Five local women are redefining success, using their PR and marketing expertise to elevate global businesses and drive transformative growth. Through innovative strategies and community-driven approaches, these powerhouse women are reshaping the local business landscape, one brand at a time. With creativity, influence and a relentless drive, they are giving businesses the tools to thrive in today’s competitive market.
1. Shauna Brook
Shauna Brook Marketing and Communications
Founder and CEO, Greenwich
With more than a decade of experience at some of the most iconic luxury brands in the world—including Giorgio Armani, David Yurman, and Zegna—she has had the privilege of shaping the narratives of brands that define elegance and craftsmanship. This wealth of experience has allowed her to launch her own business, where she now serves as a consulting CMO and strategic partner for industry leading brands and for smaller start-ups across luxury, lifestyle, retail and technology. She truly loves what she does, whether it be working with larger luxury brands or watching new, smaller companies grow and develop.
Her work is driven by a passion for creating tailored, multi-dimensional brand strategies that elevate a brand’s global presence and local resonance. Whether it’s launching retail and wholesale initiatives, reimaging brand narratives, amplifying digital footprints, or designing immersive events and social media campaigns, her approach blends artistry with data to ensure that every brand she partners with is positioned, not only for success, but for relevance in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace.
Based in Greenwich, where community and personal connection are valued, and New York, the importance of weaving meaningful relationships into the business strategy. Her approach centers on the intersection of global trends and local cultural nuances, ensuring that brands authentically connect with their audiences, whether they’re next-door neighbors or across continents.
Part of her philosophy is a commitment to social responsibility. She believes luxury should be defined not only by refinement and sophistication but by its positive impact on society. From supporting sustainable initiatives, such as the use of carbon-neutral lab-grown diamonds, to highlighting ethical production practices and championing charitable causes, she works closely with her clients to integrate sustainability, inclusivity, and philanthropy into the very fabric of their brands.
By blending authenticity with luxury, her goal is to help brands tell stories that resonate, not just through aspirational imagery, but through responsible practices that leave a lasting impact on customers and their communities.
Lastly, it’s always been important to her to give back, especially with her time. She sits on the board of The Women’s Jewelry Association, supporting women in the jewelry and watch industries to advance and develop professionally through networking, education, leadership development. She serves as an alumni advisor at Boston University’s College of Communication, championing the next generation of entertainment, marketing and media leaders.
Her goal is to help both brands and people not only thrive in their industries but also leave a legacy of innovation, impact, and purpose.
2. Michelle Calaraco
M Co.
Founder , Greenwich
A slew of major food names have recently expanded into Connecticut, from billion-dollar salad company sweetgreen and Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten to Brooklyn-born Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and NYC-favorite fast casual Dig. What do they all have in common? They entrusted one powerhouse publicist to handle their launches: Michelle Calarco, founder of Greenwich-based M Co.
Calarco got her start at Fox News, where she got a crash course in media and honed her storytelling skills. From there, she joined LDPR, one of America’s best PR agencies per Forbes, where she worked with some of the most distinguished hospitality brands (Aman Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton, Ocean House and more).
In 2019, Calarco launched her own agency, combining her national experience with grassroots efforts to help brands thrive locally and beyond. A standout illustration where local meets national is her work with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. Available in grocery stores nationwide and now encompassing 70+ stores including the new Westport scoop shop, the cult favorite brand is known for its collaborations with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter. Having strong community roots (plus a cold call to co-founder Ben Van Leeuwen) helped land her a PR project for their first Connecticut location (Greenwich). It was such a success that Van Leeuwen asked her to become their national PR rep. That came full circle when she started working with world-renowned chef Jean-Georges to open his first Connecticut restaurant (Happy Monkey in Greenwich) and then orchestrated a collaboration for a Jean-Georges/Van Leeuwen ice cream launch nationally.
Given her expertise and ability to think big, Calarco’s touch makes a real impact for a local brand. Just one example of how national talent in a local market comes to life is a recent partnership she secured for Green & Tonic: the viral Blue Moves smoothie with fitness icon Anna Kaiser (who’s trained celebrities from Shakira to Karlie Kloss).
Calarco’s super power is securing brand profiles, from Vogue cover stories to New York Times features to Today show segments. While she’s partial to mindful food brands both locally and nationally, she also consults for hospitality and wellness brands, keeping social responsibility in mind. “My north star is always: does this brand or founder care about making the world better in some way? Are they using better ingredients or creating something meaningful for people and the planet?” she said.
Calarco’s work is a testament to the power of storytelling and connection. By blending her local roots with a global perspective, she’s not just launching brands — she’s turning ideas into enduring success stories.
