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Home Authors Posts by Sarah Francis

Sarah Francis

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IN A GOOD PLACE: ­Physical therapist Amy Smith decided to launch her own therapy business with her wife, Emily Smith, in 2020. Roots Physical Therapy and Yoga has grown ever since. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

After twists and turns, would-be doctor finds her calling as a...

Business Women
Ask Amy Smith why she wanted to open her business, and she’ll tell you she didn’t. “I don’t have a business bone in my body....
IN THE KNOW: Patricia Lyons-Bousquet, owner of CompLyons HR Consulting LLC, says her graduation from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Rhode Island was transformative. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

She’s put her resources into building an HR firm

Business Services
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Patricia Lyons-Bousquet, CompLyons HR Consulting LLC Patricia Lyons-Bousquet launched CompLyons HR Consulting LLC in 2023 out of the East Providence...
FLYING ­COLORS: Elaine Felag opened Feminine Fancies in 1982 and gave herself five years to work. Nearly 44 years later, the women’s boutique is still going strong. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

4 decades later, Felag’s store stays in vogue

Business Services
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Elaine Felag, Feminine Fancies For more than four decades, Elaine Felag has owned and operated Feminine Fancies, an upscale ­women’s...
A GOOD YARN TO TELL: Katy Westcott started her company on a shoestring in 2012, and now Katrinkles Inc., a maker of tools and other items for crafters, is a substantial manufacturing business in Providence. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Fabric of her company crafted from a hobby

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Katy Westcott, Katrinkles Inc. Katy Westcott is a designing woman. She knits socks, crochets sweaters, spins yarn and sews her...
CONSTANTLY EVOLVING: Beauregard Built LLC owner Olivia Beauregard launched the Providence-based design-build firm, specializing in interior and exterior work in residential and commercial new construction and renovation, six years ago. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Designer travels ‘Amazing’ journey to build her career

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Olivia Beauregard, Beauregard Built LLC Olivia Beauregard has always been fascinated by how things work. While other kids played video...
ORDER FROM CHAOS: After years working in different accounting roles, Keeping the Books NE LLC owner Marsha Thayer launched her own firm that helps businesses build efficient, accurate financial systems.
PBN FILE PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Thayer’s drive, work ethic add up to success

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Marsha Thayer, Keeping the Books NE LLC Marsha Thayer didn’t seem like a typical math nerd in high school. Far...
EXPANDED HORIZONS: Line Daems, owner of Kreatelier LLC, a “fabric concept store” in Providence, opened the business in 2007 after living in several European countries and moving to Rhode Island in 2002. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Store owner proves fluent in creativity

Business Services
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Line Daems, Kreatelier LLC Packing up and moving to a new country when you don’t speak the language isn’t most...
CHARTING HER COURSE: Cheryl DiGennaro, owner of Newport Yacht and Home LLC in Middletown, says the desire to design living spaces in houses and boats is something she was born with. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

On land or sea, her mind is always on the décor

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Cheryl DiGennaro, Newport Yacht & Home LLC When Cheryl DiGennaro was growing up, she’d watch her mom, an interior designer,...
COOL UNDER FIRE: Rebecca Zhukov, co-owner of Blackstone River Glass Center LLC in Cumberland, works with the furnace at the glass studio, which she started with her business partner about six years ago. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Zhukov is building a community out of blown glass

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Rebecca Zhukov, Blackstone River Glass Center LLC A furnace the size of a Mini Cooper presides like an industrial centerpiece...
GUIDING LIGHT: Erica Davies got her boutique travel firm, The Well Traveled Soul LLC, off the ground in 2022 after years of working in corporate America. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/DAVID HANSEN

She’s on a journey curating trips for clients

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Erica Davies, The Well Traveled Soul LLC Cranston native Erica Davies spent two decades in the corporate world – from...
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