The co-lab career stories

Today we hear from Camila Gomez Wills, a Business and Human Rights Program Manager who develops bespoke strategies for Fortune 500 companies to address high-risk ESG business issues — interviewed by fellow co-lab member, Janet Gilbert. Camila cares deeply about human dignity and agency and is dedicated to finding solutions for responsible sourcing as well as best practices to ultimately put an end...

Janet is a researcher and collaborator in corporate social responsibility and private sector engagement in apparel industry value chains, with a keen focus on modern slavery and other social compliance risks. A lifelong seamstress, she has a strong affinity toward garment workers. Listen to how, in sewing, she found the resilience to persevere through personal tragedy and ultimately enroll in...

Today we hear the career story of Saskia van Gendtsits, Head of Sustainability at Rothy's — interviewed by fellow co-lab member, Ariele Elia. An environmental scientist with more than a decade of experience in sustainable manufacturing and design, Saskia is head of sustainability at Rothy’s, a San Francisco-based company transforming sustainable materials into modern shoes and accessories. After w...

Ariele Elia is currently the Assistant Director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law. Previously, she served as the Assistant Curator of Costume and Textile at the Museum at FIT for seven years, where she curated or co-curated a number of exhibits including: "Faking It: Originals, Copies, and Counterfeits," “Global Fashion Capitals,” and "Black Fashion Designers.” Elia recently developed th...

American-born Swati Argade is the Founder and Creative Director of Bhoomki, one of New York City’s leading destinations for sustainable fashion since 2012. Swati began her fashion career in South India while working on a documentary. In 2006 while in Calcutta, Swati was shocked to see children on factory floors producing $5,000 leather bags—the kind found in glossy fashion magazines. She decided t...

Toral Patel Hughes is a corporate lawyer turned business consultant and fashion entrepreneur. A graduate of UCLA, Wash U Law School and Georgetown Law, she practiced at law firms for 8 years before moving in house to be a general counsel for a hotel holding company in New York City. In early 2020, right before COVID (eek on that timing), she decided to take a leap and take a break from law. While...

Kelsey Linnartz is a New York City based Assistant Designer for private label swimwear company, Trimera Brands, and she is the founder of LinnArtzy, where she designs greeting cards and fashion illustrations. Join us as she opens up about the challenges of navigating the start of her fashion career during the pandemic, moving back home, then back to NYC, networking, and launching her own...

Lauren Cook is a marketing and social media guru with a background in the retail and hospitality spaces. A graduate of Baylor University, Lauren started her career working in sales and marketing for Hilton and Marriott hotels, and has recently made the switch to retail as a part of Lovesac's Social Partnerships team. Listen along as she shares her best career advice, and how her spontaneous move t...

Anja Tyson is a business development consultant specializing in sustainability and culture in the fashion, beauty and wellness spaces. After 16 years working cross-functionally with emergent and established brands focused on businesses with environmental and ethical missions, she is now independently consulting for businesses that are seeking to holistically adapt their operational and communicati...

Kelli has 12+ years of experience in sales and marketing across CPG, DTC, luxury and mass brands before transitioning into fintech. She is currently the Director of Brand Partnerships at Sezzle -- a “buy now, pay later” platform and certified B Corp where she leads business development for their fashion vertical. Prior to that she's been at companies such as Abercrombie, Tory Burch, Neutrogena and...

Laila Tarraf is a senior human resource executive with over 25 years of professional experience. After graduating with her MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, she became one of the founding team members at Walmart.com. She then served as Chief People Officer at Peet’s Coffee and Tea, an iconic Bay Area premium coffee company. Currently, Laila is the Ch...

As Chief Executive Officer of Quay—a buzzworthy, millennial-favorite, global eyewear brand—Jodi Bricker is leading the charge on bringing bold style, affordability and self-expression to customers around the world and aiming to disrupt the monopolized eyewear category. Under Bricker’s leadership, Quay has continued to dominate the eyewear industry as one of the fastest growing independent brands—n...

