Southampton Arts Center Presents Talk with Steven Stolman Vera Neumann: Midcentury Textile Maestro

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

Southampton Arts Center (SAC) is pleased to host a talk by Steven Stolman discussing midcentury textile designer Vera Neumann on Thursday, July 2nd, at 6 pm.

Steven Stolman presents an evening inspired by the vibrant world of Vera Neumann, the celebrated midcentury textile designer whose iconic “Vera” scarves became synonymous with American style in the 1950s and ’60s. Favored by fashion legends including Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, and Jane Fonda, and more recently spotted on Sarah Jessica Parker and Taylor Swift, Vera’s bold colors and graphic prints continue to influence fashion and design today.

In conversation with Greg Sharp, President of Vera Neumann, Stolman will explore Vera’s remarkable creative legacy and enduring cultural impact. The evening will also feature a presentation of Stolman’s newest dress collection, inspired by the Vera archive and displayed on mannequins throughout the space.

Southampton Art Center’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor of the New York State Legislature.  

Gallery Hours:  

Friday – Sunday | 12 – 5 PM  

25 Jobs Lane Southampton, New York 11968 

631.283.0967 

Southamptonartscenter.org 

ABOUT STEVEN STOLMAN:

For more than four decades, designer and author Steven Stolman has been making a mark on the American fashion scene. Beginning on New York’s Seventh Avenue, where his eponymous label was a fixture at fine retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus, to his own collection of boutiques in Southampton, Palm Beach, New York City, Nantucket and Beverly Hills, Stolman’s unique take on combining the disciplines of fine dressmaking with fabrics traditionally used for interior décor became a must-have for the smart set.

In 2006, Stolman left the world of fashion to help build Palm Beach County’s first non-profit federally qualified health center for the uninsured. But eventually, the world of fashion called him back, first to curate the 50th anniversary retrospective for the beloved American resortwear label Lilly Pulitzer, and then to add an elevated fashion element to the Jack Rogers footwear brand. This led to his being asked to serve as president of Scalamandré, the storied American decorative textiles house. There, he revived the brand with a dynamic range of product extensions ranging from china, crystal, and flatware to deluxe bedding, lighting, accent furniture, and footwear. While at Scalamandré, Stolman authored his first book, “Scalamandré: Haute Décor.” This led to 6 additional books on entertaining, architecture, and photography, most notably “Bill Cunningham Was There,” which Stolman co-authored with the iconic New York Times’ photographer collaborator, John Kurdewan. In addition, Stolman became a frequent speaker on all things stylish and a contributor to a variety of publications, most notably Town & Country, Elle Décor, and House Beautiful, as well as the Palm Beach Post, the Southampton Press, and the Desert Sun.

A graduate of New York’s Parsons School of Design, Stolman received the Pauline Trigère Gold Thimble Award and is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He is married to software executive Rich Wilkie and divides his time between homes in Chicago, Southampton, NY, and the California desert.

ABOUT SOUTHAMPTON ARTS CENTER:  

Southampton Arts Center is committed to community building through the arts. We present and produce inspiring, inclusive, socially and regionally relevant programs across all disciplines, welcoming and connecting with the diverse members of New York’s East End community and beyond. SAC is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. 

Evan Hammer and the Art of Letting Go

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

By: Alva Ree

Some artists spend their lives trying to control the outcome.

Evan Hammer spent years learning how to let go.

Known simply as “Hammer” to friends, the artist, musician, educator, and creative collaborator has built a body of work that challenges not only traditional artistic conventions but also the very idea of certainty. His paintings have no fixed direction. His creative process welcomes unpredictability. His performances often emerge through improvisation rather than planning.

For Hammer, art is not about finding answers.

It is about remaining open to possibilities.

“I make art because it can be anything,” he says. “There are no restrictions.”

That philosophy is visible the moment one encounters his work.

Many of Hammer’s recent pieces are created flat on a table, allowing him to move around them freely. There is no designated top or bottom, no prescribed way to experience the image. Some works are even signed with a symbol inspired by his initials rather than a traditional signature, allowing the canvas to be rotated without disrupting the composition.

The result is a fascinating invitation to the viewer.

Each rotation reveals a new narrative.

Each perspective uncovers something previously hidden.

Each observer becomes part of the creative process.

In many ways, this approach mirrors Hammer’s own journey.

Art has surrounded him for as long as he can remember. Creativity runs deep through his family history. His grandmother was artistic. His mother was an artist. His uncles were artists. Growing up, artistic expression felt less like a profession and more like a native language.

“My mother showed me that an artist doesn’t have to stay the same,” he recalls. “She constantly evolved.”

His father provided a different influence.

An architect by profession, he introduced structure, geometry, and precision into a household already overflowing with imagination. Between his mother’s free-spirited creativity and his father’s disciplined design principles, Hammer absorbed two seemingly opposite forces that would later define his own artistic voice.

As a child, he spent weekends immersed in arts-and-crafts festivals, watching creators transform ordinary materials into something meaningful. He learned early that art was not simply about producing an object. It was about creating experiences, provoking curiosity, and sharing perspectives.

That lesson stayed with him.

Yet like many artists, Hammer eventually faced a challenge that cannot be solved with talent alone.

Creative exhaustion.

For years, he worked as a high school art teacher, helping others discover their creative voices while quietly struggling to reconnect with his own. The passion that once drove him through museums across Europe with a sketchbook in his pocket seemed increasingly distant.

He had not stopped making art.

But somewhere along the way, he had stopped feeling inspired by it.

The breakthrough came from an unexpected place.

The ocean.

While some artists seek answers in galleries and studios, Hammer found himself traveling to surf destinations around the world. At first, it seemed like a departure from art altogether. Looking back now, he sees it differently.

“The ocean was teaching me lessons I needed to learn,” he says.

Those lessons extended beyond creativity.

They touched every aspect of his life.

A renewed focus on physical health, mindfulness, personal growth, and spiritual exploration gradually transformed his relationship with both himself and his work. Practices such as yoga, breathwork, fasting, sound healing, Reiki, and meditation became part of his daily rhythm.

