Participation is the key to becoming a community citizen like Shaun Killy Slough, 35, owner and founder of Blu Globefusion, a lifestyle salon and boutique in North Park.

“I’m going to drag this city into urbanization,” says Slough, who was born in San Diego and returned after three years in New York City working in fashion hairstyling. “And I’ll do it all on my own if I have to.”

Her seven-day-a-week job as hairdresser, buyer and image-maker involves her doing “anything and everything” at Blu Globefusion on El Cajon Boulevard. She, along with neighboring businesses, is working to improve the image of the neighborhood. Slough has seen the street change and develop for the better during the three years she’s been there.

Her parents, Karen Angel and Charles Cono, are very involved in charities and that encouraged her to get involved. Although Slough isn’t able to make financial contributions like her parents, she does what she can. Currently she is working on a charity fashion show to benefit the San Diego Art Institute scheduled for Sept. 25. She has worked with T.E.R.I. Inc, Locks of Love, Rachel’s Women’s Center and Children’s Hospital.

“My work is fun, so it’s not like work,” says Slough. “It’s like playing for me. When you can do something that you love it doesn’t feel like work anymore.”

— Erin H. Korntved