Women In Profile — New Castle County — Summer 2009
Every week we work with outstanding professional women, and with this issue we have decided to do our part in spotlighting some of these fascinating women. On the front cover are just a few of the many women that we have met, and on the inside you will find short profiles on each of these women. In the future months we will be doing more profiling of women from different walks of life.
Dr. Grace Liu
Co-owner
All About Smiles
www.AllAboutSmilesDE.com
302-239-1641
All About Smiles’ co-owner Dr. Grace Liu works with a team of extremely happy people. She, being dental phobic herself truly understands the emotional journey one has to go through in a dental office. Fun, loving, warm and fuzzy are the four words in describing the atmosphere at All About Smiles. Patience is the one characteristic shared by everyone who works there. Dr. Grace Liu believes that a dental office is not just a place for patient to seek dental services. It should also be a safe haven where the entire family’s dental health is entrusted and well taken care of. A perfect dental visit cannot be established merely by the dentist providing the service to the patient. It is a group effort put forth by every individual who works at the dental office. It is the mission of All About Smiles to never cease to exceed the expectation of the clients.
Dr. Grace Liu was born in Taiwan and came to the United States when she was 14 years old. She earned her degree from New York University School of Dentistry. She continued her education through post-graduate training at Columbia University in New York City and the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies in Nevada. Although Dr. Grace Liu has been through various training programs to keep her dental knowledge and skill on the cutting edge, her passion has always remained in helping children and elderly patients. At All About Smiles North Wilmington location, she is able to schedule special office hours for patients requiring longer appt at a more private setting.
When Dr. Grace Liu is not at the office, she is at the car pool line picking up her two children, at the library paying for the late fee and getting the dinner ready for her husband’s return. She enjoys spending lots of time with her family dancing, singing, reading lots of books and watching lots of movies. She lives in North Wilmington with her husband Dr. Lewis Yu and their children. Dr. Lewis Yu is the other co-owner of All About Smiles.
Dale Maahs
Owner, Dale’s Shoetique
4023 Kennett Pike
Greenville
www.dales.com
302-655-6003
Dale is enjoying her fifteenth year as a successful entrepreneur. She owns and operates Dale’s Shoetique, an upscale ladies shoe, handbag and accessory shop in Greenville. Dale started her business in 1994 in Wilmington as Dale’s Avenue Boutique then opened her second location in Greenville in 1999 where her business is now anchored. She is very proud of the fact that her shop has the honor of being chosen for several years now as the Best Shoe Store in Delaware by Delaware Today Magazine’s readers and critics.
Before striking out on her own, Dale was fortunate enough to gain valuable experience along the way. She feels the opportunities she has had in retail management, fashion modeling and agency director of the Barbizon School of Modeling, advertising sales, real estate agent and as Director of Relocation for two prominent local real estate companies, all have helped her hone her skills in building the foundation for her own successful business.
When Dale wants to “escape” from her busy life as an entrepreneur you can find her enjoying her other passions, boating on the Chesapeake Bay with her friends or immersing herself in total enjoyment of her flower gardens.
Norma J McGee
President/Owner
Colonial Brandywine Rug Co
2107 Concord Pike, Rt202, Fairfax Shopping Center
Wilmington, DE 19803
www.colonialbrandywinerug. com
302-654-1121
Norma McGee has been selling rugs and flooring for over 35 years. First as a salesman at Brandywine Rug Co. in Rockland, DE, and then as the owner of Colonial Brandywine Rug Co in the Fairfax Shopping Center.
Norma takes great pride in helping her customers make a house into a home. Whether it is the smallest guest room or the master suite, her experience and extensive product knowledge make choosing the right carpet or rug a pleasure. She treats people the way she would like to be treated and that is reflected by the number of repeat customers and the referrals from former customers.
She is a member of the Better Business Bureau, The New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, The Alternative Board (TAB) and is a Lifetime member of the Talleyville Fire Company’s Ladies Auxiliary,
Norma is a native Wilmingtonian and is married to Walter Hurst and they reside in Wilmington.
Christina Harrison, MHS
CASA State Director
Delaware Family Court CASA Program
www.casa.courts.delaware.gov
Christina.Harrison@state.de.us
302-255-0461
Christina Harrison is the CASA State Director for the Delaware Family Court’s Court Appointed Special Advocates Program (CASA). Prior to employment with Family Court, she worked with the Delaware County’s CASA Program (Media, PA) as the Program Director. Within all of her duties there, she managed to serve as a CASA Volunteer for several cases, serving over 32 children. It is a joy that her great work with CASA has continued as she commenced employment with Delaware’s CASA Program. Ms. Harrison is known to expose the great works of the CASA program by presenting at many community and church events across the state and representing the program within the National CASA network. Her love for children and people, who are passionate about helping abused & neglected children, is demonstrated in her commitment and smile.
Ms. Harrison is a graduate of Lincoln University with a Bachelor degree and Master of Human Service degree. She is currently a doctoral student in the Human Service program at Capella University.
Finding time is a niche for this soon to be bride. She enjoys helping others, reading spending time with her family, exercising and preparing for her upcoming wedding in December to her fiancé’, Jerone Browder.
Rita S. Wilkins
President
Design Services, Ltd.
