Collette Divitto
Collette Divitto | |
|---|---|
 The packaging of the "Amazing Cookie" from Collettey's Cookies | |
| Born | 1990 (age 33–34) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur and disability rights activist |
| Known for | Founder of Collettey's Cookies |
Collette Divitto (born 1990) is an entrepreneur and disability rights activist based in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the founder of Collettey's Cookies.
Early life
Divitto has Down syndrome. She graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina in 2013.[1]
Career
Collettey's Cookies was founded in 2015, with help from her mother Rosemary Alfredo and sister Blake, after failing to find paid employment.[1] Her first retail account was Golden Goose Market, a store in her neighborhood, the North End. The store was selling 100 bags of Collettey's Cookies within the first week.[2] After a TV news segment about the company in the winter of 2016, which was amplified via social media, sales increased.[3][4] In 2018, represented the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress at the United Nations as a star ambassador.[5]
See also
- List of people with Down syndrome
- Supported employment
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month
- Self-employment
- Employment discrimination
References
- ^ a b Kurland, Ann Trieger. "When this entrepreneur with Down syndrome couldn't find work at a bakery, she started her own". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Boston Business Owner With Down Syndrome Receives Orders For Thousands Of Cookies". CBS Boston. CBS Broadcasting Inc. December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Cookie orders roll in at business owned by woman with Down syndrome". CBS News. CBS Broadcasting Inc. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ Tejada, Chloe (19 January 2017). "Rejection Made This Baker With Down Syndrome Open Her Own Cookie Shop". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "'Collettey's Cookies' Founder Speaking At UN For World Down Syndrome Day". CBS Boston. CBS Publications Inc. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.