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Across Toledo, women are building businesses that fuel our local economy, strengthen neighborhoods, and deliver exceptional service. This feature celebrates women-owned companies and service providers shaping our region with creativity, leadership, and grit—inspiring future leaders and spotlighting their stories, expertise and the impact in northwest Ohio.
VALERIE LAMBERT, LDO | OPTICAL ARTS
2934 W. Central Ave., Toledo | (419) 535-7837 | opticalartsinc.com
What do you love most about your job? Helping people feel confident in how they see—and how they’re seen. I love turning glasses into a fashion accessory instead of a necessity and creating an experience that’s fun, welcoming, and personal.
Got my start: I got my start when I spotted a reception job posting for Optical Arts on a bulletin board in my high school dining hall. What began as a part-time job turned into a lifelong career and eventually ownership of the business.
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? Stepping away from what I thought was my “dream job” in marketing, switching careers, and trusting myself enough to take on leadership and ownership were big challenges—but also the most rewarding.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success: Adaptability and willingness to learn. I’ve embraced every role—from receptionist to apprentice to licensed optician—and I’m always growing.
What sets you apart in the industry? We bring together fashion, education, and community. We care deeply about people—our patients, our team, and the optical community as a whole.
What is the one piece of advice that most changed your life? If something doesn’t work out, treat it as a lesson—not a failure—and keep going.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? Building a business that honors a long-standing family legacy while creating a positive, supportive environment for my team—and making a meaningful impact in the community.
Advice you’d give your younger self: Be proud of every step, even the ones that feel uncertain. They’re all leading you somewhere important.
Favorite indulgence: A cozy night in with a great true-crime documentary.
Service organizations/non-profits close to your heart: Organizations that support foster care, children in need, vision access, and community involvement.
First job: Serving up hot dogs and ice cream at Netty’s on Alexis!
Something most people don’t know about me is: My husband and I are foster parents and have adopted our son.
HEALTH FOODS BY CLAUDIA | CLAUDIA K DAVID ROSCOE
3904 Secor Rd, Toledo | (419) 474-2400 | healthfoodsbyclaudia.com
What do you love most about your job? I love to being able to witness the true healing ability of the human body when assisted with tools of nature’s pharmacy. Herbs, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants…that is when we see the synergy that exists between the human body, nature’s pharmacy and the power to heal and balance. It’s humbling, to say the least.
What’s one trait that you consider essential to your success: One trait that I’m grateful for is that I’m not one to listen to others’ negativity about things in life but rather, have always followed my heart and creative vision. Too many people quit before they get started but my mother taught me to stay focused on my own abilities and from my heart and I’m so grateful!
What sets you apart in the industry? What sets my store apart is our continued education as a team so that we may share what we do with others responsibly and with care. I always say that I am a student in natural healing every day for fifty-two years now and counting!
One piece of advice that most changed your life? One piece of advice that my mother gave me when I was in high school was to not take others personally, which can be very difficult to do. But working with the public all these years, her wisdom has helped me learn just to be there for people asking for help, rather than to judge them and that feels right in my heart.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment? My greatest accomplishment by far has been with my husband James, raising our three beautiful sons and watching them become wonderful respectful men. I am very blessed.
Advice that you’d give to your younger self: To be more patient. At sixty-seven, I’ve come a long way but still a work-in-progress!
MAUMEE BAY BREWING CO. | DANIELLE PERKINS
27 Broadway St., Toledo | (419) 243-1302 | mbaybrew.com
What do you love most about your job? Personally I love that every day is different. Sometimes we have the restaurants running smoothly and I am in meetings most of the day. Other days we have huge events going on at MBBC and we are all running around like crazy. Some days we are out with the food truck getting the opportunity to be a part of great community events. We get to be a part of a lot of special occasions, hosting weddings, retirement parties, baby showers and so much more! It is always an honor to be a part of those events. One thing is always for certain, I am never bored!
Got my start: I started in the restaurant business as a hostess when I was 17. A lot of years have passed since then and I have had the opportunity to learn a lot of new roles.
