They are brave. They are courageous. They are beating the odds. They are the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Women in Leadership honorees, and together, they’re conquering the world.
The chamber honored Grace Kestler, Lisa Pein, Dawn Andrews and Telma Santana at the annual Women in Leadership luncheon Friday. More than 300 people gathered to celebrate the bravery these four women have exhibited throughout their lifetime.
Chamber President Cindy Frey said the honorees were chosen by a selection committee from a list of top female leaders in the Columbus area. Each woman was considered by a variety of topics, including how the person exhibits courage in their career and their background.
“We want to showcase people who are stepping up and venturing into that entrepreneurial territory,” Frey said. “It’s important if we’re going to be a community that celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship that we take the stigma out of failure. That we let people know that most success stories are not in a straight line.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
That idea is what the theme of this year’s luncheon was about. The theme is based on founder of Girls Who Code and bestselling author Reshma Saujani’s book, “Brave, Not Perfect.”
“It’s an honor because we’re so different, and I think that bravery shows itself in so many different forms,” Andrews said. “It’s great that we’re all women and we have these amazing stories. To be one out of anyone who could be picked is pretty cool.”
Each honoree took 10 minutes to share their background with the crowd, highlighting the ways in which they’ve taken risks that put them in the place they’re in now.
Grace Kestler
Kestler, a Columbus native, is making her first run for political office for Columbus City Council after a lifetime of exploring the unknown.
“For me, being brave is more about the little things in life that sometimes we look back on and we’re not really recognizing in the moment that that’s what we were doing — being brave,” Kestler said.
She said girls and women tend to find themselves overcompensating to prove to people that they’re something they’re not, to be accepted and to fit in.
Growing up with a disability, Kestler said it was hard to see herself in places where she didn’t necessarily fit in — places she said seemed to be reserved for “walkers.” But she never backed down. She caught a travel bug and explored new countries on her own. She started her own business, Grace Kestler Consulting. And most recently, she announced her first run for political office as a way to be a role model for other girls who may not feel represented.
“I’ll leave you with one quote from the book and that’s that ‘people will always be rejected, but set your sights high. Be bold and ambitious. Be relentless and never give up,’” Kestler said, quoting Saujani’s book.
Lisa Pein
Pein is an intensive outpatient program coordinator for the Life Works program, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church’s addiction recovery program. Pein said she is helping others the way others helped her.
Struggling with addiction for 15 years, Pein discovered a way out. She earned a degree at Ivy Tech Community College in three years. A volunteer-gig at Lincoln Neighborhood Center turned into a job opportunity. Then she joined the Life Works team where she currently helps others find a path to recovery.
“People recognize this as bravery,” Pein said. “For us, it’s what we have to do. I’m sharing this story today with people because I do want you to know recovery is possible.”
Dawn Andrews
Andrews moved to Columbus in 2002 with her two boys and the clothes on her back, searching for a new beginning. Having dropped out of high school and growing up in a home with poverty and abuse, Andrews sought a way out.
She applied for a job at QMix where she said Keith Reising took a chance on her. There, she worked as a news director and a radio host, then transferred into ad sales and sales management — all with no background.
Andrews left the security of jobs in radio broadcasting and banking, remarried and added to her family, waged a successful battle against cancer and overcame the grief of losing her father. In the middle of all this, Andrews started her own cosmetics business, recycling castoffs into beauty product packaging for her individual line of products.
Her company’s name originated from a commitment by Andrews to recycle items into art before her business morphed into cosmetics and personal-care products that are made of natural ingredients and packaged in recycled material.
Early in her business venture, Andrews recalled her father asking her how the business was going, and she told him she didn’t know what she wanted to do with it.
“He looked at me and said, ‘The only thing that really keeps people from wanting to move forward is if they’re afraid,’” Andrews said. “I left and went on my way, and that was the last time I saw him.”
Andrews has turned garb2Art into a fledgling cosmetics business, private-labeling and wholesaling to hundreds of stores across the United States including Von Maur and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Telma Santana
A woman-owned, minority-owned trucking service would not be the enterprise it is today without the guiding force of Santana, who founded TPS Industrial Services with just one truck and one driver.
