You Can Do It, Too: Women-Owned Businesses in Scarsdale & Eastchester

Non-Profits

Secret Santas: Lisa Jones

For the past 11 years, Eastchester mom Lisa Jones has been running an organization that helps give gifts to children in foster care in Westchester. She organizes an annual fundraiser to provide gifts for children from ages 2 months to 18 years old and necessary items that we take for granted, such as socks and gloves, as they navigate the foster care system.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, they have provided charitable gifts through drop boxes, monetary donations, and their annual fundraiser. The event is sold out this year, but you can still participate in #GivingTuesday by donating at SecretSantas.org or dropping off new, unwrapped toys at the Vernon Hills or Tuckahoe Station Starbucks. The team uses every penny to give to these deserving children, so it’s a great place to donate during the holiday season.

Operation Prom National Network Inc: Noel D’Allaco  

For 20 years, Operation Prom has worked to provide free prom dresses and tuxedos to students across the county who would not be able to afford formal clothing for this special event otherwise. Their mission states, “By providing free prom dresses and tuxedos, we help boost teens’ self-esteem, allowing them to celebrate their educational accomplishments with their peers without the financial burden.” This amazing volunteer-led, non-profit organization is run by Noel D’Allacco, a local Eastchester resident, and 100% of the profits go to the students they serve.

Local Services 

Morgan, Bagg, Persons & Vuksanaj Law Firm: Christine De Stefano- Vuksanaj

Christine owns Morgan, Bagg, Persons & Vuksanaj on Route 22 in Eastchester. The firm was started in the 1900s, and they have been a thriving business in Eastchester since the mid-80s. They work with trusts and estates, wills, and Probates. One Facebook user shared, “I can’t tell you how happy I was with the level of service I received! After much procrastination, my husband and I finally got all of our affairs in order. Christine was so helpful and patient, answering all of our questions. Her advice and guidance left us feeling so secure in our decisions.

Scarsdale Flower Boutique: Eugenia Jara

Eugenia Jara and her husband, German Chino, share over 40 years of experience in the flower industry. They took that experience to Scarsdale Flower Boutique for the past 15 years, but the shop has been in for over 75 years. Their mission is to provide the most creative and fresh flowers from around the globe. They pride themselves on listening to their clients to create beautiful and unique arrangements and have even been featured on News12!

Fayer Events: Shari Fayer

Fayer Events specializes in planning events big and small. These include bridal showers, milestone birthday parties, kid’s birthdays, weddings, and bat/bar mitzvahs. Shari has been doing private events since 2015 and has ten years of experience in corporate event planning. Her specialty is event coordination, custom theme creation, decor execution, and capturing the most perfect moments.

Westchester Funeral Home: Carrie Benedict-Foley

Westchester Funeral Home, Inc. is a funeral home in Eastchester. Carrie is the 6th generation of funeral directors in the Benedict Family. They are proud to serve our community for over 190 years. Carrie is the first woman in the lineage of Benedict’s and is proud to carry on the family tradition. They pride themselves on providing quality funeral services for your loved one with caring staff members and beautiful facilities.

Cotton & Bow: Jaime Coast Business

Eastchester mom Jaime Coast is an artist and stationery designer whose work has been featured in publications like Brides, People, and Style Me Pretty. She helps couples illustrate their love stories with wedding invitations that are anything but “cookie-cutter.”

Services for Women-Owned Businesses

KymEsq.: Kymberly A Robinson

At Kymesq, Kymberly focuses on serving the legal needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses, many of whom are moms. As a trusted counselor, advisor, and advocate, Kymberly provides legal guidance to help clients navigate business formation, contracts, employment, intellectual property, and compliance issues to maximize business growth, protection, and expansion. Her practice includes clients in various industries such as law, medicine, beauty and wellness, various therapies, art and photography, interior design and organization, social media (“influencers”), home renovation, real estate, children’s services, and event planning, as well as several not-for-profit organizations.

Portelle: Jan Marie Harrison

Portelle is an online platform that supports women-owned e-commerce businesses with a curated marketplace and software-as-a-service programs to help them launch, build, and scale their companies.

Health, Wellness, and Beauty

Westchester Myofunctional Specialties: Nicole Molinari Tobon

Nicole’s orofacial myology practice specializes in assessing and treating functional concerns related to oral habits, tongue posture, mouth breathing, snoring, tongue-tie, lip-tie, and prolonged speech therapy needs. They collaborate closely with patients and their healthcare providers, including orthodontists, ENTs, pediatricians, speech therapists, and other specialists, to optimize renal function and support treatments such as orthodontic care. Westchester Myofunctional Specialties uses an evidence-based approach tailored to improve breathing, speech, and overall quality of life through personalized therapy plans.

Tongue-Tie Dental: Jessica Levy Carullo

Tongue-Tie Dental of NY is a very specialized dental office located in Scarsdale. At this office, pediatric dentist Dr. Jessica Levy, an Eastchester resident and mom, devotes her practice to laser frenectomies (tongue-tie and lip-tie surgery) on patients of all ages, from newborns to adults. Dr. Jessica started the practice in Norwalk, CT, in 2021 and expanded to Westchester in 2022. She shares the office space with Westchester Myofunctional Specialties, and they often collaborate to provide comprehensive care to their patients.