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? Honestly, the work home life balance is a big struggle in this industry. I feel like it is what I have to work at every day. We spend so much time with the people we work with everyday it is like a second family and sometimes it is hard to separate from that.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success: Organization! When I have as many things on my plate as I do, if I didn’t stay organized I would always be behind.
What sets you apart in the industry? I try to really listen to everyone on the team, some of the absolute best ideas we have for events come from the staff. The awesome person that runs our social media accounts came up with the idea for Thrift & Sip, another person that worked here came up with the idea for I Do & Brew, the sales manager for the brewery brought Hop Chef to me. Listening to everyones great ideas is how we grow!
What is the one piece of advice that most changed your life? Spending five minutes freaking out about being behind just puts you five more minutes behind. I tend to be a pretty calm person overall which really helps when things are getting crazy!
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? In my personal life I would say my three kids, being a mom is the best role ever. At work, building the greatest team of people to take care of our guests. From managers to servers, line cooks to dishwashers every single person matters to deliver a great experience for the guests.
Advice you’d give your younger self: Don’t rush everything, take your time to find what makes you happy. There isn’t a race to get where you are meant to be.
Favorite indulgence: Travel, I am the happiest when I have more than one trip countdown on my phone! I say that vacations are my families reward for putting up with me working all the time.
Service organizations/non-profits close to your heart: Anything for animals or kids.
Something most people don’t know about me is: I am oddly good at basketball, I have never played on a team but when I play with my husband and kids I always beat everyone. Which is funny because my husband is very competitive and I am not!
LASALLE CLEANERS, INC. | BRITTANEY RESNICK
Downtown Toledo, Fifth Third Center, Levis Commons, Sylvania-West Toledo, St. James Shops | lasallecleaners.com
What do you love most about your job? I love making connections and building relationships with new and existing customers. Interaction is the best part! Whether it’s remembering someone’s name and having their orders ready before they walk in or making small talk and joking to see them smile. It brings me joy to wait on them; they always brighten my day!
Got my start: I started working in customer service at the front counter. From there I learned about spot treatments, pressing garments, repairing and operating machines, alterations and resolving issues.
What challenges did you overcome to get where you are today? There have been many challenges we have overcome in business, but I would say one of our biggest was dealing with the pandemic. It was rough to stay fully operational as a small business. Being an essential business, we did not let it break us! We were able to work with our employees by shortening some hours and were able to keep all our staff. We stayed strong to ensure our customers could be provided with our service.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success: My drive and I’m also very goal oriented. I push myself as far as possible. This allows me to continue growing our business and satisfy our customers.
What sets you apart in the industry? I think what sets us apart in the industry is we have been operating for 95 years as a family-owned business! We uphold our word and will be honest with our customers in all situations. We also have state-of-the-art equipment and our services are eco-friendly.
What is the one piece of advice that most changed your life? The biggest piece of advice that most changed my life was when my father-in-law said to me: “You can’t get far if you don’t do the hard stuff.” This pushed a button and made me realize than when owning a business, every day isn’t going to be a good day. Some days you must resolve a complaint or stay until the middle of the night to fix things like a broken machine or finish a big project. At the end of the day, you won’t learn and grow if these kinds of things are neglected.
Greatest accomplishment: Being able to prove that my husband Nate and I were able to take over the business. It is very important to me that we are the 4th generation. I plan to achieve greater things in the future and stay active in the community.
Advice you’d give your younger self: Do not be afraid to put yourself out there! Connect with as many people as you can and learn a little bit of something everywhere you go.
Favorite indulgence: I would never refuse a hot brownie sundae with extra cherries on top!
Service organization/non-profit close to your heart: Kaitlyn’s Cottage in Defiance, Ohio is a wonderful non-profit organization. They provide for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. The joy and love they provide is just one of the most beautiful things to witness.
First job: Selling coffee and different breads at Toledo’s Farmers Market.
Something most people don’t know about me is: Most people don’t know that I really enjoy fishing and attending hockey games. Go Fish!
INSIDE THE FIVE | BAYLEIGH SCHOETTLEY , OPERATIONS MANAGER
5703 Main St., Sylvania | (567) 408-7212
1040 N Westwood Ave. | (419) 720-0415
insidethefivebrewing.com
What do you love most about your job? I love how Inside the Five is always growing, evolving, and exploring new ideas as a company. It keeps things exciting and gives me the opportunity to continuously learn.