Most importantly, he stopped measuring creativity through judgment.

He stopped worrying about whether the work was good enough.

He stopped chasing perfection.

And suddenly, the joy returned.

The experience fundamentally reshaped his understanding of artistic success.

For Hammer, creativity is no longer about proving something.

It is about presence.

About showing up.

About being fully engaged with the moment.

That perspective eventually led to one of his most exciting artistic developments: the creation of his “Printpaintings.”

Combining elements of printmaking, painting, collaboration, and spontaneous mark-making, these works blur the line between individual authorship and collective creation.

The process often begins with layers of textures, colors, and gestures that emerge organically through experimentation. What follows is not a predetermined plan but an ongoing conversation between materials, movement, intuition, and imagination.

The final works feel alive.

Energetic.

Unpredictable.

Like visual jazz.

This connection between visual art and music is no coincidence.

Music occupies an equally important place in Hammer’s creative universe.

Whether performing with Squid and the Wave Chasers, The Boot, or the experimental collective Funamungus, he approaches sound much like he approaches painting with curiosity and openness.

In Funamungus, performances are entirely improvised. A spinning “jam wheel” introduces unexpected prompts that guide musicians into unexplored territory. No two performances are ever alike.

The uncertainty is precisely the point.

Improvisation demands trust.

Trust in collaborators.

Trust in instincts.

Trust in the creative process itself.

Recently, that philosophy reached a new level during a live performance at Art Expo New York. Surrounded by his artwork, Hammer and fellow artists created an immersive experience where painting, music, movement, and audience energy interacted in real time.

Nothing was scripted.

Nothing was rehearsed.

Everything unfolded organically.

“It felt like something I’d been preparing for my entire life,” he reflects.

Throughout his evolving career, Hammer remains focused on something deeper than success.

Connection.

Whether through community art projects, collaborative performances, music festivals, teaching, or visual art, he seeks experiences that bring people together.

For more than fifteen years, he has helped shape the artistic identity of Bradstock, a long-running community music festival where artists and musicians volunteer their time in support of Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck. Each year, Hammer leads the creation of a unique stage environment, transforming the festival into an immersive celebration of creativity and community.

The project reflects a guiding principle that has become increasingly important throughout his career:

Art matters most when it serves something larger than ourselves.

Looking toward the future, Hammer continues expanding his creative world. His YouTube projects combine original visual art with music, creating multidimensional experiences that blur the boundaries between media. New collaborations, performances, and experimental works remain on the horizon.

Yet regardless of the medium, the message remains remarkably consistent.

Life becomes richer when we stop trying to control every outcome.

Creativity becomes more powerful when we release judgment.

And sometimes the most meaningful discoveries happen when we allow ourselves to move freely, just like one of Hammer’s paintings, without worrying about which direction is up.

Because the best stories are often the ones we never planned to tell.

From Neurology to Narrative: Mark Van Houten Turns Life’s Struggles into Fiction That Feels Strikingly Real

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

In Circles and Other Such Conundrums, retired neurologist, researcher, composer, and author Mark Van Houten explores the hidden strengths and weaknesses that shape ordinary people under extraordinary pressure.

A Storyteller Shaped by a Life in Medicine

For Mark Van Houten, storytelling did not begin at a writing desk. It began in the quiet, deeply human space between doctor and patient.

Long before he became the author of Circles and Other Such Conundrums, Van Houten spent decades as a community neurologist, listening to people describe not only symptoms, but fear, frustration, identity, hope, loss, and the difficult work of continuing to live when life no longer feels predictable.

In that space, he began to see what many systems often miss: a person is never just a diagnosis.

A patient’s illness, he came to understand, was not merely a medical problem. It was a story. It had a protagonist. It had conflict. It had pressure. It had choices. And, like every meaningful story, it had no guarantee of a simple or comfortable ending. That realization became the foundation for Van Houten’s fiction.

From Clinical Practice to Creative Fiction

Now retired from medical practice after 35 years as a community physician, Van Houten brings a rare perspective into Circles and Other Such Conundrums, a collection of fourteen short stories that move through psychological suspense, moral dilemma, speculative fiction, fantasy, dark humor, and deeply human drama.

The book resists easy categorization, and that is part of its appeal. Its stories may be fictional, but the emotional machinery inside them feels unmistakably recognizable.

Van Houten’s journey to literature is as layered as the characters he creates. He obtained his medical degree from McGill University Medical School in Montreal and built a career in neurology after earlier work in neuroscience research. He recalls being fascinated by personality and the workings of the mind, an interest that first led him toward research and later toward clinical medicine.

Along the way, his imagination became more than a private gift, it became a professional instrument.

In medicine, imagination helped him think beyond the chart. In fiction, it helps him think beyond the obvious.

Seeing Patients as Protagonists

Van Houten has said that traditional medical training often emphasized extracting symptoms to arrive at a diagnosis, while paying less attention to the way illness reshapes a patient’s dreams, relationships, confidence, and future.

His own approach grew more personal.

He wanted to know how people were coping, what they feared losing, and what strengths they might call upon when circumstances pressed hardest.

That same question drives Circles and Other Such Conundrums: What happens when ordinary people are forced to confront the truth about themselves?

Across the collection, Van Houten places his characters in situations that test their moral instincts, their weaknesses, their vanity, their compassion, and their capacity to adapt. A caregiver becomes trapped between duty and desperation.

A bullied young man discovers a mysterious path toward self-belief. A futuristic courtroom exposes the cold absurdity of rules stripped of humanity. A family inheritance dispute turns into a supernatural reckoning. A society dominated by robotic logic reveals the danger of efficiency without empathy.

Photo Courtesy: Robert Garcia

A Collection Built on Human Pressure Points

The result is a book that reads less like a simple short story collection and more like a gallery of human pressure points.

Each story asks readers to look closer: at ambition, resentment, loneliness, faith, love, cruelty, survival, and the fragile line between reason and madness.

