Contributors


Jim Abdo is the president and CEO of Abdo Development, a development and construction company that specializes in luxury residential and retail developments. He sits on a number of boards, including the D.C. Preservation League, the D.C. Building Industry Association and Arena Stage. He is currently chair of the Development Committee to the Washington Convention Center Authority Board	Corinne Bensahel is a French journalist who writes on architecture, interior design and contemporary art for French magazines such as Le Figardo and Architectural Digest. She also developed a line of fine jewelry and travels the world to find stones for her clients. She recently became the correspondent for Diamaid


Max N. Berry is a lawyer specializing in international trade, representing industries and countries throughout Europe and the United States. He served under Presidents Carter and Reagan as chairman and president of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation	Clay Blackmore is an established portrait and wedding photographer. His client list includes such luminaries as Larry King, Forrest Whitaker and Jenna Elfman and events as diverse as the PGA and inaugural balls.


Kevin Chaffee is the Assistant Features Editor and Society Editor of The Washington Times	Janet Donovan is the founder and president of Creative Enterprises International, a Washington, D.C., publicity firm whose clients include celebrities, authors, politicians and publications. She created and hosted The Beltway Broads radio show and writes the column Hollywood on the Potomac


Renee Drake has had a diverse career in the arts. While living in Washington, D.C., she was a curator for the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies Program. She moved to become the managing editor of Sotheby's Preview magazine and Art at Auction. After eight years, she left Sotheby's to make the documentary film The Way Back	Mark D.. Ein is the founder and chief executive officer of Venturehouse Group, LLC. He received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance and his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is a native of the Washington area and has ties to various organizations throughout the region


Roland Flamini spent almost three decades at Time magazine, mostly as a foreign correspondent. He has been an opera enthusiast since his teens, and bears the scars for it: Soprano Renata Scotto once chased him across the San Francisco Opera stage brandishing an umbrella	Ed Mathias is the managing director of The Carlyle Group. Mr. Mathias holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he presently serves as a trustee.


Vicki Moon has chronicled the lives of the rich, the not-so-rich, the famous and the not-sofamous for more than twenty years. She has covered local murders and prominent lives in Middleburg, Virginia, for People Magazine and The Washington Post and has written about Middleburg's hunt balls, steeplechase races and parties for Town and Country, Millionaire, Veranda and Southern Accents magazines	Lana Orloff is WL's style editor and a personal stylist. With many years of experience and a love for shopping and fashion, Lana offers style and image management, closet and wardrobe organization, special events styling and makeovers, among other services. Lana also styles and consults for international celebrities

Katie Rost is a Washington D.C. native and international fashion model. She runs the Ronald F. Rost charitable foundation and has a skin care line, Body by Katie Rost. Katie graduated from Boston University with a degree in broadcast journalism

Gail Scott, author of Diplomatic Dance: The New Embassy Life in America, was Washington's first solo TV anchorwoman. Covering the world's most powerful diplomats for The Washington Times and The Washington Diplomat, she also produces Smithsonian Associates' "Top Embassy Chefs," organizes monthly Junior League diplomatic events and creates ambassadorial briefings for leading educational institutions. www.gailscott.com


Donna Shor is an internationalist who has lived in five countries on three continents, climbed the Great Wall of China, tracked tigers in Bangladesh, raised twins in a Provencal mas and a Bordeaux wine chateau, and hobnobbed with greats from Peck (Gregory) to Picasso (Pablo). She has written widely, from the National Geographic to the Paris-based International Herald Tribune	Jack Valenti is the current president of the Friends of The Global Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and senior consultant to the Motion Picture Association of America. He served as Lyndon B. Johnson's special assistant, and is the previous president and CEO of the MPAA. He was born in Houston and has a B.A. from the University of Houston and an M.B.A. from Harvard.

Yvonne Taylor was born in Washington D.C and remains one of the region's top fashion photographers. Her work has graced the pages of Allure, Glamour, Italian Vogue, and Elle among many others. Her work is modern and defines a range of authentic beauty and the emotional space