Women in Business

No matter what, Dava always kept her finger on the pulse of downtown Prescott. She’s served on various nonprofit boards including the Chamber of Commerce and the 2020 Forum (which she helped to establish, to conduct community talks about Prescott’s future). She has advised several Prescott General Plan committees and helped charter Prescott Area Leadership. Currently, she serves on the Sharlot Hall Museum’s Board of Trustees, and she’s involved with the local arts communities. 

For Bailie Sanders, being a fourth-generation Prescottonian has proven a bonus as she crafts the business she purchased in 2021 at the youthful age of 30: the Board & Brush DIY wood sign workshop along Whiskey Row Alley in Prescott.

It hasn’t been easy for small business owners to support employee productivity and mental health as they have been forced to deal with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Natalie Haertlein, owner of an independent American Family Insurance office in Prescott Valley for 13 years, has been pleasantly surprised at how well some of those forced changes have worked.

When Natalie Dillon—owner and manager of Prescott’s Crimson Chair Salon—unexpectedly lost her job several years ago, she decided to make a huge career change to attend cosmetology school and follow what she believes is her true passion.

Northern Arizona radio group Great Circle Media recently promoted on air talent, Leza Lachapelle Dandos to Station Manager and Programming Director of Magic 99.1FM (KTMG), an Adult Contemporary music platform, located in Prescott, Arizona. She will continue as host of the Magic 99.1FM morning show, weekdays from 6am to 10am.

Dayana Moca is a force of nature. At just 23, she is a wife, mother of two, entrepreneur, real estate broker, world traveler, multilingual … the list goes on. Dayana has brought her culture and experience to Prescott, where she has settled, along with plans to bring in some exciting new business.

“Body awareness is such a huge thing for growing young people,” Shyloe explained. “I loved watching my own kids experience learning that through CrossFit. I wanted my own kids and others’ kids to be able to continue to experience the triumphs and growth that come from a program like CrossFit Kids.”

The Better Business Bureau: providing trustworthy information for consumers and powerful resources for entrepreneurs and businesses

As an Associate Broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate–Bloomtree Realty, Carissa Maxwell knows that her membership in the Prescott Downtown Partnership (PDP) helps support the premise of “strength in numbers.” 

Of the 113 employees at Drake Cement in Paulden, only 10 percent are women … and those women work in every part of the company, from the office to the lab to engineering.

“Everybody just fits,” said Karen Otis, Administrative/Community Involvement Coordinator. “If people come in here and they want to do the job, we’d love to have them. Everybody’s done a really good job for us.”

The women sounded off recently, sharing with PWM their experiences working at Drake.

Through challenges and triumphs, the Prescott Downtown Partnership (PDP) Board weaves a common thread defining its mission: To focus on membership and building relations that connect downtown businesses to the community.  President Candy Hull, who grew up in Prescott, says being a part of PDP has affected the platform in her own business, The Clothes Hound. “PDP has opened my eyes to everything downtown. I am so impressed by the diverse members who have the same goal: the ‘uprise’ of downtown.”