The daughter of an artist and a barber, Wendy Rosen grew up in the small-business community where she personally experienced life on a week-to-week salary and how difficult it was for her family to save.
After her father passed away from ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), Wendy helped support her family while finishing her studies. In 1972, Wendy married her high school sweetheart Steve and they went on to attend the University of Florida, where Steve was a member of the ROTC before entering active duty.
With the Vietnam era coming to a close, Wendy learned first-hand about the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform and the difficulties faced by their families: family members gone for months at a time, the difficulty of finding employment, and the overwhelming cost of constantly moving from base to base.
Working together with a network of friends and other military wives to help support each other, Wendy spent six years moving between jobs and colleges, Ft. Benning, Ft. Knox, and Ft. Hood, Texas. It was during that time that Wendy learned the most important lesson of her life: the need to pull people of various backgrounds together and the importance of supporting those who do.
In 1981, Wendy took that lesson into the business world and created the Rosen Group, a marketing, publishing and advocacy firm with the goal of providing American designers and studio businesses with the opportunities and guidance to grow their businesses and compete in the national and global marketplace.
Since founding the Rosen Group, Wendy's leadership in supporting American made products, mentoring small-business owners and providing education and awareness about the importance of American made products has helped support the creation of 50,000 American jobs.
Additionally, Wendy has helped support American manufacturers, Main Street communities and small retailers nationwide by establishing the Buyers Market of America, the only trade show in the country for Made in the USA products. Rosen also founded the AmericanStyle Magazine, the American Made Alliance and developed Baltimore's Mill Centre, which was has served as a catalys for the revitalization for the village of Hampden in Baltimore City.
As a Maryland resident, successful small-business owner and advocate, Wendy Rosen knows that more jobs are created here in our Main Street communities than on Wall Street.
Founder:
- The Rosen Group www.americancraft.com
- The Buyers Market of America www.buyersmarketofamericancraft.com
- AmericanStyle Magazine www.americanstyle.com
- American Made Alliance www.americanmadealliance.org
- The Arts Business Institute www.ArtsBusinessInstitute.org
- Niche Magazine, Niche Awards, Niche: The Show, www.NicheMag.com
- "Crafting An American Style" - Producer, PBS Documentary
Affiliations, Honors & Awards:
- “Top Women Owned Businesses in Baltimore” – Baltimore Business Journal
- Founding Partner - American Sustainable Business Council
- “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” –The Daily Record
- “Blue Ribbon Small Business Award” – U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- “Top Gifted Women in America” – Gifts & Decorative Accessories Magazine
- “Advocate of the Year” – American Jewelry Design Council
- North American Representative – The World Crafts Council
- “National Leadership Award” – Craft Retailers of America
- Designer Advocate - Women's Jewelry Association