My Mission Is...

This week's My Mission Is... podcast guest is Annette Richardson, global philanthropist, senior strategist, and execution expert. She is the founder and manager of Richardson Partners LLC, a consultancy firm that advises global leaders on design, curation, and implementation of pro-social campaigns. Prior to launching her firm, Richardson worked on cross-cultural projects and was a Senior Advisor to the UN Office for Partnerships. The strategic executive focuses on sustainability, purpose, and social impact to bring about change at scale through the Global Goals.

In this episode, Annette talks to Mission’s Editor-in-Chief Karina Givargisoff and singer-songwriter Sharleen Spiteri about her career as a global  business leader with a focus on social impact. She delves into her personal journey of finding her talent as a philanthropist, her experience working with the United Nations, and how she navigated her identity as a Black woman in global leadership. She opens up about the power of knowing her value in a competitive workforce, how she dealt with nay-sayers, and her ability to stay true to her passion for making the world a better place.

FIND ANNETTE

Instagram: @convener

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Sharleen: @sharleenspiteri

Website: missionmag.org 

This week's My Mission Is... podcast guest is Tobias Peggs, the CEO of Square Roots, an indoor farming company that aims to connect people to local food in their area. Square Roots has created new technology to allow for indoor urban farming, and has established farms in shipping containers in Brooklyn and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company’s goal is to grow and distribute fresh food with love and care, while opening new pathways for more young people to enter the urban agriculture industry.

In this episode, Tobias talks to Mission’s Editor-in-Chief Karina Givargisoff about the Square Roots ethos, their growth and farming process, and the future of farming in America.

FIND TOBIAS

Website: squarerootsgrow.com

Instagram: @squarerootsgrow

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Sharleen: @sharleenspiteri

Website: missionmag.org 

This week's My Mission Is... podcast guest is founder and executive producer of the wildly successful public relations agency ID, Kelly Bush Novak. Established in 1993, ID and their team of 100 strategists represents the most influential artists, thought leaders, brands, philanthropic organizations, athletes, musicians, studios, networks, films and filmmakers, content creators and technology leaders on the planet. Kelly personally represents exceptional talent including John Legend, Cynthia Erivo, Alfonso Cuarón, Lena Dunham, Hannah Gadsby, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Madonna, Janelle Monáe, Joey Soloway, and Serena Williams. She manages actor, filmmaker and activist Elliot Page through her management arm, VIE Entertainment.

In this episode, Novak talks to Mission’s Editor-in-Chief Karina Givargisoff about how she steered her team through the coronavirus pandemic, the secret to a healthy work/life balance, and what drove her to start ID 28 years ago. The pair also get candid about the importance of not going back to pre-coronavirus ways, maximizing collaboration, and cultivating a positive workplace environment.

FIND ID

Website: www.id-pr.com

Instagram: @idteam 

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Website: missionmag.org 

Burak Cakmak has been a frontrunner in the responsible fashion scene for a number of years now. Burak has held several high-ranking positions focused around sustainability and responsibility, including working at the Swarovski Group as the company’s first Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, where he established global programs fostering corporate stewardship. With his expertise in the field of sustainable design, he guided the academic programs at Parsons School of Design into a new era during his time as dean, “where an emphasis on socially conscious and transformational design formulates the educational approach and training of the next generation of creators.” Lastly, he is the founder of Thean Co., a strategic brand consultancy providing end-to-end support to brands, retailers, and other organizations operating in luxury fashion and beauty. 

In this episode, Burak tells Mission about how he believes lockdown has impacted the creative fields, preparing tomorrow’s students for what’s to come, and what sustainable design truly entails.

FIND BURAK

Instagram: @burak_ny 

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Website: missionmag.org 

Alexi Lubormirski is among one of the most accomplished names in fashion photography. Since being taken under the wing of notable photographers like Katie Grand, Lubormirski, who is also of noble descent, has contributed to many publications, including Harper’s Bazaar US, Harpers Bazaar UK, Vogue Mexico, Vogue Germany, Vogue Russia, Vogue Spain, Vogue Korea, Vogue China, Vogue Nippon, Men’s Vogue China, Numero Tokyo, W Korea, GQ USA, and Allure.

Beyond just his creative work, Alexi also uses his platform to enact social change. Creatives 4 Change is Alexi’s initiative to make the fashion and entertainment industry more compassionate, ethical, and moral by asking creatives to abstain from using animal materials, including fur, feathers, and exotic skins in their projects and jobs. As the program’s manifesto states, “The simple fact is, that this job and the enjoyment that comes with it, should not come at the expense of others; whether it is people, animals or the environment.”

