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Business Women

HOLDING THE LINE: In the face of federal funding cuts, Cortney Nicolato, CEO and president of United Way of Rhode Island, fostered a spirited collaboration among state nonprofits.
PBN PHOTO/­ELIZABETH GRAHAM

For United Way of Rhode Island’s Nicolato, there’s no place like...

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 CAREER ACHIEVER: Cortney Nicolato, United Way of Rhode Island Inc. CEO and president The CEO and president of United Way of Rhode...
Getting down to business: Elizabeth Catucci, executive director of the Partnership for Rhode Island, has rapidly become a key player in shaping Rhode Island’s economic landscape. 
PBN PHOTO/­ELIZABETH GRAHAM

From Chamber leader to economic strategist

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 WOMAN TO WATCH | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES: Elizabeth Catucci, Partnership for Rhode Island executive director When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Rhode Island in...
A realtor’s realtor: Christina Rouse, director of marketing and operations at Sweeney Real Estate and Appraisal, not only works in her own company but also helps colleagues in the industry. 
PBN PHOTO/­ELIZABETH GRAHAM

Shaping the commercial real estate landscape

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 WOMAN TO WATCH | REAL ESTATE: Christina Rouse, Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal director of marketing and operations Christina Rouse has spent...
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
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...
Reusing real estate: Joy Riley, founder and principal broker at Westcott Properties, ­believes in adaptive reuse, most notably when she represented the space that became Providence’s Steel Yard.
COURTESY WESTCOTT PROPERTIES

Westcott Properties’ Joy Riley invests the time into her business

Business Women
PBN Business Women Awards 2026 INDUSTRY LEADER | REAL ESTATE: Joy Riley, Westcott Properties founder and principal broker Joy Riley, founder and principal broker of Westcott Properties,...
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
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
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

Business Women
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
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
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...
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