The Shadelands Scene
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COMMITTED TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN WOMEN'S LIVES
Ob-Gyn Specialists, a division of BASS Medical Group, is a team of women doctors, nurses, and staff who provide advanced and compassionate healthcare for their patients. Previously located on Ygnacio Valley Road, the practice moved to 2637 Shadelands Drive, in the BASS building, Entrance F, in June 2020.
 
Dr. Nicole (Nikki) Yee joined Ob-Gyn Specialists as an ob-gyn specialist this past August, returning to familiar roots after schooling and training took her to many places far from her Martinez childhood home.
 
“My mom is a longtime patient with this practice, coming here for decades,” says Nikki. “Joining this practice is full circle for me. I always knew I wanted to come back to this area, so being here after residency is extra special for me personally and professionally. This is familiar to me and this is home.”
 
Nikki earned her B.S. from Dartmouth College, where she was also an NCAA Division I student-athlete on the varsity softball team. She received her M.D. from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and completed her residency at UC Davis Medical Center.
 
“Initially I wanted to do pediatrics and my mentor was in neonatology. I shadowed her on rounds and realized that I was gravitating toward the teamwork approach of ob-gyn,” says Nikki. “I was an athlete for a number of years and I found the team aspect of ob-gyn important to me. I feel women’s health with ob-gyns, labor and delivery doctors, pediatricians, nurses—everyone who’s taking care of women—is the ultimate team effort.”

Today, Dr. Shannon Sullivan, who has been with Ob-Gyn Specialists for six years, is Nikki's mentor.
 
"One of the things I love about this practice is the mentorship," says Nikki. "To come into an established practice and to have such an encouraging and smooth transition with Dr. Sullivan through the process is huge. I am so grateful for her.”
 
Shannon describes Nikki as a dream mentee, saying, “I am so honored to teach her and to have her in our practice. She is one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever worked with—bright, intelligent, and motivated. She comes to work excited knowing that she is making a difference in the office, the community, and the lives of women."
Nicole Yee, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
A Division of BASS Medical Group
2637 Shadelands Drive Entrance F
Walnut Creek
925.945.6600
Ob-Gyn Specialists, a division of BASS Medical Group, Entrance F, located on the west side of the building
Dr. Nicole Yee (l) with mentor Dr. Shannon Sullivan (r), Ob-Gyn Specialists
Nikki is thrilled to be working with the collaborative team at Ob-Gyn Specialists and working with patients at John Muir Medical Center—the same hospital in which she was born.
DEL MONTE FOODS CUTS RIBBON AND OFFICIALLY OPENS NEW BAY AREA HEADQUARTERS
On Thursday, September 9, Del Monte Foods, Inc., celebrated the opening of its new corporate headquarters with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by excited employees and management.

Formerly Del Monte's Research Center, the expansive and newly renovated 95,500-SF building on the 8.2-acre site at 205 N. Wiget Lane will now serve as the Bay Area-based, multi-national food company's corporate headquarters.

The ribbon cutting also celebrated the arrival of all team members from Del Monte's Pleasant Hill office, who have completed their move to the new headquarters building, bringing the number of employees to more than 140 who now call Del Monte's Shadelands location home base.

Located at the new headquarters office are Research & Development, Marketing, Human Resources, Food Safety & Quality, Finance, Payroll, IT, Planning, Audit, Legal, Supply Chain, and Executive Leadership, among other operations.

Del Monte is one of the center's longest standing businesses, with 53 years in operation in Shadelands.

Congratulations to our long-time friends at Del Monte Foods!
CEO Greg Longstreet (r) with Facilities Management Lead Terry Maurer (l) get ready to cut the ribbon and officially open Del Monte’s new San Francisco Bay Area headquarters office.
205 N. Wiget Lane
Walnut Creek
925.944.7300
Team members gather in front of Del Monte's new corporate headquarters.
RAGA YOGA CELEBRATES
2ND ANNIVERSARY
It has been two years since CJ Lamborn, owner of Raga Yoga, was featured in the October 2019 issue of The Shadelands Scene. An experienced yoga teacher and practitioner, she had just opened her own studio in the Shadelands SportsMall, celebrating with an official ribbon cutting.
 
The pandemic hit in March 2020, and CJ and her team kicked into gear, innovating to maintain the business and serve her client base in the face of lockdowns and restrictions.
 
Almost immediately (when cleared with County guidelines), CJ held classes outdoors—about 15 classes per week—live streaming and building an extensive catalogue of on-demand programs.

