Entertainment: Franchesca Ramsey

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Morally resolute, intersectional feminist. 

Franchesca Ramsey had been making her own hilarious YouTube videos, a mixture of song parodies, impersonations, and socially conscious comedy sketches, since 2006, but it wasn’t until she made “Shit White Girls Say…To Black Girls” and went viral, racking up 1.5 million views in just 24 hours, that Ramsey was really put on the map. The video has 11 million views to date, and it gave Ramsey the confidence to pursue entertainment full time. “Quitting my day job took a huge leap of faith, but I knew I wouldn't be able to pursue the opportunities I was most interested in with a 9-5.” We’re all better off for it, as since then the actress, video blogger, and writer has quickly become of the most exciting voices, in both comedy and social activism, of our time.

Ramsey spent time as a writer and contributor to "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore," where her recurring segment #HashItOut was a stand out part of the show, and in 2015 landed her current gig as the host of "Decoded," an MTV News web series that speaks to issues of race and culture. She also still creates original content on YouTube, both for her comedy channel Chescaleigh and her lifestyle channel Chescalocs, which focuses more on beauty, natural hair care, and styling (the two channels have over 250k subscribers and 29 million views combined), and does speaking engagements at colleges, inspiring and educating (and cracking up) students around the country with her incisive wit and cutting intellect. In short, she’s killing it. But ‘twas not always so. In fact, just a few short years ago, Ramsey was considering giving up on entertainment altogether. “In 2014 my videos weren't doing very well and I had a hard time booking auditions, so I seriously considered abandoning entertainment and leaving NY,” she recalls. “Instead, I got a remote job writing for Upworthy and used that to supplement the few acting jobs I was able to pick up until things started to take off.”

Even now, as accomplished as she is, Ramsey still encounters more than her fair share of challenging moments. “Being a woman of color on the Internet is challenging, let alone being one that openly talks about racism and feminism. I deal with an intense amount of harassment, which at times can be discouraging, but is also a reminder of why these conversations are so important,” she says of the trolls who follow her every move. Ramsey credits her husband, her parents, and her audience for keeping her going when things get rocky. “I'm really fortunate to have people around the world that enjoy my content and continuously reach out to let me know that it's making an impact on their lives,” she says of her devoted fans. A self-described “gym rat,” Ramsey also works out five days a week at 7 am. “It’s when I really let go of everything and just focus on accomplishing whatever my trainer puts in front of me,” she says of her routine.

"Being a woman of color on the Internet is challenging."

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Aside from her family and fans, Ramsey raves about her friend and mentor, Tracee Ellis Ross, as an ongoing source of influence and inspiration. “I'm incredibly inspired by her talent, work ethic and humility. She's given me tons of great advice over the years and most recently I got the chance to write for her when she hosted Black Girls Rock for BET,” Ramsey says of Ross, whom she met a few years ago through her YouTube channel. “She's incredibly gracious and a firm believer in supporting and uplifting other women which, is something I think is incredibly important.”

Another thing Ramsey (and we) think is incredibly important? Activism, and specifically, a commitment to intersectional feminism. “It's important to acknowledge our privilege and remember that there are all types of women from a variety of walks of life that face challenges that we do not,” Ramsey says. “If you're truly committed to advocating for women you have to be willing to stand up for all women regardless of race, sexuality, physical ability, religion, class or gender identity, not just ladies that look like you.” For her part, Ramsey is already making a big difference in the steering the current cultural conversation. As for her personal goals? “One day I'd like to be in a position to break and foster new talent,” she says. We have zero doubt that will happen, and probably much sooner than she thinks.

Beauty: Kristin Ess

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with Dove, you can view the full Beauty List Here. 

The hair whisperer. 

Kristin Ess has been doing hair for more than half of her life. Since she was 15, the hairstylist whose roster includes fellow C&C nominee Lauren Conrad, Lucy Hale, and Halle Berry, has said “yes to anything and everything” that came her way. The stylist and her trademark vibrant redhead has done the salon thing, the editorial jobs, the freelance route, as well as assisting hairdressers she admired for free “a lot.” In 2011 she launched The Beauty Department, aimed at bridging the divide between the glam squad and the every-girl, work she has continued as founder of Kristin Ess Hair. 

Taking on the role of founder it’s only natural that her workload has gotten “more intense,” as there is now “more to see, more to create,” as well as “more to dream up.” But don’t expect her to start slacking as a result. With a new Target collab, she's only getting started.  

“I try to be as original as possible,” says the mane guru. “I don't go on Pinterest and just copy whatever pretty visuals I see. I don't creep other hairdressers and copy what they do. I do my research and try to bring something inspiring to the table.”

Despite her superhuman hair prowess and boss ass hair flips (see: above photo), the mane goddess is mortal. A month ago (over the holidays) Kristin says she was walking about her house crying, wondering if she would ever sleep again. Between The Beauty Department relaunch, Kristin Ess Hair coming out, the steady stream of content creator, travel, and being down two assistants, she had averaged between three to four hours a night for four days. “I actually googled, ‘Can you die from exhaustion?’” 

