Celebrating Women in Business in the Montgomery Area

By Barbara A. Preston l March 8, 2021

While women have come a long way, the road to equality is still long. In New Jersey, for example, "women-owned businesses" ranked number 41 in economic clout out of 50 states nationwide, according to roi-nj.com.

While more women own businesses nationwide, the "women-owned businesses employ fewer workers on average (0.7) than all privately held businesses (1.8) and all firms, including publicly traded companies (3.8)," according to the State of Women-Owned Businesses, a 2019 special report by American Express.

Basically, women-owned businesses in New Jersey lag far behind men-owned businesses when it comes to revenue, number of employees, and the amount of funding received.

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), reports: "While women now represent 40 percent of all U.S. businesses, women-owned businesses still struggle to access the capital they need. For instance, women-owned businesses still account for less than 4 percent of total venture capital funding received," according to NAWBO.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Montgomery Business Association and The Montgomery News have joined forces to recognize local businesswomen, and to encourage folks to shop local, and to especially support our local businesswomen.

Cynthia Weshnak, Montgomery Business Association Vice President, says: “Help us honor Women’s History Month by becoming a regular customer of our many businesses owned and operated by women. In addition to supporting women, you will help strengthen our local economy.”

Cynthia Weshnak visits "Tumbles, The Learning Playground" in the Princeton Shopping Center North, Route 206, Skillman.

Somerset County Business Partnership Trustee Shanel Y. Robinson says: “The sky is the limit for our women in business. Let’s put them front and center this month and support their establishments, leading them to a prosperous and sustainable future.”

Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Y. Robinson visiting one of Montgomery's women-owned businesses — Elephant in the Room Design in Princeton Shopping Center North, Route 206, Skillman.

Celebrate Montgomery women in business — and help them stay in business through the pandemic — by visiting them online.

RESTAURANTS

⁕ Alison Iovine, Beniamino’s Cucina & Pizza, beniaminoscucina.com

⁕ Kim Borredon, Alfonso’s Pizza, alfonsospizzaofprinceton.com

⁕ Dawn Genteel, Genteel’s Pizza, genteelsbrickovenpizza.com

⁕ Violetta Neri, Hopewell Valley Vineyards, hopewellvalleyvineyards.com

⁕ Sema Secilmis, Midpoint Grill, midpointgrill.com

⁕ Caren Wendall, One 53 and Lucy's Kitchen & Market, one53nj.com and lucystogo.com

⁕ Karen Ambrose, Sweet Gourmet Bakery, sweetgourmet.biz

HEALTH CARE & FITNESS

⁕ Purvi Desai, DDS, InSmile Dentistry, nyfamilydentist.com

⁕ Jodie Shuster, Princeton Center for Yoga and Health, princetonyoga.com

⁕ Mary Boname, MD, Montgomery Eye Care, mecnj.com

⁕ Joyce Guojun, DDS, Prime Dental Care, primedentalsmiles.com

⁕ Deepa Rao Nyayapathi, DDS, Montgomery Dental Loft, montgomerydentalloft.com

⁕ Bhumika Patel, DDS, Rocky Hill Family Dentistry, rockyhilldentistry.com

⁕ Aparna Chawla, DDS; Mary DeCicco, DMD; SRI Dental, sridental.com

ANIMAL CARE

⁕ Kim Weisner, DVM, Caring Heart Animal Hospital, caringheartanimalhospital.com

⁕ Christina Newman, DVM, Harlingen Veterinary Clinic, harlingenveterinaryclinic.com

⁕ Patti Maslanka, VMD Home Care Veterinary Clinic, homecare-vet.com

⁕ Heather Achenbach, Executive Director, SAVE A Friend to Homeless Animals, savehomelessanimals.org

THE ARTS

⁕ Kelly McDermott Stretch, The Dance Factory dancefactory1.com

⁕ Cynthia Sabonick, Dance Exposure II, danceexposure.net

⁕ Jennifer Pierce, Frank Veronsky Photography, FrankVeronsky.com

⁕ Michelle Farrington, Farrington's Music, farringtonsmusic.com

⁕ Karen Tuveson, Art by Karen Tuveson, karentuveson.com

EDUCATION & CAMPS

⁕ Pinky Shah, Kumon Montgomery, kumon.com/skillman

⁕ Susan Alaimo, College Bound Review, CollegeboundReview.com

⁕ Gabrielle Roux, Sebastiani Fencing Academy, sebastianifencing.com

⁕ Dominique Young, The Coder School thecoderschool.com/locations/montgomery

⁕ MJ Narula, Code Ninjas, codeninjas.com/nj-hillsborough-montgomery

⁕ Trusha Surti, Kiddie Academy of Hillsborough, kiddieacademy.com/academies/hillsborough

⁕ Swapna Gurla, Sigma Academy, thesigmaacademy.com

⁕ Katie Hale, Your Friendly Math Tutor, yourfriendlymathtutor.com

⁕ Jade Ko, Tumbles-The Learning Playground, princeton.tumbles.net

⁕ Donnetta Bishop-Johnson, The Allegra School of Music and Arts, allegrasma.com

RETAIL

⁕ Marie Voorhees, Hidden Spring Lavender Farm, hiddenspringlavender.com

⁕ Pam Mount, Terhune Orchards, terhuneorchards.com

⁕ Mary Hageman, KiKi D’s, kikidresses.com

⁕ Donna Gasior, Gasior’s Furniture & Interior Design, gasiorsfurniture.com

⁕ Maryam Mohammadi, Princeton Rug Gallery, princetonruggallery.com

⁕ Jessica Kia, Havly Towels, shophavly.com

⁕ Arva Sura, Insta Crystal, instacrystal.com

⁕ Ellyn M. Ito, Seeds to Sew International (Hopewell), seedstosew.org

⁕ CJ Johnson, Elephant in the Room Design, elephantintheroomdesign.com

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

⁕ Raina Rauf, Allstate Insurance, agents.allstate.com/raina-raufskillman- nj

⁕ Cynthia Weshnak, Callaway Henderson Sotheby‚ International Realty, homesnap.com/Cynthia-Weshnak

⁕ Doris Dundorf & Robin Gottfried, Coldwell Banker, RobinDorisHomes.com

⁕ Stephanie Will, Coldwell Banker, StephanieWill.com

⁕ Kathy Devine, CPA Devine & Devine, 609-497-0060

⁕ Mayor Devra Keenan, High Impact Advisors, linkedin.com/public-profile/in/devrakeenan

⁕ Susan Mullin, Nigido Mullin Investment Strategies, nigidomullin.com

⁕ Lauren Borchardt, Mulberry Hill Interiors, instagram.com/mulberry_hill_interiors

⁕ Lorette Pruden, Team Nimbus NJ, teamnimbusnj.com

⁕ Ashwini Mokashi, Philosophy and Happiness LLC, ashwinimokashi.com

⁕ Jean Robinson, Ivy Counseling Group, ivycounselinggroup.com

⁕ Barbara A. Preston, The Montgomery News, TheMontyNews.org.

“Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” — Founding Mother and First Lady Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband (1776).

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Photos by FrankVeronsky.com. and fashion provided by Kiki D’s Women’s Clothing Store.

If your business is not listed, please email editor@TheMontyNews.com to be listed in future women’s business directories.