18 NORTH BAY WOMAN | F A L L 2 0 1 5
M
eet
By Penny Popken
s a successful
small business
owner, wife and sub-
urban mother of two,
Krista Gawronski could
easily excuse herself from
charity work. She and
her husband, Paul, put in
long hours "tag teaming"
at their Petaluma sand-
wich shop, Mr. Pickles.
Her older son, Frank, is a
junior in high school. Son
Vince just started junior
high. Both boys are heav-
ily involved in sports.
But where other
working moms might be
postponing volunteerism
for a less hectic time of
life, Gawronski has embraced charity work and even turned it into
a career of sorts.
"I always felt that I was meant to do something bigger,"
Gawronski says, adding that she often asked herself: "What is it
that I'm supposed to do?"
Growing up in San Francisco's Sunset district, the youngest of
six children, she was often inspired by her own family members.
"My father was from El Salvador. He knew what it was to be
poor," she recalls. A blend of "Archie Bunker and Tony Soprano,"
according to Gawronski, Armando Acevedo impressed on his
children the importance of being leaders and "taking care of the
little guy."
Her mother Gail was an active school volunteer throughout
A
Photos left and above by Victoria Webb Photography.
The Fabulous
krista
gawronski
A home-grown
philanthropist
takes flight