She didn’t. 

The hairstylist doesn’t set goals, something she says may be “a big no no according to some, but so far it’s worked for me.” She also doesn’t have habits or routine. “The one and only habit I have is brushing my teeth.” 

As for her relationship to herself and career she’s keeping it real. “I think I've started to judge myself a little bit more in the last five years,” Kristin openly shares, “which I never did before. I thought I would have launched my line sooner, I thought I would have traveled more, I thought I would have lost weight, I thought I'd be more organized, I thought I would have a bigger team. I never would have thought those things about myself 10 years ago. But you get into your 30s and you start being a little harder on yourself. I catch myself in the moment, almost every time. I stop, mentally step back and look at what I am/do/have experienced and I remember I'm doing fucking great.” 

When her clients feel good, she feels good. And her number one takeaway for them when they leave her chair is that “That they've been heard. That I get what they want and that I can deliver on what they've asked for.” It’s simple, but powerful and is in harmony with what she sees as one of the next big trends in beauty. “We're breaking down the walls of overpriced beauty!” she exclaims.  

In an industry not known for being soft, rather one that Kristin says “can be very competitive and sometimes nasty,” she’s focused on a positive future. Encouraging “women, both friends and people I haven't met, via social media and throwing down all the YAS KWEENS I can. We’re all in this together and no one woman is better than the rest.” 

While it may seem that the follicular feminist's career is on fire ('cause it is), Kristin remembers a past and “very wise” client who told her, "You never want to be on fire. Fires burn out. You always want to be smoking." 

"You never want to be on fire. Fires burn out. You always want to be smoking." 

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Sound advice that has stayed with her. “I’ve never desired to be the most famous hairstylist on earth. I never needed to have every single celebrity in my chair. I just want to do my job really well for a long time, and hopefully people will love it whether they're famous or not.”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

STEM: Claire Burke, Goby

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Giving a dental damn.

Brush up for a minute on Claire Burke, co-founder of Goby’s career trajectory. After graduating from NYU’s Stern School of Business with a dual BS in Finance and Accounting, she worked at investment bank Lincoln International for six years. Simultaneously, she pursued her personal passion for film and media by co-founding a production company. In 2013, Claire left investment banking to pursue an MBA at Columbia Business School. While at Columbia, she immersed myself in media and technology, working for The Raine Group, Hearst, theSkimm, and Female Founders Fund, each of which expanded her interest in startups and exposed her to the value and power of brand.

Take a breather. 

Deemed “Cavity Claire” by her family growing up, Claire was inspired by her own struggles with good oral care. Determined to enhance consumers’ oral care experience by creating a value-driven oral care product with a relatable brand personality, Cavity Claire (and co-founder Ben) got to work, hoping to change the experience of oral health care. 

And now, the founders current largest challenges include filling roles at her company, not in her mouth.

More from Claire below. 

What is the best piece of "real talk" advice you've received? 

A close friend recently bought me the book "You are a Badass." The gift, and the advice, was self-explanatory. Reading it has transformed the way I look at myself and interact with the world.

What is your favorite life advice?

“Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with. And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes. And the changes are what you become. Change the outcome by changing your circle.” -- Seth Godin

Is there a time in your life when you thought, ‘I can’t do this?’

I tend not to think this way. I try to breathe through any challenge, see the bigger picture, and move forward.

What’s next?

Continuing to build Goby into a lasting brand. 

What’s a habit or routine you swear by?

Daily mantras. You control your thoughts and your mood, and mantras help to ensure you're in the right mind-state throughout the day.

International Women’s Day is coming up. It's a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. If you could steer the conversation around International Women’s Day, what would that dialogue be about?

The first step in removing disparity, is recognizing that the disparity exists. Encouraging men to participate in the conversation and admit that there is inequity is a goal of mine on IWD.

How has your relationship to you career changed in the last five years?

In the past five years I decided to pursue what I was passionate about, even if it came with significant sacrifice in the near-term, as opposed to pursuing what provided short-term benefit but wasn't fulfilling.

How has your relationship to yourself changed in the last five years?

Significantly! I think positively, support myself and don't fret the small stuff. I definitely used to beat myself up a lot, and I've stopped doing that in the last five years.

What does female empowerment mean to you?

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." Female empowerment to me means that women are able to lead self-actualized lives, regardless of the life they choose to live, and regardless of the fact that they are women.

Wellness: Melisse Gelula & Alexia Brue, Well + Good

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Wellness List Here.

Your healthiest relationship. 

In 2009 when Melisse Gelula and Alexia Brue launched Well+Good as a digital media company devoted to the wellness scene, it was a relatively new, untapped market. Cold-pressed juice fave Pressed didn’t yet exist. No one knew what Kale was. And forget lifestyle brand, Goop’s newsletter was in its infancy stage, only having commenced a few months prior. 

Like many successful entrepreneurs, Melisse and Alexia saw the train coming and accordingly laid the tracks. Everyone jumped on board. 

Both women, who serve Well + Good as co-founders, did not begin their careers new business ventures, but in book publishing. Alexia at Random House as an editor who then wrote her own book, Cathedrals of the Flesh, about global bathing traditions, and Melisse who had over ten years in book and magazine publishing. 

