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Home Authors Posts by Sarah Francis

Sarah Francis

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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 PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Fabric of her company crafted from a hobby

Business Women
Katy Westcott is a designing woman. She knits socks and crochets sweaters. She spins yarn and even sews her own clothes. So her life...
TAKES A VILLAGE: Caroline Dillon, executive director for The Village Common of Rhode Island, directs day-to-day operations, including hiring and guiding staff. Since she came on board, she has grown the number of villages from four to 10 and volunteers have more than tripled. 
PBN PHOTO/JOSH EDENBAUM

Caroline Dillon

Industries
PBN Leaders & Achievers Awards 2025 CAROLINE DILLON The Village Common of Rhode Island Executive director FROM THE TIME she was a child, Caroline Dillon remembers accompanying...
BUILDING COMMUNITIES: During Carla DeStefano’s tenure in leading Stop Wasting Abandoned Properties Inc., the organization has invested $200 million in affordable rental housing, residential home sales, and commercial and community space. 
PBN PHOTO /TRACY JENKINS

Carla DeStefano

Industries
PBN Leaders & Achievers Awards 2025 CARLA DESTEFANO Stop Wasting Abandoned Property Inc. Executive director CARLA DESTEFANO’S EARLY ­CAREER zigged and zagged. Originally, she thought she’d...
FLYING ­COLORS: 
Elaine Felag opened Feminine Fancies in 1982 and gave herself five years to work. Forty-three years later, the women’s boutique is still going strong. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

4 decades later, Felag’s store stays in vogue

Business Women
There’s no obvious connection between customers at a women’s boutique needing help with a chunky necklace and customers at an appliance store needing help...
IN THE KNOW: Patricia Lyons-Bousquet, owner of CompLyons HR Consulting LLC, says her recent graduation from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Rhode Island has been transformative for her as a businesswoman. 
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

She’s put her resources into building an HR firm

Business Women
There’s a truism in life that you can’t go home again, but whoever coined it obviously hadn’t met Patricia Lyons-Bousquet. After decades working around the...
GETTING CREATIVE: Sascha Roberts, left, and Laura Afonso, co-owners of marketing and content creation company Honey Buns Social in Providence, look over photos during a session at a local studio space.
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

She’s made it her business to show companies how to use...

Business Women
Way back in the “digital Dark Ages” – 2005 to be exact– 14-year-old Sascha Roberts used to pass the time building a Myspace page...
GAME ON: In 2019, Alissa Stanko was named director of finance for International Game Technology PLC, where she oversees annual budgets and multiyear strategic plans for the worldwide gaming operator. 
PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

IGT’s Stanko aspires for greatness

Business Services
Business Women Awards 2025 WOMAN TO WATCH FINANCIAL SERVICES: Alissa Stanko, International Game Technology PLC director of finance AS A WOMAN in business, Alissa Stanko...
EARLY LESSON: Rebecca Johnson, owner of Sylvan Learning Center in Cumberland and Coventry, says she knew at a young age that she wanted to be a teacher. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Sylvan Learning Center’s Johnson is a classroom ‘coach’

Business Women
Business Women Awards 2025 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Rebecca Johnson, Sylvan Learning Center franchise owner ON A TYPICAL weekday afternoon at the Sylvan Learning Center in Coventry, K-12...
THERAPY TAKES ROOT: Behavior analyst Jenn Pohle named her Nettle & Ash Therapeutic Services practice after a strong, versatile, durable herb and a strong, grounded, long-lasting tree. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Helping those feeling misunderstood

Economic Activity
Business Women Awards 2025 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Jenn Pohle, Nettle & Ash Therapeutic Services owner A PHRASE can tell a story in just a few words. Nettle...
CLEANING UP: Debbie Martitz took over ownership of the family business, Hope Cleaners in East Providence, in 2005. 
PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

A spotless reputation

Business Women
Business Women Awards 2025 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Debbie Martitz, Hope Cleaners owner AFTER 57 YEARS in the family’s dry-cleaning business, Debbie Martitz received some unusual requests. For example: Can...
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