Lifelong Businesswoman Teresa Rampulla Honored for Paying it Forward
By Danielle Wiseman, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
Teresa Rampulla, Founder and CEO of She Media NY and Marketing Director and Advertising Sales Manager of Ferry Ads, was destined to be a Staten Island businesswoman.
Rampulla was born and raised in Staten Island, where she began her professional career. As a teenager, Rampulla interned at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, where her mother, Amy Campbell, worked as Membership Director for almost twenty years.
“What I’ve learned about business, I’ve learned through the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce,” says Rampulla. “Over the summers, when I was out of school, my mother brought me to the Chamber, and there I learned how to talk to businesspeople. Someone would come to the counter and say something like, ‘Amy, I need to know how many Chamber members do heating and air conditioning services.’ So my mother would turn to me and say, ‘Teresa,’ and I would go look it up.”
“My mother taught me how to find everything. She said to me, ‘You always find the answer. It’s there, you just have to find it,’” reminisces Rampulla. “Even now, whenever somebody is looking for something, my husband says, ‘You’ll have the answer within the hour,’ and he’s right! If I don’t have an answer right away, I won’t stop searching until I find it.”
While attending the College of Staten Island, Rampulla also took the bus into Manhattan several times a week to work at BBDO, a top New York City advertising agency. After immediately recognizing what a valuable asset Rampulla was, BBDO offered her a full-time position on the Advertising Creative Team, which she readily accepted. From there, she went on to work at premier Advertising and Public Relations firms, such as TBWA and Tierney, where she spearheaded campaigns, designed advertisements, and developed marketing and PR strategies.
“All of the jobs that I’ve had were about working with people,” says Rampulla. “Because I started with my mom and learned about business so young, working with businesspeople has always been a part of me. I always respected them.”
Rampulla transitioned back to Staten Island in the mid 1990s, when she started “The Writer’s Edge” a PR and marketing firm where she also wrote about prominent historical figures within our community, while also working at the SI Advance. Her Writer’s Edge writings had caught the eye of David Rampulla, owner of Communication Associates (now Ferryads), who quickly hired her as a copywriter and then seeing her marketing skills appointed her to Marketing Director. Now, married over 22 years, she works alongside her now husband, Dave, President of Ferry Ads.
Ferry Ads is the New York City Department of Transportation’s sole media supplier for the Manhattan and Staten Island Ferry terminals, the Staten Island Ferry, the bus chutes at both terminals, and the Empire Outlets.
In 2014, Rampulla started her own marketing and advertising firm, She Media NY. She Media NY offers a full range of advertising and marketing services, including media planning and buying; advertising, marketing, public relations, and business consulting; and traditional advertising. She Media NY is also certified as an Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE), a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and a Women Business Enterprise (WBE).
“I started this business because I really love marketing. Marketing is a part of life; it’s the face you put forward,” says Rampulla. “I’ve worked in all different types of advertising, marketing, and media, but She Media is where I finally called home.”
In late 2020, at the height of the pandemic, She Media NY partnered with Clear Channel Airports (CCA) to become its ACDBE/DBE/WBE local sales subcontractor in CCA’s airport bid to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). She Media NY gained 11% of the advertising contract rights to PANYNJ’s airports, including John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and New York Stewart International airports.
“Clear Channel, one of the major advertising venues in the world, was bidding on the PANYNJ contract,” says Rampulla. “They came to me and said, ‘We really like you, we really like your work ethics, and we want to partner with you to give a portion of this contract to a woman-owned business. It’s actually the largest contract that a small, woman-owned business has ever received from the Port Authority.”
Rampulla attributes much of her success to her mother, who unfortunately passed away in 2019. Rampulla was inextricably linked to her mother, and she speaks of her in the most admirable light. “My mom was an amazing woman, a bright light in my life. She taught me the value of hard work and dedication,” says Rampulla. “My father, Kenneth a former NYC firefighter was always there to support me and my family as we spent our time talking about life, business and the future of our country.”
Teresa and Dave Rampulla have three daughters together, Siena, Isobel, and Vittoria, all of whom they are immensely proud of. Siena has already started to follow in her mother’s footsteps by starting her own business, Pulla tracker before she has even graduated from college.
For her accomplishments, Rampulla is being honored with a Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award, which she will receive in the Established Businessperson category. The awards, which are presented by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Advance, honor the memory of Louis R. Miller, a businessman and West Brighton resident who was also a community leader.
Although no longer a resident of Staten Island, Rampulla could not be more connected to the Staten Island community. In addition to working with community members daily through her marketing work, Rampulla is also a member of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, the National Organization of Italian American Women, the National Italian American Foundation, the Executive Women’s Council, and the National Association of Professional Women.
Rampulla has also recently joined the Board of Directors of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, a feat that her mother would undoubtedly be proud of. Additionally, she is a member of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, the Queens Chamber of Commerce, and the John F. Kennedy International Airport Chamber of Commerce.
“I think the Chamber is paramount to any business,” says Rampulla. “It’s not expensive to be a part of the biggest business family, and I will always be an advocate for all Chambers.”
Rampulla also does pro bono work for various organizations on the Island, including the Staten Island Business Outreach Center, Wagner College, and the College of Staten Island. She most enjoys mentoring youth and teaching young people how to tell stories through their products.
In 2018, Rampulla received the MWBE Recognition Award, which is selected and presented by the five borough Chamber of Commerce coalition. More recently, she was recognized by the Staten Island Center for Independent Living as having a positive impact on the Staten Island community.
Current occupation AND title: I wear two hats, CEO She Media NY, llc and Director of Marketing, Ferryads
Hometown (i.e. New Dorp, Tottenville or elsewhere, etc.): I grew up in Port Richmond and moved to Willowbrook
Community involvement (please describe significant volunteer efforts or names of organizations you have been involved in):
West Brighton Community Local Development Corporation
Staten Island Business Outreach Center – SIBOC
Forest Avenue Business Improvement District (BID)
BOC Women’s Business Center
SBDC
SI Children’s Museum
March of Dimes
SI Center for Independent Living
Some of my life goals include: Hike the Appalachian Trail, Bike through Europe, Finish my Book
The best part of my job: The people I get to work with and meet along the way.
The most difficult part of my job: Turning it off, I have an iPad next to bed so when a new idea trikes me I email it to myself (and try to do it without waking Dave).
My life philosophy: Every day is a gift, make the most of it.
I am most proud of: My family.
Something that no one knows about me: I dislike sleep, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.
The quality I like best about myself: My energy.
Personal interests and hobbies: Hiking, biking, Scuba, reading, writing, running, tennis, cooking (but not as much as my husband), theater, music and art.
I laugh at: The Snail Joke
I am really good at: Coming up with new marketing ideas and concepts. Working with people and hiking and biking.
I admire: My family.