About

Stephanie Villano, founder of Contessa Concierge & Personal Assistant Services and award-winning creative professional, certified project manager, and lifestyle architect, envisioned and created a business that is built on a lifelong passion for nurturing and helping people to thrive in life. Her conscious, intuitive approach to providing services addresses real pain points and challenges in peoples' lives and opens up the possibilities to create a sense of order and balance across all aspects of their lives. She serves people in a way that will set them up for success.

Living Life Gracefully and Purposefully

Living life gracefully and purposefully is much like that feeling you get when you are in the zone, or in a state of effortless flow. You are fully present, engaged and immersed in what you are doing—clear signs that you have found that elusive sweet spot where your strengths, talents, gifts, passions and your purpose intersect. Which means your productivity, awareness, and life satisfaction are at their highest.

Life, and the world as we know it, has become increasingly complex and fast changing in the 24/7 world of modern technology. Competing priorities and demands on our time leave us feeling overwhelmed by stress, guilt and anxiety, impacting our well-being. People are looking for services and solutions to be more efficient and productive, that bring true value and positive, lasting change to their lives. On a deeper, soulful level, people are seeking more meaning, purpose, and contentment in their life. They want to make a difference and leave their mark in the world, and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Does it take a village?

How do we get the right help and support we need in order to restore harmony, wholeness, and equilibrium in our life? How do we get it all done when we have a finite amount of time and energy? How can we leverage our time effectively to get the most from life? Does it take a village? Whom can we trust to help us?

Stephanie clearly saw there was a fast-growing demand in today's fast-paced society for personal assistant, concierge, and lifestyle services and solutions that not only address the full spectrum of people's evolving needs and fill the gaps in their life, but that also offer a high degree of personalization, service and specialization, giving them the support they need to flourish in all domains of life. She also knew that people could reap the benefits and value of having their very own personal support system in order to help them manage and organize their busy lives, to find balance in their life, and to live life more fully. A concierge and personal assistant are the secret weapon of people achieving a successful work-life integration, of being able to do it all, while enjoying their life and making it look easy.

Form, Function, and Context

She imagined a business that applies the same principles as great design and architecture: form, function and context—with an eye on style and the intention to encourage people to love the space and the life they’re in. "The work that we do, why we do it, and how we do it should follow these same principles,” she enthuses.

Form: In the grand scheme of things everything that we do is geared towards our vision which is to enhance and beautify life. 
Function: At Contessa Concierge & Personal Assistant Services, our services have substance and value because they have real-life applications and are designed to specifically serve the needs of people we serve—and get results. We offer practical, hands-on support and services that address everyday matters, real pain points and challenges, as well as solutions that leverage time effectively for greater productivity, and that make people's lives better and easier. 
Context: Our services are impeccably designed and uniquely crafted and tailored specifically for each client—all within the context of the client's criteria, values, experiences, preferences, priorities, situation, needs, and goals.

As a project manager, Stephanie is focused on mastering the big picture, the details and everything in between. She has always believed in the power of turning a vision into a roadmap with an intelligent, well-executed plan that solves a problem, fulfills a need and/or delivers a positive outcome, result or deliverable.

As a concierge, personal assistant, lifestyle manager, and personal champion, it is about servant leadership: compassion, kindness, nurturing, empathy, listening, service, support, and the special intuitive touches.

Her vision was to combine these seemingly disparate roles and functions, bringing them together, in one place, for the benefit of her clients.

She simultaneously steps into many roles, fulfilling a wide variety of services and tasks. She wants people to experience and revel in the freedom and peace of mind of having a dedicated support system—that provides great value, excellent service, customization, convenience, and compassionate, confidential support. Her goal is to champion and serve people in a way that best supports their ability to leverage their time effectively and to live their most vivid life.

My Story

Stephanie's early years and her life experiences shaped her career path and inspired her to launch Contessa Concierge & Personal Assistant Services. A problem solver and nurturer at heart, this business gave her the ideal platform to share her knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned from formal training, trial by fire, and from overcoming obstacles, challenges, and adversity in her own life. These experiences have given her an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life, enabling her to connect with and relate to people with compassion and empathy. She draws on her skills, knowledge, education, interests and passions to help people redesign their life, and live it to the fullest with intention and a greater sense of optimism, meaning, and purpose. It is her raison d'être or true calling in life; she gets immense joy and satisfaction from using her experiences to nurture and help people thrive in their own life, while doing work that she truly loves.

As the only daughter of immigrant parents, she credits her mother and grandmother as being her greatest mentors, role models, and inspiration, for their generosity of spirit and for the profound wisdom, teachings and values they instilled in her. Her innate sense of organization and love for creativity and design emerged early in her life. By the age of eight, she had developed an affinity for house cleaning, tidying and organization, along with pet and house sitting gigs and bottle drives. She balanced her sideline businesses with school, chores, homework, figure skating, outdoor activities, and time with family, friends, and pets. In high school, she also managed to fit in part-time jobs at a fast food restaurant, and in a retail environment. 

Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Western Ontario, and then completed a post-graduate certificate program in Public Relations. She later continued her studies, achieving certifications in project management. Her professional career spans across multiple industries and sectors including: publishing, arts and culture, hospitality, retail sales, and food and beverage service and sales, giving her a deep appreciation for customer service. 

Stephanie's early training in business began with job stints in public affairs, and then she moved on to the publishing industry, where she held progressive management roles specializing in creative services, project management, marketing communications, branding, and corporate communications. During this time, she project managed award-winning marketing campaigns, as well as events and exhibit displays for some of Canada's most celebrated authors, thought leaders, and influential educators. As a PMI-certified project manager, she embraces the entire landscape of project management approaches and methodologies, including Agile project management.

Stephanie is also a certified bartender, a former yoga instructor and performing artist. She has spent many years studying and experimenting with a wide variety of holistic and wellness practices, which are interwoven, as needed, throughout the specialty services she offers to her clients. Her passion and interest in holistic living includes yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, energy work, and feng shui as well as eco-conscious solutions for household cleaning, beauty and personal care, and creating eco-friendly living and work spaces. In her spare time, she volunteers with a charitable, non-profit dog rescue organization.