Neighbor Spotlight: Avalon businesswoman turned glass ceiling into window of opportunity
Editor's Note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature designed to help readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make it a better place, who have interesting stories to tell, or who the community “15 Minutes Deserves fame ”. To nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, visit sewickleyherald.com, select the "Post Story" button in the upper right corner, click the "New Article" button and fill out the form to submit your nomination to publish. Ask? Email the Editor of the Neighborhood News Network, Katie Green, at kgreen@triblive.com.
Li Connolly assumed that she would spend her entire career with an accounting firm after graduating from Duquesne University in 1989.
And while she spent almost three years with a large company, it was clear at the time that a woman had little room to develop in a male-dominated profession.
Instead of dealing with the frustrations of breaking through the glass ceiling, Connolly decided to team up with her father to start her own accounting firm.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of Connolly Steele & Co., based in Avalon, which employs 17 people.
"When I started working in accounting, there was an expectation that women wouldn't stay with a company for very long," she said. "It was subtle, but the feeling was that we were going to get married and start having babies and go."
Connolly said that at the beginning there were few mentors and that women who wanted to grow had the choice of either being totally committed to the company or starting a family.
"There was really no way to balance work and family," she said, adding that there were no female partners in her company at the time and only one senior manager who was a woman. "I really didn't like being in a position where I couldn't control my own surroundings."
Connolly, who had been doing office work for her father's accounting practice since seventh grade and still helped him out at night and on weekends, said it was time to make a change.
"I really didn't want to go on full-time and have a second job with my dad, so we talked about it and decided to start our own business," she said.
Connolly said her father, Lewis Steele, who is 81 and continues to be in the business, insisted that she take the highest billing in the company name. Her 30-year-old husband, Mike, is the company's technology director. The couple have three grown sons.
She said running her own business gave her an opportunity to take a different approach with her clients.
"It was an opportunity to help other businesses while I was an entrepreneur myself," she said.
Connolly said while the gender discrimination she faced early in her career sparked her desire to stand up for women, the seeds were planted in high school.
"I attended Avonworth High School for two years, but my parents didn't feel like I was challenged enough," she said. "So they enrolled (me) in Ellis School."
Connolly said the positive experiences she had at the all-girls school laid the foundation for advocating for women.
"It's an environment where the girls' voices don't drown out," she said. “I was really influenced and shaped there. Based on these experiences, I give something back to women. "
Running her own company enabled Connolly to develop an internship program that helped kick off the careers of a number of young women.
She has also been a member of the Avon Club for many years, a 75-year-old organization devoted to community support and women's issues. Connolly was also active with the Boy Scouts, teaching badges of merit related to personal finance and business. Their three sons all achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the organization's highest honor.
Connolly can be seen in the recently published book Twenty Won.
The book. Port Vue's Kelli Komondor is a collection of 21 women entrepreneurs sharing stories about business resilience during the 2020 global coronavirus pandemic.
Not only has she guided clients through the financial pitfalls of the pandemic last year, but she has also helped companies obtain the grants and loans available to help them survive.
"This has been a devastating year for businesses, especially small ones, and I don't think we have seen the full financial impact yet," she said. "We have worked hard to gain expertise on the (federal) paycheck protection program and other available programs, and reached out to customers to help them in any way we could."
Tony LaRussa is a contributor to Tribune Review. You can contact Tony at 724-772-6368, tlarussa@triblive.com, or on Twitter.
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