𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 & 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝐥𝗲𝗿 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐕𝐨𝐥. 𝟐𝟖: 𝑨𝒏 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑬𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍

Storytelling is part of my DNA.

Being instructed not to tell a story goes against the very essence of my storyteller’s heart and soul. That said, for the past week, I did as instructed and kept this particular story to myself.

Thankfully, my period of imposed silence has come to an end and I can finally tell you this story!

I am honored to be among the 25 Western New York women named Buffalo Business First’s 2026 Women of Influence Award winners.

This is the 20th group to be honored since Business First established the awards in 2007, bringing the number of Women of Influence honorees to 500.

My sincere thanks to Buffalo Business First and the members of its editorial staff who served as judges, along with Sylvia Bennett, senior vice president and chief development officer at BTPM PBS; Sara Dayton, managing partner at Lumsden & McCormick LLP; Anne Joynt, partner at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford LLC; and Chandra Redfern, CEO of the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers Inc.
Being selected as a 2026 Buffalo Business First Woman of Influence is an honor that will forever be a defining moment in my career and leave an enduring imprint on my life.

Most significantly, I want to thank the two people who made it their mission to dig into the details of my patchwork career and push and prod those details into a nomination that not only earned me this wonderful honor, but provided me with a reflection of the place I hold in their lives---as their mother.

Thank you, Lisa Abt, for your discerning eye for detail and organizational excellence.

Thank you, James Abt, for once again proving that you are the most talented writer in our family.

Thank you both for your support and love. Sharing this moment with you—and knowing that you helped make it possible—makes this honor extraordinarily meaningful.