Every Last Word

Dallas Innovates’ signature series capturing what leaders across North Texas are saying — in their own words — about innovation, impact, and what’s next.

The Last Word: Why Muscle and Fitness Calls Addison’s Gorji ‘One of the Five Restaurants Every Foodie Has to Visit’

Gorji is a small, five-table restaurant near Belt Line and Montfort in Addison. Featuring new Mediterranean cuisine with "championship steak" and "sustainable seafood," it's the opposite of fast food. So opposite, that when you take your table, you'll be the only party sitting there all night.
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The Last Word: TCU’s Guy Golan on Why Sharing Online Articles Doesn’t Make People Experts
Researchers at UT Austin published a study in July called "I share, therefore I know? Sharing online content—even without reading it—inflates subjective knowledge." The study, published by the Society for Consumer Psychology, explored how sharing online content affects what people think they know. Turns out, they think they know a lot—which isn't necessarily the case at all.
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The Last Word: Cooper Aerobics’ Dr. Tyler Cooper on Summiting 74 14K-Plus-Foot Peaks in the Continental U.S.
When you're president and CEO of Dallas' Cooper Aerobics, people expect you to be fit. But Dr. Cooper has gone above and beyond. Especially above. In a D Magazine profile by Will Maddox, Cooper talks about his successful climbing of all 74 peaks in the contiguous U.S. that are 14,000 feet tall or higher.
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The Last Word: Fort Worth’s Jimmy Bradley on His ‘Zillow Gone Wild’ House
Bradley's 7,000-square-foot house at 1809 Carl St.—currently listed at $745,000—features an indoor heated pool with a slide surrounded by artificial turf. An adjacent billiards lounge and family entertainment area promise more fun nearby. And did we mention the pingpong and air hockey tables?
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The Last Word: UTD’s Dr. Amy Pinkham on Heading a Global Initiative to Standardize Schizophrenia Assessment

Dr. Amy Pinkham of UTD’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences received an award for outstanding research on social cognition. The award puts her group at the forefront of research in the field, the professor said. The work could be applicable for many disorders, including autism and mood and anxiety disorders.
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The Last Word: Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on Plans to Tap Young Talent at New $500M+ Dallas Job Hub
by | Dec 8, 2022
Addressing an audience of around 800 at the American Airlines Center, Solomon talked about the $500 million-plus, 900,000-square-foot employment center his firm is building north of downtown Dallas—part of a planned 11-acre project from Dallas' Hunt Realty. And more importantly, he spoke about the North Texans he hopes to attract to it.
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The Last Word: M2G Co-Founder Jessica Miller Essl On the Firm’s Mental Health Initiative and Partnership with UTSW
Jessica Miller Essl and her sister Susan Gruppi achieved 501(c)(3) status for the M2G Mental Health Initiative to change how the world treats mental illness. Now, she says, they've raised 70% of a $1M goal.
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Fort Worth’s M2G Ventures Raises Over $700,000 for Depression Research
by | Dec 7, 2022
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi is founding director of UT Southwestern Medical Center's Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care. The real estate firm said it reached 70% of its $1 million goal in its third year of fundraising. The real estate and development firm raised more than $260,000 at its third annual fundraising gala, Art of the Mind, benefitting UT Southwestern Medical Center's Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care.
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The Last Word: UTD’s Balakrishnan Prabhakaran on Virtual Reality Tech for Phantom Limb Pain

The Mr. MAPP system uses a laptop, camera, and VR headset to create a virtual 3D model of the user’s missing or paralyzed limb. Wearing the VR headset, Peterson played a series of games where the virtual model of his missing lower leg did things like stomp the floor or burst a bubble.
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The Last Word: Dallas Habitat for Humanity’s David Crawford on Helping Staff Buy Homes
by | Dec 2, 2022
After receiving a $9 million gift from from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in March, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity looked to set some priorities. And one direction it looked was at the needs of its own employees.
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The Last Word: DeGolyer Library’s Christina Jensen on Lessons from 200 Years of Cookbooks
Neatly timed to be on display during the holiday season, the exhibit runs through December 22 and features 206 books from DeGolyer's massive, 6,000-cookbook collection. The books were acquired during the research library’s decades of collecting items related to Western Americana, transportation, women’s history, and business history.
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The Last Word: TOSA’s Clara Guerrero on Donated Organs Drone Flights
by | Nov 30, 2022
A donated liver, kidney, and pancreas took an historic trip on November 15, when they were transported by drone between Lubbock, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. The drone was actually a single-engine Cessna with an FAA-mandated pilot on standby inside. But it was operated remotely out of Dallas using robotic technology, according to San Antonio Report.
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The Last Word: The American Pecan Promotion Board’s Alexander Ott on this Pecan Pizza Pie

Pecans aren't just for the pecan pie this Thanksgiving, according to—who else?—the American Pecan Promotion Board. Based in Fort Worth, the board was founded last year and operates under the oversight of the USDA. 
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The Last Word: Annemarie De La Vega on Gender Equity in CRE
De La Vega was one of the voices at BisNow's annual Women Leading Real Estate event last week The Westin Dallas Downtown.  With a goal of promoting diversity and spotlighting female leaders in commercial real estate, the event featured a panel discussion led by CLA principal Dee Estep on leadership strategies and how to inspire more women to join the industry.
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The Last Word: Craig Davis of VisitDallas on Voters Approving New Convention Center with I-30 Deck Park
In the November 8 election, Dallas voters approved a plan to build a new $1.2 billion Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center that will include a deck park over I-30, connecting the complex with The Cedars neighborhood south of downtown. Voters also approved $300 million for renovations and repairs to the Cotton Bowl and several iconic buildings across Fair Park. 
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The Last Word: Dallas College’s Ben Magill on Sustainable Cities and Communities
Magill spoke last week at the annual summit of the Regional Center of Expertise of North Texas—a network of multidisciplinary stakeholders, including higher education institutions, businesses, non-governmental organizations, community associations, and local, regional, state and federal government agencies. His panel addressed Sustainable Development Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
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