It wasn’t until years later when the duo met while working for Luxury SpaFinder, did the buds of the site begin to bloom. As the journalists became increasingly switched on to healthy living, the potential opportunity quickly became clear as quartz. There was a swelling, underreported wellness scene. SoulCycle, Blue Print Cleanse, even Lululemon, were all young businesses. “We knew they were going to become huge and a major part of people’s lives,” says Alexia, who also serves as brand CEO. 

They started typing on a WordPress blog, reporting on fitness, lifestyle and wellness trends in New York, becoming the nexus between journalistic reporting and wellness. Word spread. 

Over the last eight years, frustrations have included the challenge of growing organically. Taking on zero investors was a tough mutual decision, but it has also been one of their greatest boons. Not beholden to investor dollars means the co-founders have steered the company as they’ve wanted, growing at an affordable pace. Alexia says, “The right path for us was to grow out of cash flow. It instilled a lot of discipline.” 

“The right path for us was to grow out of cash flow.” 

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From that disciple, elements of their business and life fell into place. 

Melisse doesn’t name her mentors on record but impresses upon the importance of such figures in her life. The Chief Content Officer shares, “I think everyone needs a few people rooting for them and helping them sort through gut instincts, decisions, headaches.” Her business partner, who credits one of the smartest moves she’s ever made as “finding a great collaborator in Melisse,” thanks to her father, an entrepreneur who got the former editor thinking about business from a young age. “He’s always encouraged me to take risks,” she says.

On days when the fire burns low, Melisse swears by the “small habit” of lemon water, and the “big habit” of meditating or working out every day. “Sometimes,” says Melisse, “your own steam doesn't feel like enough!” But as entrepreneurs, biz life tends to run all over the road and they’ve accepted that part as a given. “I’ve been hardwired, through challenges in my life, to push past it over and over and over again,” shares Melisse. “I love the purpose of Well+Good and the people in the wellness industry,” she explains. “I've definitely found my alignment with the universe in this role.”

They believed that they had to do it. Went for it. Now Goop herself, Gwyneth Paltrow, has praised the site as a go-to.

Food: Kerry Diamond & Claudia Wu

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Food List Here.

Bombe squad up. 

Check out this Cherry Bombe, the food publication from founders Claudia Wu and Kerry Diamond. Named the food magazine “for the coolest woman in your life,” the biannual has featured women like kitchen mom boss Chrissy Teigen and supermodel/cookie monster Karlie Kloss who appeared on the matte first cover. 

The most recent Issue 8 features Padma Lakshmi on its cover. Culinary to its core, the magazine is predominantly female-led, an intentional decision from the founders who met while working together at Harper’s Bazaar.  

Kerry has said that after opening a restaurant in Brooklyn, it became apparent to her that there were so many amazing women in food who weren’t getting equally amazing attention from the media. “It's the same in almost every field (with a few exceptions),” shares Claudia. “Men dominate—but perhaps food is a good place to start to demand equality.”

The mag began as a project for one of Kerry’s restaurants, where instead of releasing a cookbook she thought of doing an annual magazine. 

Claudia, who serves as Cherry Bombe’s Creative Director, founded and self-published her own indie magazine, "Me" in 2004. She also started her own creative agency called Orphan (“RIP,” she says) in 2007. By the time the idea for Cherry Bombe was marinating, the women seemed a perfect pairing. 

In the beginning the co-founders never discussed an online version; both remain enraptured by print. They do host Radio Cherry Bombe, a podcast with Heritage Radio Network, which fills the air time between publication dates. 

 “If you do something that gives you purpose, it's not really ‘work,' is it?”

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Kerry and Claudia are also focused on bringing conversations from the page to the stage. Last April they hosted their third annual Cherry Bombe Jubilee in New York. A gathering of hundreds professional women (plus a few great men) from all ends of the culinary and hospitality worlds, which culminated in a keynote conversation between Martha Stewart and Kerry. “It's a place to connect, to start conversations, and to inspire people to do what they love,” says Claudia. 

For her, the kitchen remains a special place. “I definitely think in the culture I was brought up in, the kitchen was a magical place where good things came from, and my mother was the center of it in our house. I ate a homemade meal pretty much every night.” Her parents, both immigrants, sacrificed plenty to give their children a better life. “They work harder than anyone I know,” the creative director shares. “They built their business from nothing.” Her favorite advice also happens to come from her mother. “My mother once told me that I shouldn't work, that I should focus on learning and school, because I would have to work the rest of my life. She was right.”

But Claudia, who hopes to someday learn to sail, wants to travel more, and is no longer money motivated by projects says, “If you do something that gives you purpose, it's not really ‘work,' is it?” 

Sounds like a very healthy recipe for success. 

STEM: Ana Kasparian, The Young Turks

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Giving fake news a middle finger. 

“I taught myself what I could just so I could stay,” says Ana Kasparian host and co-producer of The Young Turks, the largest online news network in the world. 