The title itself, Circles and Other Such Conundrums, is fitting. Circles appear not only as symbols but as patterns of human behavior. People repeat mistakes. Families inherit conflicts.

Societies return to old struggles under new names. Lives move through beginnings and endings that often curve back into one another.

In Van Houten’s fictional world, the circle is not merely a shape. It is a question: Are we evolving, or are we simply returning to the same human mysteries again and again?

A Timely Warning About Technology Without Humanity

That question feels especially timely in an age increasingly shaped by technology and artificial intelligence.

Van Houten does not present himself as a technologist, but his stories show a sharp concern for what happens when human judgment is replaced by rigid systems. In his interview, he suggested that technology may assist with diagnosis or technical tasks, but it cannot replace the personal encounter that allows one human being to understand another’s hopes, fears, and struggles.

That belief gives the book a powerful contemporary edge.

At a time when many people worry about becoming data points, profiles, usernames, or categories, Van Houten writes stories that insist on the messiness of personhood. His characters are not polished heroes.

They are flawed, impulsive, frightened, imaginative, selfish, loving, and unpredictable. They make poor choices. They chase impossible visions. They misread the world. Sometimes they grow. Sometimes they collapse under the weight of themselves.

And that is precisely what makes them compelling.

The Creative Life Beyond Medicine

Van Houten’s creativity also extends beyond the page.

In retirement, he has continued composing music, another expression of the imaginative life that has followed him from science to medicine to fiction. He has described music as a source of richness and expression, much like storytelling.

Both require structure. Both require emotion. Both require timing. And both, in Van Houten’s hands, become ways of exploring the interior lives of people.

Photo Courtesy: Robert Garcia

The Human Message at the Heart of the Book

For all his intellectual curiosity, Van Houten’s deepest message is surprisingly simple.

Life, he believes, is shaped most meaningfully by relationships. Family, friends, and community are not accessories to a successful life, they are the substance of it.

Married for 50 years, a father and grandfather, he speaks about family with the same seriousness he brings to medicine and art.

That sense of human connection gives Circles and Other Such Conundrums its heart. The book may feature ghosts, robots, ancient tribes, futuristic societies, psychological spirals, and apocalyptic visions, but beneath all of it is a physician’s lifelong attention to people under stress.

Van Houten knows that the most revealing moments often arrive when control slips away. In those moments, character is exposed.

Why Readers Will Connect with This Book

That is the unique value of this collection.

It entertains, but it also invites reflection. It asks readers to consider their own strengths and weaknesses, the choices they make under pressure, and the stories they are writing with their lives.

The cover copy offers a fitting warning that states, “Do not let the label of “fiction” mislead you. The characters may be imagined, but the dilemmas feel familiar.

Readers may find themselves rooting for them, recoiling from them, laughing at them, or recognizing uncomfortable fragments of themselves within them.

A Second Act with Purpose

In Circles and Other Such Conundrums, Mark Van Houten proves that a second act can be more than reinvention. It can be a revelation.

After a career spent listening to the stories hidden inside medical struggle, he now offers readers a collection that turns human complexity into imaginative, provocative, and memorable fiction.

And in doing so, he reminds us that every life is a story under pressure and every story, no matter how strange, circles back to what it means to be human.

Patrick N. Turner Announces Poetry Collection A Poetic Life

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

This New Poetry Collection Explores Life, Love, Emotional Change, And Shared Human Experience.

Wichita, Kansas — Patrick N. Turner has announced A Poetic Life: Life in Rhythm and Rhyme as Seen Through My Eyes, Heart and Soul, a poetry collection centered on the experiences, emotions, and questions that shape everyday life.

The collection brings together poems about the ups and downs of living, the unexpected turns people face, and the role love can play in helping readers move through difficult and meaningful moments. Written from Turner’s personal perspective, the book explores subjects such as family, self-respect, work, grief, faith, relationships, time, and personal reflection.

Turner presents poetry as a way of observing life closely. In the opening pages, he describes poetry as something found in life, love, speech, motion, and the world around us. That view carries throughout the collection, giving readers a direct and accessible look at ordinary moments, emotional struggle, and human connection.

“This book is from my perspective,” said Patrick N. Turner. “It comes from a simple frame of mind, and the main idea is that love is what everybody needs the most.”

The book invites readers to pause, reflect, and recognize pieces of their own lives within Turner’s words. Through honest and relatable poetry, it speaks to moments of joy, pain, growth, uncertainty, and hope while offering a sense of comfort and understanding.

A Poetic Life: Life in Rhythm and Rhyme as Seen Through My Eyes, Heart and Soul is now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover formats. The book offers readers a heartfelt reminder that life’s experiences, whether simple or difficult, can become meaningful when viewed through the lens of love, reflection, and shared humanity.

About the Author

Patrick N. Turner is an author and poet whose work reflects everyday life, family, love, loss, faith, and personal perspective. His writing focuses on the emotions and observations that connect people across different stages of life.

Author Name: Patrick N. Turner Book Title: A Poetic Life: Life in Rhythm and Rhyme Coming Soon Published by: Author Path Publishers

Media Contact:
Patrick N. Turner
info@authorpathpublishers.com

Why More Business Owners Are Turning to Heroic Funding Instead of Traditional Banks

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

The modern business landscape has outpaced many of the systems designed to support it. Nowhere is this more evident than in the way companies access capital. Traditional banks, long considered the primary source of funding, are increasingly being supplemented or replaced by alternative solutions.

This shift is not driven by preference alone. It is driven by practicality.

For decades, banks have operated within a framework defined by strict requirements, extended approval timelines, and conservative underwriting. While this model provides structure, it often lacks the flexibility required by small and mid-sized businesses operating in fast-moving industries. Waiting weeks for a decision is rarely aligned with the realities of running a business.

Business owners today are often required to make decisions quickly. Opportunities emerge unexpectedly, operational challenges arise without warning, and market conditions can shift in a matter of days. In many cases, the ability to access capital at the right time can determine whether a business can capitalize on an opportunity or overcome a temporary obstacle.

