March is Women's History Month and we're celebrating some of the local women making moves in the Boston arts & entertainment scenes. From influencers & promoters to award-winning bakers and lots more, these women are making it all happen.
Photo Credit: colletteys.com
In the past two years, Collette has shipped over 200,000 of her very own “Collettey’s Cookies” across the United States. Divitto was inspired to start the business in 2016 after struggling to find a job. The mission of the business is to create jobs for folks with disabilities and allow the world to see how able and talented this population is. Divitto also wants to work with Congress to start fair wage policies and provide tax incentives to employers that hire folks with disabilities.
Photo Credit: Lesley.edu
Not only does Greer Muldowney produce her own work, but she also educates upcoming artists as a professor at Boston University’s School of Fine Arts. A photographer and curator, her work showcases city landscapes and turns a lens on the political and social climate of those same places. She also coordinates the Flash Forward Festival, which organizes a free week of photography in Boston.
Photo Credit: Tiffani Faison
Chef and Restaurateur Tiffani Faison is the owner of Big Heart Hospitality, creating restaurants that are fun, inviting and serving up awesome food. She has four nominations for "Best Chef: Northeast" from the James Beard Foundation and continues to be a Food Network fan favorite. Her restaurants include Sweet Cheeks, Fool's Errand, Dive Bar, Tenderoni's and Bubble Bath.
Photo Credit: JJ Gonson
A Cambridge native, JJ Gonson studied photography in high school and college at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Her main focuses include documentary photography, namely portraits, from the 1980s up till the present day. Her collection includes little-seen photos of Kurt Cobain, Elliott Smith, Black Flag, Jane’s Addiction and hundreds of other punk and indie bands. Her work has been published in many books and featured in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, and Spin.
Photo Credit: Coleman Rogers Photography
Bridget Duggan is the founder and Creative Director of Pasithea Productions and Existential Thread Co. Duggan has worked at a variety of Boston’s most loved venues, including The Middle East, Bella Luna & The Milky Way, The Chevalier Theatre, and Johnny D’s. She loves working with nonprofits and independent small businesses. A musician herself, she performs regularly with her indie-pop outfit Lockette in Boston and beyond.
Photo Credit: MelissaFerrick.com
Having released seventeen albums over the past twenty-five years, Melissa Ferrick has received numerous awards for songwriting, production, and performance. She is currently a Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University in the Music Industry Department at the College of Arts Media and Design. In 2000, she launched the nationally distributed record label “Right On Records”. Regarded as one of the hardest-working in the industry, she has shared the stage with Bob Dylan, Weezer, Tegan and Sara, Mark Cohen, Paul Westerberg, and more.
Photo Credit: sumiaohunan.com
In 2017, Sumiao Chen opened Sumiao Hunan Kitchen, named after the Hunan Province in China, which quickly became a Chinese food destination in Greater Boston. Chen is changing the perceptions around Chinese food with the spicy and elevated cuisine. Originally trained in medicine and pharmaceuticals, Chen is known in the Boston Chinese community for her pharmaceutical research and accomplishments, as well as her cooking skills.
Linda Pizzuti Henry is making moves as CEO of Boston Globe Media Partners. She named a new Globe editor, launched the paper's first TV show on NESN and is eying a National Women's Soccer League franchise for Boston. She's the powerhouse force behind the annual Globe Summit and is married to John Henry, the owner of the Red Sox.
Photo Credit: bootybybrabants.com
The CEO and founder of Boston-based workout clothing brand “Booty by Brabants”, Kelly is a trained dancer and certified personal trainer. What started with a series of unique workout classes in Boston has evolved into one of the world's most recognizable leggings brands, an innovator in the athleisure industry, and much more to come.
Photo Credit: Clairo Facebook
Singer-songwriter Clairo was raised in Carlisle, Massachusetts and is now signed to Fader. Her songs have been blowing up on Spotify and TikTok, so make sure to add her to your playlist. She’s been nominated for many Boston Music Awards and her career is just getting started.
Photo Credit: Jared Charney
Dorchester-raised artist Mattaya Fitts started making art professionally about a year after she graduated college and her murals have graced walls all over Boston. Her work focuses on Black women, placing them in bright colors and mystical settings. Her images appear as something you'd see in a dream, blending fiction and reality into striking works of art.
Photo Credit: valeriepimparato.com
Most of Valerie Imparato’s aesthetic draws from the diverse cultural influences in her upbringing. Originally from Haiti, she has lived all over the world and is now based in Boston. She hopes to make art that inspires conversation around faith, race, immigration, feminism and marginalized voices.
Photo Credit: Edrie Facebook
Edrie Edrie plays the accordion and sings lead vocals for her band Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. She also does so much more, developing technology, operations, and business strategic initiatives for organizations across multiple industries. She is the president of WireForest, an arts organization focused on LGBTQIA+ initiatives.
photo Credit: MiaCross.com
Born and raised in Framingham, Mia Cross studied painting and sculpture at BU. Cross splits her time between studio work and mural work. Her work lives in private collections around the world, including the Danforth Museum and Simmons University. She has created murals for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Google, and the city of Framingham, among others.
Photo Credit: MelFine.com
Multi-instrumentalist Mel Fine’s soulful, folky-acoustic pop will grab your ears and keep your attention. They released two albums by the age of 18 and attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship. The non-binary songwriter and producer uses music to speak out about their experiences as a queer, neurodivergent Gen Z-er.
Know of a badass Boston woman who should be on this list? Let us know: [email protected]
updated march 2025
