National Business Women’s Day: Celebrating the Women of Cowe
National Business Women’s Day honors and recognizes the accomplishments of business women across the nation. At Cowe Communications, we work with a team of phenomenal women who are passionate, creative, and driven. They love what they do, and it shows in the work they do. In celebration of today, we wanted to share with you what motivates our team to continuously strive to give our best in what we do.
Our mission is to build strong, dynamic, and wildly successful businesses through education and inspiration. That holds true, not just for our clients but for our team as well. Get to know our team as we share where our passions and work intersect.
Q: Share what you love to do. How does that cross over to your work?
Miri Rossitto, CEO: I love to solve problems for other people. Solving problems is what I love about being a wife because I get to help my husband understand why ice cream isn’t a complete dinner or why his driving is truly terrible. I solve problems for my children by showing them that eye rolling is not an actual form of communication or that ice cream isn’t a complete dinner. These problem-solving skills really cross over into my work because there I am able to solve far more complex problems that have real world implications.
Nicola Staples, COO: I began a career in radio, and that started my love affair with communications – in all its forms. I love people and I’m motivated by what motivates others. Every day I get to work with different people on businesses and brands that mean the world to them. And, I get to help them communicate their message more effectively!
Alex Garafalo, Director of Design: Growing up as an athlete, I thrive when I am part of a team. At Cowe Communications, we harness each of our strengths and pick each other up when things are challenging. We experience the power of teamwork daily.
Savannah “VDK” van der Keyl, Client Relations Manager: I am an actor who loves filmmaking, creativity, and art which perfectly crosses over into my work at Cowe! Luckily, as an example of this crossover, I was given the opportunity to create our Instagram Reels which allows me to creatively explore ideas, edit videos, occasionally perform, and just create some really fun Reels!
Savannah Patronete, Director of Business Development: I enjoy supporting my community. As a communications firm we specialize in uplifting individuals and organizations which allows me to connect with a wider community than I ever dreamed.
Lindsey Sine, Director of Marketing: I love constantly being creative and being able to put my own spin on things. Cowe has taught me how to help showcase extraordinary businesses in a way that is most beneficial, unique, and inspiring.
Ashley Rowe, Graphic Designer: I love being creative, problem-solving, and making beautiful things. As a graphic designer, I’m able to spend my days problem solving for clients and finding the best ways to convey information in a visually striking way.
Robyn Richardson, Photographer: I love to travel and more specifically see the world, see different landscapes, appreciate nature and all of its beauty (from palm trees and ocean to desert and snow, it’s all beautiful). That love of nature crosses over into my work by always carefully composing my images to include great backgrounds. While the subject is by far the most important part of a portrait, I LOVE to put the subject into a great scene that enhances the portrait. Whether it’s the family’s favorite beach or favorite hiking trail, I try to make the background add to the story as well as the visual interest. I also love relationships. My own and others. When I travel, I love to share the experience with someone. When I’m photographing people, I love to celebrate their relationships!
Danrochelle Yumul, Communications Specialist: I love stories, especially stories of people who inspire others and create a positive impact in someone’s life. I love meeting people and listening to them share their passions and how they manifested their dreams into their current reality. But most of all, I love being able to write about those stories and share them with others. And it definitely crosses over to what I do at Cowe—writing blogs on women of impact, business life ups, and local landmarks!
Q: What do you love about your job and working with the Cowe Communications team?
Miri Rossitto, CEO: I love my business partner and my team. Nicola is the best part of my job because no matter what happens during our day, she ALWAYS reveals the silver lining. Our team is wildly talented, so smart, incredibly creative, and passionate about doing good work for good people and there isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for them. We get to do what we love and then channel that excitement into work that transforms our client’s businesses. It’s AMAZING!!
Nicola Staples, COO: Every day is different, we are always solving a different problem, creating a new ‘look’, and consistently learning! As well as working with our varied client base, I have the privilege of working with the wonderful Cowe Crew. I am consistently amazed by the team’s creativity and dedication – the team and our wonderful leader – Miri, inspire me every day!
Alex Garafalo, Director of Design: Being in the Cowe Crew is the best because I get to be myself. I am able to freely express my opinions, feedback and criticisms and know that I am heard and supported by my team.
Savannah “VDK” van der Keyl, Client Relations Manager: I love that this job allows me to do so many different things – I get to constantly work on new projects, learn about different industries, and never get bored with the same repetitive work. Plus you really can’t beat working with all of the incredible people on the Cowe team, which basically feels like a family! I always feel so supported and I am in constant awe of the talent and kindness that every single person has on this team.