As a major political voice and specifically one trusted by young people, Ana knows that honesty is crucial during the current political climate. “You don’t see a lot of that in mainstream media,” she says, “and it gets me in trouble. But it also empowers women to share in an outspoken and aggressive way.”  

Aggressive is not a tone she shies away from. “I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with the paradigm shift. Women are more educated than men, they’re more ambitious, and there is a new type of competition for men for the types of jobs they’re used to getting. Hearing someone like me? I think it’s intimidating.” 

"Women are more educated than men and they’re more ambitious."

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What else would you expect from the little girl who would cuddle up with her mom on Friday night to watch Barbara Walters interview world leaders and public figures on ABC’s 20/20. After finishing her undergraduate degree in journalism, the go-getter immediately landed a job as an associate producer at CBS radio. However, after about six months into the job she knew it wasn’t for her. “The type of journalism produced in that newsroom,” says Ana, “didn’t make me feel like it was was making a difference or doing enough to inform listeners.” 

At the same time there was a temp position open at The Young Turks, which, was a “tiny little startup at the time.” From day one Ana says she knew it was where she needed to be. “It was unscripted, uncensored, and raw! The honesty that reverberated through the halls during every broadcast drew me in so intensely that I didn’t want to leave when my temp position was over.” She asked to stay. There wasn’t a position available that spoke to her skills, so she took a job in the marketing department and did everything she could to remain a part of the organization.  

Ten years later, as producer and co-host Ana is now an integral part of the show’s success. 

She thinks the mainstream media made a lot of mistakes the past election cycle. “They love the drama,” Ana shares. “The biggest mistake was not taking him [Trump] seriously from the beginning. He’s ignorant, not necessarily stupid. And he’s great at manipulation.” 

She also thinks Hillary’s calculated actions had little chance in the face of Trump’s “word vomit,” because of Hillary's next level misogyny conundrum. If she had behaved like Trump, it never would have worked.  But Ana recognizes the importance of her career, presidential win or not. "She has paved the way for women like me to be aggressive,” the host shares. Ana hopes that post-run she “comes out in a way she never has,” especially for the younger generations who are “drawn to authentic.” 

Despite experiencing violent threats, Ana won't be silenced. "I do what I think is right to get the message across to the viewers. We have to not be afraid. We have to fight back against that type [misogynist] rhetoric." 

“There are individuals who threaten my life on a daily basis. In fact, 2016 was the first year where I actually encountered a few in-person physical attacks. But I see these threats as an effort to silence me, and women have been silenced for so long. I'll be damned if I allow anyone to silence me and stop me from doing what I love to do.”

And she’s learned to love herself, even when the world is telling her she’s a “terrible person.” 

“My career has become a big part of my identity. It represents who I am and what my purpose is. Part of that purpose is remaining true to that voice, particularly in the face of a Trump presidency. “I’ll be just as opinionated and committed to getting accurate information out there. I see my privilege to look out for the disenfranchised and people who are going to suffer under his presidency. I think it’s important to spread a message about what it means to be an America. True patriotism is looking out for your neighbor.” 

"True patriotism is looking out for your neighbor.” 

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Her other goal is to get money out of politics. “With a vanishing middle class, you’re going to have hunger games. We’re attacking each other for stupid shit instead of attacking the system.”

Female empowerment means choosing your own destiny. It doesn't matter what you want to do, or how you want to do it. Being empowered allows you to make the right decisions for your life, regardless of what others expect of you."

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Wellness: The Flex Company

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Wellness List Here.

Writing a new vagina dialogue. 

Erika and Lauren are wearing Keds' Triple Metallic and Champion Originals.

"Women. We need each other. We have to support one another. We have a higher purpose."

FLEX Company, a socially driven startup focussed on helping women, loves talking periods and sex. Individually both still taboos subjects. Put them together and you have most of the reasons why #paulryansoscared. 

But the new menstrual product designed for 12 hours of period protection and mess-free period sex isn’t letting "unacceptable" get in their way. In fact, It's a conversation that cofounder and head of marketing, Erika Jensen has been having for years. 

After dropping out of college, Erika began working as a copywriter for a women’s clothing brand. During that job the sex-positive powerhouse got poached by a CEO of a vibrator company to run their e-commerce. “After a really awkward interview at the W Hotel in Hollywood,” she shares. “I decided to go for it. I learned a lot about myself and found a new passion in sexual health and wellness.”

Then came a call from a friend who told Erika about Lauren Schulte, a girl who was doing “this other vagina thing.” The two met for dinner in San Francisco and discussed the lack of innovation in the feminine care space. “I was admittedly in love with her,” says Erika, “but not the idea." It was only after Lauren gave Erika a sample of FLEX did she come to understand the product potential. After giving it a test run during a a day of board meetings, and experience Erika says was "a game-changer," she changed her mind. There was no cramping. No getting up to change her tampon. “I honestly forgot it was there,” the co-founder shares. The only problem? Lauren had only given her one sample. The next day she went back to using a tampon, an experience she says that felt like “razorblades.” Erika quit her job the following day.