Got my Start? I started at Inside the Five as a host, and it was my first job in a brewery/restaurant environment.
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? My family and I moved from my home state of California to my husband’s home state of Ohio in 2018. Moving to a new place without knowing anyone was a big adjustment, but it pushed me to try something new. I started at Inside the Five in 2019 as a host and worked my way up, wearing many different hats along the way. Now, as the Operations Manager, I truly value having gained experience in every aspect of the business.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success? A willingness to learn has been key to my growth. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t stayed open to learning from everyone and every situation
What sets you apart? My growth mindset. I constantly look for ways to learn, improve, and contribute wherever I’m needed, which has allowed me to grow alongside the company and support its evolving needs.
What is the one piece of advice that most changed your life? My parents always emphasized finding the magic in every situation. Maintaining that positive mindset and trying to create that kind of environment for others has played a big role in shaping my career.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? Balancing it all—kidding! But truly, being able to be a part of it all feels like a big accomplishment to me. I get to work for an amazing company where I feel empowered to succeed while also balancing time with my family, mom life, kids sports, and a social life.
Advice you’d give your younger self? Try something new and be vulnerable!
Favorite Indulgences? I’ve been known to indulge in an IPA or Pale Ale after work.
Service Organizations/non profits that are close to your heart? After losing my mom to cancer, supporting organizations that give back to the cancer community and their families has become very important to me.
First Job? I worked at a small mom and pop pet store while in high school.
Something most people don’t know about me is? I might seem organized but I lose my phone at least three times a day.
sustaining my strong, loving marriage of 21 years. As our wedding dance song stated, “I could not ask for more.”” – Diana Spiess
ESSENCE MIND BODY STUDIO | DIANA SPIESS
725 Ford St B, Maumee | (419) 873-6463 | essencembs.com
What do you love most about your job? I absolutely love helping people live their healthiest, most joyful journeys! It’s truly an honor and blessing to have folks share their hopes and dreams with me and to help them set up a plan to achieve their heart’s desires.
Got my start: I got my start young! I was a very competitive athlete in high school and began teaching fitness classes at 19 years old at the University of Toledo. From there, it has only grown and expanded into so many modalities. I have now been teaching and training for over 35 years! It seems surreal for sure.
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? Oh, so many. When we opened essence, the economy tanked in 2009 and we weren’t even two years old yet. It was beyond worrisome. But the community that is Essence stayed strong — and that was actually when yoga began to grow in a big way. People came in seeking tools to manage stress and uncertainty, and it showed me the importance of looking beyond a typical, conditioned mindset of what causes failure versus what builds strength.
Along the way, I faced numerous personal challenges, including serious health issues within my family — like my kiddo missing three years of school — while balancing motherhood and running a business. Then came COVID.
But I will tell anyone, and I teach this often: these experiences brought powerful lessons. They strengthened my belief in myself and allowed me to witness how deeply people showed up in support of me and the family that Essence is. I wouldn’t change a thing. It was all divine guidance — and incredibly powerful.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success: I find that being able to see the joy in everything to be so very important…not just to the success of my businesses, but also to all of life. Even the times that we call “challenging” are super important to all that is to unfold and I have learned to embrace this. When doing so, it becomes obvious that my energy does not get drained and I can hold up my work for my family, clients, and staff with much more ease.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? My greatest accomplishment is raising my kids while running and growing small businesses that serve people to live their healthiest lives all while sustaining my strong, loving marriage of 21 years. As our wedding dance song stated, “I could not ask for more.”
BLACK & WHITE TRANSPORTATION | JUDY POTTER
4665 W Bancroft St, Toledo, OH 43615 | bwtransportation.com
What’s a great recent discovery? The Transversa/Broda chair. It is a revolutionary hybrid wheelchair that will greatly expand our services for those in need.
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? There are many from banking, contract, employee relationships and cashflow to name just a few.
HLH ORTHODONTICS | DR. SARAH HANSEN
Lambertville | Maumee | Sylvania | perfectbraces.com
What do you love most about your job? I love seeing how patient smiles and self-confidence improve over treatment. Your smile is one of the first things people notice about you, and straight teeth can make a big difference in how you view yourself. It’s wonderful seeing patients that wouldn’t smile very much before or during treatment start to show off their teeth at the end!
