Stephanie Flores

Back Writer

Stephanie Flores is the former managing editor of Comstock’s. She is now a freelance writer residing in New Zealand.

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Stores of Opportunity

Compassionate Planet Thrift offers job training to those in need

In her teens, Velvet Edwards dropped out of Lincoln High School to care for her mother, who had hepatitis and scoliosis. By 22, she had few life skills and no high school diploma as she watched her mother slowly disappear.  “Toward the end, her organs just started to shut down, and she faded away,” says Edwards, now 28. 

Dec 1, 2013 Stephanie Flores
Production Supervisor Trevor Parkinson is the son of Jelly Belly Executive Vice Chair Lisa Brasher. The sixth-generation employee has been with the company for six years.

Human Capital

Avoiding the nepotism conundrum

About four decades ago, Bob Clark and his brother Don began to work as weekend janitors for Clark Pacific. As young teens, they would tag along with Dad to work and earn a buck. Today, they are co-presidents of that same company, responsible for more than 500 employees and $75 million in annual revenue.

May 1, 2013 Stephanie Flores
(istockphoto.com)

Don’t Ask, Don’t Sell

The half a million dollars most women miss out on

It’s the last stop during your in-house interview, and you’re knackered. As you wait for human resources to arrive, you’re adding up the things you should have done differently that day. As the HR rep enters the room and sits down, you still have time to make one more mistake, and it could be the biggest of the day. She starts naming the perks awarded to everyone from janitor to CEO, such as paid holidays, sick leave and a bathroom with free toilet paper. Then, she throws out the number you’ve been waiting for: a starting salary. Do you accept the offer or start negotiations?

Mar 1, 2013 Stephanie Flores
Sean O’Brien, financial adviser, and chair, Metro Edge at Northstar at Tahoe

The Millennial 1%

Affluent YPs are a new breed of consumer

When he’s not jet-setting to Tahiti or hobnobbing with his best friend Tom Cruise*, Sean O’Brien is just a regular guy. He’s 29, single, never pays full price when shopping online and likes to snowboard with friends in Tahoe. 

Jan 1, 2013 Mike Graff

Why Don’t You Go Sell Yourself

How to win in the workplace

A week after graduating with a bachelor’s in accounting, I showed up to my new job at a Big Five accounting firm with the best JC Penney suit my signing bonus could buy. It was the middle of the dot-com boom, and although the term business casual was starting to surface, no one could give a straight answer on its definition.

Dec 1, 2012 Stephanie Flores
Workers process e-waste at Sims Recycling Solutions in Roseville

Tech Trash

How to dispose your out-of-date computers and e-waste

If your IT room is starting to look like a scene out of “Sanford and Son,” you’re not alone. In 2010, American consumers and businesses unloaded 40 million computers onto recyclers, landfills and the refurbished market, the Golisano Institute for Sustainability in Rochester, N.Y., reports. Some estimates show, however, that millions more are idling in homes and offices because owners simply don’t know what to do with them.

Nov 1, 2012 Stephanie Flores
(istockphoto)

Degree of Difficulty

The life-altering burden of diploma debt

Fluff the pillows and stock the fridge because, chances are, your adult kids are coming home. Nearly one-third of Americans age 25 to 34 have lived with their parents in recent years, according to a 2011 study by Pew Research Center. But before you start blaming a generation of millennials — known for their unearned trophies and sense of entitlement — remember it’s the generations past who wrought an economy with tuition hikes and growing unemployment.

Jul 1, 2012 Stephanie Flores

Decade of Champions

Women in Philanthropy celebrates 10 years

It’s been more than 10 years since Char Donnermeyer sat in a communitywide forum to determine which charitable cause needed her attention. The United Way had tapped Donnermeyer and two others to start a group that women around the region could rally behind.

Oct 1, 2011 Stephanie Flores

Child Nomad

Finding success after foster care

Chloe Walker doesn’t remember the first time she moved or how many times she had to pack her belongings in flimsy trash bags. But she remembers getting her first suitcase at age 18, when she became too old for the foster system.

Oct 1, 2011 Stephanie Flores

Recycle Cycle

East Sacramento's electric bike shop

An unemployed engineer and an e-waste recycler walk into a bar. The engineer takes the recycler’s electric bike for a spin. And, a year later, The Electric Bike Shop opens its doors in East Sacramento.

Feb 1, 2011 Stephanie Flores

Equine Complex

Children find solace in horse-assisted therapy

Avery Benedict-Hall can’t talk, but when he slides onto a horse every Saturday morning at 11, his audience can hear the sound of his smile: clap, clap, clap. The 9-year-old has a host of neurological disorders, including cerebral palsy, autism and cortical visual impairment. Clapping is a soothing stimulant for many children with autism.

Dec 1, 2009 Stephanie Flores