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2018 Contributing Editors: Wisdom and Talent

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Meet HERLIFE Magazine’s contributing editors for 2018. They are talented, dynamic women who are experts in their field. We are so pleased that these women, who own their own companies and run nonprofit organizations in our communities, will be sharing their expertise with our readers. Over the next year, we will get to know them better and we look forward to their wisdom. This month we asked our contributing editors to share their thoughts on leadership.

Dorothy Rogers-Bullis
Dorothy Rogers-Bullis, co-owner of drb Business Interiors and Saratoga CoWorks, has always had the spirit and drive of an entrepreneur.  A graduate of Temple University.  Dorothy and her husband Dan co-founded drb Business Interiors in 2009, a commercial furniture and workspace design company and then in 2014 opened the doors to Saratoga CoWorks because of the desire to help entrepreneurs and business professionals succeed.  Dorothy is an active volunteer, donating her expertise to organizations in her industry and in the Saratoga Springs community.  She cofounded Saratoga Women In Business and serves as a career mentor to Skidmore students.  She is also involved with the Interior Industry and Design Alliance and is a board member for the City of Saratoga Springs.

Pearls of Wisdom
“What makes a good leader is to have the drive to build and foster businesses that promote positive growth and change in the business community, and then to take that experience to mentor others to do the same.”

Lori Anne Harris
Lori Anne Harris has almost 35 years of experience in the employee benefits field working for a top-tier health insurer, before opening her own insurance agency with her father Bill Mather, Sr., her sister, Michele Seddon, and brothers, Bill Mather, Jr. and Stephen Mather. HMS Agency, Inc., is a NYS Certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise and was founded over 21 years ago. Lori Anne is a licensed life, accident/health agent and property/casualty broker. She is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and has served as the chairman of the Capital Region Chamber’s Business Referral Group #1. She is an active member of the National Association of Healthcare Underwriters, Women’s President Organization, and serves on the board of the Ellis Hospital Foundation.

Pearls of Wisdom
“Lead by example and be consistent and patient. My high school quote came from a book I loved, A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford. The quote that stuck with me at 17 is still the driving force today: ‘We are each authors of our own lives, we live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the accolades.’” 

Tracy Metzger
Tracy L. Metzger, President, TL Metzger & Associates, has been active in commercial real estate in the Capital Region for more than 25 years. In early 2000, Tracy opened her own brokerage and consulting business, which has been ranked as one of the top commercial brokerage firms in the region. She received her paralegal degree from Mount Ida College and BA from State University at Albany. Tracy serves on boards including City of Albany IDA; City of Albany Capital Resource Commission; Center for Economic Growth; and the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District. She is a member of Women’s President Organization; Capital Region Chamber; Commercial & Industrial RE Board, GCAR; and NYS Association of Realtors.

Pearls of Wisdom
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis

Heather E. Tangora
Heather E. Tangora, CEO and co-founder of Tangora Technologies, Inc., has been an entrepreneur providing cutting edge technology for New York’s Tech Valley Region homes with tomorrow’s technology since 1996. She received a BS from Plattsburgh State University and is married to her business partner and co-owner, Michael Tangora. Heather has been recognized as a St. Peter’s ALS Special Volunteer and is a past board member of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce. She is a current member of Women Presidents’ Organization Albany Chapter 2 and Forum for Executive Women and past board chair of Bethlehem Chamber. Heather served on the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Business Council, Women of Excellence (WOE) Committee and served as the Chair of WOE for
two years.

Pearls of Wisdom
“Lead by example. Be available. Strong communication. Listen. I like to gather my facts when I have a problem, so I can make a better decision to find the solution or to solve the problem.”

Jessica Pelton Rowell
Jessica Pelton Rowell is executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Rensselaer County. She holds a BA from Spelman College and a master’s degree from Marist College, and she earned her certification to teach English as a Second Language from the World Learning School for International Training. In 2012, Jessica was a Women in Public Policy Fellow through the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society at the Rockefeller School of Management at SUNY Albany. Prior to assuming the lead role at the Boys and Girls Clubs, Jessica was the director of program development and partnerships at Girls Incorporated of the Greater Capital Region. She is the owner of Carissa Ceremonies and specializes in providing unique and personalized ceremony officiant services.

