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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 29 A U G U S T 7 , 2 0 1 7 day. ere's constant tension between the 'now' and the 'next.' I have to strategize rather than be paralyzed by uncertainty." She lets out some of her stress by running and working toward a black belt in karate, which she hopes to have in two years, when she turns 50 years old. Her go-to attitude to take on such diffi cult tasks with a measured response characterizes her leader- ship style, says Mike Kelley, executive vice president of Pierce Promotions & Event Management, a Portland marketing agency where he worked with Rosi for 10 years, before she left to head Wellness Connection. "Her enthusiasm is very genuine. She is a pas- sionate leader who makes it easy to follow [her]," he says, adding that Rosi reminds him of a passage in a Rudyard Kipling poem, "If," that reads: If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch " at's what she's like. Part of the common touch is that you have to be able to laugh at your- self. She is very light and very funny. And she is patient and doesn't make a decision before it needs to be made," he says. Anne Heros, executive director of the Center for Grieving Children in Portland, who nominated Rosi for the Women to Watch award, describes her as a visionary who has leadership and community engage- ment skills. Rosi is on the board of the organization. "At our 25 th anniversary we were looking at hav- ing an auction and celebration. Her ideas for the format and rollout of the evening and the market- ing fueled excitement into an event that had begun to get tired," Heros says. She adds, " e Wellness Connection is leading the community in an area that has healing benefi ts. It takes a certain type of person to lead that type of ini- tiative. We as a state are on the cutting edge with this." Rosi joined the board of the Center for Grieving Children after leaving Pierce Promotions. "After a family trip to Banako in Mali, Africa, it was time for a reinvention with the purpose of not only selling goods, but doing good at the same time," she says. "My husband, principal at Opus Consulting, advised that I should join the board of d irectors for Wellness Connection of Maine, oper- ating four state-licensed medical cannabis dispensa- ries, and the rest is history." From Paris to Portland Rosi was born and raised in Paris, France. Early on she wanted to be an archaeologist, but graduated from high school with a desire to be an immunolo- gist. She went to college for accounting, and earned an MBA with a focus in marketing. After a successful advertising career in Europe, she and her husband arrived in Portland in 1999. "At that point, I was under the impression that there was only one Portland, featuring world-class advertising agencies," she says. "Little did I know, it was on the other coast." She says Clint Pierce, founder of Pierce Promotions & Event Management, said he hired her on a whim for two reasons: 1) her expertise and experience with accounts the agency had just In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words What triggered your career path? Serendipity and a taste for designer clothing. I started a career in advertising because my marketing professor advised me that it would be more fitting considering my taste for striped, colored jackets. Did you have a mentor or role model? That would be my great-grandmother. She survived both world wars, losing one husband in World War I, and a husband and a son in World War II. She lived to be 104 years old, managing her farm In France alone without electricity or running water. She was a character and told the best stories. What advice would you give your younger self? Go with the flow, it will all work out in the end. What keeps you up at night? Making tomorrow better than today for my daughters, my family, my employees and our communities. What's the last book you read? I read multiple books at the same time, and one is always in French. My French middle- school literature teacher became a mystery writer and I just finished his fourth book, "Le Bal des Squelettes," as well as the catalog on a current exhibit at the Met, "The Art of the In-Between," about Rei Kawabuko of Comme des Garçons. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » C M Y CM MY CY CMY K www.HancockLumber.com/Culture Congratulations! Team Hancock Congratulates the Travis Mills Foundation on the Veterans Retreat Grand Opening "We are thrilled to have the support of Hancock Lumber. It's great to see so many Maine companies coming together to help us realize our dream of providing recalibrated veterans and their families a place where they can connect, rest, and relax while enjoying Maine's beauti- ful outdoor heritage." – SGG Travis Mills Foundation President and Founder

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