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WWW.THEOBSERVER.COM | THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
WWW.THEOBSERVER.COM | THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
WOMEN IN BUSINESS BERNADETTE ANTONELLI
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ernadette Antonelli has done it all in the world of accounting. And recently, she’s taken her legendary work and is sharing her business — Arlington Tax and Bookkeeping — with her daughter, Brianna. Antonelli first opened the business in 1985 after “working for someone else.” That first year, it was just she and her mom. Eleven years later, things grew so exponentially she wound up buying her current location on Kearny Avenue. So what’s the secret to her success? Word of mouth played a huge role. The growth
under her leadership was so strong that today, she’s got clients not just nearby, but all across the country. And just how good is Antonelli at what she does? She’s federally licensed and can argue before the IRS. Plus she and Brianna are constantly studying to be atop all the latest in taxation. Things are strong now that all new clients are Brianna’s, though some still ask for her personally — that should come as no surprise.... When thinking of an inspiring woman in business, Bernadette Antonelli — for all she’s accomplished — should top that list.
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velyn Pezzolla is a trailblazer. She was the first woman to sit on the Lyndhurst Board of Commissioners — and has continued doing amazing work in the community, as a board member of the Meadowlands YMCA, with the Little Red School House and so much more. She’s done all this while raising a family — and working for 45 years as the assistant to her husband, Frank Pezzolla, owner and operator of Frank’s GMC, also in Lyndhurst. As if this wasn’t enough, her work began with the Junior Woman’s Club of Lyndhurst, she built the Lyndhurst Youth
Lyndhurst and Fort Lee. “My philosophy has always been if you build it, they will come,” Dr. Maria says. And come they have. The three doctors rotate practicing at the three offices. And every patient, regardless of insurance or lack thereof, is treated “like my own child would be treated,” Dr. Maria says. To demonstrate this, Pink is home to top-of-theline equipment where patients will “get the best exams possible.” The bottom line — you can’t go wrong with eye care from Pink Visions, where you’ll always feel right at home.
Center, implemented Lyndhurst’s first-ever recycling center and has fought for those with mental-health and addiction-related issues as the founder of Comprehensive Behavioral Health Care Services. She also found time to operate a bed-andbreakfast in Lyndhurst from 1984 to 1994. “Along the way, I found opposition, but I fought for my ideas — and won,” she says. She’s also mentored a lot of current leaders, including Bob Ceberio, when he was just 18. If ever there were a definition of a woman who inspires, Evelyn Pezzolla might just top that list.
Brady, Brady & Reilly 377 Kearny Ave., Kearny 201-991-0030 bbr-law.com
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ate Reilly is a partner with the firm of Brady, Brady & Reilly in Kearny. She has been practicing law in New Jersey for over 35 years and owns and manages a fourlawyer firm in Kearny that specializes in personal-injury matters including car accidents, slip and fall accidents, worker’s compensation, Uber & Lyft accidents and other injury-related cases. Reilly says when she first started practicing law in the early ‘80s, into the ‘90s, she faced significant discrimination in job opportunities, a lack of recognition for the work she performed and harassment by male attorneys for her role as a working mother. Undaunted, she started her own firm.
WANNY WONG
Pink Vision 348 Ridge Rd., Lyndhurst 201-438-8668 pinkvisionassociates.com
r. Maria Domingues wants everyone to know this — when you come to Pink Vision for treatment, you will be treated like family. And it’s been that way from the beginning, when she first opened an office in Irvington following optometry school. For the first few years, she did it all herself. Then, her sister, Dr. Carla Domingues, also an optometrist, joined her practice. And now, Carla’s best friend from school, Dr. Diana Espaillat, helps form the triumvirate of female doctors running three Pink Vision offices — Irvington,
KATE REILLY
Frank’s GMC 321 Orient Way, Lyndhurst 201-939-7708 franksgmc.net
DR. MARIA DOMINGUES
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EVELYN PEZZOLLA
Arlington Tax/Bookkeeping 764 Kearny Ave, Kearny 201-991-8888 arlingtontax.com
anny Wong, owner of Intrinsic Bakery, saw something special here. “I saw that Kearny was having a lot of development going on along the river and by Bergen Avenue,” the owner of two cafes said (the other is in Newark.) “I can see that a wave of development is happening in Kearny. So when I saw an opportunity to buy the mixed use building at Midland Avenue, I jumped at the opportunity. And I have been looking for a location to bake our own pastries for a long time. It turn out to be a perfect fit.” Since opening, she’s
seen great success. And her hard work has paid off. And she has advice for prospective female entrepreneurs. “Have a solid business plan,” she says. “I cannot stress the importance enough. Know what you are going into according to your numbers, not just your feeling alone. A solid business plan helps you anticipate the process a lot better. “I am very fortunate to have amazing managers and a wonderful business partner. I don’t think I could be here without all the help and support I have received from my support network.”
