Laurel Caliendo
For Laurel Caliendo, it’s quality, in-person service that has helped keep her mortgage company in business – and in touch with the community.
Women of FIRE
Kim Marie DiMatteo
For Kim Marie DiMatteo, it’s not about the money. It’s about good karma. The 43-year-old insurance company vice president said she’s been very fortunate, and that’s why, for her, it’s all about helping others.
Linda A. Fercodini
On a whim, Linda A. Fercodini took a real estate course in 1979, planning to pursue this endeavor on a part-time basis. But after one week on the job, she was hooked. Real estate was her calling.
Karen Kelly
Karen Kelly gets things done. That’s the consensus of her peers at the Stamford-headquartered First County Bank.
Stacy King
Stacy King has earned her wings in real estate many times over. Her multiple nominations for a 2013 Women of FIRE Award cite her high level of expertise, her ability to personally connect with her clients, and her willingness to work tirelessly to achieve great results. Next year, she will serve as president of the Mid-State Association of Realtors, of which she has been a board member since 2009.
Brenda Maher
According to her 13 Women of FIRE nominators, Brenda Maher is everything you could ever want in a mentor. With more than 25 years of experience in Connecticut’s residential real estate industry, she’s seen a number of changes along the way, and imparts that knowledge to her staff of more than 60 Realtors at Prudential Connecticut Realty.
Patty Mason
Back in college, Patty Mason was planning on a career in a whole industry, but the glamorous world of mortgage banking soon turned her head. She started with a temp job in Fleet Bank’s home equity division in the mid-1990s.
Margaret Muir
If there’s one thing Margaret Muir learned from her parents, it was to be ethical and to always tell the truth – but her real estate career began as one big lie.
Joelle A. Murchinson
When Joelle A. Murchison graduated from high school, she was convinced she would someday be the U.S. Secretary of Education. Although she never achieved that position, her career has involved a number of important – and highly successful – educational efforts to promote diversity and inclusion.
Anne Ogden
It’s A Wonderful Life is a work of fiction – but you might be excused from thinking you’d wandered into the Bedford Falls Building & Loan when you come to the Waterford branch of Chelsea Groton Bank, and it is Branch Manager Anne Ogden who makes it that way.
Paulette Retsinas
A former teacher is not necessarily who you’d expect to be advising you on small business planning, retirement or life insurance, but Paulette Retsinas says her background as a teacher and school administrator makes her an empathetic and detail-oriented personal financial planner who can put herself in the shoes of her clients.
Denise Rosato
At just 19 years old, Denise Rosato got her first taste of success in real estate when the rental she lived in was converted to a housing co-operative.
Cathleen F. Smith
Running the family catering company and restaurant in Lake Worth, Florida, for about seven years gave Cathleen Smith the skills that would serve her well in her second career, which took root in what would become one of the most turbulent housing markets in the nation.
Susan Winkler
Susan Winkler is executive director of the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services (IFS) Cluster, a business organization representing more than 30 insurance and financial services companies in Connecticut.
Jane Warren
As a child, Jane Warren, a partner with the law firm McCarter & English LLP, pictured herself as a lawyer.
Marion Schmeelk
Marion Schmeelk, managing director and Fairfield County market executive at U.S. Trust, has always been interested in finance.
Nancy Pantoliano
Nancy Pantoliano, office leader at Prudential Connecticut Realty in Wilton, began her career in real estate following a successful 22-year stint as a professional model. While the two professions may seem unrelated, she\’s found many connections between the two.
Bridget Morrissey
Few people work seven days a week and are able to contribute additional hours to numerous civic activities. Bridget Morrissey, Realtor at Groton\’s RE/MAX Property Consultants, is one of them.
Traci O’Brien
Traci O\’Brien likes being busy. Between working as individual health insurance sales representative for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, volunteering for numerous organizations, and being a mom, her calendar is always full.
Linda Houston
Linda Houston is no stranger to the benefits of hard work and commitment. In the early 1980s, she left a successful career as a professional dancer to go into financial advising. Over the next 25 years, she rose to become a managing director and New England market executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
