Name: Katya Wowk
Where do you live? Union Township
When did you move there? 17 years ago
Where did you grow up? East Hanover, NJ
How do you make a living? Working as the Communications Director for Montclair Township
Coffee, tea or … ? Lately caffè macchiato. Double.
What’s your idea of a perfect Saturday? Going for a long bike ride with my husband.
What’s your favorite local restaurant? Right now — Samba.
What’s on your nightstand? Alarm clock, lamp, iPad (when not in use elsewhere) small crystal pyramid (it’s pretty).
Your iPod? A lot. Regina Carter, Mark O’Conner, Albert Lee, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Beck, Christian McBride, Charles Mingus, Carla Bruni, Cesaria Evora, Rolling Stones, Cream, David Bowie, Derek Trucks, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Lucinda Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Eurythmics, Joe Strummer, Mink De Ville, Nirvana, NIN, STP, Jaqueline du Pre, Vladimir Horowitz, Yo-Yo Ma, Mstislav Rostropovich, Martha Argerich, George Walker, Kronos Quartet, Olivier Messiaen, Alfred Schnittke, Igor Stravinsky…
What are your current addictions? My iMac and foreign crime dramas: Wallander (Swedish), The Protectors (Danish), Luther (UK), Spiral (French), Hit and Miss (UK).
Talent I would most like to have: Be able to solve the Hodge Conjecture — or at least be able to wrap my brain around it — and play the cello (not at the same time).
What’s the worst-kept secret about Montclair? Avis Campbell Gardens. Would love to have the place all to myself when I go there – yes, very selfish of me – but that’s never the case.
What do you hope they say about you at your funeral? “She’ll make good worm food.” But really – I honestly don’t care.
I was looking forward to hearing about what Katya Wowk’s job is – what she does and how she accomplishes it, her challenges, successes, goals for the the town. This piece is silly fluff. I might care what kind of coffee Katya drinks if I also knew what she did in her job. But just her title and nothing more? Who cares…..
Here’s a communication issue Wowk could discuss with the geniuses re-paving RIdgewood Avenue: PUT UP SOME DETOUR SIGNS. Simply shutting every intersecting street down without telling drivers how to go around is stupid and infuriating
It would also be useful to know exactly what qualifies Ms. Wowk to be communications director,and how she came to this position.
Also, as an example of sloppy writing (and editing), it’s not the “worst-kept”but rather the best-kept secret about Montclair, no?
@cranky Her title comes with a clear generic definition. So, if you paid attention to all that “the town” *communicates*, now you know who the person behind all that time & energy is! This piece is not “silly” fluff; it (succeeds at being) (what it was designed to be, and that) is: *warm & fuzzy* fluff!
@cathar The “secret” is obviously not well kept, she says, because *too many people know about it* (she clearly jokes)!
Thank you for this, Christina, and many thanks for your sharing of information, early & often (i.e., both proactively and reactively), Katya!
I long ago learned, Montclair Lover, to dismiss as a cliche-loving fool anyone who seriously uses words like “proactive” and “reactive.”
And it wasn’t even a particularly good example of “warm and fuzzy” stuff. Though it was fuzzily written (and, clearly, edited, fuzzily, more in the breach than anything else)
“I long ago learned, Montclair Lover, to dismiss as a cliche-loving fool anyone who seriously uses words like “proactive” and “reactive.””
—that’s funny, cause readers of this site tend to dismiss you as a cranky pants fool who is really angry about something he’s not being honest about but inflicts his pain on the rest of us…
Wow — so much venom. It was just a nice, fun profile piece. Not an in depth interview.
Jeez. Give it a rest! Or take it to a town council meeting! Or get involved and stop freakin’ complaining already!
I agree with you, Caphilly!