1403 Silverside Professional Park
Wilmington, DE 19810
302-475-5663
www.dsltdonline.com
rwilkins@dsltdonline.com
Rita is the President of Design Services, Ltd., as well as principal designer and project manager. With over 35 years of experience in design and management, her approach to design is both aesthetic and business-like. She is known to be a highly effective “hands-on” designer with extensive knowledge and expertise in dental, medical and commercial interiors.
She is a graduate of University of Rhode Island, attended Rhode Island School of Design, and University of North Carolina. Having received numerous design awards, she has been published in a variety of national publications and is currently writing a book on using design as a business strategy.
Her company is called Design Services for a reason – they provide great design and great service. Their hallmark is their ability to first listen to their clients, to understand their wants and needs – and then to design. This has been the key to their success.
Each client is different, each project is different – that is why Rita continues to get excited at the start of each new project. Rita grew up in Europe where she was profoundly influenced by the culture, architecture, and especially by the 300 year old home that she lived in with her family.
She established her interior design firm as a young, single mother and is known as a hands-on business woman who “gets things done”. Her 2 sons, now adults, live and work in San Francisco and Senegal, West Africa. Rita and her husband, Jim, reside in their new home in Kennett Square.
Susan D’Alonzo Ament, Esquire
Personal Injury Attorney
Morris James LLP
Offices in Wilmington, Newark and Dover
www.morrisjamespersonalinjurylawyers.com
302-655-2599
Susan D’Alonzo Ament is a partner with Morris James LLP and has practiced for 26 years representing clients injured in automobile accidents. She was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware and attended Widener University School of Law.
Mrs. Ament is dedicated to representing clients in their claims against insurance companies. Clients describe her as compassionate and tenacious. She says that she finds it rewarding to work with her injured clients to protect their rights. She is driven by her faith to help others, not only at work, but in her personal life and
volunteer work.
Susan Ament currently serves as a board member of the Delaware Bar Foundation, The Catholic Diocese Foundation and the Corporate Board of Catholic Ministry to the Elderly. She is past president of the Board of Directors of the Bayard House and an Honorary Member of the Philippine-American Association of Delaware (PAAD). Mrs. Ament also volunteers as a Guardian Ad Litem attorney representing children in Family Court through the Office of Child Advocate.
Mrs. Ament is a member of the St. Thomas More Society (President, 1994-1995), the Delaware State Bar Association, the American and Delaware Trial Lawyers’ Associations. She is a former member of the State of Delaware Board of Bar Examiners.
Mrs. Ament resides in Wilmington with her husband, Al. They enjoy family time with their grown children, Austin, Danielle and Jonathan. Mr. And Mrs. Ament also helped raise two foster children, Jessica and Tawanna.
Amy Marta Carney
Owner/Founder
Clutter Bugs LLC
“Organizing Everyday Life”
amyclutterbugs@gmail.com
302-438-8137
Amy Marta Carney is a wife, mother of two and owner of Cutter Bugs LLC organizing company. In 2005 Amy created Clutter Bugs LLC with one simple vision, organizing everyday life. As a stay at home mother Amy wanted to continue following her dreams by starting her own business, but also raising her children. Amy has always been exceptionally organized and has a keen eye, so starting her own business was only natural.
Amy has a passion for what she does; she not only organizes someone’s space but helps organize lives. “Organizing is a process, not a one day project”. These are words to live by and Amy shares this philosophy with her clients through her many techniques. She believes there is one very important piece to the organizing puzzle, prioritizing your space. More often than not we do not use our space in the right way; we misuse what we have to work with and then cluttering becomes the issue. Because we are not organized now doesn’t mean we can’t get there, so Amy walks her clients through the steps they need to take to live a more organized life. Being organized brings peace and harmony to you and your home.
Staying focused and energized is how Amy’s business has become a success. She likes to tell all stay at home mommies and women who have a passion for something, but are not quite sure how to start their own business that “with a dream and lots and lots of effort everything is possible, and you can’t give up.” Amy currently lives in North Wilmington with her husband Ed of 6 years and their children Gabriella who is 4 and John who is 2.
Photos Provided By:
Royal Photography
Royal Photography’s owner, Roy McDowell, brings a wealth of experience, both creative and business, along with an unmatched ability to put people at ease, to every occasion he photographs.
Over the past 18 years, Roy McDowell has captured “that” moment for more than 300 brides and grooms and preserved high school memories too numerous to count. Such exposure has led Roy to become one of the most recognizable photographers in Delaware. He creates a lasting impression, not only of an event, but of himself. The pride, precision, and passion he exudes has compelled brides-to-be to track down, “the photographer who took their senior portrait years before”.
Roy exhibits this same commitment and customer service when working with the many schools and businesses with whom he’s managed contracts. “The consumer drives the product I provide; not the
other way around”.
With the help and support of family, friends, and business associates, Roy McDowell strives to achieve his goal of providing an unforgettable experience with superior photographs, exceptional customer focus, and lasting relationships.
Royal Photography
Phone: 302-438-1308
E-mail: royalphotogde@aol.com
Hair Styling, Make-up Application & Pampering Compliments of J. Christian Studio, where hair and art perform. J. Christian Studio is located at 7465 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, DE.
As an International Platform Artist and Master Educator for Sexy Hair Concepts, J. Christian travels here and abroad teaching other Stylists about hair fashion.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact J. Christian Studio at 302-235-2306.
Cover Photos Shot on Location atDeerfield Golf & Tennis Club
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