PROVIDENCE – A sellout crowd of 370 gathered at the Providence Marriott Downtown Thursday to mark the career success and potential of 28 women at PBN’s 11th Business Women Awards luncheon.
Taking home the Career Achievement award was BankNewport President and CEO Sandra J. Pattie, the institution’s first female leader in its nearly 200-year history.
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Recognized as the Outstanding Mentor was Rhode Island Foundation Vice President of Technology and Operations Management Kathleen Malin, who admitted she has been mentoring since giving childhood advice to her siblings (whom she admitted might say her mentoring was just her being “bossy”).
In remarks to the honorees – 16 of whom were nominated by the business community, 12 of whom were chosen for monthly profiles by PBN – Pattie recalled her more than 30 years at the bank, which she said were marked by her continuously volunteering to take on new challenges, even though in many cases she “knew nothing” about the job at hand.
Although she couldn’t point to mentors in her own career in the sense they are now understood, Pattie recognized three people who made significant contributions to her career and her life and whose help led her to the place she is now. The first was the bank’s CEO when she moved into management, whom she said didn’t really sit down for a cup of coffee to talk about things but who was always pushing her to improve.
The second was the bank’s chairman of the board when she became CEO, whom she was forced to lean on for advice and a sounding board soon after taking on that new role. And the last was her husband, who has helped her come to grips with her inability to learn life balance as well as she’d like.
Among the pieces of advice she gave to those gathered for the lunch: be curious, put fear behind you and eat chocolate every so often.
In her remarks to the attendees, Malin said she is grateful to work for an organization that is dedicated to helping improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders. And she gave a brief series of mentoring tidbits as well: read the instructions, don’t be afraid to ask, be dependable, buy the ticket and trust yourself because you are awesome.
The winners of the 2018 Business Women Awards program are profiled in a special section included in the May 25-31 issue of the newspaper. They are (by category):
- Creative Services Industry Leader: Dyana Koelsch, DK Communications, owner
- Creative Services Woman to Watch: Morgan Durfee, TribalVision, senior marketing manager
- Financial Services Industry Leader: Edythe M. De Marco, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, managing director and wealth management adviser
- Financial Services Woman to Watch: Jennifer Hogencamp, BlumShapiro, partner
- Health Care Services Industry Leader: Colleen Ramos, Women & Infants Hospital, Care New England, vice president of finance
- Health Care Services Woman to Watch: Sara S. Johnson, Pro-Change Behavior Systems Inc., co-president & CEO
- Nonprofit Industry Leader: Suzanne Fogarty, Lincoln School, head of school
- Nonprofit Woman to Watch: Stephanie Frazier Grimm, The Confetti Foundation, founder
- Professional Services Industry Leader: Connie Tang, Princess House Inc., president & CEO
- Professional Services Woman to Watch: Carolyn Belisle, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, managing director, community relations
- Social Services Industry Leader: Barbara Fields, R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp., executive director
- Social Services Woman to Watch: Margaret Teller, The Children’s Workshop, president & CEO
- Technical Services Industry Leader: Patricia Steere, Steere Engineering Inc., president
- Technical Services Woman to Watch: Erin Darmetko, Amica Mutual Insurance Co., information systems officer
The Achievement Honorees for 2018, profiled monthly throughout the last 12 months (listed alphabetically):
- Elana Carello, Elana Carello Sweaters, owner
- Jeanne Cola, LISC Rhode Island, executive director
- Norah Diedrich, Newport Art Museum, executive director
- Marita Loffredo, Phalang-Ease Mittens LLC, founder
- Ally Maloney, Maloney Interiors LLC, owner
- Michelle Maynard, 360 Face Mind Body, owner
- Katherine Messier, Mobile Beacon, founder
- Christine Noel, Rhode Island Children’s Chorus, artistic director
- Christina Procaccianti, Green Line Apothecary LLC, owner
- Kaitlyn Roberts, Easy Entertaining Inc., owner
- Jennifer Shaheen, Technology Therapy Group LLC, president
- Tuni Schartner, TS Consulting/TRS Strategies, owner
This year’s presenting sponsor for the Providence Business News Business Women Awards is Webster Bank, and partner sponsors include Bryant University, Citrin Cooperman and CVS Health Corp. Gift sponsors were 360 Face Mind Body, bnourished and Princess House.
