BY RYAN SPELTS • PHOTOS BY MELISSA SPELTS
It takes a special type of person to succeed in business. It takes hard work and grit because, sometimes, business is hard. Sometimes, you loose a key client or customer. Sometimes, people get mad at you for something that seems unfair. At other times, it seems that everything is just on fire and all you have is a squirt gun to try and douse the flames. Historically, women have had a harder time in business and had to fight for their rightful place. Today, in my personal observation, some of our most powerful business people are women business leaders. I am impressed every year when interviewing some of these amazing women at their strength and their passion for doing great things. These women don’t make excuses, and they get things done. I, for one, am inspired. This month, we have highlighted women from our community. Some are business owners, others are business leaders. They all play an important role in our local business community. We are honored to tell their stories and hope you will enjoy reading them.
Diane Liberator
Diane Liberator started her career in print advertising and was in that industry for most of her career. She did a little in event planning before returning to print advertising at Connection Publishing. She loves seeing advertisers get results with their advertising. She loves making a comprehensive plan for a year with each client and helping them obtain advertisements that really help them increase their business. Diane loves meeting people from all walks of life and that she can develop business partnerships, but more importantly, friendship. Many of her clients have become close friends who are like family to her.
Diane is from North Ogden and grew up here. Her first real job was with the Standard Examiner, where she worked for many years. When she applied for Connection Publishing, she mentioned how much she missed doing advertising sales and the connection she had with her advertisers. She has been married for nearly 25 years. She and her husband enjoy going on motorcycle rides, golfing, and playing pickleball. She has two kids, and her husband has three, so they are a blended family. She also has four grandkids. We love having Diane at Connection Publishing; she is awesome to work with and does an amazing job. She recently took over the role of Account Manager for the North Ogden Connection magazine.
Raquel DeSilva
Raquel DeSilva has a bachelors degree in Business Administration and masters degree in Counseling and Mental Health. She was working at another nonprofit and attended a Rotary Club meeting, where a presentation was given about a new nonprofit coming to Ogden. For some time, her mentors had been urging her to spread her wings and try to advance her career, and, although she was hesitant to do so, she decided to apply for a job as the Executive Director of the new nonprofit called Family Promise. She got the job. Family Promise’s primary goal is to help heal families with hope. Sometimes, when you are in crisis, you don’t see options and don’t have hope.
Because of rising housing costs, families becoming homeless is a growing crisis. Family Promise helps recently homeless families get training, find an apartment, and get back to being independent. Most importantly, they help these families realize their worth. This is often the greatest problem with a family who becomes homeless: they stop believing in themselves. So far this year, they have helped nine families move from homelessness to independence. Raquel was also the recipient of the 2022 Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce Athena Award. She is a powerful contributor to our community. Thank you Raquel!