Amelia, our namesake
Amelia was a Daddy’s girl. Now in her 90’s, she still is. He called her “Dootsie,” from the time she was small. She thought she’d outgrow the nickname by high school; surely before she began college.
“Daddy was never out to set the world on fire.” The family was always comfortable enough. But when Amelia began dating a young man from a prominent family, the decision to trade a college education for a husband and home was essentially made for her.
Stacks and stacks of her favorite books - mostly on history - would follow her. As she became a homemaker and soon after a mother of four, a book was always within reach; next to the coffee pot or a pile of sewing, and without fail at her bedside. When one day motherhood suddenly became single motherhood, time for her books became especially scarce. She was on her own.
Amelia would need to find work. As she arrived at a law office to interview for a secretary role, the wife of one of the attorneys for whom she would go on to work met her in the foyer. It was 1966 and she was an attractive, single woman working beside other women’s successful husbands day in and day out. She got the job and was careful to keep it.
When she retired almost three decades later she got back to her books; she gardened, knit, and played bridge. And she traveled. She fell madly in love with the city of London and the Nantucket sound. She found love in a new partner for a few years as well, but wouldn’t marry again.
She’s lived her entire life in Baltimore. Today, she lives with her daughter, who she gave her maiden name in honor of her father. And everyone close to her calls her Dootsie.
The third of her five granddaughters is our Founder & Director, Allison.
When Allison told Amelia that she’d decided to start an agency and it would be named for her, she asked “why?”
“I love you.”
Of course, the conversation went on. Amelia wanted to understand what a ‘brand and strategic communications agency’ did to make money. And she was surprised when later Allison asked her whether she knew that the name Amelia meant “industrious” and “striving.”
“Really? No, I didn’t know that.” She thought a moment. “Well, that’s very interesting. That would have been fitting for my mother.”
When Allison told Amelia that she’d decided to start an agency and it would be named for her, she asked, “why?”
“I love you.”
Allison asked her whether she knew that the name Amelia meant “industrious” and “striving.”
Allison, our founder
Allison is a natural strategist and expert in complex positioning. With more than a decade of leadership experience in the worlds of health, hospitality, travel, fashion, art, publishing, and financial services, she offers range and veteran perspective.
Over her career, Allison has been involved in the building, development, and management of more than 40 global brands and businesses of all sizes - from start-up to $1B+. And she’s been at the helm more often than not.
Having worked side-by-side with founders and C-level executives for the entirety of her professional life, Allison developed a taste for entrepreneurship. At her core, she is a hopeless romantic - endlessly looking for stories of courage, love, and triumph in even the simplest of moments.
She is an alumnus of The Ohio State University where she studied Design and Business, played on the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse team, and learned to love football. Years after graduating, she continued her education through coursework at Columbia University in New York and George Washington University.
Her work has taken her all over, but Allison resides in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland with her husband and two young daughters - a short drive from Dootsie.