For her part, Lauren isn’t a woman who was simply doing a “vagina thing.” She’s been coding websites since the age of 12 from her small hometown of Sugar Hill, Georgia. “I didn't think the boys should have all the fun, so I tried my hand and found I was good at it,” Lauren says. And she didn’t stop there. As the eldest of five children, money was tight. “At 15, I started freelance web development in earnest. At 19, I used my coding skills to land a full-time job at IBM. After 2 years, I wanted to get into consumer marketing, so I joined Coca-Cola.” During that time, “and what most people didn’t realize,” she says is that she was attending college full-time at night. She was sick a lot during this time, stressed out, working a full day and attending school from 4:30-10:30 pm. She also says, “People weren't really sure what to make of me. I was smart but horrible at politics. My bosses would tell me I had a bad poker face.’" It was also daunting for her to be a young woman in a corporate environment, but they were ultimately environments that came to shape who she is as a business woman. “Thankfully, at every job I found women who served as role models and confidants,” she says. 

She went on to work for Autodesk in San Francisco, where she learned about product design and manufacturing, but Lauren had another little work secret. Tampons were making her “miserable at work” and giving her infections. “I was really scared but eventually I was losing sleep over the fact that tampons hadn't been innovated in 80 years. After 1.5 years of research, I got the guts to quit my job to work on my product full-time.”

"I started FLEX with a mission to create positive, engaging conversations about women’s health," Lauren explains. 

Erika and Lauren are wearing Keds' Triple Metallic and Champion Originals.

One of FLEX’s messages is that you can have mess-free sex. (And it’s probably why 25% of the companies signups are from men.) But changing the stigma around sex and periods wasn’t always part of the messaging. When the co-founders started giving out samples to different cohorts of women with different messaging, they were “surprised to see that the mess-free period sex messaging was what go women to try it the fastest.”

"If we genuinely want to see menstruation become less taboo, it's critical to have men as allies."

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It was no longer only about using FLEX instead of tampons, "it was solving a new problem entirely - one that no one else was addressing,” shares Erika. FLEX has conducted studies that show that the product allows couples to increase their opportunity to hear sex by 23 percent. 

"Erika and I are sex positive,” extols Lauren, “and we want to give men and women more options: FLEX allows couples who wouldn't have previously had period sex a new opportunity to talk about it and try it.”

They are also committed to opening up the conversation to include men. “Most Americans learn about periods in school (if we're lucky enough to have sex ed, which many states don't). Boys and girls are separated, and boys don't learn much about periods. Girls are told to keep their period private and to hide their tampons. This dynamic immediately makes the topic taboo.” 

But taboo didn't tabulate for her and Lauren says that early on a male investor told her, “don’t be afraid to tell everyone you meet about your idea.” While talking about periods in Silicon Valley initially felt “a little awkward,” she says this is some of the best advice she’s received, specifically because of FLEX’s desire to de-stigmatize the period convo. 

“If we genuinely want to see menstruation become less taboo, it will be critical to have men as our allies,” the CEO explains. Noting that, “Period sex in many ways can be a gateway to creating conversations about menstruation between the sexes... especially for the men who are more uncomfortable talking about tampons or menstruation.”

For her part Erika has three goals: "change the way sexual education is taught in all American schools, get my glider pilot's license, see the day where menstrual discs are more widely used than tampons in the United States."

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Entertainment: Erin and Sara Foster

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Raising a little Hell in the city that raised them.

Erin is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

Erin Foster, sister to Sara, daughter of David, says that as a kid “everything felt hard.” She didn't do well in school, hoping that a teacher would like her or a coach would think she was talented. “Being a smart ass became a way to distract everyone,” the producer, writer, and star of VH1's Barely Famous shares. “It wasn't until much later in my life that I realized it could be an asset instead of a part of my personality that I used to deflect.” Sara’s journey to professionally funny echoes her younger sister's. “Whether it's not having the self confidence or not knowing when and how to begin it always seemed like a dream and less of a realistic goal," she says of producing and acting in their own show. "I think feeling confident with my ideas and speaking up in a room filled with people far more experienced was the biggest challenge. Don't get me wrong, I always speak up, BUT it was a challenge developing the confidence as a comedic actress and producer at the same time.” 

As most know theirs was not a childhood set on a stage of American normality. Growing up in what Erin calls “a big disjointed family,” there were ups and downs, a father who got "remarried every ten years," and who warned his girls that all men cheat. (They didn’t listen.) But where tradition sagged, the sisters were propped up by a unique kind of tough love. Erin recalls in 5th grade trying her hand at her father’s skill: the piano. “I didn't enjoy piano,” she says, “but I thought there might be a musical genius lurking inside of me.” At her first recital her dad walked up to her and said, “You don't have it. You can quit. Go do something you love." 

“I know it sounds harsh,” the comedian shares, “but what he was saying is ‘Don't do my thing, go find your own thing.’ It was actually really freeing because I let go of trying to impress him and instead went to find the thing I loved. I'm so grateful for that.” 

