Originally from Russia, Rita came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Program’s Graduate Student to study journalism and communications. Prior to that, she was an associate fashion editor at Sobaka.ru magazine in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a freelance writer for advertising agencies. In addition to that, she was involved in event and entertainment industries helping with St. Petersburg Fashion Week and nationwide gastronomic festivals. She is also a Cultural Vistas’ 2022 fellow (Edmund S. Muskie Professional Fellowship Program) promoting international relationships and collaboration, who's currently working in a creative production company in NYC.

On this episode, she talks with Ilina Luthra about her career as a journalist in Russia, various creative internships and how she decided to leave it all behind to pursue her dream of studying abroad and exploring the world through cultural exchange.

Ilina Luthra is a 2022 graduate of MS Business of Fashion, from Rutgers Business School. She moved to New York City after working her way up from being a Marketing intern through her undergrad, to becoming an Assistant Manager of Marketing and Communications at Good Earth, India's most precious luxury lifestyle brand.

Paula Haza, based in NYC, has recently launched her own global consultancy “Haza Global Partners” with the main goal of helping Brazilian/Latin brands to expand and grow their presence globally. Prior to pivoting into consulting she spent more than 15 years helping global apparel/retail brands expand their international presence. Paula worked at VF Corporation for 10 years, as Director of International Licensing for the Nautica brand, where she established a vast network of retail operators across multiple geographies. For the last 5 years, Paula was the Director of Americas for Gap Inc.'s Global Franchise, Strategic Alliances, and Licensing division, where she led the expansion of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta brands throughout the Americas. 

Paula is originally from Brazil, moved to the US 22 years ago and has been in NYC for the last 17 years where she lives with her husband and 7-year-old daughter. Paula is also a volunteer at Trekking for Kids, a nonprofit organization offering purpose driven treks to iconic destinations around the world benefiting orphaned children living in those areas

In this episode, she speaks with Karin Dauch about two major transitions: going from banking into fashion early in her career, and her recent pivot from corporate work to consulting. 

Karin Dauch moved to New York in 1998 to attend Columbia School of Journalism and has transitioned from working as a foreign correspondent to helping people buy and sell their homes about 8 years ago. She speaks five languages, has three daughters, and is a board member of BrazilFoundation, a non-profit that gives grants and offers capacity training for social projects all over Brazil. A couple of years ago she completed a masters in philanthropy at NYU. Her mission is to help great people find their home.

On this episode, she talks with Paula Haza about how she started her career as a VJ on MTV in Brazil, why she moved from Brazil to New York and the twists and turns that ultimately led to her pursuing her twin passions of real estate and philanthropy.

Cecelia St. Clair Rembert is an artist based in Brooklyn, NY. She received an MFA in Painting from the New York Studio School in 2007, and has shown locally and nationally, in solo and group exhibitions, over the last 15 years.

In addition to painting, Rembert has a passion for sustainability and agriculture and is a produce buyer at the Park Slope Food Coop. Her interests are far-reaching and include making her own pigments, plant medicine, mythology and supporting soil-based farming.

In this episode, she speaks with Pam Seidman about the similarities between food and art, and how she's made the time for painting while also working full-time.

With over 25 years of experience, Pam has worked with some of the largest fashion brands globally with major success in designing, developing, and implementing brand growth strategies.

Spanning luxury to the mass sector, her expertise is in bringing aspirational appeal to brands and telling stories that resonate with audiences, alongside the marketing acumen to drive from community to commerce.

Previously, as EVP of Marketing at Nine West she successfully built a global marketing, digital, and creative team that oversaw the re-launch of the business across all categories. As Founder of Seidline Group, a consultancy, she has grown companies from $5M in revenue to $50M. 

On this episode, she spoke with Cecelia Rembert about what inspired her to start BYBBA and the challenges of launching a business in the midst of a global pandemic.

Yashica Dutt is the author of the non-fiction memoir, Coming Out as Dalit. It was recently awarded the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskar, 2020 (India’s National Academy of Letters’ Young Writers Award; among the country’s highest literary honors). Yashica Dutt is an emerging figure recognized for highlighting Dalit rights globally and her voice has been instrumental in understanding the realities of the caste system. 

Her work has been published in the New York Times, Foreign Policy and The Atlantic and Dutt has been featured on The BBC, The Guardian and PBS Newshour. Dutt graduated from Columbia Journalism School and lives in New York. She is planning to soon release Coming Out as Dalit worldwide.

Listen as she speaks with Jonathan Joseph about her fashion as armor coming of age story and how it led her to explore the issues of caste through journalism as well as through her newly published memoir.

Jonathan Joseph is the CEO and creator of Little Red Fashion, the first fashion ed-tech and publishing company focused on teaching kids about and through fashion. He’s the author of their first book “The Little Red Dress: A Kids Book About Fashion.” LRF is also developing unique DEI & CSR resources including consulting for fashion companies to leave a better industry for the kids they write stories for.

Before founding Little Red Fashion, Jonathan was a strategic and fundraising management consultant working with nonprofits and startup firms across sectors. His passion for advocacy in the LD, LGBTQIA+ and Cerebral palsy communities has been a personal focus since his first keynote delivered at just 14. Jonathan serves on the board of The New Haven Pride Center, advisory board for The HIV League, and is an ambassador for anti-human trafficking organization Beauty for Freedom. He splits his time between Connecticut and Los Angeles. His CT based fine art practice, J. Joseph Studio specializes in medium and large format abstract works which began as a way to explore the way his ataxic cerebral palsy informs his reality. 

In this episode, Jonathan speaks with Yashica Dutt about how shopping for socks with his mother, and later, discovering his gift for words and oratory, led him into a career in fashion and advocacy.

Katie Welch is a creative thinker and brand storyteller with more than 20 years of marketing experience. At Rare Beauty, Katie works to bring Selena Gomez’s mission and vision for Rare Beauty and the Rare Impact Fund to life. An innovative thought leader, she has continually pushed the envelope while working with globally respected beauty brands, including Hourglass, Bliss, Elemis, Burt’s Bees and Unilever. Katie has appeared on AMC’s The Pitch, WABC, WNBC, WIX and QVC. She has been quoted in Allure, WWD, Vogue Business, Glossy and more. 

In this episode, Katie speaks with Caroline Homlish about how her personal relationships influenced her career path, and mentoring early career professionals interested in working in the beauty industry or marketing.

Caroline has led the Supergoop!’s digital transformation and online channel growth since 2019, overseeing e-commerce, site development, digital marketing, paid media, CRM and customer experience for the fast-growing, category-creating SPF beauty brand.

Prior to Supergoop!, Caroline oversaw exponential growth of the Digital business at ready-to-wear women's fashion brand Veronica Beard. Her early career began in PR and events for brands like Calvin Klein, followed by working at start-ups, and senior digital positions at Alexander McQueen in London and CHANEL Fragrance & Beauty in New York.

She holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MBA in Luxury Brand Management from ESSEC in Paris, France where she graduated as Major de Promotion (valedictorian).

On this episode, Caroline talks to Katie Welch about the path that's led her to take on roles and titles that didn't exist before she joined a company, and the advantages to knowing your way around Excel in the world of fashion.