Business Women

Miriam A. Ross may have the secret to being a successful business owner – and balancing that with other professional, as well as personal, obligations and interests – and the answer isn’t all that surprising. May 5

Exceptional women from Rhode Island businesses in six industry categories, as well as a leading career achiever and an outstanding mentor, were chosen for Providence Business News’ fifth annual Business Women Awards program. May 1

Kristin Zhivago describes herself as a “revenue coach” and says personality counts when selecting her clients. Mar 31

Edesia founder and executive director Navyn Salem will receive the 2012 New England Businesswoman of the Year award later this week at Bryant University’s annual Women’s Summit. Mar 13

As the director of marketing and new-business development for Union Studio in Providence, Emily Hall is responsible for marketing strategy and finding new clients. The work is part of the ongoing evolution of the Rhode Island School of Design graduate’s interest “in the business side of art and design,” she said. Mar 3

When choosing her profession, Lavinia “Vinnie” Velazquez never thought twice. She has spent a career in the human-services field working with the homeless who might have chronic mental-health issues, working with those battling abuse problems or advising prostitutes to straighten out their lives. Some might find it difficult, but not Velazquez. “I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity,” she said. Feb 4

She’s a slim wisp of a woman quite at home at this place where she is employed, although Eileen Hayes would never call what she does every day “work” because she is so deeply committed to it. Helping others has long been her way of life. Dec 31

When Julie Sygiel and Eunice Png were undergraduates in 2008, they did what many Brown University students do in their entrepreneurship class. They developed a product to sell. It took four years, but the Sexy Period line of underwear is generating interest – and customers – not only in Rhode Island but internationally. Dec 5

It was a little more than six years ago when Luz Arteaga Pray took over the Wickenden Street hair salon where she had worked for a decade. She bought the 20-year-old Hairspray Salon, as well as the building where the basement shop and three other tenants are located. Nov 5

When Maria Gemma officially stepped from behind the desk as property manager of her family’s real estate business in 2009, she firmly planted her feet in front of an issue that had grown out of personal grief into a very public passion. Oct 1