As a result, many business owners are seeking funding solutions that reflect the pace of their operations. The demand is clear. Capital must be accessible, responsive, and aligned with real-time needs.

Heroic Funding has emerged within this evolving landscape as a direct response to these demands. The company offers a streamlined path to business funding, allowing owners to secure capital quickly without the constraints typically associated with traditional institutions.

At the core of this approach is simplicity. The application process is designed to be efficient and accessible, removing unnecessary barriers while maintaining a clear structure. Decisions are made quickly, enabling businesses to move forward without prolonged uncertainty.

For many business owners, a faster process offers more than convenience. It is a necessity. Time spent navigating lengthy paperwork, gathering extensive documentation, and waiting for multiple layers of approval is time taken away from running the business itself. By reducing friction throughout the process, alternative funding providers help entrepreneurs focus their attention on serving customers, managing operations, and driving growth.

Flexibility is another defining factor. Unlike rigid funding structures often tied to long-term commitments, Heroic Funding provides capital that can be used for a range of operational needs. Whether it is managing short-term cash flow, covering unexpected expenses, or capitalizing on growth opportunities, the funding is designed to support real business scenarios.

Rather than being tied to a single purpose, flexible funding allows business owners to allocate capital where it can create the greatest impact. Financial priorities often change as businesses grow, and access to unrestricted funds enables owners to respond to needs without being constrained by rigid lending structures. This level of versatility can provide greater confidence when planning for both immediate demands and long-term objectives.

This adaptability has made the model particularly relevant across industries such as restaurants, construction, and manufacturing, where financial needs can shift rapidly. In these sectors, the ability to respond quickly often determines success.

The broader trend reflects a redefinition of what business funding should look like. It is no longer solely about access. It is about alignment with how businesses actually operate.

Heroic Funding represents this shift. By focusing on speed, accessibility, and practical application, the company has positioned itself as a preferred option for business owners navigating an increasingly dynamic environment.

Today’s business owners increasingly expect financial solutions to match the speed and agility of the modern economy. As digital tools continue to transform operations across industries, expectations surrounding funding have evolved as well. Businesses are looking for providers who can keep pace with them and offer clarity, accessibility, and responsiveness throughout the funding process.

As the gap between traditional systems and modern business needs continues to widen, alternative funding models are not simply gaining traction. They are becoming essential.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial advice, nor does it replace professional financial advice, investment advice, or any other type of advice. You should seek the advice of a qualified financial advisor or other professional before making any financial decisions.

Jean Shafiroff Hosts a Hamptons Magazine Cover Party at Her Southampton Home for U.S. Open Golfer Cameron Young

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

Philanthropist and author Jean Shafiroff welcomed guests to her home for a reception celebrating golfer Cameron Young’s Hamptons Magazine cover

Jean Shafiroff, philanthropist, author, television host, hosted a private cocktail reception at her Southampton home in honor of professional golfer Cameron Young, who competed in the U.S. Open golf tournament held at Shinnecock Hills and appears as a cover star for Modern Luxury Hamptons.

Jean Shafiroff welcomed guests from the worlds of philanthropy, media, fashion, sports and summer society for an elegant evening celebrating golf’s return to the East End spotlight. With the U.S. Open drawing national attention to Southampton, the gathering offered a timely social moment around one of the more closely watched players in the sport. The reception was presented with support from Peter Millar, BAT and Compass Sports & Entertainment.

Notable attendees included: Jean Shafiroff, Cameron Young, Pedro Falabella, Lynn Scotti, and Scott Mahoney.

About Jean Shafiroff:

Jean Shafiroff is a philanthropist, humanitarian, TV host, writer, and the author of the book “Successful Philanthropy: How to Make a Life By What You Give”. Jean works extensively as a volunteer fundraiser and leader in the philanthropic world. She serves on the boards of 9 charitable organizations and each year chairs upwards of eight to ten different charity galas. She also hosts and underwrites many large parties in her homes for different non-profits. Among the many causes she champions are those involved in women’s rights, rights of underserved populations, health care, and animal welfare. In addition to hosting her own TV show, entitled Successful Philanthropy, Jean Shafiroff often appears on TV shows, podcasts and then in the press about her fashion and philanthropy. She is an international leader who strives to motivate people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in the philanthropic process.

Jean Shafiroff serves on the boards of the French Heritage Society, Southampton Hospital Foundation, NYC Mission Society, Couture Council of the Museum at FIT, New York Women’s Foundation, Casita Maria, Global Strays, and Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation Honorary Board. In addition, she is a member of the Advisory Board of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. A Catholic, Jean served on the board of the Jewish Board for 28 years and now is one of their honorary trustees. Jean Shafiroff has been honored numerous times by a variety of charitable organizations for her work and is regarded as being among the leading ladies of philanthropy.

For more information, please visit www.jeanshafiroff.com

IG: @JeanShafiroff @JeanShafiroffAtWork | FB: Jean-Shafiroff-Style-Philanthropy | X/T: @JeanShafiroff

About Cameron Young:

Cameron Young is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and one of the most closely watched players in the sport. Born in Scarborough, New York, and a graduate of Wake Forest University, Young turned professional in 2019, earned promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour and was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 2021-22 season. Known for his powerful game and calm competitive presence, Young has posted major championship contention, including a runner-up finish at the 2022 Open Championship.

This Telemedicine Startup Built for India’s Worst Networks Is Now Taking On a Major Gap in American Healthcare

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

The conventional path for a health tech startup entering the American market begins in San Francisco or New York, targets urban professionals with good insurance and fast internet, and positions telemedicine as a convenience upgrade over an existing system that already works for its users. The visit is faster. The copay is lower. The experience is more modern. The value proposition is incremental.

SeeDoc took the opposite approach. The company was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs with a track record of building successful technology companies in the United States and India, and they chose to build telemedicine infrastructure for the patients that every other platform ignored: people in areas with poor connectivity, limited specialist access, and hours-long journeys to the nearest clinic. The platform was engineered from scratch for the realities of emerging market healthcare, where a video consultation might need to function on a 2G connection in a village three hours from the nearest hospital.