Since then and the merger of her firm with Larry Brady, Esq., 12 years ago, she has enjoyed many satisfying years as a trial lawyer. Reilly is the Second VP of the New Jersey Association for Justice, a New Jersey state trial lawyer’s organization. She has been admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, is certified by the NJ Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and has been named a New Jersey Super Lawyer since 2011. She is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell, the highest level of professional excellence as voted on by her peers. Most importantly, Reilly is the proud mother of three children: Kate, Mike and James.
SANDRA CASTRO
Owner of Intrinsic Bakery 161 Midland Ave., Kearny 201-618-2689 intrinsicbakery.com
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Vista Services 290 Stuyvesant Ave., Lyndhurst 201-340-4376 vistatax.com
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hile Sandra Castro’s co-owned business, Vista Services, is just a couple of years old, her 20+ years of experience show why so many people turn to her when it comes time for taxes to be prepared or for important financial planning. And that experience, she says, helps her to advise clients in ways not all could. “It’s important to teach our clients to understand the more complex things,” she says. “Especially now with so many changes to the tax laws. People want to know why they’re getting more money back — or less. We go line by line to explain.” Castro says there’s also a myth about
accountants — and that is, they only do work at tax time. That’s hardly the case. “Whether it’s financial planning, private or public, I always want my clients to have a chance to grow financially,” Castro says. “I also hope people aren’t afraid of numbers. Yes, there is some math to it all — but these kinds of numbers are good numbers.” All in all, Castro is great at what she does — and there’s a reason why. “You have to love what you do and be committed to it,” she says. And there is no doubt — Castro is indeed dedicated and loves what she does. The results prove it!
WWW.THEOBSERVER.COM || THE THE OBSERVER OBSERVER || WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, MARCH MARCH 13, 13, 2019 2019 WWW.THEOBSERVER.COM
WOMEN IN BUSINESS DONNA McCLURE
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he words dedicated and Donna McClure are synonyms. That’s because for years, she’s operated perhaps the most successful daycare center in Kearny — Happy Time Daycare. What started out as a small operation has grown exponentially from a tiny location on Midland Avenue to the current spot on Davis Avenue. “I knew I always liked kids and wanted to do something with kids,” McClure says. “All these years later, I still love my job every single day.” So why such success? McClure says it’s rather simple. “My staff is excellent,” she says. “I have 10 employees with over 100 years of experience.”
The incredible care she shows her children often comes back tenfold. Many of her former students have gone on to teach in the Kearny school system, something in which she takes great pride. Her former students have also become her employees — and some of her former students own children are now entrusted to her care. “It’s a wonderful cycle,” she says, so much so that she wanted to be certain her former students who’ve gone on to become teachers were recognized in this story. But that’s the kind of person Donna McClure is — beyond dedicated, but always putting the needs of others before her own. Doesn’t get much better than that.
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arbara Condon, the longtime owner of the Condon Funeral Home, Kearny, didn’t have much time to think about her future following mortuary college in 1979. She was in New York and was to complete an apprenticeship there, but tragedy struck when her dad died that very same year. Her siblings wanted to sell the funeral home, but Barbara, just a little over a year away from her funeral director’s license in New Jersey, wouldn’t have that. So she bought out her siblings (she was able to get a mortgage to do so based on her family name alone) at the First National Bank of
Kearny. She is the fourth generation Condon running the funeral home. In the 40 years since Barbara took over the business, a lot sets her apart from others — but perhaps most is her womanly ability to demonstrate compassion. Her clients come to her at some of the worst moments in their lives — but her instincts reveal just how much she truly does care. “People will know right away whether you’re sincere,” she says. And without question, it would be hard to find anyone more compassionate, more driven, more caring than Barbara Condon.
