Inspiring Women: Stephanie Graves CEO & Owner, Lee Andrews Group
A story of a woman given a gift- the backbone and the confidence to figure it out for herself.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Graves
Stephanie Graves, CEO and Owner of Lee Andrews Group, shares a story shaped by resilience, determination, and an innate confidence to find her own way. In this Q&A, Stephanie reflects on the experiences that shaped her, the business she built, and the art that inspires her.
What’s the most important—or frankly, scariest—career risk you’ve taken, and how did it pay off?
Leaving my own firm to take over and buy a well-established PR agency after the founder passed away. I made many mistakes in the first few years, but I learned from every one of them—and that knowledge was earned, not given.
What personal attributes do you attribute most to building what you’ve built?
Seeing potential in people—not what college they went to, but the fire in the belly. Watching someone rise to what you saw in them is one of the best parts of leading a team. My team jokes that I’m a chameleon: I can be in the biggest boardrooms speaking to crowds, and I can also sit at a kitchen table with a Spanish-speaking grandmother, talking with her about a project that may impact her neighborhood and getting her input.
Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?
Yes and no. If I had changed A to B, would I have the outcome I have now? You never know how the failures are actually helping you. The mistakes I made were the tuition I paid for what I know now. Also, being a woman executive in many male-dominated rooms has been interesting. Generally, women speak in business when they are saying something of value. Men speak to speak and speak over each other.
The art is knowing how to do both.
Tell us about your love of art and your current art collection.
I collect art with my instincts rather than a checklist. My collection spans contemporary figurative painting, expressive portraiture, lyrical abstraction and intimate depictions of animals and landscapes.
Does it have a theme?
What unites these diverse works is a shared sense of humanity, optimism and emotional presence. Each painting possesses a distinct voice, yet together they create a home that feels curious, generous and deeply lived in. What drew me to Elisa’s work was the freeness of the women in her paintings—they simply exist, unapologetically, and that’s exactly the energy I want on my walls.
“What drew me to Elisa’s work was the freeness of the women in her paintings—they simply exist, unapologetically.”
How have your priorities changed since you started your business?
I now take clients and projects that I can stand behind. And with my firm in downtown LA and my ranch in Santa Ynez, I get the best of both worlds. Being with my goats—Tamale, Tequila, and Tahine—keeps me grounded. After a life spent in the city, touching the grass is real.
“My parents never told me I could be whatever I wanted to be—instead, they gave me something better: the backbone and the confidence to figure that out for myself.”
Stephanie Graves
The CEO and owner of Lee Andrews Group, a public relations firm in downtown Los Angeles specializing in transportation, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, and education. She also serves the city she works is also a resident of and was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as a Los Angeles City Commissioner.
Her path was anything but a straight line. Her first job was at Del Taco. She practiced law for a single year, then built her own political consulting firm, managing campaigns, communications, and fundraising for local, state, and federal elected officials. In 2013, she took her biggest leap yet leaving the firm she had built to purchase Lee Andrews Group.
Stephanie grew up in a small town known for its orange groves. Her parents never told her she could be whatever she wanted to be—instead, they gave her something better: the backbone and the confidence to figure that out for herself.
Stephanie adopted her daughter, Kristina, from Russia when Kristina was six months old; she’s now 22. Her significant other of sixteen years, Josh, is a retired Navy JAG and artist.
Stephanie collects contemporary art that celebrates humanity, landscape, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. She buys art that has energy without aggression. She likes artists who edit. Her home isn’t a collector’s house—rather, it feels like an artist’s favorite collector’s house.