That engineering decision, building for the worst case rather than the best case, produced a technology stack that works everywhere. HD video that adapts dynamically to bandwidth. AI-assisted diagnosis that helps physicians reach accurate conclusions faster. An architecture designed to deliver clinical quality consultations under conditions that would cause most telemedicine platforms to buffer, freeze, and disconnect.

The company scaled to 600,000 registered patients and over 500 daily consultations. Then it looked at the American market and recognized something that most US-based health tech companies have been slow to acknowledge: roughly 80 million Americans live in areas designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas, and their access challenges are structurally identical to the ones seeDoc was built to solve.

Cambridge as the US Beachhead

SeeDoc established its US headquarters at 245 Main Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, placing itself at the center of the biotech and health tech corridor that runs between Kendall Square, the Harvard Medical School ecosystem, and the concentration of digital health companies that have made Boston the most active health tech hub on the East Coast.

The location is strategic. Cambridge provides access to the clinical partnerships, regulatory expertise, and research infrastructure that a telemedicine platform needs to scale credibly in the American market. But the patients seeDoc is targeting are not in Cambridge. They are in the communities where the nearest specialist is a four-hour drive, where a dermatologist has a three-month wait list, and where a mental health provider simply does not exist within a reasonable radius.

The platform’s service model is designed for these patients. Board-certified doctors across 50-plus specialties are available 24/7 via HD video consultation on any device. A free doctor Q&A service allows patients to ask health questions without scheduling an appointment. Medicine delivery operates through pharmacy partnerships with zero markup on prescriptions. Lab tests are processed through Quest Diagnostics at cost, with no intermediary margin.

The zero margin policy on medicines and lab tests is worth noting because it is unusual in American telemedicine. Most platforms generate significant revenue from prescription fulfillment and diagnostic services. SeeDoc’s transparency model eliminates that revenue stream entirely, charging only for the consultation itself and passing through medicines and lab work at the actual cost. The company publishes a transparency calculator that allows patients to see exactly what they will pay before they book.

The Technology Advantage Nobody Expected

The technical infrastructure that seeDoc built for emerging markets has turned out to be a significant competitive advantage in the United States, for a reason that most American health tech companies did not anticipate: the American internet is not as good as American health tech companies assume it is.

Rural broadband in the United States remains unreliable across vast portions of the country. The FCC’s broadband maps have been repeatedly challenged for overstating coverage. And even in areas with nominal broadband access, actual connection quality during peak hours, in multi-device households, or in facilities with aging infrastructure frequently falls below the threshold required for stable video conferencing.

Most US telemedicine platforms were built for urban fiber connections. When the connection degrades, the consultation degrades with it. Frozen screens. Dropped audio. Disconnected sessions that require rebooking. For a patient who waited three weeks for a specialist appointment and is using their lunch break to take the call, a failed connection is not a technical inconvenience. It is a barrier to care.

SeeDoc’s HD video consultation technology was engineered to avoid this failure entirely. The platform’s adaptive streaming adjusts video quality dynamically based on available bandwidth, maintaining consultation continuity at connection speeds that would crash conventional video platforms. The technology was built for a village in rural India. It works just as well in a small town in rural Mississippi, which is exactly the point.

What the US Market Looks Like from the Outside

There is an irony in seeDoc’s entry into the American market that is worth acknowledging. The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world. It has more medical specialists per capita than most developed nations. And yet the distribution of those resources is so geographically uneven that tens of millions of Americans experience healthcare access conditions comparable to those in developing countries.

A patient in Boston can see a dermatologist within a week. A patient in rural West Virginia may wait three months or drive two hours to the nearest provider. A patient in Manhattan can access a psychiatrist within days. A patient in a small town in the Texas panhandle may have no access to mental health services within their county.

SeeDoc’s AI assisted diagnosis platform addresses the specialist scarcity problem directly. The system supports physicians during consultations by surfacing relevant clinical considerations based on the patient’s symptoms, history, and demographic profile, helping generalist physicians deliver specialist-informed care in settings where the specialist is not physically available.

This is the same approach the company used in India, where specialist scarcity is measured not in weeks of wait time but in the complete absence of certain specialties from entire regions. The American version of the problem is less extreme but structurally identical: the specialists exist, they are just not where the patients are.

What Comes Next

SeeDoc’s US expansion is not a pivot. It is an extension. The company built technology and operational infrastructure for the most challenging healthcare delivery conditions in the world and discovered that the American market contains millions of patients living under remarkably similar conditions. The Cambridge headquarters provides the institutional and regulatory foundation. The technology provides the delivery mechanism. The zero margin transparency model provides the trust architecture.

The telemedicine market in the United States is projected to exceed $80 billion by 2030. Most of that growth will come from platforms serving urban and suburban populations with good insurance and fast internet. The growth that matters more, both commercially and in terms of health outcomes, will come from the platforms that can serve the patients the rest of the market cannot reach.

SeeDoc was built for exactly those patients. It was just built for them on the other side of the world first.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical, legal, financial, or professional advice. Any healthcare-related information discussed should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a qualified medical professional. Readers should speak with a licensed healthcare provider regarding any medical concerns, diagnosis, treatment, prescription, lab testing, or telemedicine service. References to companies, services, technologies, or market opportunities are based on publicly available or provided information and do not constitute endorsement, guarantee of results, or verification of clinical outcomes.

How India Clark Turned Life’s Hard Seasons Into Her Purpose

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

By: Philomena Moncoeur, Simply Success Group

Missouri-rooted entrepreneur India Clark is taking her message of resilience, reinvention, and sisterhood all the way to the national stage.

Some people talk about reinvention. India Clark lived it.

The entrepreneur, mentor, and Ms. Corporate America Missouri titleholder didn’t arrive at her purpose by following a neat, predictable path. She found it the way most of us do: through hard seasons, quiet breakthroughs, and the gradual realization that everything she had been through was actually preparing her for everything she was meant to do.

