Cover to Cover: Cover Stories Then & Now

In preparation for our 50^th issue, the Madeworthy staff has been looking to the past. Specifically, we wondered what our past cover stories have been up to since we talked with them.

Have you wondered what Katrina Carpenter has been doing since 2020? Or maybe Duke Greenhill? Is Quinton “Q” Phillips still working for Fort Worth’s children? Where are Victor and Misty Villarreal now? Well, wonder no more.

Marta Plata

  Mar/Apr 2018

Then: Marta Plata was the principal of Manuel Jara Elementary School and founder of Parent University. Through weekly evening classes, Plata sought to empower and educate parents on how to build more impactful relationships with their children. Her hard work paid off; Manuel Jara students were reading at or above grade level, the school met standard proficiency on STAAR tests, and the school had a 96% attendance rate. Plata said, “When a parent starts feeling good about themselves, the child starts succeeding.”

Now: Since 2020, Marta has been the Executive Director of Fort Worth ISD’s Student and Family Experience Division. Through programs like FWISD Adult Education, Parent Partnerships, Children’s Vision Program, and Fort Worth After School, Marta continues to create a supportive learning environment that helps “her babies” succeed both in and out of school.

Carly Burson

  Sep/Oct 2018

Then: Carly’s brand, Tribe Alive [now LAUDE the Label], changed how we looked at fashion by partnering with women artisans to produce heirloom-quality clothes and accessories. In doing so, Carly sought to solve social problems created by fast fashion by paying her artisan partners a living wage. She and her husband, Kyle, adopted Elie as a young child and Pricila and her unborn child as a teen. “To really empower women,” Carly said, “It has to start with girls and education. That’s the missing piece.”

Now: “In 2023, I decided to downsize LAUDE the Label to reprioritize my mental health and work–life balance,” Carly writes. “I worked hard to reorganize it in a way that also supported my family, my well-being, and my long-term vision. In 2024, I became a certified yoga instructor… my youngest daughter recently started high school, and my oldest will be married in September 2025. My husband and I fell in love with a small surfside community in Baja California Sur, Mexico, where we recently completed building a home. We hope to move there full-time in the coming years.”

Katrina Carpenter

  Nov/Dec 2022

Then: On the strength of her smoked chicken salad, Katrina left teaching to become a restaurateur, but the Covid pandemic and subsequent shutdown derailed the grand opening of her café. Fortunately, Facebook’s Fort Worth Data Center needed someone to cater three meals daily for its onsite workers. Her twins, Brayden and Joi, were 12 and helped in the café when they weren’t at school. “You’re supposed to share your gifts,” Katrina said. “We were given our talents to share, not to harbor them. I can cook. I can feed people. My gift is nourishing people’s bodies and souls.”

Now: Katrina is nourishing bodies and souls. She acquired the space next door to the café and expanded and remodeled. She was an ambassador for BRAVE/R Together and is working on her foundation, A Collective Hand, while writing a cookbook. Brayden and Joi are now high school seniors. Unfortunately, the Carpenter family suffered two devastating house fires in the last year, and Katrina’s beloved mother, Sharon, passed away earlier this year. But Katrina never stops giving back. She is unstoppable.

Julio César Cedillo

  Mar/Apr 2021

Then: After growing up in Fort Worth, Julio worked steadily for 30 years as a character actor in films and television. He worked with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig (Cowboys & Aliens), Tommy Lee Jones (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada), Benicio del Toro (Sicario), and Diego Luna (Narcos: Mexico). But his real love was his photography, honed by years spent on film and television sets, in which he told stories that exist out of time and place. “I don’t like to label my photographs,” Cedillo claimed. “Sure, I could tell you how and where I took the photograph, but I don’t want to fill in the blanks.”

Now: Julio continues to act and take pictures. He played Michael Peña’s father in Amazon’s A Million Miles Away (for which he was nominated for an Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor). The Mexican Film Journalists Association awarded him the Silver Goddess Award for Best Actor for his work in A Cielo Abierto or Upon Open Sky. And he became an action star in 2023 in The Black Demon. After almost four decades as a character actor, Julio is becoming a star.

Quinton “Q” Phillips

  Sep/Oct 2021

Then: Quinton “Q” Phillips’ inaugural term as School Board Trustee was difficult. After his election representing East Fort Worth, Fort Worth ISD was hit by the Covid pandemic and a ransomware attack on the district’s computer system. The shutdown highlighted the district’s educational equity gap, and Q was on the front line of the heated debates. He was also an adjunct professor at TCU, and in his spare time, he co-founded CommUnity Frontline. “We don’t have to take away to give,” Q said. “There’s more than enough of everything for our young people, regardless of what demographic boxes they check, to be the very best.”

Now: Q continues to serve on the school board, helping guide our schools in serving our children while improving those essential testing scores. He serves on the Texas Association of School Boards, lending a voice to all school boards in Texas. He still teaches at TCU, and CommUnity Frontline remains strong. Above all, his family is thriving, and he continues to do what he can to serve his community.