“We’ve developed an amazing staff," says CJ. "They are skilled and wise and creative, and that is a bright spot for our clients. We have become responsive and reactive to what the pandemic has created in terms of needing to take care of ourselves and learning how we can heal."

CJ and her team built up private and semi-private class schedules, working with only one or two people at a time in the studio under safe and compliant conditions.
 
"The private and semi-private classes were lifesavers for many clients because these classes were the only time many of them ever got out to socialize and do something for their own well-being."

Today, Raga Yoga classes are back indoors and have been since May 2021, in a 100% vaccinated community of instructors and clients.

Class size is limited and class schedules have expanded with more and diverse offerings. Masks are worn to and from the mat, but once on the mat, clients are free to remove masks for unrestricted, conscious breathing—which is the essence of yoga.
 
“We’re just now rolling out a new program of Pranayama workshops, which is focusing on breath—the gateway to our nervous system. The first workshop begins October 9, and will roll into a series.”
 
Raga Yoga's celebration runs through the entire month of October with yoga and health-related activities, events, programs, and specials such as aerial demonstrations and raffles.

“We missed celebrating our first anniversary last year,” says CJ, “so this year we said, ‘We’re going big!’”
 
For more about the studio and anniversary activities, visit Raga Yoga.

Happy 2nd Anniversary,
CJ & Raga Yoga team!
2662 Shadelands Drive
Shadelands SportsMall
Walnut Creek
925.322.0701
CJ Lamborn, Raga Yoga owner & instructor, joined by her husband & co-owner, Bruce Lamborn (on her left), October 2019
The Raga Yoga team, October 2021
CJ Lamborn, yoga instructor and owner of Raga Yoga
NO ONE SHOULD GO HUNGRY, DONATING IS EASY
Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa has been feeding the hungry of Contra Costa County since 1983 through its food pantry and five dining rooms that serve hot lunches in Antioch, Martinez, Oakley, Pittsburg, and Walnut Creek.

Kaiperm Credit Union, a longtime supporter of Loaves and Fishes, has placed a food drive barrel in plain view with easy access in its lobby.

Please consider picking up a few extra non-perishables the next time you make a grocery run, and then visit the food drive barrel at Kaiperm on your lunch hour with your donations.

Food drives remind people of the desperate, ongoing needs of our hungry friends and neighbors—and how we can all help.

It's easy—and rewarding—to extend a helping hand and make a profound difference in the lives of others.
325 N. Wiget Lane, Suite 130
Walnut Creek
925.939.5626
OKTOBERFEST AT THE WALNUT CREEK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Dust off your steins, dirndls, and lederhosen and join the fun at Shadelands Ranch Museum on Sunday, October 17, Noon–5pm, when the Walnut Creek Historical Society hosts its first Shadelands Oktoberfest.

• Authentic German cuisine by Ludwig's German Table

• Authentic German and Bavarian beer by Importer SHW Brands

• Live entertainment by Alpine Sound

• Costume & stein holding contests and more Oktoberfest activities

Oktoberfest will be held outdoors on the grounds of the Shadelands Ranch Museum and biergarten.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Prost!

If you would like to be a sponsor, email WCHS@wchistory.org, or visit Walnut Creek Historical Society.

Sunday, October 17, 2021
Noon–5pm
2660 Ygnacio Valley Road
Walnut Creek
925.935.7871
A MESSAGE FROM THE WALNUT CREEK HISTORICAL SOCIETY ABOUT 2021 HOLIDAY TEAS
WCHS: For the safety of guests and volunteers, we will be unable to host our Holiday Teas this year. In 2022, we will be celebrating 40 years of Holiday Teas and we have special activities planned for the occasion. We look forward to sharing a cup of tea with you next year!
ARF'S PETS AND VETS CENTER OPENS, TRANSFORMING LIVES
Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) celebrated the completion of its new Engelstad Pets and Vets Center with a small outdoor ceremony for campaign donors and ARF volunteers on September 8, 2021, not quite two and a half years since festive ground breaking ceremonies for the 7,893-SF free-standing facility, one part of ARF's total $18.7M expansion.

ARF's flagship Pets and Vets program transforms rescue dogs into skilled service animals for veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, anxiety, depression, and other health issues, matching veteran-dog teams quickly and at no cost to the veteran.

The center will be a safe space for veteran-dog teams to gather, learn, train, and socialize.

The ceremony also included tours of the new animal care wing, training and exercise fields, and expanded veterinary clinic.

In the upcoming December 2021 issue of The Shadelands Scene, we'll step inside the new Engelstad Pets and Vets Center and meet some heroes on both ends of the leash.
2890 Mitchell Drive
Walnut Creek
925.256.1273
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