Elise Crawford Gallagher '09
Since graduating in 2009, my career and life have taken many twists and turns. I’ve changed career paths, studied vastly diverse subjects, worked for non-profit organizations and started my own company. I founded the marketing agency, Ringlet Studio, in 2015 because I saw a need for a space where women creatives could connect, learn and scale their businesses. In November, I established a new company, Catholic Women in Business, which is a non-profit and online platform whose mission is to provide Catholic women business owners, entrepreneurs, and business leaders with the educational and spiritual resources they need to excel in their vocation to business. One of the main focuses in my career today is based around creating a community for women leaders, an integral piece of the Mount de Sales mission.
I often reflect on how Mount de Sales influenced many facets of my life and career as a Catholic woman business owner. My faith, creativity and call to lead were especially developed and molded during my time at MDS.
FAITH - Looking back, the Masses, Holy Hours, and opportunities for confession I experienced as a student were crucial to forming my values. My faith informs everything I do in my business. Not all my employees or clients are Catholic, but at Ringlet we strive to treat each other with integrity, kindness and respect. My vocation as a business owner is my means of evangelization. Through interacting with clients and colleagues, I hope to act as a bridge between Christ and those who aren’t currently living close to His Church.
CREATIVITY - I took art classes with Mrs. Clements all four years of high school, and I was the President of our National Art Honor Society chapter my senior year. Through learning art history and fine art skills, I developed a deep love for creativity. This passion propelled me to seek out a career in communications. As CEO and Marketing Director, I use my artistic skills to create content for clients, direct photo shoots, build websites and develop marketing campaigns.
LEADERSHIP - Under the direction of my theatre teacher, Mrs. Cardall ‘93, I grew in my ability to engage an audience and felt empowered to speak in front of hundreds of people. Today, Ringlet hosts panel discussions, daylong conferences, and other events throughout Washington, D.C. During these events, I speak with hundreds of women entrepreneurs who are looking for guidance and resources to grow their career. My Mount de Sales teachers and peers taught me that true leadership looks like service, and I work to serve my employees, clients and community every day.
Our 2009 senior retreat verse was Philippians 2:15: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” I’m incredibly grateful that my Mount de Sales experience allowed me to take up this call to ‘shine like stars’—to embrace my vocation as a wife, daughter, sister, friend and entrepreneur.
Mount de Sales Academy
Academic Excellence in the Catholic Tradition