Leah King

Sep/Oct 2022

Then: As CEO and President of United Way of Tarrant County (UWTC), Leah was instrumental in guiding her adopted city through the Covid pandemic. She and her team coordinated efforts between community leaders, business leaders, local governments, and the United Way’s partners to ensure that families who relied on school meals ate and small businesses stayed afloat. After the shutdown, she continued to guide UWTC and serve on more boards than I can count. “It took me a little while to figure out what I was led to do,” Leah said. “My favorite things are to be around people and to talk… my whole career has been about that.”

Now: Leah continues to give her all to her beloved Fort Worth. Since 2022, she’s worked to improve maternal mortality outcomes by supporting the training of 120+ doulas, bringing TeamBirth to Texas, and launching UWTC’s Centennial Campaign. She was re-elected to the Trinity River Water District Board and became the President of the JPS Foundation. She’s won awards and has been honored by grateful organizations. The only thing she doesn’t do is sleep!

Misty and Victor Villarreal

Nov/Dec 2022

Then: La Onda, the restaurant that Misty and Victor opened during the pandemic, was riding high after being named to Bon Appétit magazine’s list of “Best New Restaurants 2022.” Victor’s dry-aged fish, Misty’s astute management, and the couple’s workhorse mindset elevated La Onda from a fish joint into a nationally recognized restaurant without investors or silent partners. The food was Michelin quality, while the atmosphere in the cozy Craftsman bungalow on Race Street was casual and joyful. “My food is a little different, but I like that,” said Victor.

Now: Unfortunately, La Onda couldn’t keep riding the wave. Misty and Victor decided to close in 2022 to focus on their family and their well-being. After a stint as General Manager of Star Café, Misty is now head of human resources for Southern Hospitality Group, while Victor oversees all Southern Hospitality’s food operations. He also collaborates with other Fort Worth chefs in private dinners at Star Café, hoping to expand diners’ appreciation of the 90-year-old eatery.

Duke Greenhill

Jan/Feb 2023

Then: Whether writing screenplays, co-founding the Fort Worth Film Commission, or creating national advertising campaigns for Mastercard and Tiffany & Co., Duke understood the power of stories to connect us. After his time on Madison Avenue and a stint in administration at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Duke returned to his hometown. He started teaching at TCU and lent his talents to nonprofits like Rogue Water and Gladney Center for Adoption. (Duke is a proud Gladney Kid.) Duke said, “It was the storytelling that was the thread that kept me going. Teaching is storytelling and storytelling is teaching.”

Now: Duke continues to believe in the power of stories. He consulted on the launch of a new credit union bank in Georgia, specifically to support the state’s film industry and its workforce. He received his Master Creative Performance Coach certification and received the TCU Student Government Association’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2024. And he watches the films and television shows shot in Fort Worth with great pride.

Charlotte Sammons

Jan/Feb 2024

Then: For parents of neurodivergent children in Fort Worth, Springbox Farms was an open secret. Charlotte Sammons used her background in educational psychology, her love of all things neuroscientific, and the beauty of nature to establish a place of safety and connection that allowed the children under her empathetic eye to understand their emotions and bodies and start to advocate for their needs. Katy Wampach, a Springbox parent, summed it up: “In Charlotte, we have found such acceptance and love, an example of how to interact with others. Isn’t that what our world needs?”

Now: Charlotte continues to work her magic at Springbox Farms, which is celebrating ten years of connection and learning. Charlotte and Sigourney Weathers now offer Farmnastics, a new kind of learning and growth through functional movement, therapeutic gymnastics, and adaptive techniques to strengthen the brain and body. “We are moving into a season of growth – in programs, community, and the ways we support families,” Charlotte writes.

Shea and Conor Dardis

Mar/Apr 2024

Then: Between running Shea’s Wandering Roots Markets and Conor’s Thirst & Co., the Dardises were parents to four kids and were awaiting the birth of their fifth after the devastating loss at birth of their son Aiden due to Trisomy 18. Wandering Roots Markets hit a sweet spot after Covid by providing open-air markets where people could buy unique goods from local artisans. Conor’s graphics captured the imaginations with their cool, retro vibe, and corporate clients appreciated his visionary branding. But somehow, these two insanely busy people managed to keep their family and businesses flourishing. “We respect the fact that we’re both running completely different businesses, but I can’t go for an hour without texting him, and he can’t go for an hour without texting me,” Shea said, while Conor added, “It’s the best kind of co-dependence.”

Now: Soon after the issue dropped, Shea and Conor welcomed their baby boy, Bowen, into the family. Life didn’t slow down – between growing businesses, raising five kids, and constantly trading ideas, their days are still packed from sunrise to well past sunset. Yet even in the chaos, they’ve managed to hold onto the balance that keeps their family and work thriving. “Without Shea spinning all the plates, we would all fall down. She’s my Wonder Woman,” Conor said.