Pearls of Wisdom
“I believe there is great power in leadership, but not in a hierarchal, traditional sense. Leadership has the power to transform everything and everyone that it touches, and therefore requires great responsibility, integrity and accountability for those that take on the role. To inspire true growth across an organization, a team or a community, leaders must be willing and able to grow as well.” 

Daquetta P. Jones
Daquetta P. Jones was appointed Executive Director of YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, Inc., in Troy, New York, in December 2013. Daquetta is a 2011 graduate of The Sage Colleges Graduate School of Management, she possesses a BS from The Sage Colleges of Albany and an AAS degree from HVCC. Daquetta serves on the Rensselaer County Continuum of Care Homelessness Collaborative Board and chairs the Data and Goals Committee; Capital Region Tech Valley Chamber Nonprofit Business Council; and City of Troy Ethics Commission. Her previous service includes A More Welcoming, Inclusive and Safer Troy: Community Conversation steering committee and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Family and Consumer Science committee. She frequently speaks on panels related to YWCA-GCR mission on topics such as Girls Rising, women’s empowerment, diversity and inclusion.

Pearls of Wisdom
“An effective leader embodies the company’s mission, empowers and guides from behind, leads by example, takes risks and fully embraces their part of a team. We are visionaries that create solid strategic steps to see the visions through. As a passionate and visionary leader, I must always look at the bigger picture and accept that it is not about me. It’s bigger than me; it’s about those we serve.”

Anzala B. Alozie
As the executive director of Youth Development and the Albany YMCA with the Capital District YMCA, Anzala B. Alozie leads the Albany YMCA branch and the Association’s youth development programs. Formerly, she served as Vice President of Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. She presents leadership development and empowerment trainings and workshops across the nation, and she spent several years representing survivors of domestic violence with immigration issues. Anzala is a board member of the National Women of Color Network, a board trustee of the Albany Leadership High School for Girls, Advisory Council member of Mission Accomplished Services and member of the Women’s Leadership Circle. She is graduate of Albany Law School, Union University and Purchase College.

Pearls of Wisdom
“My favorite quote is, ‘Leadership is a choice, not a position,’ from Steven Covey. And, I believe even if you are afraid, do it anyway. Take your seat at the table. Be A Conscious Co-Creator of Your Life!”

Joella Viscusi
Joella Viscusi is the founder and President of Ambient Environmental, Inc., a New York State Certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise providing professional environmental consulting services. Joella began her environmental career as the assistant to an industry leader at the infancy of the industry in the late 1980s. This experience enlightened Joella to the evolution of opportunities that exist for women in the business world. In 2006, she risked everything she had worked for and established Ambient Environmental in the basement of her home. Twelve years later, Ambient Environmental is a recognized consulting firm with 28 employees headquartered in Albany, New York, with a satellite office in Syracuse, New York. Joella has been the recipient of awards such as the 2011 Women of Excellence, WERC and the YWCA Resourceful Women.

Pearls of Wisdom
“A good leader leads by example and not just words. They have the ability to set a vision and inspire others because they have walked their talk.”

Sandra Fox
Sandra Fox is the founder and President of Sensory Six, a residential and commercial interior design firm that creates distinctive, high-end spaces promoting inspiration, health and wellness. Previously a top executive in the architecture and engineering industry, Sandra has received numerous business awards including Woman of Excellence and 40 Under 40. She is magna cum laude graduate of Russell Sage College and resident of Saratoga Springs. Sandra has served on numerous boards, including for Girls Inc. and the CNSE Children’s Museum of Science and Technology. She is active in the Women’s Presidents Organization, National Association of Home Builders, Capital Region Builders and Remodelers Association, Professional Women in Building, and she is a frequent speaker and contributor to publications.

Pearls of Wisdom
“Great leaders are optimistic and long-term thinkers. They think about where they want to be in the future, identify what they need to do to get there, and act daily with steps moving them in that direction. They see everything that happens to them, good or bad, as an opportunity and choose to learn and grow from those experiences.”