Q & A
THURSDAY need to not be discouraged . Just heard out and encouraged to take their seat at the table and be empowered . I ’ ve seen so many smart women who are like , ‘ I just can ’ t do this .’ It ’ s like , ‘ You just pushed a baby out of your belly . You can do this .’ It ’ s that constant encouragement and push to keep going is what women really need , because they ’ re juggling so many other things — households , kids , life , bills . That could be almost all business owners , but particularly I would say women because we ’ re the nurturers , and we ’ re pouring into so many people , and we don ’ t always get that back .
“ I ’ ve seen so many smart women who are like , ‘ I just can ’ t do this .’ It ’ s like , ‘ You just pushed a baby out of your belly . You can do this .’”
Tell us about your personal journey . I was born and raised here . I grew up in Edgewood . I left for college immediately after high school . Growing up , my parents both worked . They had their nine-to-fives , but they were also pursuing entrepreneurship . At some point , my mom had a day care , and she was selling jewelry and accessories . And then my dad , he was a state trooper and worked for the East Providence Police Department , but then he also owned a tire shop and managed tons of rental commercial properties and did a lot more . And so that hustle , it planted a seed of , ‘ I want that kind of autonomy and creativity in my life .’ That ’ s what entrepreneurship offers . I moved to New York after high school and earned a business administration degree . While I was in college , I was working full-time . During all of that , I experimented with entrepreneurship . I had a baking goods business . I worked as a freelance web developer and self-taught myself how to do stuff
50 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I MARCH 2025