The Fairfax Girl Team 
Every month, we feature Northern Virginia neighbors who are making life here more fun, interesting, and generally enjoyable. This month’s features are all people who are making life better for their neighbors, one small upgrade at a time. Whether it’s through skin care, sentimental jewelry, or a celebratory meal, they’ve got it covered. Read on for more Northern Virginia Locals to Watch.
Alisa Bekebrede, Harpist
Photo credit: Kelly Hicks
Alisa Bekebrede is a professional harpist who grew up in Northern Virginia before studying at Wheaton College, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Temple University, and the University of North Texas. For the past 15 years, Alisa lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she performed as Principal Harp with the Arkansas Symphony and built a strong harp community in the city. After getting married in July and her husband receiving a job offer in Baltimore, Alisa returned to the DMV for a new chapter.
Alisa performs orchestrally, teaches harp and piano students, and performs for special events. In both performing and teaching, she is inspired by musicians who are consistently looking to improve, stay grateful, and make every musical line meaningful. As a teacher, she hopes to instill confidence in students and help them believe they are capable of any musical achievement. In performance, Alisa hopes to be a reminder that beauty exists and should be celebrated. She sees music as a way to help people appreciate life, emotion, and the hidden things that can be hard to put into words. In teaching, she is shaped by Suzuki philosophy and the idea that “every child can,” believing musical growth is often a matter of finding the right method, discipline, and problem-solving approach.
Alisa is looking to support the local music community, find schools or institutions to be part of, perform regularly, and create unique ways to bring music to more people.
See more: Cherry On Top Brings Coffee, Wine, + Community to Old Town Alexandria
Angelika O’Reilly of Eliana Curated | 1003 King Street, Alexandria
Photo credit: Renee C. Gage Photography
Angelika O’Reilly is the founder of Eliana Curated, a jewelry brand with a flagship store in Old Town Alexandria. The brand is all about helping women find meaningful pieces for life’s big moments, from fertility journeys and engagement photos to wedding days, push gifts, anniversaries, and everything in between.
Angelicka loves connecting with customers to pick out the perfect thing. One of her favorite parts of the business is hearing from customers later that a piece has become their everyday go-to or that they are constantly getting compliments on it. Angelika hopes to give women that extra boost of confidence, the kind that makes someone catch their reflection and feel completely put together.
Locally, the brand has supported PTAs and organizations like the Junior League of Virginia and DC, Senior Services of Alexandria, the Salvation Army, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, while continuing to show up at events and festivals throughout DC and the surrounding area.
Elvis Williams of PiliBee | Fairfax
Elvis Williams is the founder of PiliBee, a skincare and haircare brand based in Fairfax. Elvis started the brand after his own frustration with confusing ingredient lists, big product claims, and not knowing what was actually right for his skin. Elvis began researching ingredients and creating formulas for his own skin and hair care routine. Those products quickly caught on with friends and family, and that personal journey became the foundation for PiliBee.
Today, PiliBee creates luxury skin and haircare products using thoughtful ingredients like pili pulp oil from the Philippines and shea butter. Elvis created the brand with mixed families in mind, especially households with different hair textures, skin needs, and routines all under one roof. His goal is to make skincare feel less confusing and more intentional.
What inspires Elvis most is the combination of skincare and education. With a background in instructional design, he hopes PiliBee can grow into more than a product-based brand. Long-term, he wants to create interactive skincare experiences, from hands-on activities for kids to date-night experiences for adults centered around ingredients, self-care, and learning.
Read more: From Pandemic Hobby to Reston Bakery: Inside Chiboo Bakery at Lake Anne Plaza
Paula McDade of Goldfinch Chef Services | Northern Virginia
Paula McDade is the chef and owner behind Goldfinch Chef Services, a Northern Virginia-based business providing private meal service and intimate catered gatherings. Paula was born in Korea and grew up in Annandale. She spent 15 years living in New York City and San Francisco before moving back to Virginia in 2022.
Paula’s culinary background includes experience in Michelin-starred kitchens in both pastry and savory roles, as well as running a prepared foods department for a small, local, multi-unit grocery company. Now, through Goldfinch Chef Services, she gets to work in more intimate environments where she can connect directly with guests and the families she cooks for on a regular basis.
Her work is inspired by fresh, high-quality ingredients, global flavors, and connection. Her goal is to steadily build a thriving meal service business that stays connected to quality, high standards, and a personal touch.
Kaili Stevens Stinson of beem Light Sauna Studio Reston | 1864B Explorer Street, Reston
Photo credit: Lillian Pham, @lillianlephamphoto
Kaili Stevens Stinson is the owner-operator of beem Light Sauna Studio in Reston Town Center. Kaili has been a longtime leader in the fitness + wellness industry, with over 15 years designing experiences at the intersection of movement, recovery, healing, and connection. Kaili was part of SoulCycle’s founding team and helped scale the brand from a single New York City studio to more than 70 locations, leading programming and talent development during a major moment for boutique fitness. She later helped launch Rise by We, WeWork’s holistic fitness and wellness concept, before co-founding Practice, a New York-based sports performance studio focused on functional fitness.
Kaili was a Division I volleyball player at Georgetown University and has a Master’s in Public Health from SUNY Downstate, meaning she brings a deep understanding of movement, motivation, and wellness to her latest venture. In 2026, she opened the DMV’s first beem Light Sauna studio in Reston, bringing infrared sauna and advanced red, blue, and green light therapy to private, tech-enabled suites. For Kaili, the work is about helping people reconnect with themselves in a meaningful way. She wants guests to feel healthy, calm, energized, and more productive, while seeing rest and recovery as essential parts of everyday life, not luxuries. Her vision is for beem to be more than a wellness studio, but also a place where people can pause, reset, heal, and connect with others.
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