2026 Women of Influence

Abie Rampy is a thoughtful, energetic leader whose work strengthens both The United Family and the communities it serves. In her current role, she guides communication for more than 100 stores, helping people understand what the company is and how it shows up for its neighbors. She leads external and internal messaging, serves as spokesperson and keeps team members connected through the "Spirited Culture" platform she created.

Rampy's influence reaches far beyond press releases. She oversees charitable giving, community partnerships and nonprofit relationships across all 55 United Family communities. She leads a small team focused on storytelling and community impact, ensuring the company's actions match its heart.

Over the past year, Rampy delivered standout accomplishments. She built a new system that strengthens community partnerships across all regions. She reimagined the Holiday Made Easy Expo into a hands‑on, student‑driven event that boosted store traffic and engagement. Rampy's collegiate athletics sponsorship work generated more than one million impressions from a modest investment, and she launched The Press Room to make media access easier and more accurate, contributing to significant coverage.

Outside of work, Rampy serves on university task forces, nonprofit boards and school committees. She co‑founded a major holiday event and helps lead programs that support children, families and hunger relief.

Alexandra "Alex" Hickey exemplifies the leadership, innovation and industry commitment recognized by the Women of Influence program. With nearly 20 years in the grocery industry, she has consistently delivered results while building strategies that advance her teams, clients and organizations.

Hickey is known for pairing strategic thinking with disciplined execution, translating complex challenges into clear plans that drive growth and lasting business impact. Her leadership balances accountability with empowerment, enabling teams to perform at a high level while continuing to develop professionally.

Hickey's career progression -- from merchandise coordinator to category merchant at Whole Foods Market to leading high-performing sales organizations at C.A. Fortune -- reflects both depth of expertise and intentional growth. Along the way, she has cultivated a rare blend of merchant intuition, consumer insight and commercial rigor. This perspective distinguishes her as both a thought leader and an execution-focused operator who not only anticipates where consumers and categories are heading but helps build the frameworks required to win.

Hickey brings a forward-looking approach to category strategy, retailer engagement and organizational development, ensuring her teams are positioned for success in an increasingly competitive marketplace. She recognizes that sustainable growth requires agility and alignment.

Alyson Woods oversees the analysis and operational management of Save A Lot's loyalty program across more than 600 stores. Her work influences marketing strategy, promotional effectiveness and customer engagement at scale. While not directly managing a budget, Woods' insights guide investment decisions for loyalty campaigns and digital offers. She collaborates with cross-functional teams -- including marketing, IT and Save A Lot store owners to ensure program accuracy and performance. In addition to strategic analysis, she handles tactical responsibilities, such as configuring offers and troubleshooting store and customer issues, ensuring a seamless experience. Between March 1, 2025-February 2026, Woods helped drive more than 730,000 registrations for Save A Lot Rewards, the company's loyalty program. She also achieved the first month of double-digit percentage of identified transactions for the loyalty program. She coordinated the migration to a new loyalty coupon platform for 600-plus stores, leading to a successful launch. In addition, Woods set up contingency plans in the event there was an issue during migration. Another of her major achievements was testing multiple offer types to ensure all of them were redeemable prior to migration. She also led multiple supplier-paid media conversations as Save A Lot continues to kick off retail media use. She also helped to make herself and the marketing department more efficient by eliminating manual processes.

Amanda Emerson has evolved into one of the most effective and thoughtful leaders in the food industry. She has proved herself to be an exemplary executive who possesses the rare ability to marry data-driven strategy with deep, human-centric leadership.

In her current role, Emerson has been the architect of transformative growth. Her whole-picture leadership style was instrumental in scaling Head Country BBQ from a regional powerhouse to a national brand. Beyond the P&L, Emerson's brilliance lies in her ability to identify and maximize each team member's zone of genius. She takes it upon herself to mentor future leaders in our industry, fostering a performance culture rooted in accountability and creative freedom.

Emerson's influence extends far beyond the boardroom. Her career is marked by a deep-seated commitment to civic duty, including her impactful work with Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Burn Camp community. Whether she is serving on the board of the Made in Oklahoma Coalition or spearheading industry safety campaigns, she leads with a hands-on, all-in approach.

Emerson is the definition of a Woman of Influence: a results-oriented visionary who elevates her brands, colleagues, community and every project lucky enough to have her on board.

Amber Hook is a compassionate leader whose work touches every corner of The United Family. In her current role, she helps guide the experience of more than 18,000 team members, from hiring and onboarding to performance support and culture‑building. Hook leads a dedicated team, supports managers through challenging situations and ensures team members are treated with fairness and respect. Her role also includes overseeing key systems, engagement programs and store visits that keep her connected to the people she serves.

Hook's influence is felt company‑wide. She partners with leaders at every level, helping shape the environment where team members work, grow and feel supported.

This past year, she played a central role in Project Unity, the transition to ACI systems. She helped prepare data, build training plans and guide store teams through a complicated change, all while keeping daily talent management operations running smoothly. Hook's team achieved a high unemployment claim success rate, negotiated a new four‑year union contract and led major hiring efforts, including bringing nearly 300 new team members onboard for the Rio Rancho Market Street opening. They also refreshed recruiting materials and awarded six educational scholarships.