And now, she’s bringing that message to the national stage.

“Missouri is where I learned the values that continue to guide my life today,” Clark shares warmly. “It’s where my grandparents taught me the importance of hard work, integrity, and service. It’s where I first learned how to overcome adversity and where I started dreaming about the woman I wanted to become.”

Those roots run deep. No matter where life has taken her, Missouri has remained the compass that keeps her grounded. Representing her home state at the national Ms. Corporate America competition feels less like a career milestone and more like a homecoming she always knew was coming.

Photo Courtesy: India Clark

A Season That Changed Everything

Before returning to Missouri, Clark spent a transformative chapter of her life in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, one that would quietly reshape who she was becoming.

On paper, the highlights were impressive. She made her largest real estate investment and walked away with a six-figure profit. She competed in Ms. Corporate America Maryland, earning First Runner-Up honors and the prestigious Media Award. By most measures, it was a season of wins.

However, behind these achievements was a woman raising her daughters, niece, and nephew, managing a household, building a business, and quietly carrying the kinds of responsibilities that rarely make it onto a résumé. It was demanding, beautiful, and deeply instructive.

“Those years changed me,” she says. “They taught me how to lead with compassion, make difficult decisions, and balance the demands of family, business, and personal growth.”

But ask Clark what she treasures most about those years, and the answer has nothing to do with money or trophies.

It was also the season that gave her a gift more valuable than any trophy: clarity about what she actually wanted to build with her life.

Photo Courtesy: India Clark

You Don’t Have to Do Life Alone

That clarity became a calling, and at the heart of it is an idea that Clark says changed everything for her: building a personal board of advisors.

Rather than grinding through life’s challenges alone, she made a deliberate choice to surround herself with people who could help her grow in every dimension. A boxing coach who built her discipline and physical resilience. A financial advisor who helped her think strategically about wealth. A therapist who supported her emotional health and inner life.

Together, they formed a circle of guidance that helped her navigate some of her most pivotal seasons.

It sounds simple. And yet for so many women, who are conditioned to handle everything themselves, to appear capable at all times, to never ask for too much, it’s quietly revolutionary.

“I want women to understand that they don’t have to do life alone,” Clark says. “We all need trusted professionals and mentors who can help us grow mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and professionally. Building your own board of advisors can change everything.”

This is the message she carries into every speaking engagement, every mentorship conversation, every moment she has a platform. Not the pressure to “have it all,” but the permission to build something real with the right people beside you.

Leading With Legacy in Mind

As she steps onto the national stage, Clark isn’t just focused on winning a crown. She’s focused on what the platform makes possible.

“This journey has never been about a single competition,” she explains. “It’s about creating a platform that empowers women to recognize their own potential and pursue their goals without limitations.”

The values she returns to again and again, perseverance, humility, wisdom, vulnerability, and authentic service, aren’t just words on a vision board. They are the through-line of her entire story, from a Missouri childhood shaped by her grandparents’ example to a national stage that now awaits her next chapter.

And when she thinks about the legacy she wants to leave behind, it has nothing to do with accolades.

“My legacy won’t be defined by titles,” she says with conviction. “It will be defined by how many lives I impact, how many women I inspire to keep going, and how many doors I help open for others.”

What makes India Clark’s story so compelling is that nothing was wasted. The setbacks, the hard seasons, the moments of uncertainty all had a purpose, quietly shaping a woman with the authority and the heart to look others in the eye and say, “You can do this. And you don’t have to do it alone.”

Sometimes the greatest act of strength isn’t pushing through on your own. It’s having the courage to ask for support, embrace growth, and keep moving forward anyway, trusting that your greatest struggles were always preparing you for your greatest purpose.

To learn more about India Clark and connect with her work, visitIndiaClarkOfficial.com.

Suraj Puthane Built VANTYS AI to Give Business Owners the Operational Visibility They Rarely Get in Time

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

In many multi-location businesses, the biggest threats to profitability are not always dramatic. They are often quiet, recurring, and easy to miss until the financial damage is already done. Leakage, operational drift, hidden inefficiencies, and small errors across locations can steadily reduce margins while leadership remains unaware of how much is being lost.

That problem sits at the center of VANTYS AI, the Dubai-based operational intelligence company founded by Suraj Puthane.

Puthane, who has spent more than two decades building and operating businesses across India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, created VANTYS AI around a simple but important insight: in many businesses, the owner is often the last person to know when something is going wrong. Information gets filtered, softened by reporting layers, or buried in dashboards that require time most founders and business owners do not have.

VANTYS AI was built to change that.

An AI Platform Designed for Owners

VANTYS AI positions itself as an owner-first operational intelligence platform built specifically for direct owners of multi-location businesses in the UAE and GCC. Rather than functioning as another analytics dashboard or reporting tool for internal teams, the platform is designed to independently monitor operations, detect early signs of drift, and deliver those insights directly to the owner in plain language.

That distinction matters.

Most business intelligence systems are created with management workflows in mind. They assume someone inside the business will monitor reports, analyze patterns, and decide what information should move upward. But in practice, owners of growing businesses often do not have the time to spend hours inside dashboards or chase multiple teams for clarity. By the time a problem reaches them, it may already have affected revenue, margins, or customer experience.

VANTYS AI takes a different approach by placing the owner at the center of the intelligence flow rather than at the end of it.

The Experience Behind the Business

Suraj Puthane did not arrive at this problem as a software founder looking for a market opportunity from the outside. His background is rooted in operating businesses across multiple sectors, including commodity trading, restaurant operations, and agriculture. Over the years, he saw the same operational pattern repeat itself in different forms and in different countries.

As businesses grow, owners often become increasingly dependent on internal reporting structures. On paper, that sounds efficient. In reality, it can create a dangerous blind spot. When the business is spread across multiple locations, every small issue, whether related to waste, underperformance, process failure, or internal leakage, can become harder to detect. Teams may not escalate problems quickly. Reports may not capture the full picture. The result is that the person carrying the most financial risk is often the least informed in real time.

