Member Spotlight: Stephanie Kenney — Designing Jewelry, Rescuing Dogs, Changing Lives

Behind Stephanie Kenney Designs is a woman who has spent 23 years helping dogs find safe, loving homes.

One of the reasons I love Women for Women (W4W) is that every member has a story that extends far beyond her business.

We may know someone as an artist, designer, writer, or entrepreneur—but there is often another part of her life that reveals even more about who she is.

That is certainly true of W4W member Stephanie Kenney.

Jewelry With a Story

Through Stephanie Kenney Designs, Stephanie creates distinctive, handcrafted jewelry for women of different ages, styles, and personalities.

Her one-of-a-kind pieces combine semiprecious stones and metalwork, often using materials sourced during her travels or from places around the world, including Istanbul, Uruguay, Morocco, and Prague. Her mother’s European background and Stephanie’s love of international travel have both influenced her creative eye and approach to design.

The result is jewelry that feels collected rather than mass-produced—pieces with personality, texture, color, and a story of their own.

Stephanie’s work includes necklaces, bracelets, cuffs, rings, and earrings featuring materials such as turquoise, pearls, citrine, tourmaline, amber, quartz, and other unusual stones. She also offers custom work, allowing her to create pieces that feel especially personal to the women who wear them.

But Stephanie’s creativity is only one part of her story.

Twenty-Three Years of Rescue Work

For 23 years, Stephanie has also devoted herself to rescuing and rehoming dogs.

Rather than simply fostering dogs for another organization, Stephanie runs Almost Golden Rescue.

Almost Golden Rescue works with rescue organizations across the country to save dogs, identify resources, and find safe, permanent homes. The organization helps dogs coming from shelters, breeders, and owner-surrender situations throughout the United States.

Its work also reaches far beyond this country.

Stephanie and Almost Golden Rescue help save dogs from China’s dog meat slaughter trade, working alongside other rescue organizations to bring dogs to safety and ultimately place them with loving families.

This work requires much more than finding someone who would like a dog.

Stephanie takes time to understand a dog’s history, temperament, needs, and personality. She also learns about the family hoping to adopt—their home, lifestyle, experience, and expectations.

The goal is not simply to place a dog.

It is to create the right match.

That takes patience, compassion, judgment, persistence, and a deep understanding of both animals and people.

Work That Matters

Stephanie’s two worlds may appear very different.

In one, she works with beautiful stones, metals, colors, and textures to create something a woman can wear and treasure.

In the other, she works to give vulnerable dogs safety, care, and a chance to become treasured members of a family.

But perhaps the two sides of her life are not so different after all.

Both are deeply personal. Both require intuition and close attention. And both are about creating meaningful connections.

Stephanie’s story is also a wonderful reminder of why I want us to get to know one another beyond the quick introductions we exchange at a gathering.

Our W4W members are building businesses, raising families, supporting causes, caring for their communities, developing new ideas, and quietly doing work that changes lives.

There is so much more to every woman than the name of her business.

Learn More or Get Involved

Stephanie would love to hear from anyone interested in learning more about Almost Golden Rescue or volunteering with the organization.

There are many ways to support rescue work, and you do not necessarily have to foster or adopt a dog to make a difference. Sharing information, connecting resources, helping with transportation, volunteering, or simply introducing the organization to someone who may be able to help can all contribute to saving a life.

Visit Almost Golden Rescue to learn more about its mission and work.

You can also explore Stephanie’s jewelry at Stephanie Kenney Designs and discover the creative side of this remarkable W4W member.

We are so glad to spotlight Stephanie—jewelry designer, entrepreneur, dog advocate, rescue leader, and thoughtful matchmaker for the dogs and families waiting to find one another.