Let’s hear it for girl power! These five women are making waves in their respective industries and have big plans this year.

RICHARD GORMLEY

LINDSAY MIS
Executive Director, DATMA

Lindsay Mis

With a professional background in museum management and a love of arts and crafts — she’s an artist herself, and operates a metalsmithing studio in an old fiber mill — Lindsay Mis is charged with exploring the overlap of art, technology and public engagement as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Design Art & Technology Institute, New Bedford’s innovative arts organization founded in 2016, otherwise known as DATMA.

The non-collecting museum presents public artworks, exhibits and workshops that contribute to the cultural life in the South Coast region and beyond, and Mis uses her imagination to expertly facilitate collaboration between artists, organizations, legislators and the general public.

Beginning July 1 and running until Sept. 30, look for Summer Winds 2019 inaugural season, a collaborative of exhibitions, programs and initiatives in partnership with over 20 local organizations.

HELENE GRETJEN

TAIBI MAGAR
Theater Director

Taibi Magar

Egyptian-American theater director Taibi Magar made her directing debut at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge earlier this spring, leading the world premiere of the musical “We Live in Cairo.”

But that’s really no surprise for the talented Magar, who, after college, knocked around New York City with her MBA from Brown University and a passion for theater, holding down part-time jobs, assisting other directors, building her own body of work, and winning a prestigious 2018 Obie Award.

Magar believes all theater is political, and chooses scripts that explore racism and misogyny through a highly detailed visual lens. She strives to create work that is perceived by the audience as a gift.

GLOW

JENNA WALL
Entrepreneur

Jenna Wall

Jenna Wall’s taste and administrative skills serve her well as the owner of Watertown-based tanning salon, Glow. The former cosmetology, business and marketing student bought the place in 2015 from her boss, after working there, on-and-off, for seven years.

At Glow, Wall keeps up with current trends and thinks out of the box by adding new features, like its full-body UV-Free Red-Light Therapy—a clinically-proven, low-level laser therapy that’s good for muscles and skin—one of the first and only places in the Boston area to have it.

Owning a business was a dream for Wall, and she still is dreaming, with plans to expand.

NICK STEBEN

KATY WEEKS
Entrepreneur

Katy Weeks

Katy Weeks grew up surfing on Cape Cod beaches, before leaving as a teen to follow waves and sun around the world.

Ten years ago, and back at home, Weeks opened Sugar Surf, her Wellfleet-based surfing school with an all-female staff and a mission to get more girls in the water. Her business is thriving, with students of both genders ranging in age from five to 82.

As an aside, Weeks mentions, “Oh, I have another business that I started in 2004,” she says. “Katy Weeks Garden Maintenance, which also has an all-female staff.”

CHERYL CRONIN

CHERYL CRONIN
Director, Boston Public Market

Cheryl Cronin

After reaching the pinnacle of her profession as a member of the legal team for President Obama’s national campaigns, and his Massachusetts counsel for both presidential campaigns, longtime attorney Cheryl Cronin has made an unlikely, but for her, satisfying, switch to local food and small business worlds, taking over the reins at Boston Public Market.

Cronin currently oversees the market’s expansion into Logan Airport’s Terminal C (due to open this fall), along with curating the vendors at both sites, and supervising the seven-member staff—all but one female.

She also provides a user-friendly experience for the millions of visitors who have visited the market since it opened in 2015.

Catch up on other New England women to watch.