That operational gap is what VANTYS AI was built to address.

What VANTYS AI Actually Does

At its core, VANTYS AI is designed to act as an independent operational signal layer for business owners. The platform monitors operational patterns, looks for signs of drift or hidden loss, and sends a clear intelligence report directly to the owner.

The emphasis is not on producing more data. It is on delivering the right signal, at the right time, to the person who actually needs to act on it.

That owner-focused design also means the platform is intentionally lightweight from the user’s perspective. It is not built around daily logins, complicated visualizations, or constant manual oversight. Instead, it is designed to work quietly in the background and surface only the information that matters.

For owners managing multiple sites, brands, or business units, that simplicity may be one of its strongest advantages.

Why the Restaurant and Hospitality Sector Is the First Focus

VANTYS AI’s initial focus is on restaurants and hospitality businesses across the UAE and GCC, a sector where even small inefficiencies can quickly compound into serious profit erosion.

Food and beverage businesses often operate with tight margins, high inventory sensitivity, variable labor demands, and complex day-to-day execution across multiple locations. A small amount of unnoticed waste, fraud, poor process control, or operational inconsistency can translate into substantial annual loss.

That is one reason the hospitality sector makes sense as an early entry point for the company. It is an industry where owners often have strong intuition about what is happening, but limited direct visibility into how much leakage may be occurring across locations at any given time.

VANTYS AI aims to provide that visibility in a way that is practical rather than overwhelming.

A Broader Vision Beyond Restaurants

While hospitality is the company’s starting point, VANTYS AI is not being built as a restaurant-only platform. Its longer-term expansion roadmap includes sectors such as construction and logistics, where operational complexity and distributed teams create similar visibility challenges for owners.

That broader positioning reflects one of the company’s core ideas: the underlying problem is not industry-specific. Whether the business is a restaurant group, a construction company, or a logistics operation, owners of multi-location businesses often face the same structural issue. Critical operational information gets delayed, diluted, or trapped inside systems that were never designed for owner-level decision-making.

By focusing on the operating model rather than just the industry label, VANTYS AI is attempting to build a category that can scale across multiple sectors.

A Different Kind of Business Intelligence

What makes VANTYS AI stand out is not simply its use of AI. Many platforms do. The more interesting question is how it applies intelligence and where that intelligence sits inside the business.

VANTYS is not trying to replace ERP systems, POS platforms, financial tools, or internal reporting dashboards. Instead, it is designed to sit alongside the existing business stack and serve as an independent operational observer on the owner’s behalf.

That positioning changes the role the platform plays.

Rather than serving as a management tool, it functions more like a signal engine, one that looks across operations for signs of friction, leakage, or underperformance and then communicates those findings without requiring the owner to manually piece together the story from multiple systems.

In practical terms, it is less about giving owners more information and more about giving them clearer information sooner.

Why This Model Could Matter in the UAE and GCC

The UAE and wider GCC region offer a particularly strong context for a platform like VANTYS AI. Across the region, there is a large concentration of founder-led businesses, family-owned groups, and multi-location operators managing rapid growth across hospitality, retail, logistics, and services.

As these businesses scale, operational complexity grows with them. The challenge is no longer just how to grow revenue. It becomes about maintaining visibility, discipline, and margin protection across multiple sites without forcing the owner to become a full-time dashboard analyst.

That is where VANTYS AI is trying to create its relevance. It is not selling more software complexity to already-busy founders. It is offering a simpler promise: independent operational visibility without the reporting burden.

Suraj Puthane’s Founder Perspective

One of the company’s biggest advantages may be its founder’s perspective. Suraj Puthane understands the problem as an operator, not only as a technologist. He has experienced what it feels like to be responsible for a business while knowing that not every important signal reaches the top in time.

That background gives the company a sharper understanding of what business owners actually care about. They do not necessarily want another tool to manage. They want clarity, early warning, and confidence that they are not losing money in places no one is talking about.

VANTYS AI is being built around that reality.

Building a New Category Around Owner Intelligence

Business software has traditionally focused on functions such as finance, inventory, payroll, operations, reporting, and customer management. VANTYS AI is trying to define something different, a category centered on owner intelligence.

That means the platform’s value is not just in what it can measure, but in what it can reveal before the cost becomes irreversible. It is designed for the founder, operator, or direct business owner who wants to stay close to the truth of the business without spending every day buried in internal systems.

In that sense, VANTYS AI is not just another dashboard alternative. It is a rethinking of how operational visibility should work for the people carrying the greatest responsibility.

As more multi-location businesses across the UAE and the GCC look for ways to protect margins and detect hidden losses earlier, VANTYS AI may find itself in an increasingly important category. And at the center of that shift is Suraj Puthane’s core belief that the owner should never be the last person to know.

Owners deserve to know first.

For many business owners, that may be exactly the point.

Readers interested in VANTYS AI can explore the platform at www.vantys.ae and follow Suraj Puthane on LinkedIn.

1 in 345 Children Have Cerebral Palsy. How Often Is It Linked to Birth Injuries?

NY Weekly Staff on June 24, 2026

During childbirth, parents expect the proper procedures to be followed to ensure that a baby can be delivered safely. When something goes wrong during labor and delivery, and a child is later diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a family may be left facing a lifetime of questions, challenges, and expenses. Cerebral palsy is often linked to birth injuries, and those injuries may occur because of preventable medical errors.

Understanding the connection between birth complications and cerebral palsy is an important first step that families can take as they pursue justice for the harm that has occurred and ensure that they will have the resources needed to provide for a child’s needs. An attorney with experience handling medical malpractice claims involving birth injuries and cerebral palsy can provide significant help for families in these situations. They can gather and analyze evidence, work with medical professionals to build a strong case for compensation, and provide compassionate representation throughout every stage of the legal process.

