Episodes

July 31, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by Roger Knuth, President and CEO of Lapin Systems. Lapin is Chicagolands Premier Macintosh and PC Service, Repair, and Support Provider. Roger launched Lapin out of his home in the mid-1990s after noticing a lack of proper Mac support in the Chicagoland area. By the year 2000, Lapin’s new storefront had grown enough to become an anchor of the Evanston small business community and a destination for Mac users throughout the North Shore. Lapin now has it…

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July 24, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by Mark George, the CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago, which is located in Evanston. The Music Institute of Chicago is a nonprofit community music school that leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music by providing widely accessible resources for high-quality music teaching, performing, and service activities—and harnessing the power of music to educate, inspire, and bring comfort to the communities it serves.

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July 17, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by Rachel Moore. Rachel is a Collaborative Divorce Institute Fellow and has a private practice devoted exclusively to collaborative law, facilitative mediation, and representing parties utilizing mediation. A collaborative process divorce provides an alternative process to litigation. Rachel is based in Skokie.

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July 10, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by John Hewko, the General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. Rotary, which is based in Evanston, has over 1.4 million members in over 46,000 clubs around the world. Rotary is an organization of people who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

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July 3, 2022

In this episode, we sit down with Diana Hamann, the Wine Goddess. After graduating from the University of California Berkeley with a Literature degree, she fell into the wine business. After starting as a wine buyer for the Whole Foods in Palo Alto, she worked on the buying team for Wine.com, Napa, and then later returned to her native Chicago. She has consulted for top name resturants such as Japonais, Le Colonial, Le Passage, and Fox & Obel; facilitated programs for the Wine Discount Center…

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June 26, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Dr. Daniel Aschheim. He currently serves as Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. He was appointed to this Chicago-based post in September of 2020 where he assumed the role as Consul for Public Diplomacy serving as the spokesperson for the Consulate's nine-state Midwestern region. This episode is also being released on my sister podcast, The Real Estate Diplomat.

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June 19, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev, are joined by Chanel Jeon, co-Founder of TeaRex Bubble Tea Café. Chanel opened the store with her husband Clay, in 2017. Subsequently they have opened a second location in Nles. In this episode we talk about why she shifted her career from being a teacher to running a business, why she opened in Skokie, and what makes her bubble tea so special.

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June 9, 2022

This week on Inside the Skev, are rejoined by Fritz Kaegi, the Cook County Assessor. Since assuming office in 2018, Fritz has striven to bring fairness, ethics and transparency to the Cook County Assessor’s Office with a vision focused on operational changes, technological upgrades, and the elimination of favoritism. We will talk about how he has accomplished his goals, what property owners should know about the property tax system in Cook County and how Covid is affecting property valuations. …

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May 20, 2022

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jane Shapiro, the co-founder of Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning. Jane has been involved in Jewish education for over three decades, and is a pillar of the Evanston/Skevanston community. We first discuss her family's deep roots to Evanston and real estate, and then learn about her career in education. Orot offers classes, programs, and retreats that provides opportunities for cultivating transformative habits of body, heart, and mind that lead to greater…

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May 11, 2022

In this episode, we catch up with Katherine Gotsick, the executive director of the Main Dempster Mile. The area has survived the pandemic, and in many ways has reinvented itself. We learn about new businesses like Pour, the Custer Oasis and so much more. The Main Dempster Mile is a Special Service Area for the commercial districts that currently make up the Chicago/Dempster business district and the Main Street business district.

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May 3, 2022

Inside the Skev is back! After a one year hiatus, the show returns to catch up on everything happening in Skokie and Evanston. To mark the return, we are joined by Annie Coakley, from the Downtown Evanston organization. Annie returns to the show to update us on everything new in Downtown Evanston, and how it has weather the storm of the pandemic. Annie is the executive director of Downtown Evanston, which was created in 1987, and provides marketing and management services to the downtown Evanst…

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April 1, 2021

Listen as host Aaron Masliansky tells the audience of his plans to pause Inside the Skev as he begins work on a new project with a much wider focus.

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March 29, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Jennifer Green, the Artistic Director of Piven Theatre and Ellen Placey Wadey, Program Director for Chicago Artistic Vitality and Collections from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. For 45 years, the Evanston based Piven Theatre Workshop has remained a nationally respected acting school and professional theatre. Piven is supported by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. The Foundation seeks to sustain and build resilient, engage…

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March 22, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Alan Moy, the owner of Viet Nom Nom. Viet Nom Nom is a Vietnamese-inspired fast casual restaurant located in Downtown Evanston at 618 ½ Church Street. They serve a craft, health-inspired menu and strive to put a modern, unique fingerprint on traditional Vietnamese dishes that appeal to all walks of life, while offering customers better-for-you food.

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March 15, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Alecia Wartowski, Executive Director of Foundation65. In this episode we will discuss the Foundation’s mission, its role during the pandemic and its vision for the future.

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March 8, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Jackie Melinger, co-owner of Home Instead in Skokie and My Personal Bookkeeper. The two businesses go hand-in-hand, as they provide critical support services for the senior communities of the North Shore and are located in Skokie.

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March 1, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Roger Sosa, the Executive Director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. In this episode we discuss the Chambers mission, its role during the pandemic and its vision for the future.

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Feb. 22, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Michael Edgar, President of GWDC/SelectChicago. SelectChicago® is a curated program helping foreign investors and international businesses tap into regional Chicago area economic development programs. The organization has a large impact on bringing global investment to Skokie and Evanston.

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Feb. 15, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Dr. Devon Horton, Superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65, and Joseph Hailpern, District 65 Board Member. Dr. Horton joined the District 65 team in 2020. We will discuss how the district has responded to the pandemic, instituted social equity, and is preparing for the future.

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Feb. 8, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Sheree Moratto from the Rogers Park Business Alliance and Mamello Tekateka from PATIENTcE Health Research. Rogers Park Business Alliance (RPBA) is a nonprofit organization that has served Chicago’s diverse Rogers Park neighborhood and the surrounding area for more than 25 years. RPBA works to cultivate and sustain a thriving economic environment, serving businesses and residents with a variety of public events and business initiatives. RPBA program…

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Feb. 1, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Jeff Schankerman from One to One Financial. Jeff is a return guest, and a local Skevanston resident. He works with One to One Financial, which is a family-owned financial planning firm. Jeff grew up in Indianapolis, and now lives in Skevanston. In this episode we will talk about what’s been going on in the stock market with Game Stop, AMC and the overall economy.

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Jan. 25, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Raffi Arzoumanian. Raffi founded a+c architects in 1993 in the spirit of forming lasting partnerships with clients and communities through architecture and design. A designer’s designer, he brings a unique vision to every project, delivering solutions that marry functionality with innovation. a + c architects is located in Skokie, and several of their designs have been built throughout the area.

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Jan. 18, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined by Marcy Larson, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. Ms. Larson brings 25 years of marketing, consulting and research experience to this position. We will be discussing several things including the background of the museum, current events and the greater need for outreach and education, the cutting-edge technology the museum is employing and how they have adapted during the pandemic.

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Jan. 11, 2021

This week on Inside the Skev, we are joined Rebecca Cacayuran, the VP for Community Investment at the Evanston Community Foundation. Founded in 1986, the Evanston Community Foundation helps Evanston thrive now and forever as a vibrant, inclusive, and equitable community. It builds, connects, and distributes resources and knowledge through local organizations for the common good. The Foundation builds endowments for current and future opportunities, fosters private philanthropy, focuses the impa…

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