And he taught them to take opportunities seriously. “He's always told me that the microphone usually only comes around once,” says Sara. That she should “be the first one there and the last one to leave,” because there is also someone right behind you waiting to take your place.  Advice she didn’t always take. “I have gotten caught up in the whole ‘she's not that talented, why did she get that role’ kind of thing and it's not good territory to be in. There is room for all of us,” she says, noting that jealousy is a dangerous emotion that most often does more harm than good. 

It wasn’t only dad who brought the advice thunder. Mom dropped a few whoppers as well. “You don't want to peak at 15, you want to peak at 30,” she told Erin. If you look at her career, it’s advice she took to heart. “Battling the voice in your head that thinks you aren't capable can be crippling,” says the writer, who is currently developing a comedy with Fox about a young woman with a messy personal life and a gay fiancé. “It really is never too late to do what you want to do. I didn't start professionally writing until I was almost thirty years old.”

"I didn't start professionally writing until I was almost thirty years old.”

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If you’re looking for a dramatic blowup, a bitter sibling rivalry is not in the cards, no matter how much they rib. The co-stars, who are hoping for an “edgier, smarter, and more epic season three,” have each other’s backs. “It's great to be able to know that I have someone who wants me to be the best and she has someone who wants her to be the best,” shares Sara. “She is behind the monitor for all my scenes and vice versa.” They’ll fight. They’ll make up. Sometimes it makes the working environment tough. “A sibling is your harshest critic, and your biggest champion,” explains Erin. “But there's no one who will protect you more fiercely or be more proud of your achievements,” she confirms. “We make each other better and are constantly holding a mirror up to each other so that we have to be our best.” Sara even willfully admits, “Erin has always been the funny one. I'm sure I have stolen and emulated a lot of her natural comedic ability. It has always come more naturally to her.”

With Barely Famous the siblings have made a name for themselves poking fun of the reality TV show bear, but they don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon. “I would be personally devastated to not have my weekly Whalburgers,” says Sara, who reads almost all of her news on Twitter. It’s everything in one place, which, for a mom of two, is ideal. 

Looking to the future, they’re both aiming high. Sara's wish list includes “a line in a Judd Apatow movie,” and to “be Larry David’s next wife on Curb.” She also interested in developing projects with someone with whom she doesn’t share DNA. Erin wants to continue her work in comedy as one of the most original female voices in space interested in creating “a comedic tone that women can incorporate into their own lives." As for how she develops that voice? "I try to say, ‘Look how hot and imperfect I am,’” she says. “It's strange because women are more powerful than ever right now, but simultaneously some of us are pushing this unattainable perfection online and I think it's really destructive.”

It’s not simply an onstage persona for the younger Foster. “I’m not gonna live my life worried that someone will find old pictures of me on the internet with a different nose,” Erin says. “You will find those pictures, so I'll just tell you that I've had a nose job. I feel good about it.”

Both appear to have kicked the majority of their self-doubt demons. At this point in her career Erin is comfortable telling the nagging voice to shut up. “She’s always wrong,” she says. And although Sara says, she constantly second guessing herself and that as a mom her extracurriculars include sleeping, you can’t keep a good woman down on herself.

“There is nothing that a man can do that I can't. I have super powers,” she says. “I have carried two humans! Just live your life like there is no difference. I don't raise my daughters with the mindset of having to fight for their empowerment. Maybe that isn't smart, but I raise them with the idea that it's already in them." 

“Honestly,” she adds, “we have vaginas. We have all the power.” 

"We have vaginas. We have all the power." 

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If you have any doubt, Erin’s happy to back it up with facts. “The President of 20th Century Fox is a woman. The Chairman/CEO of 20th Century Fox is a woman. The Chairman/CEO of Fox TV is a woman. The head of BBC America is a woman. The president of ABC is a woman. The President of NBC is a woman. The president of PBS is a woman. The president of Universal TV is a woman. The chairman of Universal Pictures is a woman. The CEO of National Geographic is a woman. The president of CBS films is a woman. The CEO of YouTube is a woman. That's female empowerment.”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Music: SOSUPERSAM

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Music List Here.

Putting her own spin on things. 

If you ever doubted that a weekend hobby could become a full-time job (that still maintains all the excitement of a weekend hobby), you haven't met SOSUPERSAM.

The 32-year-old DJ/recording artist may be pint-sized, but her R&B based 143 party (the catchy name is a throwback to the '90s pager code for "I love you") is larger-than-life. With notable pasts guests including Sisqo, Ginuwine, A-trak, Quest Love, and Shlomo, the Los Angeles-born, slow jam-and-cult-fave-fueled rager has ignited sizzling dance parties from coast-to-coast, with devout SOSUPERFANS in Honolulu, San Francisco, New York, Miami, and more locations on the horizon.

In addition to founding and hosting the renowned 143, SOSUPERSAM (real name: Samantha Duenas) has opened for Erykah Badu and Little Dragon, served up photoshoot soundtracks for A-list photographers and actors such as Annie Leibowitz, George Clooney, and Channing Tatum, and regularly spins for coveted clients including Soho House, Lena Dunham, Adidas, ESPN, and Rodarte. And did we mention she got her start as a backup dancer for Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens? We’re out of breath just typing about it.

