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 Director of Membership for nearly twenty years.
“What I’ve learned about business, I’ve learned through the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce,” says Rampulla. “During the summer, when I was out of school, my mother brought me to Oda, and there I learned how to talk to businessmen. Someone would come to the counter and say something like, ‘Amy, I need to know how many members of the House do heating and air conditioning services.’ So my mother would turn to me and say, ‘Teresa,’ and I would go look for her.”
“My mother taught me how to find everything. She told me: ‘You always find the answer. It’s there, you have to find it”, recalls Rampulla. “Even now, whenever someone asks for something, my husband says: ‘You will have the answer within the hour’ and he is right! If I don’t have an answer right away, I won’t stop looking until I find it.”
While attending the College of Staten Island, Rampulla also took the bus to Manhattan several times a week to work at BBDO, a top advertising agency in New York. Immediately realizing what a valuable asset Rampulla was, BBDO offered her a full-time position on the Creative Advertising Team, which she readily accepted. From there, she went on to work at leading Advertising and Public Relations firms such as TBWA and Tierney, where she directed campaigns, designed ads and developed marketing and PR strategies.
“All the jobs I’ve had have been about working with people,” says Rampulla. “Because I started with my mother and learned about the business very young, working with business people has always been a part of me. I have always respected them.”
Rampulla returned to Staten Island in the mid-1990s when he started The Writer’s Edge, a PR and marketing firm, where he also wrote about prominent historical figures within our community while also working at 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 writer and then, seeing her marketing skills, appointed her to the position of Director of Marketing. Now married for 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 channels 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), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE).
“I started this business because I really love marketing. Marketing is a part of life; it’s the face you put in front”, 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 local ACDBE/DBE/WBE sales subcontractor on CCA’s airport bid for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) . She Media NY won 11% of the advertising contract rights at PANYNJ airports, including John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and New York Stewart International airports.
“Clear Channel, one of the world’s leading advertising venues, was bidding for the PANYNJ contract,” says Rampulla. “They came to me and said, ‘We really like you, we really like your work ethic, 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 a woman-owned small business has ever received from the Port Authority.”
Rampulla attributes much of her success to her mother, who sadly passed away in 2019. Rampulla was inextricably linked to her mother and she speaks of her in the most admirable light. “My mother 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 time talking about life, business and the future of our country.”
Teresa and Dave Rampulla have three daughters together, Siena, Isobel and Vittoria, of whom they are extremely proud. Siena has already begun to follow in her mother’s footsteps by starting her own business, Pulla Tracker, before even graduating from college.
For her achievements, Rampulla has been honored with the Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award, which she will receive in the “Established Business” 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 every day 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 also recently joined the Board of Directors of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, an accomplishment her mother would surely be proud of. In addition, 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 for any business,” says Rampulla. “It’s not expensive to be 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 Center, Wagner College and the College of Staten Island. She most enjoys mentoring young people 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 a coalition of five municipalities of the Chamber of Commerce. She was recently recognized by the Staten Island Center for Independent Living as a positive influence in the Staten Island community.
Current Occupation AND Title: I wear two hats
CEO She Media NY, llc and director of marketing, Ferryads
Hometown (eg 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 with):
· West Brighton Local Community 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
· Cycle across Europe
· Finish my book
The best part of my job:
The people I work with and meet along the way.
The hardest part of my job:
Turning it off, I have an iPad by my bed, so when a new idea strikes me, I email it to myself (and try to do it without waking Dave).
My philosophy of life:
Every day is a gift, make the most of it.
I am very proud of:
My family.
Something no one knows about me:
I don’t like sleep, I will sleep when I die.
The quality I like most 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’m really good at:
Coming up with new marketing ideas and concepts. Working with people and walking and cycling.
I admire:
My family.
