FAIRFIELD – Before 1988 women business owners throughout the United States needed a male co-signer to get a small business loan. If you go back to 1974, women could not own a house or have a credit card on their own.
Flash forward to 2026. Women executives and business owners in Fairfield County such as Denise DiGrigoli, founder of Drive Media & Consulting; Carla Miklos, executive director of Operation Hope of Fairfield; and Sabrina Smeltz, the first female CEO of Wakeman Boys & Girls Club are doing things women could only dream of in the 1970s and 1980s.
They are also half of the 2026 class of Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Award winners who were honored March 11 at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts. The second annual awards were given for Luminary Entrepreneur, Excellence in Business, Emerging Leader, Excellence in Advocacy, Community Impact, Woman of Distinction.
“As part of Women’s History Month, we are grounding our conversations in a simple powerful truth: women’s leadership and economic development independence are not inevitable,” Beverly Balaz, chamber president and CEO, announced. “They are the results of hard-fought process. Our theme today is empower, connect, succeed.”
DiGrigoli, whose business focuses on strategic communication, brand positioning and sales enablement, has also been in business with her husband, Troy Amuso, as co-owner of Troy Fine Art Services in Fairfield and the Berkshires. She is often called upon to step in as an outsourced chief marketing or strategy advisor when leadership teams need alignment.
Miklos, who has served as executive director of Operation Hope for 19 years before announcing her retirement in January, has built the food and homeless advocacy nonprofit into a $4 million enterprise in nearly 20 years.
Julie Vanderblue, president of The Higgins Group real estate agency and 2025 recipient of Excellence in Advocacy award by the Fairfield Chamber, described Miklos’ impact on Operation Hope.
“Under her leadership, Operation Hope has become a true lifeline for countless families and individuals who are struggling and suffering from homelessness, hunger, insecurity for housing,” said Julie Vanderblue, CEO, Vanderblue Team president of the Higgins Group. “Those things that we all take for granted. She has been fighting for them.
“Operation Hope (started out) helping 250 per year to 1,700 people per year, from a budget of $800,000 – which sounds great, but there are lot of people to help – to a budget of $4 million. She’s opened a pantry for everyone who is hungry.”
Smeltz, who was elevated to CEO at Wakeman in 2020 after serving as COO, successfully headed a $25 million capital campaign to build a Clubhouse in the North End/Hollow section of Bridgeport. It was a partnership with the City of Bridgeport, Southwest Community Health Center and Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders.
Each of the award honorees have a story to tell about woman business leadership that inspired the Fairfield Chamber
Fran Pastore, president and CEO of the Stamford-based Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC), sat down with Balaz during the ceremony to shed some light on the progress women have made in the business world.
“Many of you may or may not know that at the beginning in the early 1900s, women were still considered chattel,” Pastore said. “We were ‘owned’ by the person we were married to. In most cases of divorces that involved children, we immediately lost access to our children. Why? Because society decided we didn’t think we had any way to support ourselves. And in most cases we couldn’t because there were so many professions that we could not do.”
She told Balaz about the next milestone that was reached in the 1980s.
“Then there was 1988, when the Women Business Ownership Act was passed,” she added. “Until then, women need a male co-signer age 16 to co-sign a loan for them. So, imagine, you are Denise (DiGrigoli) and you have your art shop, frame shop and you are a doing business with your wonderful bank. And you decide you want to expand because business is so good. Well, you would need a man. And if you are single woman and you had a son that was 16, he could sign that for you.”
The 2026 Class of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Awards
LUMINARY ENTREPRENEUR
Denise DiGrigoli
Founder of Drive Media & Consulting
Owes her success to her maternal grandmother who took over her grandfather’s auto shop business after he died.
“My maternal grandmother was already doing the work for decades like many other women. My maternal grandfather was a WWII vet. He was a mechanic for Oldsmobile, saved up his money and bought an auto service company in the Berkshires. My grandmother was the bookkeeper and wearer of many, many hats. And in 1974, a short 12 years later he passed suddenly of a heart attack. In that time, my grandmother became a widow, a smart lady with an 8th-grade education. The very next day she became the sole owner of that business, which became a car dealership with extra things going on.”
EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS
Ginnie Thompson
Managing Partner and CEO of Moneco Advisors
Learned her business acumen and leadership skills from her father.
“My father, a WWII vet in the Coast Guard, reminded me when I was 5 years old that I could not go anywhere without a 5-year plan. I’m not sure what that does to a 5-year-old. Ironically or purposefully, it brought me to where I am today.
I can pinpoint a day in the office where I had three young children and a mom in the third of a 13-year battle with Alzheimer’s and trying to navigate the insurance cost and home nursing. I know a lot of you can relate to that.
The common thread was that I didn’t know if I could do another five-year plan until I began talking to people at my work. I realized every conversation I had was releasing everything and trying to figure out what was hell for me and what they turned me to was this community.”
EMERGING LEADER
Neviana Zhgaba
Co-owner of Aquila’s Nest Vineyards
The highly rewarded winery is the result of a combined effort of her and her husband, Ardian Llomi, who are both Fairfield University graduates.
“My husband is the visionary behind the business and a resilient grounding partner.
The biggest challenge to running a business together is working together all day or every day. Empowered women empower women. This is a phrase we practice every day at the vineyard. We are proud to have collaborated with women and their businesses throughout Connecticut and beyond supporting entrepreneurs and leaders in our community throughout the past five years.”
EXCELLENCE IN ADVOCACY
Carla Miklos
Executive Director of Operation Hope of Fairfield
“In the late 1990s, I was presented with an opportunity to put my skills to use to help people who were struggling economically to build skills to transcend their present situation to create a more stable for themselves, their families and their communities. I learned how important it was to show up, stand up and speak up so that change could occur.”
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Karen Kaiser
Vice President of Philanthropy, St. Vincent’s Medical Center—Hartford HealthCare
“This honor is shared with leadership. It takes a team. I’d like to share with Bill Jennings, Jeff Flaks, who gave me my wings and my philanthropy team and assistant philanthropy team. There is a reason that we were awarded the National Employer of the Year. It’s an incredible recognition and award nationally. We support each other.
The community of my Hartford HealthCare St. Vincent’s Medical Center and our incredible neighbors and donors believe that access to health care can change lives. Generations of families in Fairfield are born here, healed here and cared for here. It was founded on a mission of compassion and service. And that continues today.”
WOMAN OF DISTINCTION
Sabrina Smeltz
CEO of Wakeman Boys & Girls Club
“Throughout my life, I have been shaped by strong women – my mom, my aunt, classmates, mentors, coaches and colleagues who showed me that leadership is an act of service. I was also fortunate to be raised by a dad who taught his four girls that thinking independently and to be bold was the way to go. Those lessons instilled in me a responsibility to open doors for others just as doors were opened for me. At Boys & Girls Club, we often talk about a blue door. The door is more than a symbol. It’s a metaphor for opportunity. When a young person walks through that blue door in a club, they are stepping into a space where they are seen and supported and believed in.”
