Stacey Howell has made a career out of doing the unexpected and the impossible—first as one of the few African-American women in her class at Cornellthen as a pioneer manufacturer of sales to several large CORPORATIONS. In fact, Howell comes from a long line of creators, something she relies on every day. “The biggest thing I learned from my uncles, who were behind African-American men in corporate America, is that you have to be prepared for business cycles,” she says. “It's about reinvention.”
Now, Howell has embarked on her most rewarding journey of reinvention as the owner of one Woodhouse Spa franchise in Atlanta.
My background has been very diverse, which makes me really proud.”
After graduating from Cornell, Howell began working for some of the most well-known brands in the world. She first went into medical sales with Johnson & Johnson before moving to another company, selling cardiac monitors to all New York City hospitals. “My background has been very diverse, which makes me really proud,” Howell says.
This period of her career, during the 1990s and into the 2000s, was characterized by significant achievements in sales and marketing and adaptation to different markets. As she continued to shine, Howell's future looked bright. “I was looking after a regional manager position and was put on a fast track,” she says. “But in that 10-year time frame, I was having my own family, so they moved in with a man and started fixing it.”
“I was afraid of politics, but I decided that fear will keep knocking on the door until you embrace it.”
As her career progressed, Howell felt the need to give back community. So in 2004, she began a four-year term as a city council member in her hometown of South Orange, New Jersey, a city known for its diverse and inclusive population. It was too much to juggle a full-time job in sales, a family and being a consultant, but running for office was a way to gain important prospects for head and, most importantly, to get out of it comfort zone.
“People in my community wanted me to run for office and I initially said no,” Howell says. “I was afraid of politics, but I decided that fear will keep knocking on the door until you embrace it, so I took the plunge and became a councillor.”
Howell says she found the nonpartisan collaboration in city politics refreshing, and that openness allowed her to connect with some mentors in the field. “I learned that working across party lines and being diverse and representative of everyone is so important.”
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“I was like, what am I going to do? I'm still young. I'm not ready to hang up.”
After facing personal and professional turmoil, including a divorce and job loss, Howell moved to Atlanta around 2010. Despite initial challenges in finding employment and adjusting to a new environment, she remained resilient and continued to explore new opportunities.
After receiving one sales leadership position with IBM, she found herself in familiar corporate territory, but something was missing. Long days selling high-tech products led to high wages, but she didn't feel passionate. “I couldn't find my groove here,” she says. “I was like, What will i do? I'm still young. I'm not ready to close it.”
In early 2017, Howell founded a non-profit organization, Every Woman Works (EWW), dedicated to transforming the lives of women facing challenges such as homelessness, substance abuse, criminal justice transition and domestic violence. EWW provided training to clients, including computer literacy, interview and resume preparation, and other professional preparation courses.
For Howell, it was an opportunity to use that diverse background to contribute to social change. “It combined my government experience and my corporate experience,” she says, adding that the pay cut she was due to take didn't bother her then. “It was intentional. I wasn't making any money, but I absolutely loved it.”
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“I thought about how I'm going to go out into our community and do for single moms who can't afford the luxury.”
Three years into Howell's tenure at EWW, Covid hit, drying up much of the nonprofit's funding and preventing it from serving its client base; eventually it was completely closed. Howell considered it starting a businessbut she was determined that whatever opportunity she chose, she had to return it community. By this time, she was married to a disabled Navy vet. “Massage was part of his lifestyle,” Howell says, “and it gradually became my lifestyle.”
Howell did some research and learned that the spa industry in the US – currently valid 20 billion dollars — was booming, so he decided to open one Woodhouse Spa franchise in 2022. “But what I really want to do is get into the wellness community,” she says. “I thought about how I'm going to go out into our community and do for single moms who can't afford the luxury.” Howell has already held several free events for single moms and foster moms who can't afford massage as part of their regular lifestyle.
After the success of her initial franchise, Howell is weighing her next steps. Regardless, her staff believes in her vision. “Stacey is a leader,” says Kay Arroufi, director of Woodhouse Spa Buckhead. “Her passion for giving back to the community and the greater world at large is inspiring.” Arroufi mentioned the three paid VOLUNTARY days employees get working for Howell in Woodhouse. “Working alongside Stacey inspires me to give more.”
Howell has also made some important connections. The president of the Morehouse College School of Medicine recently came for a service. “She had a lot of experience and introduced herself—I didn't know she was the president of Morehouse Medical,” Howell says. “And we are now collaborating to do community well-being together.”