Aging Smart: Stacey Zaslow-Cook 

Owner Stacey Zaslow-Cook, LMSW, C-ASWCM, runs AgingSMART. This brain stimulation program is specifically designed to stimulate brain function for active seniors, those with mild cognitive impairment, or early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia by employing a variety of cognitively challenging activities. All activities focus on cognitive strengthening, maintaining and improving hand-eye coordination, and using fine motor skills.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: Marina D. Castellanos PT, PLLC

Marina runs a pelvic floor physical therapy practice serving women all over Lower Westchester. She also has a podcast, “Pelvic Matters,” that is “your go-to resource for discussions about all the “taboo topics” in pelvic health we normally don’t discuss out loud.” Her office is in Eastchester, but she also provides at-home visits.

Yoga Six Eastchester: Amy Arnold  

Owned by married couple Amy and Dan Arnold, this business has been thriving since 2021 and is a favorite for Eastchester moms in the middle of town. Offering 40 classes a week that range in skill from beginner to advanced and includes two types of Hot Yoga classes, Amy and Dan strive to be able to offer yoga to everyone. They say, “We have so many options for anyone at every level, and it is not intimidating to come in here because no matter your level, you will find a class that fits.” The couple is also opening up a White Plains studio in January 2025.

Registered Dietician: Anita Mirchandani

Scarsdale mom and Westchester County mom contributor Anita Mirchandani is a registered dietitian nutritionist, prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist, and certified fitness professional. She holds a Masters degree in Clinical Nutrition and focuses on building a balanced and integrative approach to health. Anita recently launched ARM NUTRITION, a nutrition telehealth platform that accepts insurance.

The Homestead Family Chiropractic: Annamarie Nardini

The Homestead Family Chiropractic is a pediatric, perinatal, and family chiropractic practice specializing in gentle, safe, and effective chiropractic care for the whole family. Annamarie Nardini shared, “We are a husband-and-wife team, and our 1.5-year-old is always at the office, ready to play!”

Jackie Calderone Physical Therapy, PLLC: Jackie Calderone, PT, DPT

A concierge physical therapy and wellness practice that offers in-home services aimed at providing the highest level of care to restore clients’ functional status and achieve their optimal health and wellness goals. With 15 years of experience working in Mount Sinai’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Department as well as providing in-home services, Jackie has extensive experience working with clients following a stroke, neurological diagnoses such as Parkinson’s and MS, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic injuries and surgeries, and general de-conditioning following long hospital stays. Jackie also works with clients striving to sustain a healthy lifestyle and want to reintegrate into specific activities or sports.

Whole Soul Doula: Kristen Kaessler

Kristen Kaessler runs Whole Soul Doula out of Eastchester but serves all of Westchester County and Fairfield County. She has been a certified doula for four years. She makes it her mission to intuitively support and care for her clients on their most challenging days, lend them a helping hand, and serve as a non-biased source of information, empowerment, and encouragement.

Sania’s Brow Bar: Valbona Gjidija 

Sania’s Brow Bar is a female-run, and family-owned business established more than 20 years ago. Sania Vucetaj was a brow pioneer long before eyebrow sculpting and correcting was ever “on-trend.” Her signature full brows and tweezing-only artistry gained her a loyal following among editors, and she has been featured in NY Magazine, Page Six, Vogue, New York Times, and Allure. The business has multiple locations and is now run by Sania’s daughters, one of whom is a local Scarsdale mom. They have celebrity clients like Sarah Jessica Park, Olivia Culpo, Kaia Gerber, and Amal Clooney. They feature their line of brow products and avoid “trends” like microblading and lamination, making their mission a long-term and healthy approach to eyebrow regrowing, reshaping, and maintenance.

Bleached Salon Eastchester: Mariella Pomilla

An Eastchester mom favorite, this salon is affordable and welcoming. It has many skilled hairdressers and colorists specializing in color correction and women’s haircutting. The owner, Mariella, says, “I’ve been doing hair for over 20 years. This December has been four years since I opened the salon in the heart of Eastchester. We are dedicated to helping the community in any way we can.”

JS Skincare: Julianne Steiner

Julianne has owned a skincare studio in Scarsdale for over twenty years. She provides services ranging from hydra facials to microdermabrasion and customizes facials to meet clients’ needs. She also does laser hair removal, waxing, eyebrow, and eyelash tinting.

Kids’ Services

Sharkey’s Haircuts for Kids: Erin McKenna 

I had the fortunate opportunity to experience this brand-new children’s salon in Scarsdale, which blew me away! My son has special needs, so haircuts have always been a challenge, but at Sharkey’s, he was given everything he needed to really enjoy the process! He played X-Box while the warm, patient hair stylist gave him a great haircut. Each girl’s haircut at Sharkey’s comes with a complimentary mini-cure, which includes a nail polish change & a glamour ring! There’s even a room called the “Tween Lounge” for the older girls to get the salon experience they want. I would rent it out for a birthday party in the future for my daughter or go to them for Up-Dos for a special event. Bonus: Sharkey’s donates a percentage of each haircut to a local charity, making it a great addition to the Scarsdale community.

A Child’s Dream LLC: Tiffany Amaya-Cipriano

A Child’s Dream Nursery offers early education for children aged 2-4 with a curriculum that includes language arts, social studies, math, science, and motor and social skills development. The business has been on the border of Eastchester and Scarsdale for almost 24 years, making it a staple for our community, providing a safe, secure, and loving environment for our little ones. Registration for A Child’s Dream is open and has rolling admission, so it’s convenient to sign up any time of the year without worrying about the “rush” to get your child into a good nursery school.

Prep Academy Tutors: Sarah Loader and Vanessa O’Friel

Prep Academy Tutors is an in-home academic tutoring company with over 100 skilled, certified teachers and subject specialists offering in-person tutoring plus unique enrichment programs for all ages. It is owned by Sarah Loader and Vanessa O’Friel, both local moms who have 3 and 4 children, respectively.