Catch a Cook, while always trying to use fresh ingredients and finding a good balance between tasty and healthy.
Lyndsey Zorich, Style: Lyndsey is a high energy scorpio who loves fashion, live music, and exploring Houston with her husband and one-year-old daughter.
Lyndsey has literally done it all. She is an insurance saleswoman turned presidential campaign staffer turned non-profit fundraiser and she is now a newlywed, mom and fashion blogger. Catch Lyndsey’s daily fashion finds on HighHeelsandHandlebars.com
Contact Us
Have a Question? Have a Recommendation?
Email Us: info {at} girlaroundtown {dot} net
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