First Ever Palm Beach County Women For Women Initiative To Celebrate Inspiring Locals For Galentines Day

JUPITER, FL – February 12, 2018 – This year for Galentine’s Day, Palm Beach Social Diary has teamed up with some of the amazing women in our community to promote a vital message: women’s empowerment. Just as women across the nation are banding together to bring light to this issue, we have teamed up to spread this important message here in Palm Beach County.

In its first year, the Palm Beach County Women for Women initiative (“PBCWFW”) features 16 women spanning three generations and myriad of professions. Though each of these women come from different backgrounds, they all believe that the path to success begins with self-belief. Galentine’s Day (February 13th) has become a day recognized by women across the globe as an opportunity to celebrate love between friends. For this reason, it is the ideal occasion to thank some of the female entrepreneurs and influential members of our community for being an inspiration to all women on this day, and every day of the year.

Perhaps at no other time since the Women’s Suffrage Movement have we seen such a groundswell of support for women’s empowerment. The past few years have shown positive signs of change. However, there is still a long way to go.

On Wednesday, January 31, the representatives of the Palm Beach County Women for Women initiative met at Café Boulud for a meet and greet and stylized photo session. Clothing was provided by J McLaughlin, food and beverages from the outstanding team at Café Boulud of the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, and photography donated by Kim Fontaine Photography. The 2018 PBCWFW representatives include:

1.    Shanon Materio, West Palm Beach City Commissioner District 5 and President, McMow Art Glass

2.    Teneka James, Associate Director, Downtown Development Authority, Downtown WPB and Director of the West Palm Beach Arts and Entertainment District

3.    Felicia Combs, WPTV Storm Team 5 Meteorologist

4.    Penny Williams, Dreyfoos School of the Arts Teacher, Theatre Costume Design and Construction

5.    Kristen Schonwald-Vila, Co-Owner, Grandview Public Market

6.    Danielle Mitchell Zelaya, Founder & Creative Director, Gather and Seek, WPB Warehouse District

7.    Julia Murphy, Chief Development Officer, Compass Community Center and President of the Young Professionals of the Palm Beaches

8.    Candi Spitz, Special Events Manager, PBC Pediatric Outreach Coordinator 211 Hotline

9.    Rhonda B. Clinton, Founding CEO, Family Promise North/Central Palm Beach County

10.  Gil Walsh, Interior Designer, Author and Owner of Gil Walsh Interiors, also Board Member of Cultural Council of the Palm Beaches

11.  Abby Zinn, Owner, Palm Beach Pillows

12.  Kimberly Fontaine, Owner, Kim Fontaine Photography

13.  Cristyle Egitto, Broker Associate, A Perfect Location Real Estate, Founder of EatPalmBeach, Freelance Food Writer

14.  Jacquelyn Quesada, Founder of Labarre, Labarre Pilates + Momentim Cycle

15.  Dionne Schneider, Owner, Coastal Girls Co, Practice Relations Liaison for Boynton Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Center, Co-Director of Implanting Hope

16.  Julie Franceschini, Executive Pastry Chef, Café Boulud

“We must be role models to each other,” said West Palm Beach District 5 City Commissioner Shanon Materio. “Women’s empowerment is about leadership as a chain reaction. From young girls to fellow professionals, if we all believe that we can inspire those around us with our words and actions, we will carry the torch picked up from those who preceded us, taking it as far as we can for those who will follow.”

“Women must always support one another, so that once equality is won, we will not lose it,” said Abby Zinn, mother of two and entrepreneurial owner of Palm Beach Pillows. “By the time our daughters are grown, I hope gender won’t affect their ability to be exactly who they want to be, and I hope they turn into women that serve as role models for their daughters and the generations that follow.”

Palm Beach Social Diary is a woman owned and operated digital publication. The editors, Jessica Fontaine Swift and Leah Logue, both feel passionately that empowering women to believe that they can achieve anything is in keeping with the ethos of their upbringing here in Palm Beach County, and their community.

“If education, self-awareness and perseverance are the hallmarks of empowerment, these women are the hallmarks of hope for future generations of women in Palm Beach County,” said Jessica Fontaine Swift, Palm Beach Social Diary Editor. “Every day in Palm Beach County young women wake up to see Felicia Combs describing the weather on WPTV. When they open a newspaper, they may read about the wonderful things Commissioner Materio is doing for our community. When they walk past a mural in downtown West Palm Beach, they will know it is Teneka James who is responsible for the Arts & Entertainment effort. We want them to understand that PBCWFW is about empowering them to dream big.”