Another season, another batch of super-interesting and inspiring group of potential friends. Read on to meet someone new from the HudCo community. (Artwork above by artist Daniel Davidson, who paints common—and often oddly awkward—sayings you may hear in your workday onto vintage button-down office-y shirts.)
Rana Amirtahmasebi
Resides in: Dobbs Ferry
Profession: I am an urban planning and economic development strategist. I work with cities within the US and around the world. (company: Eparque)
Favorite local business: I don’t even know where to begin! Climbing Wolf is the only beer store in the county that carries my favorite beer (Back Home Beer). We love the Mexican deli Los Ferchos on Main Street and its amazing tacos. Bloomy is such a delightful place to shop at. Nancy from Smiley Face Deli is a kind soul who lets anyone use her bathroom with a smile. I can go on and on. Dobbs rocks!
What are you listening to? These days I am listening to the White Lotus soundtrack on repeat! I also recently discovered this book called A Literate Passion which is a collection of letters between Henry Miller and Anais Nin from the 1930s to 50s. It is beautiful, uplifting, and sad at times. I read one or two letters everyday!
Fun fact about yourself: I am also a ceramicist and a printmaker! You can see my work on Instagram: @ceramicsbyrana
Gemma Clarke
Resides in: Bronxville
Profession & Company: Writer. Former sports journalist and author of SoccerWomen, currently writing fiction.
Favorite local business: Bacione fresh pasta in Bronxville. They opened a few weeks ago and I’m obsessed. The pasta and sauces are phenomenal, genuinely as good as you’d eat in Italy.
Favorite tip for staying focused: Delete social media! Don’t waste your intellect or creativity on something ephemeral that lines the pockets of billionaires.
Fun fact: My husband is playing William Shakespeare in ‘& Juliet’ on Broadway.
Larry Lieberman
Resides in: Dobbs Ferry
Profession & company: CEO, mouse.org, a leader in computer science education for K-12 students in communities historically underrepresented in tech. Spent most of my career in media and music, working for Tina Turner, MTV, Comedy Central, and several tech start-ups. Entered the nonprofit sector as COO of Charity Navigator. These days, my work priorities are Caveat (our comedy club on the Lower East Side); the JED Foundation supporting mental health and preventing suicide among young adults; and the incredible education work being done by Mouse. Website | LinkedIn
Favorite local business:Shoutout to Readers Hardware! Owning a home is a partnership with your local hardware store. Readers has kindly and graciously saved my ass plenty over the years.
What excites you most about HudCo: I’m excited to join HudCo and re-connect with the Rivertowns creative and professional community! Commuting every day had some benefits. We met on the platform and shared our stories. Then we abruptly stayed at home. Now, I don’t want to be home and I also don’t want to drag my butt into Manhattan every day. I’m here to help the community however I can. My wife and I have lived here a long time. Our kids are proud grads of the Dobbs Ferry schools who now live on the Upper West Side and Hawaii. I’m looking forward to coming back home to Dobbs.
Fun fact: I still drive the car I drove in college. The yellow Mustang in the parking lot is probably mine (please be kind when parking next to me).
Courtnay Moriarty
Resides in: I’ve lived in Yonkers for the past nine years or so!
Profession & company: I’m a Senior Digital Rights Manager at Pex. I specialize in helping music rightsholders like record labels and distributors with managing copyright usage online in user-generated content. I’ve been in the independent music sector since 2015.
Favorite local business: I adore Harper’s. The backyard seating feels very lush and the food and cocktails are great.
What excites you most about HudCo? What excites me most about HudCo (besides getting out of the house and working without my baby crawling over me) is the opportunity to meet local people! I’ve lived in Westchester for a while, but most of my friends, acquaintances, and coworkers are in the city. Would love to be able to have some pals around here.
Fun fact: Two couples who met at my wedding are either married now or getting married soon. I’m very smug about it. It’s also two cases of my friends marrying my husband’s friends which just makes my little Gemini moon dance around with glee. (I also love astrology.)