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Heather Ingraham Awarded WJA Helene Fortunoff Scholarship
Ingraham said she’ll use the scholarship funds to attend the Women’s Leadership Program at the Yale School of Management.
Heather Ingraham, divisional merchandise director for jewelry, bridal and diamonds for The 1916 Company (WatchBox), is the 2024 recipient of the Helene Fortunoff Women in Retail scholarship.
New York—Heather Ingraham, a buyer with over two decades of experience in the industry, is the second recipient of the Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation’s Helene Fortunoff Women in Retail scholarship.
Ingraham, a GIA G.G., spent nearly 19 years at Borsheims, working as a sales associate, assistant diamond buyer, and diamond buyer.
In 2021, she joined Hyde Park Jewelers in Denver as its diamond and bridal buyer.
Since April of this year, she has worked as the divisional merchandise director for jewelry, bridal, and diamonds for WatchBox. WatchBox is part of newly formed The 1916 Company, which also includes Hyde Park Jewelers, as well as Govberg Jewelers and Radcliffe Jewelers.
Ingraham, who announced she had received the scholarship via LinkedIn, said she is honored to be part of Fortunoff’s legacy and grateful to the panel of judges—Esther Fortunoff-Greene, Ruth Fortunoff-Cooper, Gabrielle Grazi, and Danielle Gaudio-Lalehzar—for the award.
Ingraham, a GIA G.G., spent nearly 19 years at Borsheims, working as a sales associate, assistant diamond buyer, and diamond buyer.
In 2021, she joined Hyde Park Jewelers in Denver as its diamond and bridal buyer.
Since April of this year, she has worked as the divisional merchandise director for jewelry, bridal, and diamonds for WatchBox. WatchBox is part of newly formed The 1916 Company, which also includes Hyde Park Jewelers, as well as Govberg Jewelers and Radcliffe Jewelers.
Ingraham, who announced she had received the scholarship via LinkedIn, said she is honored to be part of Fortunoff’s legacy and grateful to the panel of judges—Esther Fortunoff-Greene, Ruth Fortunoff-Cooper, Gabrielle Grazi, and Danielle Gaudio-Lalehzar—for the award.
“I understand that the greatest gift you can give someone is to believe in them,” Ingraham wrote.
“Thank you for believing in me and I intend to make you proud. Education and generosity are key components of my life, and I will use this opportunity to teach others what I have learned.”
She said will use the money to the attend the Women’s Leadership program at the Yale School of Management.
The WJA Foundation, the nonprofit arm of WJA, created the Helene Fortunoff Women in Retail Scholarship in 2023 to honor Fortunoff, an industry legend, trailblazer, and WJA founding member who died in 2021.
The $7,500 scholarship was designed to support leaders in retail by helping them fund education and management training opportunities.
Ashley Kets, store manager at Springer’s Jewelers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was the award’s inaugural recipient.
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