Collette Divitto
Collette Divitto | |
|---|---|
 The packaging of the "Amazing Cookie" from Collettey's Cookies | |
| Born | 4 October 1990 |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur and disability rights activist |
| Known for | Founder of Collettey's Cookies |
Collette Divitto (born October 4, 1990) is an entrepreneur and disability rights activist based in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the founder of Collettey's Cookies.
Early life
[edit]Divitto has Down syndrome. She graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina in 2013.[1]
Career
[edit]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
[edit]- List of people with Down syndrome
- Supported employment
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month
- Self-employment
- Employment discrimination
References
[edit]- ^ 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.