Priya Amin, owner and co-founder of Flexable™ in Pittsburgh, PA, was the first honoree of the Bravery Award. Flexable was started by Amin and her business partner; two moms who wanted to empower the working parent and make work and life easier by creating on-site quality day care services at work or event locations.

Patricia Frances, CEO of Chaucer Press, Inc. in Wilkes Barre, PA was named the Volunteer of the Year. In addition to running her award winning company, Patricia volunteers tirelessly with WBEC-East in creating opportunities for other women owned businesses to grow and succeed.

Ashley Frederick, Sales Manager at Unity Printing Company Inc. in Latrobe, PA, was the first honoree of the New Leaders Award. Ashley received this award as a NextGen WBE who has been in business for at least a year, is active in supplier diversity initiatives and continuously innovates her business model.

Peggy Gionta, founder and owner of Partner’s Consulting in Havertown, PA, was the first honoree to receive the Trusted Advisor Award. Peggy assumes the role of a mentor for newly certified women owned businesses, helping to build the next generation of leaders within the woman business owner network.

Francine Griesing, founder and managing member of Griesing Law, LLC, was honored with the WBE Leadership Award. Francine embodies leadership in her full-service women-owned and operated law firm based in Philadelphia and lends that leadership to the fellowship of women business owners.

Ilyse Shapiro, founder of Let’s Be Direct LLC, a targeted marketing and public relations firm in Wynnewood, PA, was honored with the WBE Done Deals Award. The Done Deals Award recognizes the WBE with the highest spend over the last 12-month reporting cycle with the highest number of certified women business owners.

Women’s Business Enterprise Center – East (WBEC-East) is a regional partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the largest certifier of women-owned business. WBEC-East fosters the development and retention of successful businesses by delivering resources that enable individuals to start new and grow existing businesses.