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? One of the biggest challenges I faced was maintaining motivation through the time it took to get through college, dental school, and orthodontic residency. Luckily, I had supportive family and friends, and my wonderful now-husband, who made it possible to survive a 7-year long distance relationship.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success: One trait essential to my success is my determination. I have always had a strong desire to stick with things until they are done to the best of my ability. Whether it was setting out to read an entire Harry Potter book over night, teaching myself how to crochet, or designing the perfect Invisalign case, I am determined to meet my goals.
Favorite indulgence: My favorite indulgence is good coffee! During the week, I’m a big fan of my Keurig to make something quick and drink it in the car, but on the weekends, it’s fun to go out and get something a little fancier. My husband and I love trying local coffee shops, and my go-to drink is a soy cappuccino.
Service organizations/non profits close to your heart: I am a chair for a committee that organizes a 5K race in the fall called Miles for Smiles. We meet about once a month to organize the race, and the money raised is donated to help provide dental care for those in need in our community. We have provided funds to support a new community dental clinic in the greater Toledo area, donated dental products, and funded dental services.
First job: My first job was either babysitting or refereeing youth soccer games. I loved refereeing! On Saturday mornings, I would oversee games for elementary-school-aged kids, which were never very long or intense, and no one kept score. Plus I made some extra cash for my American Girl doll fund.
BEACON ASSOCIATES | RHONDA WISE
1755 Indian Wood Circle, Ste 200, Maumee | baifinancial.com
What do you love most about your job? Helping people feel calm and confident during some of the most complex and emotional decisions of their lives.. Healthcare and Medicare can be overwhelming, especially as people age or experience life transitions. Being able to simplify the process, advocate for clients, and know I’ve helped protect their dignity, health, and peace of mind is incredibly rewarding.
Got my start: I began my career more than two decades ago in the healthcare and insurance space, learning the business from the ground up. Over time, I discovered that my real passion wasn’t just insurance-it was education and advocacy. That passion eventually led me to co-found our firm with my husband, where we could build a service-driven organization focused on long-term relationships, not transactions.
What challenges did you overcome to get to where you are today? Like many women in business-especially in financial and insurance-related fields-I had to earn credibility early on in environments where I was often underestimated. Balancing entrepreneurship, leadership, and family life was also a significant challenge. I learned quickly that resilience, preparation, and staying grounded in my values were essential to moving forward with confidence.
What’s one trait you consider essential to your success? Empathy. Truly listening to people and understanding not just their healthcare concerns, but the emotions behind them has shaped how I lead and serve. Trust is everything in this business, and empathy is how it begins.
What sets you apart in the industry? I approach healthcare and Medicare as an educator and advocate first. My goal has always been to empower clients with clarity so they can make informed decisions. I don’t believe in pressure or shortcuts-only thoughtful guidance, transparency, and long-term care for the people we serve.
What is one piece of advice that most changed your life? “Do the right thing, even when it’s harder.” That principle has guided my decisions both professionally and personally, and it has never steered me wrong.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? Building a firm rooted in integrity, service, and family while also raising children who are now preparing to carry that legacy forward. Knowing that our work impacts both our clients’ futures and our own family’s next generation is deeply meaningful to me.
Advice you’d give your younger self: Trust yourself sooner. You don’t need to have all the answers to take the next step-you just need to be willing to learn and stay true to who you are.
Favorite indulgence: A quiet evening with family or taking our Corvette out for a drive when I need to clear my head.
Service organizations / nonprofits close to your heart: Community service has always been important to me. I’ve been deeply involved with St. Luke’s Foundation and served as chair during a major transition period. Supporting organizations that improve access to healthcare and strengthen our community is something I care deeply about.
First job: My first job was bagging groceries. It taught me humility, hard work, and the importance of showing up with a good attitude-lessons that still serve me today.
Something most people don’t know about me is: Before entering the business world, I competed in the Miss Ohio USA pageant system. It was an experience that helped me develop confidence, discipline, and comfort speaking in front of others-skills that still benefit me today.