A typical week for the globally sought-after DJ can include gigs in Bangkok, Thailand and Houston, Texas, which is why you may be surprised to discover that she recently rabbit-out-of-a-hatted the time to drop her debut EP “Garden” featuring six original tracks. Yup, you heard correctly, the turntable virtuoso can also sing (incredibly soulfully, we should mention). “What keeps me going is the notion that I can keep trying new things and exploring new ideas within my profession,” explains the ever-evolving multi-hyphenate, who credits quitting her day-job to pursue music full-time as her greatest career decision yet. “It's an absolutely vulnerable space, this side of the music business is completely unchartered territory for me, but at the same time thrilling! It keeps my career feeling fresh and challenging and exciting. There are no boundaries."

As a rising female star in a male-dominated industry, Duenas is undeterred — even empowered — by her gender, despite the skeptical looks she frequently fields from employees of Guitar Center. “Every day I set out to be the best DJ I can possibly be, for a man or a woman. Not just “good enough for a girl.” The mini-mogul, who is a member of the global Soulection collective, hopes to use her platform and status to inspire and support more women in music. “One of the most exciting parts of my job is hearing from other young women and being able to help them take the leap to following their own passions,” says Duenas, who cites Nike Style Director Meg Cuna and Yard Bird Restaurant Founder Lindsay Jang as her personal mentors and inspirations. “They are both extremely smart, creative business women who are down to earth and so funny. I hope to be a fraction of the business leaders that they are.” The way things are going, it’s safe to say she’s on the right track (but, isn't that her speciality?).

“Every day I set out to be the best DJ I can be. Not just 'good enough for a girl.'"

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So, with a freshman EP under her belt, a dizzying tour schedule, and a global music empire to grow and oversee, what keeps this entrepreneur stay sane and grounded? “I’ve become better at recognizing what’s right or wrong for me and saying no to the things that don’t feel authentic,” explains Duenas, who swears by a cup of coffee, making her bed every morning, and free-writing in her journal (as well as yoga, boxing, cooking, and the New York Times crossword puzzle, when she can squeeze it in). “As a freelancer, it’s easy to stay on the clock 24/7. Over the years, I’ve become a better boss to myself. I’m learning how to unplug, to give myself days off and a vacation.”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

STEM: Aarthi Ramamurthy, Lumoid

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Try before you buy, 2.0

Lumoid Founder & CEO Aarthi Ramamurthy is betting that the only thing better than buying is trying. Because purchasing gadgets can pricey (read stressful), Lumoid is eliminating the guesswork with an online service that lets you rent and test professional quality camera and audio gear, fitness trackers, drones, and more. This way, you can guarantee your satisfaction with a product before committing to it. Even better? The money you spend on renting goes toward the total purchase price. What’s not to love?

Coming from Chennai, India, Ramamurthy was recruited by Microsoft a year before even graduating college. Prior to founding Lumoid three years ago, she worked as a software engineer at xBox and Netflix, becoming an expert in consumer electronics and studying the psychology behind how people buy. “Getting the product off the ground was easy,” says Ramamurthy, “But, hiring is always a challenge — as it should be — really good people are few and hard to find.”

In 2017, women sadly still hold less than 25% of all jobs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). It’s a gross gender gap that Ramamurthy takes seriously, and does her part to remedy. “I feel strongly about how few women are taking up STEM and engineering courses, and I’d like to change that and see more women enroll in them,” she explains. As one of the few female founders in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Ramamurthy embraces her role as inspiration and mentor. “I help other female founders who are earlier in the process of building their company — I try to help with fundraising, introductions, or just talking through their issues.” While she’s all for supporting other women, she looks forward to a time when female CEOs no longer need to be interviewed about their definition of female empowerment. Point taken.

As Lumoid continues to achieve new levels of success — moving into swanky, designer offices, securing new rounds of funding, and expanding into the wearable market — Ramamurthy has been making personal and professional strides, and taking inventory along the way. “I've tried to actively start celebrating small milestones and successes, since I know that I'm really bad at recognizing how far we've come as a company,” says the founder, whose capitalizing on the universally appealing ethos of try-before-you-buy. “I’ve come to appreciate the journey a lot more, stop worrying and focus on what's going right.” Rather than stressing over a career bucket list or a five year plan, she prefers to take it one day at a time.

Entertainment: Kelly Oxford

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Doing the work every damn day. 

Kelly is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

In sparkling silver Gucci shoes and her signature oversized black frames, Kelly Oxford is part Glenda the Good Witch, part witty writer. “I wear these everywhere,” she says. Maybe referring to the shoes. Maybe referring to the glasses. It’s a great combo. And so is she. 

If it was possible to be a native Californian-Canadian, Kelly Oxford would be it. Nice, but not too nice. Easy going with a serious affection for hard work. “Doing the work every day,” says Kelly, is the most important step she’s taken in her career. That and doing, “try[ing] not to fuck with anyone else along the way.”  

It seems simple enough, but sparkling shoes aside, not everything in LA glitters; there is no overnight success story. Kelly is no exception.

