Sarah Francis, Author at Providence Business News

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Winds of change: Robin Main, partner and general counsel at Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, specializes in renewable energy cases.  PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

The main advocate for renewable energy in the courtroom

Business Women 05/22/2026

PBN Business Women Awards 2026 INDUSTRY LEADER | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: Robin Main, Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP partner and general counsel Robin Main knew when she was...

SEEING A NEED: Diana Franchitto, CEO and president of HopeHealth, has worked to improve accessibility to hospice and palliative care for Rhode Island residents.  PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Providing dignity and support at the end for patients

Business Women 05/22/2026

PBN Business Women Awards 2026 INDUSTRY LEADER | HEALTHCARE: Diana Franchitto, HopeHealth CEO and president Diana Franchitto wasn’t always interested in a career in hospice and palliative...

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 PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Store owner proves fluent in creativity

Business Women 05/08/2026

Packing up and moving to a new country when you don’t speak the language isn’t most people’s idea of a good time. But for...

IN STITCHES: Lindsay Degen is the owner of Knit Club in Providence, which offers knitting and crocheting classes, as well as tools and yarn. PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

She’s not one to follow the familiar pattern

Business Women 04/10/2026

Knitting is having a moment. Your granny’s favorite hobby is now a Zen-like pastime in an increasingly frayed-nerves world, with 28 million knitting posts...

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 PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

Zhukov is building a community out of blown glass

Art & Culture 03/13/2026

A furnace the size of a Mini Cooper presides like an industrial centerpiece over the space that is Blackstone River Glass LLC. Inside the furnace’s...

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. She calls the business “my baby.”  PBN PHOTO/ DAVE HANSEN

She’s on a journey curating trips for clients

Business Women 02/13/2026

Erica Davies’ heart belongs to Cranston. “It’s the center of the universe,” she said. “I’m super proud to have grown up there. I live...

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 PHOTO/ DAVID HANSEN

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

Business Women 01/02/2026

When Cheryl DiGennaro was growing up, she’d watch her mom, an interior designer, working on various projects; that passion passed from mother to daughter. “I...

GAME PLANNING: Lori Manni, center, president of Capital City Construction & Management Services Inc., goes over documents with Al DeRobbio, left, project supervisor, and Oliver Carias, operating engineer of Local 57, at the company’s Cranston office. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Manni not daunted by changes, challenges of commercial construction

Business Women 12/05/2025

Lori Manni knows her way around a sewer system. She’s spent the better part of two decades building miles of them. It’s not a...

PROBLEM-SOLVER: Tom Lepovsky, vice president of manufacturing at plastics producer Teknor Apex Co. in Pawtucket, created a continuous improvement group that allows workers on the processing lines to make real-time decisions about quality and productivity using internal data. PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

People and plastics are the core of Lepovsky’s strategy at Teknor...

Industries 11/21/2025

PBN 2025 Manufacturing Awards STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP: Tom Lepovsky, vice president of manufacturing, Teknor Apex Co. McDonald’s has been dubbed America’s best first job; Tom Lepovsky would...