Tune in as Alexi tells Mission about his first steps into the world of fashion photography, where he looks for inspiration, and how he challenges the landscape of the industry by encouraging creators to be more compassionate and ethical in their work.

FIND ALEXI

Website: alexilubomirski.com

Instagram: @alexilubormirski

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Website: missionmag.org 

Tina Lutz Morris arguably has one of the most impressive CVs in fashion today, having collaborated with nearly every big name in the industry: Issey Miyake shortly after graduating from Paris’ ESMOD then Calvin Klein and Barneys, among others. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Lutz founded women’s ready-to-wear brand Lutz & Patmos, for which she served as creative and branding director for 10 years. During that time, she not only saw through high-profile celebrity collaboration with the brand but also oversaw a number of philanthropic and socially-conscious initiatives using the brand’s platform. In 2017, Lutz launched LUTZ MORRIS, a collection of conscious luxury handbags dedicated to artisanship, responsible production, and altruism, and has since been awarded Fashion Group International’s Sustainability Award presented by Maison de Mode for the brand’s support of local artisans and family businesses, sourcing every component as closely as possible to its factories to lower carbon footprint – including German-tanned calf leather that is gold rated and ECO2L certified, utilizing the world’s first auditing method calculating the energy efficiency and CO2 emission of a tannery. In addition, $10 from every bag sold is donated to Every Mother Counts, a non-profit organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere. Lutz’ creative approach to design, one that is as sensitive to sustainability and creativity as it is to maintaining a distinctive aesthetic, has helped redefine the role of a modern fashion designer.

In this episode, Tina tells Mission about her first steps into the heart of the fashion industry, what led her to founding her own companies, and how she makes the fashion industry work for her.

FIND TINA

Website: tinalutz.com

Instagram: @lutzmorris

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Website: missionmag.org 

In this week's episode we talk to Libby Haan, designer, musician, and fashion PR veteran. Several years after a breast cancer diagnosis and various related surgeries, Haan was having a hard time finding comfortable shirts and undergarments. So she decided to create her own. In 2018, Haan launched Who Shirt Company, a label of soft, wearable shirts with built-in shelf bras. Haan utilized her 20-year career in fashion PR to build the label, and her personal experience with cancer gave it a cause. The shirts are made in America, all production waste is recycled, and $5 of every Who shirt purchase goes right to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

During this episode, Libby tells Mission about breaking into the fashion industry, her stories from the not-always glamorous fashion world, and her candid accounts of life with breast cancer.

FIND LIBBY

Personal: @haaninthecity

Work: @whoshirtcompany

Website: whoshirtcompany.com

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Karina: @missionmagazine

Website: missionmag.org

Joining Mission today is our favorite women-in-tech advocate, Rosario Casas. A longtime friend of Mission and an all around tech savant, Rosario uses her extensive experience in the tech field to offer fine-tuned expertise to every project she approaches. Her accomplishments in the tech world include co-founding tech companies such as BCPartners Tech, XR Americas, and Dreamers and Doers, as well as making time for her family and personal accomplishments.In this episode, Rosario tells Mission about her illustrious career in tech, how she got where she is today, and why it's important to seize every opportunity you can.

FIND ROSARIO

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Today, Mission is joined by Hassan Pierre, the co-founder of Maison De Mode, a hybrid ethical fashion retailer that curates a selection of the best luxury sustainable fashion for their online boutique and brick and mortar pop-up shops. Hassan co-founded the company in 2015 alongside Amanda Hearst. The Parsons alum is now also a board member of ‘Well Beings Charity,' an organization that elevates and unites animal welfare and environmental protection. 

In this episode, Hassan tells Mission about the true definition of sustainability, creating a platform for emerging designers, and how to throw the most glamorously sustainable event of the season.

FIND HASSAN

FIND MISSION HOSTS

Joining Mission today is John Grauwiler, teacher and founder of activism group Gays Against Guns. Before forming GAG, Grauwiler was an English teacher in New York City who was rocked by the news of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting, prompting him to form a coalition that is “committed to nonviolently breaking the gun industry’s chain of death.” Also a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, Grauwiler is a tried and true activist and community leader who continues to stand up for what he believes. Following his feature in Mission’s fourth issue, Grauwiler sits down with Mission to talk about the effect gun violence has had on his life, what motivates him in his day to day, and educating the public on the need for gun regulation.

FIND JOHN & GAYS AGAINST GUNS

FIND MISSION HOSTS