Belleville Councilwoman Belleville ndepena@bellevillenj.org 973-450-3344
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or 10 years, Naomy DePena has been a special ed teacher in her hometown of Belleville. Now, she serves the community as a councilwoman-at-large, something that makes total sense for her. You see, her parents were missionaries — and so for her entire life, she’s had a keen awareness and desire to be of service to others, just as her parents have always done. “They instilled a keen sense in me to be of service to others,” DePena says. And now, she and her husband of 15 years own and operate a martial arts center for children.
DR. ANDREA HARPER
As a councilwoman, DePena says she’s taken her strong ability to listen to people and has implemented into her way of governing. She says listening carefully makes it a lot easier to mediate disputes — and easier to take challenging situations and resolve them. Being a mom, she says, has helped her to have a different perspective on the council, as well, where she applies it all to budgeting and her business. She also says she believes in a motto — and applies it to her work. “Who do you want to be? Be that person.” And for DePena, that person is a true leader who has no where to go but up.
DOREEN CATANIO
Ophthalmologist 39 Seeley Ave., Kearny 201-998-1717
The Thistle 442 Valley Brook Ave., Lyndhurst 201-935-0004 thistlefishandchip.com
the menu, you won’t find it more fresh or more properly in Lyndhurst) cooked than at The alongside sister Thistle. Susan Jutkiewicz, Jane and Sue says the restaurant were born into the business has been in business — from its their blood since the start in the 1960s, day they were born. when it was run by “It’s all we’ve ever their grandmother, known,” she says. to the many decades And it certainly their parents spent shows. at the helm. The Thistle, once a All these years Kearny staple, now later, the foundation sits in Lyndhurst remains the same. and continues to “We keep a family be one of the finest environment,” Scottish eateries Souza says. “And on this side of the Sue and I love what Atlantic. we do.” Whether it’s And goodness traditional fishknows — they’ll and-chips or any of likely be doing for the other flavorful many more years to seafood options on come.
NAOMY DEPENA
Condon Funeral Home 688 Kearny Ave., Kearny 201-991-1568 condonfuneralhome.com
JANE SOUZA & SUE JUTKIEWICZ
ane Souza, J co-owner of The Thistle (now
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BARBARA CONDON
Happy Time Daycare 18 Davis Ave., Kearny 201-991-3377
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Professional Financial Services 182 Prospect Ave., N. Arlington 201-991-1040 dcatanio@professionalfinancialservices.us
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r. Andrea Harper has served the Kearny community at an ophthalmologist for the last 18 years. But she goes way beyond the care of her patients’ eyes. “Our office is small, but I have a very caring staff,” Harper says. “Many of my patients are older, and sometimes don’t have the support of family. So we make sure to give the extra effort — to ensure they’re taking other medications, that they’re involved socially, with their churches and organizations.” Dr. Harper completed her undergrad studies at the University of Stamford in California, then went on to med school at Morehouse School of
Medicine in Atlanta, a Historically Black College/University. Her internship was at Howard in Washington, D.C., also an HBCU; her residency at Harlem Hospital at Columbia and then her fellowship at UT Southwest in Dallas. When she worked at the former West Hudson Hospital, she was the only ophthalmologist. But over the years, the field has seen an increase in women. But the bottom line is this — you’re not going to find a more caring ophthalmologist in this area — she truly does give the extra effort that is so rare these days. “We truly do make a difference in our patients’ lives,” Harper says.
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oreen Catanio, a certified-public accountant and registered investment adviser, has seen it all in the world of accounting. She’s worked for the major agencies, like PricewaterhouseCoopers. For many years, she’s owned and operated her own accounting and financial planning firm where she’s had individual clients and businesses with transactions of up to $20 million a year. Her decision to open her own firm, however, was an easy one. “I wanted a lifestyle change,” she says. And since 1991, she’s enjoyed being able to service clients not just at tax time, but
whenever they need help financially. “It’s wonderful to be able to give financial advice,” she says. Catanio says the accounting world is generally maledominated, but she’s proud that of the top 150 producers locally, she’s in the Top 10 of that grouping. “I care about my clients very much,” Catanio says. “I’ve always believed in giving excellent service to my clients by being honest and open. It’s the sign of a great financial adviser.” And if the past is any indicator, Doreen Catanio will be giving financial advice to her clients for a long time to come.