Elizabeth Gray (fifth from right) with the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center team at the NH Business Review event honoring the 2024 Outstanding Women in Business recipients.
Elizabeth Gray, state director of UNH’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and Kristina Drociak ’08 were among the eight recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Women in Business awards from the NH Business Review this spring.
Gray, who joined the SBDC as director in 2018, has long been active in business and politics in New Hampshire, including more than 10 years in the offices of governors Jeanne Shaheen, John Lynch and Maggie Hassan and as a legislative aid in the New Hampshire State Senate. The SBDC is housed in UNH's Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
Gray has been the recipient of an AmplifiHer Award from the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation and co-founded the Northern New England Women’s Investor Network. She was also recently elected to the America’s SBDC (ASBDC) board of directors and serves as the chair of the organization’s Small but Mighty Committee. She’s also a member of ASBDC’s legislative and leadership committees.
Drociak is the director of public relations and digital strategy at Stonyfield. It was a book written by Stonyfield co-founder Gary Hirshberg – which Drociak read during her junior year at UNH – that set her on a career path in public relations.
She majored in communications with a minor in environmental science at UNH.
Her journey to her current position began humbly, as her first role at Stonyfield was answering the phone for those calling the 1-800 number on Stonyfield yogurt cups. In her current role, she works with both Stonyfield and Siggi’s.
The Outstanding Women in Business Awards were established by NH Business Review to “celebrate New Hampshire women who have truly excelled, not only in their professional lives but also as leaders and role models in their communities.”
The 2024 recipients were honored at a May 9 ceremony.