Savannah Patronete, Director of Business Development: It is special being in the Cowe Crew because we are a family but also because of the enormous community we encounter and support. I’m honored to work with such an inspiring and hard working team.
Lindsey Sine, Director of Marketing: Being a part of Cowe is like being a part of a family. We know one another so well that it only enhances our work and furthers its personality, because we know the strengths and passions within our team.
Ashley Rowe, Graphic Designer: Working with the Cowe team is working in the most supportive environment you can imagine. I love the understanding, care, and strength that each person approaches their work with.
Robyn Richardson, Photographer: I love that I get to take my passion for photography (and passion of being a small business owner myself) and use those two things most important to me, to help others. I get to help the COWE clients grow through imagery that I create! I also love getting to work on a creative team on bigger projects since my everyday work tends to be mostly isolated and “doing my own thing”.
Danrochelle Yumul, Communications Specialist: What’s not to love? I love working, learning, and being inspired by this incredibly talented team! I am beyond grateful and lucky to be a part of this team. Being a part of this team, I am able to find that sweet spot of work-life balance, of doing what I love to do while learning more skills and more about this industry. I love that I get to write in so many different formats—blog posts, press releases, newspaper articles, social posts, etc. I love covering events, interviewing members of the community, and sharing those stories on the blog. It’s fantastic!
Q: Where does your passion and your work intersect? What impact does that have on you and your life?
Miri Rossitto, CEO: People are my passion. I grew up being told that I wasn’t smart enough, pretty enough, or quick enough to really be something impressive in this world. The truth is though, when you don’t have anything or anyone to catch you when you fall, you do whatever it takes to NEVER fall, or at least not too hard. Yes, therapy has and will always be a good investment for me, but in the end being passionate about solving problems for people led me to my team, this community, and this company that I love so much. I wouldn’t change anything about my life and I am the luckiest person I know every single day.
Nicola Staples, COO: I love supporting the work of non-profits and I’m always so grateful that everyone at Cowe has the same passion. It makes me proud and content to know we are doing what we can to help make the world a better place!
Alex Garafalo, Director of Design: The Cowe Crew is so enthusiastic about everyone’s individual interests and it shows. As a youth softball coach, I need flexible hours to attend practices or games. Knowing that I am able to prioritize my passion for coaching while also tackling my professional responsibilities has created a perfect balance that keeps me motivated.
Savannah “VDK” van der Keyl, Client Relations Manager: My passions lie with acting and identifying as a creative individual – which intersects with the work I do at Cowe because this job is inherently very creative. When I’m not working at Cowe, I’m working on my acting career which includes taking classes, listening to interviews of successful people, auditioning, watching theater/film/tv, reading, and immersing myself in all of these things in the entertainment industry that bring me joy. I have found that it has made my life much fuller and I am happiest when I get to be creative, when I learn new skills, and when I surround myself with wonderful people. All of which I feel very lucky to have in both my work with Cowe and in my work as an actor!
Savannah Patronete, Director of Business Development: I am passionate about all aspects of my work! I enjoy meeting new people, finding new ways to promote businesses, and using my organizational and creative skills to succeed with the Cowe Crew. Being a part of this team has helped me achieve some of my highest professional and personal goals. It was a life changing decision to join Cowe and I’m thankful for it everyday .
Lindsey Sine, Director of Marketing: The ability to have a job you love that is also flexible is icing on the cake. When I wanted to make a major life change and move cities, I saw nothing but support from Cowe. I can now continue the work that I love from a location I love as well.
Ashley Rowe, Graphic Designer: My passion for making things completely overlaps with my work. I spend my days challenging myself in software, techniques, design, and my life is richer for it. I get to take the things I learn during my working hours to use on my passion projects in my free time.
Robyn Richardson, Photographer: I feel they intersect 100%, which is why I’m so stubborn about being self-employed. I get to do what I love, all the time! Capturing the beauty of Southern California and celebrating people’s relationships makes me happy. Happy visually, but also happy in my soul from the interactions with people and the experiences traveling. It makes work worth doing. It makes the often-long hours of being an entrepreneur worth all the effort!
Danrochelle Yumul, Communications Specialist: Not a lot of people can say that their work is their passion. When I get asked, what do you do for a living, I get to say, ‘I’m a writer.’ That is everything. Being a writer has always been my dream. It took a long time but I’m finally, really doing it! And not only that, I still get to utilize all the other skill sets I’ve learned along the way and I get to learn more from this phenomenal team! As an added bonus, my daughter gets to see me do what I love. It’s my hope that it inspires and encourages her to pursue her dreams and go after what she loves as she grows up.