3. Danielle Mcgrory
Communité
Founder, Westport
Communité is a digital-first marketing and communications agency based in New York City. The agency name evokes its ethos: a focus on strategic communications and community building to propel brands forward and position them for future growth. They place equal emphasis on legacy media and new media. In the ever-changing media landscape that may mean working on a New York Times story while simultaneously executing a social media campaign across Instagram, TikTok and Substack.
They focus on fashion and beauty brands. With expertise in these sectors they are able to maintain a hyper-curated client list of people and brands who align with their values and that they are proud to represent. They care deeply about empowering women and helping to make their lives easier, representing products that add value to the world (without contributing to more waste), and weaving style and great design throughout everything they do. In this age of rampant misinformation, they also value and encourage responsible, informed media consumption.
Across public relations and creator campaign divisions, their current client list includes Hill House Home, Megababe—both of whom they have been working with since Communité’s inception in 2018—Paperless Post, Kate McLeod and BarbieStyle.
They also represent select creative talent, advising them on career growth and managing their brand partnerships. They choose to work with people who inspire them and are experts in their field, including wellness leader and recipe developer Nicole Berrie of Bonberi, writer and brand strategist Erika Veurink, sommelier Victoria James, and most recently, content creator (and Connecticut native) Margot Lee.
Living in Westport is the perfect litmus test for the work. She loves to ask local friends what they are reading, who they follow on social media, what brands they are excited about and what they deem worth buying. It’s an incredible focus group. There are also many talented and entrepreneurial women living in Fairfield County at various stages of starting, building and running businesses. She loves to grab coffee and talk shop, sometimes she is the mentor and other times the mentee.
4. Amy Palmer
AP Media Ventures
Founder and CEO, Westport
As an award-winning producer, content creator and social media strategist, Amy Palmer produces and conceptualizes content. She develops unique IP and strategy across multiple platforms for legacy music estates, brands, broadcasters, networks and social media influencers.
Her company (alongside partner Jamie Salem) owns the process from ideation to launch to monetization, making it a one stop shop to build and engage a targeted audience, with ROI as the end goal. They have created social media campaigns, YouTube programming, TikTok brands and personalities as well as original material that has reached audiences into the billions, catapulting brands, personalities and well-known broadcasters who needed to pivot into the next phase of their careers. Their clients have been featured globally in the press through social media strategy alone, and garnered billions of views. AP Media Ventures also creates docuseries in partnership with various studios in Los Angeles.
Building The Westport Show right here in her community has allowed her to access and dive deep into local issues and trends that help them create macro-level campaigns, causes and content for their clients. They believe local issues are at the heart of society, with change happening on a micro-level: their goal in showcasing businesses, brands and people through The Westport Show.
The company DNA has deep history empowering women and they are honored to be teaming up with The Town of Westport to further develop programming, events and content around the initiative Westport is for Women. When you empower a woman, you empower a family and that empowers a community.
5. Michelle Sokoloff
SHADOW
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer,Westport
SHADOW is an integrated communications agency that turns insights into stories that resonate. Whether crafting creative strategies, working with influencers, designing experiential events or producing content, they create moments that stick with people and stand out in culture.
As SHADOW’s COO, she focuses on ensuring they constantly evolve—scaling teams and refining services to meet the moment and an ever-growing need.
Impact takes many forms—engagement, sales, shifting consumer sentiment, raising awareness for a cause, or amplifying a purpose-driven initiative. A decade ago, they helped develop the aerieREAL platform, making Aerie the first brand to denounce image retouching and feature a range of body types. That initiative didn’t just transform one brand; it sparked an industry-wide movement toward inclusivity
and body positivity. That’s the kind of impact they strive for—work that not only captures attention but drives meaningful change.
In an era when many brands operate in a digital vacuum, moving too fast and becoming “chronically online,” they stay rooted in real-world perspectives. They lean into their communities on both coasts to pressure-test insights with diverse voices outside our own algorithms. This practice has infused their work with depth, authenticity,
and cultural relevance.
As marketers, they have a responsibility to consider the social impact of their work. With the platforms they build and the messages they amplify, they have the power to influence change and shape culture. Their core values serve as vetting filters for brand partnerships, ensuring alignment on issues of social justice. Internally, Sokoloff focuses on ensuring their team knows what they stand for, what they stand against, and empowering them with resources to take meaningful action.
The ongoing Los Angeles fires have been one such moment. Their team mobilized immediately, not just by collaborating with their client roster to provide relief, but by leveraging their work to drive real economic support. They proactively shifted upcoming activations and shoots to Los Angeles, ensuring that business and capital that might have gone elsewhere instead fueled local recovery efforts. There is no
better use of their time, talent or connections.