ALTURA
The Founder Issue — Women at Altitude
A nurse from Ecuador came to Boston with a mission. Now she’s building a care company, a candle brand, and a magazine — all at once. This is what building at altitude looks like.
Nadia Estefania Pawlak moves through a hospital the way some people move through a kitchen — like she was born knowing where everything is. For years, that was the whole story: the Ecuadorian nurse, the steady hands, the calm in the trauma bay.
But steady hands were never the whole story. They were the foundation.
Build she has. Nadia Cares — her bilingual childcare, tutoring, and pet care company serving Boston-area families — runs on the thing no competitor can copy: a registered nurse who treats your home like it matters. Amor Andino, her Andean-inspired goods brand, started with a candle-making kit and a phone camera. Now it’s a company with a magazine.
That magazine is the one you’re reading.
The Turn
Most people wait for the right moment. Nadia never believed in the right moment — she believes in Tuesday afternoons and doing the work. While working nursing shifts, she was filming candle pours. While building a client list, she was sketching a publication for women like her: founders, artisans, women carrying culture with clarity.
At a glance
- Born
- Ecuador
- Training
- Registered Nurse — emergency, trauma, maternal care
- Companies
- Nadia Cares (founder) · Amor Andino (founder & CEO)
- Publication
- Altura Magazine (founder & editor)
- Languages
- Spanish, English
- Based
- Boston / Haverhill / Lawrence
The Vision
Nadia’s plan was never just a job. It was a portfolio: care work that pays today, a brand that compounds tomorrow, and a magazine that gives other women the blueprint. The nurse, the founder, the CEO — not three different people. One woman, building at altitude.
This is the first real feature in Altura. The fictional profiles were rehearsal. She is the standard.
