Inc.’s Annual Female Founders List Celebrates the Nation’s Most Innovative Women Entrepreneurs, Who Collectively Generated About $12.3 billion in 2025
SOUTHGATE, Mich. — March 10, 2026 — Light Source Communications (LSC), a leading provider of secure, scalable, reliable connectivity on state-of-the-art dark fiber networks, is proud to announce that CEO and Co-Founder Debra Freitas has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.
The 2026 Female Founders honorees collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, underscoring the economic impact of women-led businesses across sectors.
Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede — all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.
“This award is a powerful validation not just of our growth, but of the essential role LSC plays in building the networks of tomorrow,” Freitas said. “At its core, dark fiber is about providing the literal foundation for others to innovate, and I am honored to lead a team that is building those pathways with both technical excellence and a commitment to building true partnerships with the hyperscalers and communities we serve.”
Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program’s advisory board, which includes Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation; Joy Mangano, co-founder and CEO of CleanBoss; Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of GORGIE; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com; and Melissa Mash, co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover.
Debra Freitas has led LSC through a transformative time for the company as it expands into strategic U.S. markets with new dark fiber network builds to support hyperscalers, neoclouds, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and other High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications. Over the last two years, LSC has launched new metro rings in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Indianapolis, along with a dark fiber long-haul route linking Tulsa with St. Louis. Additional projects are underway, highlighting the demand for custom connectivity solutions engineered for the AI era.
To enable LSC’s ambitious growth plan, Freitas has overseen the hiring of multiple key team members since 2024, including industry veterans to serve on the executive team and regional vice presidents. Her efforts have earned significant recognition, including the TITAN Women in Business Awards 2025. She received silver honors in two categories: Outstanding Female Executive Award-Outstanding CEO and Outstanding Female in Information Technology-Outstanding Woman in Digital Transformation. She was also named a Bronze Stevie Winner for Best Female CEO of the Year in 2025, and accepted a Silver Stevie for LSC as a Company of the Year – Business Services Award for companies with 10 or Less Employees.
“Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The honorees on this year’s list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they’re showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like.”
Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine’s Spring print issue, on newsstands March 17, 2026. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders/2026.
LSC is a carrier neutral, owner-operator of networks serving strategic U.S. markets. For more information about LSC, visit lscfiber.com.
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About Inc.
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
About Light Source Communications
Light Source Communications (LSC) is the foundational infrastructure partner for the AI era, delivering secure, scalable dark fiber networks purpose-built for the future in strategic U.S. markets. We design, build, and operate bespoke, high-capacity infrastructure that enables hyperscalers, neoclouds, and enterprises to power GPU-dense workloads and compete at global scale.
As a carrier-neutral, customer-agnostic provider, LSC owns and operates 100% underground networks engineered for unmatched security, performance, and control. Backed by decades of industry expertise, our routes form the backbone of the modern digital economy—allowing our partners to innovate without limits as AI and data demands continue to accelerate.
Media Contact for Light Source Communications:
Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA)
+1 (866) 695-3629 ext. 6
