Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin is an author, a film producer, and the president and founder of Max’s Kansas City Project, established in memory of her late ex-husband Mickey Ruskin in 1996 to provide emergency funding to artists in need. Mickey was the founder and sole proprietor of the legendary restaurant/bar/club Max’s Kansas City. The couple met in 1967 when Mickey hired Yvonne as a waitress at Max’s. During her tenure at Max’s, Yvonne assisted in developing “Upstairs at Max’s,” which showcased and featured then-unsigned musicians, including Aerosmith, the New York Dolls, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, the Velvet Underground, Bonnie Raitt, and many others. In 1979, she started as assistant manager of recording studio Bearsville Studios, before moving on to manage 39th St. Music, Evergreen Recording, and Celestial Sound. While at Evergreen, she created I Contact, the first audio production service to exist in New York City. Currently, Yvonne is working on a feature documentary about Max’s Kansas City. She resides in Kingston, New York.