Staff

Desiree Puglia was born and raised in a small town in Southern New Jersey where she was involved in philanthropy, competitive dance and pageantry. At the age of 19, Desiree moved to South Carolina to obtain her Degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina. While living in South Carolina Desiree was an advocate for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and achieved winning the title of Miss South Carolina in 2010. She represented the state of South Carolina at Miss America in 2011. During Desiree’s reign she was able to travel countless miles educating and mentoring our youth, being the Spokesperson for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, participated in numerous charity events and causes, as well as carried out any and all public speaking engagements she was hired to do so.

Desiree has a servants heart and a passion for public speaking and being an advocate for family owned and operated businesses. She is a single mother to a beautiful daughter, Ivy and enjoys spending time with family, friends, going to theme parks, and making a difference in the lives of others. Desiree has a background in education, banking, the medical field, owning and operating her own small business, and is now not only our Spokesperson, you may recognize her from our videos, but our Executive Assistant!

There is a unique story on how Desiree ended up in the Universal family. In 2017 she came in to purchase a new Nissan Rogue and fell in love with the atmosphere of the family oriented business and took note to how great the customer service was and how happy all the employees were. This is when Desiree fell in love and looked for current openings and found her way in! To Desiree Universal is more than a career, it is a family in which she prides representing some of the best in the business and the atmosphere of our family owned and operated stores! Just as Desiree does we pride ourselves on making your car buying experience the best yet!