Powerhouse Women of Promo - 2022

A list of the amazing women who are pushing the branded merch industry forward

March is National Women’s Month – a time where we recognize the accomplishments of the amazing women who have played a critical role in making the United States such a forward-thinking and progressive nation.

For those of you who don’t know, my pal Kirby Hasseman and I have been producing a weekly podcast since 2016 – first unScripted and now Promo UPFront. For almost 300 episodes, there’s always been one that’s been the most fun to do: the annual Powerhouse Women of Promo list. It allows us to do more than acknowledge the tremendous things women are doing in the branded merchandise industry; it lets us highlight them so that others can admire and learn from their teachings.

We dropped this year’s Powerhouse Women of Promo podcast on Friday, March 4th – and we invite you to listen and watch here. However, we thought that we would share this list in a more traditional format for the first time. For each category, we chose two individuals: the first person we thought of and an honorable mention. To be clear, these aren’t winners or “women of the year” as Kirby and I don’t feel we should make those sort of definitive declarations. Instead, these are women Kirby and I notice doing incredible things and women we all need to watch in the coming year.

Before you read the list below, Kirby and I strongly urge you to listen and watch the podcast to hear WHY we chose these specific ladies. We think our rationale and thoughtfulness behind each selection will give you a complete picture in ways a simple list cannot.

Distributor Woman to Watch

Johanna Gottlieb – Axis Promotions powered by HALO

Mandi Rudd – Brand Energy Marketing

Mandy Clay – Walker Clay Promotions (Honorable Mention)

Shannon Loredo – Business Branders (Honorable Mention)

Supplier Woman to Watch

Lindsey Davis – Raining Rose

Brittany Frase – Hirsch Gift

Meg Erber – S&S Activewear (Honorable Mention)

Ellie Bathe – Logojojo (Honorable Mention)

Service Provider Woman to Watch

Ashely McCune – Facilisgroup

Kate Masewich – commonsku

Elieza Bague – ASI (Honorable Mention)

Kelsey Cunningham – brandivate (Honorable Mention)

Woman on the Rise

Aly Brunton – commonsku

Morgan Kory – S&S Activewear

Sarah Whitaker – Williams Advertising (Honorable Mention)

Skylar Hasseman – Hasseman Marketing (Honorable Mention)

Janelle Nevins Woman Trailblazer

Rosalie Marcus – Promo Biz Coach

Charity Gibson – Peerless Umbrella

Charity Gibson – Peerless Umbrella (Honorable Mention)

Johanna Gottlieb – Axis Promotions powered by HALO ( Honorable Mention)

Most Creative Woman

Taylor Borst – American Solutions for Business

Kelsey Cunningham – brandivate

Ellie Bathe – Logojojo (Honorable Mention)

Jessica Gibbons-Rauch – TrendonBrand (Honorable Mention)

Woman You’d Hire to Run Your Company

Dawn Olds – HALO Branded Solutions

Brittany David – Snugz

Sara Webb – InTandem Promotions (Honorable Mention)

Sandra Kelley – Prestige Promotions (Honorable Mention)

That is a TON of powerhouse women who are actual movers and shakers in the promotional products industry. Of course, it goes without saying that many incredible women were left off this list, which should not diminish their accomplishments. In the comments, we’d love to know not just who we missed but how women – either on or off this list – are making the industry better from YOUR perspective.

Finally, thank you to all the women who have been an inspiration. It’s truly a blast to create this every year, and we hope you enjoy listening/watching/reading this list as much as we enjoyed making it.

Here’s to all the women who consistently make us - and an industry - better.