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All the right ingredients to be a LEADER by : Fred J . Maahs , Jr .
Collette is a bright , caring , 30 year-old woman with a true sense of who she is and where she wants to go in life . She also has Down syndrome , but do not have pity for her . It hasn ’ t stopped her from many achievements nor would she want your pity anyway . She grew up in Ridgefield , Connecticut and began her love of baking at 4 years of age but really didn ’ t begin serious baking until she was a few years older . After taking some baking classes in high-school , she came up with a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie with cinnamon , and it was a hit ! That cookie is now referred to as “ The Amazing Cookie ” and is the featured cookie on Collettey ’ s
web site .
After high-school she finished a three year LIFE program at Clemson University in just two years . It was then she decided to move to Boston because she was “ sure to find work there .” But , as is the case with so many people with disabilities , the unemployment rate is more than twice that of people who do not have a disability , even though qualified and able to work , Collette was rejected by many employers . She wasn ’ t about to let this defeat her and decided that she would turn her passion for baking into a business and founded “ Collettey ’ s Cookies ” and her first orders were sold by a local grocery store . And , one would argue , her big break came in 2016 after a local news station did a piece on her . She hasn ’ t looked back since !
But , having a business that sold product wasn ’ t enough for Collette . It ’ s always been important for her to give back to the community and to make sure that she employed other people with disabilities . Today , she has 17 employees , about half of whom have some type of disability . Each day , her staff makes the dough , bakes , and packages about 140 fresh orders of cookies . Collettey ’ s also makes fresh , organic dog biscuits . That ’ s right , dog biscuits . Tasty enough for a human , but made special for canines . And , because Collette believes being employed is an opportunity that applies to everyone , she has recently hired a person who was once homeless . Collette also started a Foundation , Collettey ’ s Leadership . Because she feel so strongly about entrepreneurship , she felt it was necessary to help others so she travels around the country providing workshops , speeches , training , as well as leadership and empowerment sessions to people with and without disabilities . Her website has all the information you may need about her leadership programs .
As you can imagine , Collette has traveled quite a bit during her speaking engagements , but her favorite trip of all was when she spent two weeks in San Diego to visit her sister . She said they would sit on the cliffs and watch the sunset and that it was good just spending time together .
It seems , almost obviously , that Collette ’ s strong work ethic and drive comes from her mother . Rosemary is not only busy with her own business in construction , but took on the additional responsibility of being Collette ’ s manager and Board Chair of Collette ’ s Foundation . According to Rosemary , she “ had to step in and help Collette when 60-80 emails a day with orders and questions were coming in from all around the world .”