What Is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that can affect issues such as movement, muscle control, coordination, and posture. It is usually caused by damage to a child’s developing brain, and in many cases, this damage occurs before, during, or shortly after birth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that cerebral palsy is the most common disability that affects motor functions in children, and around 1 out of every 345 children in the United States has been diagnosed with this condition.

The effects of cerebral palsy will continue to impact a person throughout their entire life. There is no cure, but with ongoing medical care, therapy, and support, many people with cerebral palsy can lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. However, the care required can be expensive, and the costs will continue to affect a family for decades, making it crucial to address medical malpractice that led to cerebral palsy.

How Birth Injuries Can Cause Cerebral Palsy

Many cerebral palsy cases are directly linked to birth injuries. When complications occur during labor and delivery, the damage caused can lead to developmental disorders, ongoing health issues, and disabilities.

A baby’s brain is extremely sensitive during the birth process. Even a brief disruption in oxygen supply or blood flow can cause permanent damage to brain tissue. Some of the issues that may lead to brain damage and cerebral palsy include:

Oxygen Deprivation

During labor and delivery, an infant’s brain may be deprived of oxygen. This can lead to a condition called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which may cause a chain reaction in the brain that can damage a large amount of tissue. Oxygen deprivation and HIE can occur because of:

• Umbilical Cord Complications: Compression, knotting, or other issues that affect the flow of blood through the umbilical cord can cut off the oxygen supply to the baby.

• Placental Abruption: When the placenta separates from the uterus during labor, it may no longer be able to transmit oxygen to the baby. The failure to recognize this condition can put a child’s health and life at risk.

• Prolonged Labor: An unusually long or difficult labor can place stress on a baby, limiting the flow of oxygen. In some cases, the use of drugs to induce labor may lead to strong contractions or other issues that may cause fetal distress and oxygen deprivation.

• Failure to Perform a Timely Cesarean Section: When an infant experiences fetal distress, but medical staff delay or fail to perform an emergency C-section, oxygen deprivation can result in serious brain damage.

Premature Birth Complications

When a child is born prematurely, the risks of brain injuries will increase significantly. Premature infants are vulnerable to conditions that may cause bleeding in or around the brain. This bleeding can damage brain tissue and lead to cerebral palsy. Medical staff must closely monitor premature infants and act quickly when complications arise to prevent these types of injuries.

Trauma During Delivery

Excessive physical force during a difficult delivery can cause damage to an infant’s brain. The improper use of delivery tools such as forceps or vacuum extractors may lead to skull fractures, bleeding in the brain, and nerve damage, which may lead to cerebral palsy.

Infections

An infant may contract infectious diseases during pregnancy or delivery. These infections may be transmitted from the mother to the child, or an infection may occur because of unsanitary conditions in a delivery room. When infections are not treated correctly, they can cause inflammation in the brain or other issues that may disrupt the flow of blood and oxygen throughout a newborn’s body. Cerebral palsy may be the result of an infection that was not recognized or addressed quickly after delivery.

How Cerebral Palsy Can Affect a Child’s Life

Cerebral palsy may have different effects for every child, and the extent of developmental disorders and disabilities will depend on the location and extent of brain damage. Some children may experience mild motor difficulties, while others may face physical and cognitive challenges that can affect them throughout their lives. Different types of cerebral palsy include:

• Spastic Cerebral Palsy: The most common form of cerebral palsy can lead to stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes that can make physical movements difficult.

• Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy: This form of cerebral palsy may cause involuntary, uncontrolled movements of the hands, arms, feet, and legs.

• Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: This type of cerebral palsy can affect balance and coordination, making tasks like walking or reaching for objects difficult.

• Mixed Cerebral Palsy: A child may experience a combination of two or more types of cerebral palsy.

Children with cerebral palsy may also experience ongoing physical and mental health issues, including:

• Intellectual disabilities

• Seizure disorders

• Speech and communication difficulties

• Vision and hearing impairments

• Difficulty eating and swallowing

• Chronic pain

• Behavioral and emotional challenges

A Lifetime of Care and Treatment

The costs of providing care for a child with cerebral palsy can add up to millions of dollars throughout their lifetime. The forms of treatment that may be needed include:

Ongoing Therapy

Physical therapy can help a child improve their motor skills, strength, and mobility. Occupational therapy can help them develop the skills needed during their daily life, such as dressing, eating, and grooming. Speech-language therapy may address communication challenges. Multiple therapy sessions may be needed each week, and ongoing therapy may last for years.

Medical Care and Surgeries

Some children with cerebral palsy may receive surgeries that can address muscle tightness, joint problems, or bone deformities. Different medications may be used to address muscle stiffness, pain, and other ongoing issues. Complications related to cerebral palsy may need to be treated as they arise.

Assistive Technology and Equipment

Many people with cerebral palsy rely on wheelchairs, walkers, braces, and other devices to help them move around and complete daily tasks. Technological solutions may be available to help a person communicate or meet other needs. These tools can be expensive, and regular replacements may be needed as a child grows or as new technologies become available.

The Importance of Legal Representation in Birth Injury Cases

When a birth injury has led to cerebral palsy, a family will need to make sure the right steps are taken to address the harm that has been done, hold the responsible parties accountable, and recover compensation for their damages. A successful birth injury claim can provide a family with financial resources that will address the costs of medical care, equipment, lost earning potential, and other losses.

Birth injury cases can be complex. They will require a thorough understanding of obstetric medicine, the medical standards of care during labor and delivery, and technical evidence that may be used to show that an injury was caused by negligence. An attorney with experience handling birth injury cases can conduct a detailed review of medical records, consult with qualified medical professionals, and work to establish a clear link between medical negligence during childbirth and the harm suffered by the child.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical or legal advice. Cerebral palsy, birth injuries, and medical malpractice claims involve complex medical and legal issues that depend on the specific facts of each case. Families with concerns about a child’s diagnosis, birth-related complications, or possible medical negligence should consult qualified medical professionals and an experienced attorney for guidance based on their individual circumstances. No outcome or compensation is guaranteed.

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