When it came time to select profile candidates for this month’s “You Go, Girl!” cover story, we quickly discovered that it wasn’t going to be easy. Thanks, in large part, to some enterprising sniffing around by senior editor Dawn E. Warden and senior writer J.F. Pirro, we were besieged with an embarrassment of riches—in the form of more than 20 successful women worthy of note.
Seeing as we didn’t want to shortchange readers—or our subjects—with a cursory rundown of career highlights, the list was narrowed. Ultimately, it came down to the collective opinion of our editorial staff who, after much deliberation, reached a consensus as to what we felt was the right mix of compelling, unconventional success stories in the arenas of business, law, politics, media, academics, artistry and sports.
As for the others, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge some of them here. In fact, we’ve already covered a few in previous issues of Main Line Today. You might recall our January 2008 story on Winnifred Cutler, president and founder of the Athena Institute in Chester Springs and author of the new book Hormones and Your Health: The Smart Woman’s Guide to Hormonal and Alternative Therapies for Menopause. Paoli’s Sheilah Vance also made our original list. We recommended her latest book, Land Mines, in our April 2009 issue. And local mom Homa Tavangar’s new book, Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be at Home in the World—another “MLT Must”—has thrust her into the national spotlight.
Other women we just can’t keep quiet about include:
• Penn Valley’s Janet Calderwood, who’s injecting retro flair into homes throughout the region as the tastemaker behind Calderwood 2, a Philadelphia furniture gallery focused on international design from the second half of the 20th century.
• West Chester’s Kim Woodworth, regional vice president at Comcast Spotlight’s Eastern Division, an author and a frequent speaker on women’s issues.
• Original QVC host Ellen Langas Campbell, now president of NouSoma Communications, a marketing, publishing and public relations firm in Downingtown with an impressive client list that includes AstraZeneca and her former TV employer.
• Kennett Square’s Amy Cornelius, construction manager at Hugh Lofting Timber Framing in West Grove, and a noted expert on building green homes.
• Volunteer extraordinaire Nancy Wingo, chair of the Hunger Task Force at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.
• Narberth’s Natalie Connor, the unflappable VP and marketing manager of two Philly radio stations that couldn’t be more different—92.5 WXTU-FM (country) and 96.5 WRDW-FM (hip-hop).
Expect to see more on these and other inspiring women in future issues of Main Line Today.