Santana, a native of Brazil, moved to Columbus in 2012 when her husband got a job at Cummins Inc.
Thinking about her own potential ventures, Santana told her husband she wanted to start a trucking company.
“He said, ‘Knock yourself out,’” Santana said. “Now I needed to get a truck.”
She purchased her first of 25 trucks, registered her company, and today has 20 employees and 25 trucks. She also recently purchased a 55,000 square-foot facility to house her masterpiece.
Santana said she did it all with a little bit of persistence and a commitment to chase her dreams. “It starts with a vision, and the success comes when you’re strong, you work hard and you have faith,” she said.
She proudly recognizes herself as the second minority woman to own a trucking company in the United States.
“I am so proud because it was very hard to be where I am today and when they announced me to be here, I said now I can say I did it,” Santana said. “I’m very happy and proud of myself. I’m a brave woman.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Dawn Andrews” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Dawn Andrews
Age: 41
Occupation: Founder and CEO of Garb2Art Cosmetics
City of residence: Columbus
Family: Husband Scott; children Larry, Luke, Kate, Brenna and Maggie
Education: Left school after eighth grade but obtained a GED at age 21.
Community organizations: Volunteers in Medicine Reverse Raffle Committee and Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County Recovery Programs Team Member
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Lisa Pein” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Lisa Pein
Age: 50
Occupation: St. Peter’s Lutheran Church- Program Manager-Intensive Outpatient Program, Certified Alcohol and Drug Additions Counselor; Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center-Neighborhood Revitalization
City of residence: Columbus
Family: Daughter, Lauren Eads; Son, Carter DeWitt
Education: Ivy Tech – Addiction Studies; Purdue Global – Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Arts in psychology and addiction counseling
Community organizations: Member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Mayor’s Advisory Council on Safe and Affordable Housing, Board of Directors-Thrive Alliance, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Action Team, Human Services Advisory Board-Ivy Tech, Leadership Bartholomew County Alumni (2017), Bartholomew County Substance Abuse Council, ASAP-Recovery Programs and The HUB, Coordinator for the 9th St Area Neighborhood Watch Group
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Grace Kestler” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Grace Kestler
Age: 29
Occupation: Founder, Grace Kestler Consulting; Community outreach coordinator, Advocates for Children – CASA
City of residence: Columbus
Education: DePauw University – Communications and Anthropology; Alice Salomon University of Berlin – Master’s Degree in Culture and Conflict Studies
Family: Parents, John and Elizabeth Kestler; Sisters, Grace and Hannah; Brother, Noah
Community organizations: United Way Board Governance committee; United Way Volunteer Action Center Committee; Inspire Columbus Team; BCSC Continuous Improvement Committee; CAMPO – Citizens Advisory Committee; Exhibit Columbus design review team; Brighter Days/Love Chapel Volunteer; Magazine Club; Columbus Young Professionals
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Telma Santana” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Telma Santana
Age: 40
Occupation: President and founder of TPS Industrial Services
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil – moved to El Paso, Texas, with her husband where they worked for Johnson Controls
Work history: Santana began her career as a material and logistics manager for Johnson Controls Inc. in her hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to the company’s website. After marrying another Johnson Controls employee, the company transferred the couple to El Paso, Texas, in 2001. It wasn’t until her husband, Felix H. Santana, was hired by Cummins Inc. in 2012 that the couple moved to Columbus, the website stated. After hearing daily discussions regarding diesel engines and trucks, Santana decided to found TPS in 2013 as a truck load service provider with a single truck and driver, according to the website. In subsequent months, the company was able to gradually secure more than 10 trucks, as well as obtain its warehousing facility in southeast Bartholomew County.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Where to find the book” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Bestselling author Reshma Saujani’s book, "Brave, Not Perfect," is currently available for $25 at Viewpoint Books, 548 Washington St, or online at viewpointbooks.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
