30 Miami Women Business Founders Are Honored at Inaugural Awards Ceremony

(MIAMI, FL – April 26, 2022) — Miami Girls Foundation is proud to present its inaugural 2022 Miami Founders Award Ceremony to recognize 30 women business leaders and the companies they founded. The event will be held Tuesday, April 26 from 6 to 9 PM at Paradise Plaza event space in the Miami Design District, 151 NE 41st Street, on the 3rd floor.

To celebrate Miami's legacy as the only major American city founded by a woman – the trailblazing Julia Tuttle, who founded Miami in April 1896 — Miami Girls Foundation, with support from the Miami Design District, will recognize 30 women leaders, innovators and activists who define Miami's business, tech, start-up, healthcare, and fashion industries.

Founded by Ekaterina Juskowski, Miami Girls Foundation was created in 2015 to advance the mission of closing the gender wealth and funding gap by sharing success stories of female leaders, recognizing their achievements and learning from their journeys, with a goal of empowering future generations of South Florida females.

"Miami is a female-centric metropolis. It was founded by a woman 126 years ago and is consistently ranked high on the list of cities with large numbers of women-owned companies," stated Juskowski. "One of the goals of Miami Girls Foundation is to empower women in business by exploring the disparity in funding of women founders and giving this conversation a wider audience."

The list of 2022 Miami Founders honorees, which was curated with help from Babson WIN Lab under the leadership of Michelle Abbs:
Abby Melone, founder of Capital Analytics; Adrienne McWilliams, founder of Bridge Networks; Alex Esteve, founder of Car Buckets; Alexandra Fuente, founder of Woxer; Ali Majia and Mariela Ravita, founders of Eberjey; Amy Tseng, co-founder of TissueTech; Anastasia Mikhalochkina, founder of Lean Orb; Anna Sanchez and Lola Sanchez, founders of Oliver Gal Art; Areeya Lila, founder of ViewN; Avra Jain, founder of Vagabond Group; Dejha Carrington, co-founder of Commissionner; Dennisha McThay, founder of Dennisha McThay Design; Elena Cardone, founder of Build An Empire; Federika Longinotti-Buitoni, founder of Collecto; Jaclyn Baumgarten, founder of Boatsetter; Johanna Mikkola, co-founder of Wyncode Academy; Julie Sharma, co-founder of Wellness Coach; Katy Stoka, founder One Two Cosmetics; Megan Broccoli, founder of Voi Logistics; Monique Idlett-Mosley, founder of Reign Venture Capital (Rvc); Nathalie Cadet-James, founder of Luxe Fete; Olivia Ramos, founder of Deep Blocks; Susanne Birbragher, founder of Liaisons Corporation; Tara Solomon, founder of TARA, Ink.; Taylor Cohen, founder of Adashah;  Tere Blanca, founder of Blanca CRE; Tiara Miles, founder of Koki Experience; Valerie Lopez, founder of Angle Platform; Ximena Kavalekas, founder of Ximena Kavalekas; and Yenvy Truong, founder of Health Snap.

The Miami Founders Award was created with a grant from Knight Foundation and has a mission to give visibility to organizations forging opportunities for women founders in Miami. For the inaugural 2022 Miami Founders Award Ceremony, Miami Girls Foundation partnered with Venture Miami Opportunity Program at FIU and Web3 Equity.

Venture Miami Opportunity Program at FIU provides targeted access and support to female founders of color, a significantly underrepresented group in the innovation economy. Under the guidance of Director Kenasha Paul, the program seeks to help close Miami's inclusion gap among Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) by enrolling 20 BIPOC female business leaders affiliated with community-based organizations in Miami. Paul will attend the 2022 Miami Founders Award Ceremony. For more information, please visit: https://engagement.fiu.edu/coalitions/venture-miami-opportunity-program.

Web3 Equity pursues gender equity in web3 by onboarding women into web3 through increasing knowledge, as well as network and resources for women investors, collectors, and creators. At the 2022 Miami Founders Award Ceremony, guests will be able to learn about the organization, open a crypto wallet, and purchase a Tuttle Tribe NFT that will unlock the membership to attend in-person and virtual learning events.  www.web3equity.io.

Miami Girls Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media for social change platform empowering women in South Florida. The foundation supports Miami leaders shaping the future of our city by amplifying their voices through media partnerships, social media campaigns and multimedia art projects. www.miamigirls.org.

Ekaterina Juskowski, founder of Miami Girls Foundation, is an artist, writer, and photographer, working in the intersection of Art, Media and Social Justice. Juskowski leads Miami Girls Foundation as its President and Creative Director. Since its inception in 2015, Miami Girls Foundation has profiled more than 100 Miami women with the goal of elevating the image of the "Miami girl" stereotype.

Past projects include InsideOut (https://www.insideoutproject.net/en/explore/group-action/miami-girls) in partnership with HistoryMiami Museum and "Never Not Working" in partnership with the Miami Workers Center (https://news.artnet.com/market/this-artist-putting-invisible-work-domestic-laborers-front-and-center-miami-1411297).

Miami Design District is a creative neighborhood and shopping destination dedicated to innovative fashion, design, art, architecture and dining.

Paradise Plaza Event Space is a one-of-a-kind venue in the Miami Design District. Its modern architecture features floor to ceiling windows, with incredible views of the District and the Museum Garage. The artistic backdrop sets the tone for a unique guest experience.