Yan Drabek

Education & Career

Yan Drabek was a software engineer with a Bachelors's in Industrial Engineering and a Master's in Systems Engineering from The University of Arizona. A native of Beijing, China, she had worked and lived in the U.S. since 1980.

Her work experience was with health-related systems, having worked at InterSystems Corp., Cambridge, MA. She was married to a loving and lovely husband, had a very bright son, and lived in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

[The above was written by Robert in early 2000.]

Hensley 8 weeks old

"What's there Hensley?"

With other female DJs at KXCI

Passion & Hobbies

The avocation she was most passionate about was probably cooking, and besides indigenous Chinese cooking, she was adept at Czech, Mexican, and Italian cuisines and baking. She also enjoyed films, music (classical and contemporary), Flamenco dancing, travel, and gardening. Yan and Robert had a one-hour weekly radio show (KXCI-FM) in Tucson where she introduced and played Chinese music. Oh, and she would accept a challenge from anyone to a game of 9-ball or 8-ball billiards.

Since 2015, she has been seriously studying the game of Bridge in her spare time. A member of the American Contract Bridge League, she has been maintaining the web site for her club Northampton Bridge Club and is currently a board member of the Western Mass Bridge Association.

[The above was written by Robert.]

Update:

In 2021, Yan has reached the Bronze Life Master rank by the American Contract Bridge League.

In 2022, Yan was voted to become the president of the Northampton Bridge Club.