Hometown:Tom's River, New Jersey
Secret Talent:Dancing (Jazz, Tap, Ballet, etc)
Pets:2 rescue dogs: Astro (a Pom Chi, age 7), and Baby (a Chihuahua, age 10), and a cat, Stacey (age 7)
Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have - so spend it wisely. -Kay Lyons Stockham
Leslie Nifoussi is a diamond: valuable, lovely, and multi-faceted. She is, in no particular order, a mother, an entrepreneur, a dancer, on-air talent, business-minded, and instinctual. She loves ice cream (mint chocolate chip with sprinkles), 70’s soft rock (especially Cool Night by Paul Davis), and performance.
Born and raised on the Jersey Shore (the place, not the show), Leslie has lived up and down the east coast; from New York to Florida and a few states in between. She believes Wilmington is the pick of the bunch. Her favorite things about the area are the people, culture, food, and, of course, the beach.
At the University of Delaware, Leslie studied Finance and Management Information Systems. While her major concentration relies on facts and data, Leslie has a deep trust in her intuition and gut instincts. Some may see a dichotomy there, but having a foot in both the intuitive and data-driven arenas gives Leslie two distinct perspectives to evaluate pain points, and mine for strategy.
In her early career, Leslie honed her corporate skills working for PricewaterhouseCooper and DoubleClick (an early pioneer of internet advertising that Google purchased in 2008). After those experiences, she started two businesses. For twelve years, she owned and operated a Surf Shop in New Jersey despite not really being a surfer (she has surfed, and enjoyed it, but her husband is the real surfer [and her son is following in those footsteps]). Her second business was a café in Wrightsville Beach.
Years of dance training fostered Leslie’s love of the performing arts. Be it tap, ballet, or jazz, she loves performing, and hopes to pass that love on to her children. Dance training may be partially credited with helping her foster the poise and grace that made Leslie the first on-air style expert at the Home Shopping Network. She still appears on the air once a month or so. Leslie loves working on the air. The creative challenge offers the opportunity to create unique style moments on live television.
We’ve mentioned her children, but Leslie particularly revels in being a mother. Motherhood is her greatest challenge, her proudest achievement, and principal motivation. Caring for them, and preparing them to be happy, healthy people isn’t just her responsibility, it is a tremendous source of joy.
