- Author -
Ken Solomon
Ken Solomon was born in Passaic, New Jersey, just a short drive from New York City. The energy of Manhattan, including Broadway, world-class museums, and the excitement of urban life were early influences on him.
At age 11, his parents divorced, and his mother moved the family to Hollywood, Florida. A single mother raising four young boys, she successfully guided all of them to college — an achievement that left a lasting impression on Ken.
Ken graduated from the University of Florida’s School of Journalism, where he developed a passion for photography while working in the school’s black-and-white darkrooms. After college, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in photography. This creative path led him to Camp Blue Star in 1971, where he taught children photography at one of the first interracial overnight summer camps in the South. In 1973, Ken became Production Manager at the University of Florida Press. He later moved to Honolulu, working as a marketing and sales representative for Pacific Business News, Hawaii’s leading business newspaper.
By now, Ken was married to Susan and they had a daughter, Terri. During this time, he adopted his son John, who was born in Seoul, Korea, and welcomed him into the family.
Ken eventually returned to Gainesville, Florida. Over a six-year period in the 1980s, he expanded his family by adopting three mixed-race children — Kate, Matthew, and Cary. He also founded PRO RUN, a professional courier service providing same-day local and statewide deliveries. In addition, he worked at the University of Florida’s PBS television station as a cameraman and stage manager.
In 1990, Ken sold PRO RUN for $250,000 and moved to Berkeley, California, marking a major turning point in his life.
After a divorce, he relocated to San Francisco and came out as a gay man. He worked for several publications, including The Bay Times, SF Weekly, and The Bay Guardian. During this period, he also assisted Lynwood Anderson at the San Francisco Floatation Center and developed a close friendship with Murray Selkow, owner of CTC Limited Corp., a San Francisco-based manufacturing company with global reach.
In 1994, Ken transitioned away from newspapers, became a certified massage therapist, and began working part-time at CTC. About a year and a half later, after Murray Selkow’s passing, Ken inherited the company. He went on to expand the business internationally, traveling throughout Europe, Canada, and Australia. By 2003, shifts in the manufacturing industry prompted Ken to relocate to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he spent seven years managing high-rise apartment buildings while continuing his work as a massage therapist. Life was good!
Eventually, family drew him back to the United States. In 2011, he returned to the Berkeley/Oakland area and rebuilt his massage practice, providing corporate services to companies such as Google, Adobe, and various legal and architectural firms.
Over the next decade, life brought both challenges and change. During the pandemic, Ken transitioned from massage therapy to becoming a home care provider when his mother, then 95 and in good health, moved from Florida to Oakland to live with him. Around the same time, his brother Harold, with whom he lived, suffered a minor stroke.
Two years later, Ken’s son John moved in with his newborn son, Matthew. Once again, life shifted in profound and meaningful ways.