Vanessa Van Vleck keeps a wall of shame at Superbum Plant Company, identifying people suspected of stealing from her East Sacramento store. It’s one of the few things Van Vleck and her husband, Dylan Van Vleck, who opened their business in 2021, can do to deal with a burgeoning problem in California.

Tracy Carlton took an unconventional path to her art career, launching a as a creative expression coach and teacher last year following a 21-year career at First 5 Amador, the Amador County branch of the statewide nonprofit commission dedicated to improving early childhood development.

All sagas have to begin somewhere. For Angelo Tsakopoulos, it was nighttime when he heard people crying on the upper deck of the ship that brought him, at 15, and hundreds of other immigrants to the United States in 1951. 

Our new CEO has been at our nonprofit for approximately six months. As the director of HR, the vice presidents and I went to our board with concerns regarding our new leader and his memory issues. He can’t remember the decisions he makes. I know there’s such a thing as a fitness-for-duty test, but these are usually centered around physical fitness. Where do I go from here?

It’s a job just like any other job, except with responsibility for the safety of an entire city. No pressure. When Kathy Lester was sworn in as chief of the Sacramento Police Department in December 2021, she joined a new executive team with fresh eyes, and they surveyed the many challenges.

The pandemic, the rise of Gen Z and new cultural norms have all contributed to a shift in the values we expect from modern leaders. Understanding these trends — and the strategies required to keep up — is crucial for any leader who wants to retain employees, inspire their best work and even continue their own career.

For an old electric vehicle battery, retirement doesn’t mean the end of the road. This fact was the catalyst for RePurpose Energy, a Fairfield-based startup that converts retired EV batteries into renewable energy storage systems.

It’s harvest time at the Reimagination Farm in Lake County, California. As autumn turns the air crisp and the leaves begin to change, former UC Davis Asian American Studies professor Robyn Rodriguez surveys the land in front of her and reflects on the rhythms of nature. “Even the earth follows cycles of rest,” she muses. “That’s how we regenerate.”

The line from “The Godfather,” “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business,” does not apply to the members of a family business. For us, there are a wide range of emotions that start at an early age as we realize that we are part of something that consumes our parents’ time, including conversations at dinner and the holidays. 

Wayne Bishop of Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland claims the farm is the largest pick-your-own pumpkin patch in the world. It remains a true family-run business, with Wayne, his wife Ann, his sons Lee and Austin, and his daughter-in-law Courtney leading the farm his parents started more than 50 years ago.