Outside of work, Hook serves in leadership roles with SHRM, Kairos Prison Ministry, Lubbock Impact and Ronald McDonald House Charities and volunteers through UCrew.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Amy Bergeron brings expertise, strong retailer relationships and a commitment to excellence as she leads C.A. Ferolie's business at Shaw's. Managing multiple departments and a broad client portfolio, she delivers consistent, measurable results year after year.

Bergeron's leadership was instrumental in driving more than $1 million in incremental sales during the Shaw's Fall 2025 Shipper Show and she has produced sustained growth across her business over the past two years.

Known for her structured planning, disciplined follow‑through and ability to connect the needs of clients, customers and internal teams, Bergeron is a steady force who raises the performance of those around her.

She also is an exceptional mentor who gives of her time and expertise. She recently played a key role in onboarding a new associate, providing guidance, coaching and ongoing availability that accelerated their comfort and success within the company.

Beyond her core responsibilities, Bergeron leads charitable initiatives for the New England office, most notably supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester. Her passion, experience and consistency represent the best of C.A. Ferolie's culture. With her influence felt across client management, team development and community leadership, 2026 is the ideal year to honor her contributions.

Amy Wadstrom is breaking down the complexities of pharmacy benefits one conversation at a time. At Vivid Clear Rx, a pass-through pharmacy benefit manager formed in 2020 by Midwestern grocer Hy-Vee, Wadstrom's mission is to bring greater transparency and cost-savings to employer groups across the nation. A pharmacist by trade who spent much of her career working in Hy-Vee's retail pharmacies, Wadstrom's time these days is spent sharing her expertise with employer groups, brokers and other healthcare professionals to help them better understand the hidden costs that are often associated with more traditional PBMs. Part of that includes advocating on behalf of PBM reform on the local and federal levels to bring greater accountability and clarity to the industry. Wadstrom and her team have focused their efforts around creating a seamless experience for employers and their members, from onboarding and beyond, to ensure patients have the best possible health outcomes. Leaning into her Hy-Vee roots, Wadstrom has built a strong culture of service that's powered by Vivid Clear Rx's 24/7 call center. This team includes trained pharmacy professionals whose role is to help members and employers navigate their pharmacy benefits. Each employee is trained and empowered to solve problems quickly and effectively. It's this guiding principle that's earned Vivid Clear Rx one of the highest customer service ratings in the industry.

Angel Anderson rejoined Save A Lot in October 2024 and quickly demonstrated why alternate sales is one of the company's most durable growth engines. Rather than chasing volume for its own sake, Anderson focused on building a model that scales responsibly, improves margin quality and extends access to affordable food beyond the traditional store network. In 2025, alternate sales generated $44.8 million in sales, with margin dollars increasing by about 10 percent year over year. Delivering value to customers while improving margin discipline in a persistent inflationary environment requires careful judgment and execution. These results were reviewed and validated through enterprise leadership assessments, reinforcing confidence in alternate sales as a sustainable platform. A key driver of performance has been Anderson's ability to accelerate opportunity capture through decisive sourcing. When customer needs could not be met through existing pipelines, she leveraged a global network of supplier relationships to source product, shortening timelines and converting opportunity into revenue faster than traditional processes would allow. Anderson also strengthened the economics of the channel by reshaping how volume flows through the network. Nearly 300 full truckloads moved via direct and cross-dock routes, representing about 30 percent of total volume.

Angela Ables leads with integrity, resilience and an unwavering commitment to excellence. She sets high expectations for herself and her team, driven by a genuine desire to deliver the very best for her store, employee-partners and customers. She does not compromise standards; she elevates them.

A proven, results-driven leader, Ables consistently delivers exceptional performance. Her store's two-year stacked sales increase is three times the company average and current-year sales are trending 2.7 percent above the banner average. She achieves these results through disciplined execution, strong team engagement and a relentless focus on operational excellence. Ables models the company's core values daily, setting the tone for accountability, ownership and high performance.

Her resilience is equally defining. Following a car accident, she demonstrated extraordinary determination. Throughout her recovery, she remained focused on her team, returning in time to support her store during the Fourth of July holiday. That commitment reflects not only her resilience but her servant leadership mindset.

Beyond store operations, Ables invests in her community, volunteering at Comanche Rehab, supporting National Night Out and contributing to an annual chili supper for local hunters. She does more than manage a store; she exemplifies courageous leadership, operational excellence and an unwavering commitment to winning a customer's business the right way.

Angela Basnar's journey at AG is a powerful example of determination, growth and leadership. Her rise from selector to her current position reflects not only her strong work ethic but a commitment to learning and supporting those around her.

Throughout her career, Basnar has stepped up to meet new challenges, demonstrating resilience and a willingness to grow. She is undergoing CDL-A training to better support her team and has completed numerous professional development courses, including Frontline Manager Training, UNH Workshops on Foundations of Supervision, Stepping Up to Supervisor and Balancing Workplace Priorities and Demands, as well as DOT Reasonable Suspicion Supervisor Training.

Basnar leads by example, fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork and continuous improvement. She encourages her team to develop their skills while ensuring operational success.

Beyond her core responsibilities, Basnar is engaged in the company community. She is volunteering as part of this year's AG Activities Committee and is in her second year serving on the NH/VT Truck Driving Championship Planning Committee.

Basnar's perseverance, hands-on leadership and dedication to her team and the broader organization make her an inspiring and deserving nominee for the Women of Influence award.