Contributors

Deirdre Hahn, Ph.D., MC, NBCC

Our resident domestic goddess, Dr. Deirdre Hahn is an amazing self-taught chef and well versed in nutrition. Her love of cooking and experimenting with food initially grew out of necessity, when her youngest daughter was diagnosed with multiple severe food allergies at the age of one. Since then, Deirdre has devoted herself to learning as much as possible about fresh cooking, clean eating and nutrition to the benefit of her whole family. They are now deeply committed to a healthy diet and lifestyle. Read more about the backstory.

A devoted mom, Deirdre has two beautiful and talented daughters, Katie (23) and Lilly (8). Katie is a trained emergency technician currently enjoying a gap year exploring Alaska, and Lilly is a national competitive springboard diver for the top-ranked dive team in the U.S. Deirdre grew up in Colorado and Arizona, where she attended Arizona State University (ASU) for her undergraduate and master’s degrees. Years later, Deirdre returned to earn her Ph.D. in educational psychology, during which time she ran a research grant program, served as a student advocacy lobbyist in Washington D.C., and taught undergrad classes in education. Deirdre has had a varied and fascinating career, ranging from administering psychological and intelligence tests for police officer pre-employment screenings to serving as a counselor at a rehabilitation hospital, to running an integrated computer visualization center at ASU. With this position, she travelled broadly, presenting the center’s research to political and academic leaders around the world. While on a long-term project in Dubai, Deirdre met her husband, Dave. They returned the States, where Lilly was born. Deirdre left ASU and a brief time later, the family moved to Singapore. While abroad, she was a consultant to a local Singaporean counseling practice and a private Australian school.

Today, Deirdre is a stay-at-home mom, as well as an active researcher and presenter. Now living in Fort Worth, Texas, she is involved at Lilly’s school and serves on the parent faculty board. For the past several years, she has also taught cooking classes at local schools to help young students learn the science and fun of making bread. Deirdre is thrilled to be part of the MSL team and share her learnings in the cooking and lifestyle arena with our readers.

Jen Munoz

As a mom to twin boys (and two dogs) Jen has come to the realization that she’ll never reach “master builder” status and that’s okay. She’s also given up on most people’s standard of “safety.” However, Jen does have exceptional communication skills (especially negotiating and persuading), she stays calm in the face of pretty much anything, and is always prepared for life’s next “experience.”

Living in Dallas, where shopping (along with football: think Friday Night Lights meets Sex in the City) is a sport, Jen’s West Coast roots shine through in her laid-back approach to life. Her “so what if I look like I just came from the beach?” attitude is expressed in her carefree, yet polished, style.

For the past 20+ years, Jen has worked in the fashion and media industry (but don’t try to guess her age). In fact, recently one of her boys’ friends asked if they had electricity when she was little. (Ok, she’s not THAT old.). In addition to being a mom, Jen currently works in PR, as the owner of The Press Retriever. She has a stellar history of creating win-win partnerships for clients, appearing regularly on TV as a fashion and lifestyle expert, and works as a stylist, gift-giving expert and event producer extraordinaire. Jen has worked with the likes of Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Oscar de le Renta, Clinton Kelly, Tommy Hilfiger, The Fashion Guy, Queen Latifah and Beyoncé, to name a few.

In her spare time, Jen can be found at The Bar (Method, that is) and supporting many worthwhile causes. She and her boys host a monthly “Philanthropy Friday” where they invite their classmates to join them in giving back and helping others. She also loves writing notes to friends around the globe. In Jen’s words, “There’s just nothing like discovering a handwritten note amidst a pile of junk mail – I mean c’mon, amirite?” She’s excited to be part of the MSL team and bring y’all fashion happenings from Dallas and beyond, where contrary to popular belief, nobody actually wears cowboy boots and hats.