From Cool Hunter to Fashion Executive, Chandra Recchi boasts an enviable roster of international fashion brands having worked for the likes of Acne Studios, Coach and Burberry to name a few. An inspirational leader that has seen multiple brand transformations, she has a passion for brand building through clear product strategy and authentic storytelling. Chandra is known for her ability to filter...

Expert in fashion, trends and experiences, Nadège Winter is a forerunner of the 360° generation. Former Head of Communications of the Palais de Tokyo (PARIS) and of the Colette concept store (PARIS), she founded her agency in 2008: NWA. It offers global expertise in branding/identity, experiences and product creation. In August 2019, she moved from Paris to NYC, with her daughter and husband (who...

Crystal DeVone aka DJ C. DeVone is a multimedia professional that specializes in events, music, marketing and audio production. She has a passion for  events, social media campaigns and integrated strategies that drive new customer acquisition, increase brand awareness and improve profitability. She has been highlighted on life and beauty blogs, Essence Magazine, Nylon Magazine, Bravo and Amm...

Tracy Chenoff, an Arizona State Sundevil, started her career journey with an internship at MGM. This is where she found her love of events, working on movies like Ghost World, Windtalkers and Legally Blonde. She grew up hearing about the sales industry from her father who sold media for MTV when it first started and ended his long career at MGM. It only made sense for her to put her love...

Sarah specializes in studio and atelier management for luxury brands, mostly recently at Tom Ford International and Calvin Klein under Raf Simons. After studying literature at Bryn Mawr College, Sarah discovered an affinity for pattern-making while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. Sarah began her career in technical design at J. Crew and Alexander Wang, while also working in the cust...

Cassandra Kane spent almost a decade designing luxury ready-to-wear, leather and fur, outerwear and eveningwear for brands in New York. Throughout these experiences, she worked closely with manufacturers and sample rooms, discovering a passion for creating directly in factories closest to the supply chain. In 2017 she relocated to Florence, Italy to learn the art of Italian handbags and continue d...

Tia Tappan is the Founder and CEO of DIVERSITY IN BEAUTY, a safe space for under-represented creatives and allies in the beauty community. Since 2017, the DIVERSITY IN BEAUTY Summit brings together consumers, industry professionals, celebrities and influencers for candid panel discussions on the beauty industry's state of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Summit gained notoriety when Sir John,...

Josanta Gray Emegano is the Founder of Grayscaled Media, a boutique firm that helps indie brands navigate the gray areas of retail distribution and brand partnerships. The company was created with the intention of helping indie brands avoid costly mistakes when growing their businesses. She recently created From Gray to Green, a series of ecourses designed to help provide clarity on a variety of s...

Lauren Rome is a lover of community, the environment, and clean skincare. Born on the East Coast, Lauren spent the last decade in New York City grinding in the tenacious environment of Wall Street. A woman on the go, she tried countless skincare products but nothing seemed to work to combat the stress which led to breakouts, dark circles, and dehydrated skin. Empowered by the idea that she could h...

Shay’s years working in media taught her a number of things. The most obvious was that melanin-rich skin was being underserved. Even though the beauty industry is a nearly 500 billion dollar market, many of its most commanding brands ignore the needs of deep and dark complexions from formulations to marketing. After a lifetime of acne scars and hyperpigmentation, this added insult to injury for Sh...

Regina is the Founder of Collective Work, a research consultancy specializing in the Modern Luxury Consumer, translating insight into strategy, innovation, and storytelling for the lifestyle and hospitality sectors. She has over 20 years of experience in creating brands, products, communications, and experiences from the customer’s perspective, working with impressive companies like Apple, Starwoo...

Tiffany's love of "story" and beautiful, well-made objects has resulted in a career spanning the worlds of Film, Fashion and Interiors for all spaces. Her professional roles have often focused on creating exceptional experiences through building and developing balanced teams, generating dynamic sales programming for omnichannel businesses, and shining a light on the power of "story" as a way to co...

Ashley Wilson is a Florida-bred, Brooklyn-based digital and creative project manager with 9+ years of experience in the fashion, photography, and luxury beauty industries. After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in Fashion Merchandising, Ashley moved to New York to pursue a styling internship at Esquire Magazine, where she learned on set that her true knack was for managing te...