The Canadian born writer started a blog in 2002, anonymously sharing stories, made the jump to MySpace, and then joined Twitter in 2009. As the social media star’s Twit-tale goes, the little blue bird and her ability to kill it in 140-characters or less, brought her attention. But Twitter can only take a gal so far. It was Kelly and the aforementioned hard work that flew her from the platform to the bank. 

"I see other women as inspiration rather than 'competition.'"

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It was seven years ago when producer and writer Jhoni Marchinko of Will & Grace, and most recently 2 Broke Girls fame, told Kelly that she would help her break into TV. “And she did,” Kelly says. “I was thrown into this business fast. Warner Brothers bought the first screenplay I wrote.” Post-WB purchase, in 2012, Kelly and her family moved from Calgary to Hollywood. “I can say that learning how the business works from the inside has been the biggest change from five years ago.”

The working writer has penned books, like the New York Times bestseller "Everything Is Perfect When You’re a Liar," TV and film scripts, and isn’t too shabby with a hashtag. Last November, post-election she reinvigorated her Twitter base, asking women to Tweet her their stories of sexual assault using the hashtag #notokay. It’s a platform that has given her voice, as well as a voice to serious issues that affect women.

While she gained early attention via Twitter, Kelly has been actively working, writing, and selling TV and film scripts in Hollywood-- not such an easy feat. "This is the cheesiest answer," she says when asked how she supports her peers and moves the needle in the face of a difficult career choice, but, "I see other women as inspiration rather than 'competition.'"  

Though she didn't initially love that her career was boosted by Twitter, these days she forgives herself more, obsesses over dogs and crystals, and swears by the routine of going on walks. She also warns, “Enjoy the congratulations you receive when you sell a project, because no one is patting you on the back while you're doing the work.” 

Her kids keeps her going, so does grinding it out over a keyboard daily, which, includes the task of staying engaged with her online audience— something the writer admits has been a challenge. But she's up for it, knowing that every step taken is one in the right direction.  

“Until the 1960s,” says Kelly, “women were just ‘fathers’ daughters,’ and then ‘wives.’ Anything since then has been a movement toward empowerment."

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

STEM: Miki Agrawal, THINX

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Taking on taboo with invention. 

 Miki Agrawal did what many inventors do: find the white space. Or in her case the red. No, we're not talking wine. We're talking periods. The CEO and co-founder behind the period-proof underwear, THINX, saw a need in a 15 billion dollar industry and went after it.

But converting people isn’t simple. At one point the company was $60K in the hole. “I had a struggling partnership,” she shares, “and investors who didn't ‘get’ the product…” So Miki once requested a male investor to wear a maxi pad over the course of a meeting. The point: to give him first-hand experience. 

It’s her out-of-the-box approach to all topics taboo that make Miki a force, and not just in the period space. She’s taking on incontinence with ICON, pee-proof underwear, as well as the booty with TUSHY, a bidet attachment for the toilet that she says, “elevates the American pooping experience to the 21st century.”

Get to know Miki, why a life coach changed her life, and what she’s looking forward to below. 

What is the most important step you took to get here?

Put one foot in front of the other (and also put reminders in my phone to breathe).

What are the challenges you encountered along the way?

Wrong partnerships, manufacturing struggles and generally growing a business! 

What keeps you going?

Changing culture and helping people at the same time. Truly. 

Who are the people you consider your mentors or influences and why?

My friends! They are all entrepreneurs or creatives and inspire me on the daily. 

What is the best piece of “real talk” advice you’ve received?

Hire slow; fire fast. 

What’s your favorite life advice?

Everything’s gonna be alright. 

How has your relationship to your career changed in the last five years?

I've worked hard on myself to become a better leader and human, cop to my mistakes quicker and be softer on everyone including myself. 

How has your relationship with yourself changed in the last five years?

Seeing a life coach has changed my life. It has forced me to face myself like I never have before and really find full integrity with what I am thinking, feeling and saying. 

What's on your career bucket list?

Impact a billion people and build a billion dollar company :-) 

What does female empowerment mean to you?

Women deserve a seat at the table. ALL studies point to the fact that women-led companies outperform male-led companies, boards that include more women have outperforming companies than only all-male boards, all signs are pointing to the fact that women absolutely deserve to have equal rights to men. It's time. 

Philanthropy: Lauren Conrad, The Little Market

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Philanthropy List Here. 

The CEO with heart. 

Lauren Conrad is no reality TV has-been, to say the least. A decade later, and with her first child on the way, the former star of Laguna Beach and The Hills has parlayed a flare for on-screen drama into a fashion and retail empire complete with best-selling novels, multiple fashion lines, and, now, The Little Market, an online fair trade shop empowering a network of global artisans to rise above the poverty line.

With The Little Market, Conrad and partner Hannah Skvarla are supporting female artisans around the world by selling their handmade goods to socially conscious consumers who value ethical and sustainable manufacturing, not just stylish design. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership that allows customers to purchase beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces while enhancing the lives of women makers — it’s a far cry from tube tops, spray tans, and beachside boy beef with Heidi Montag and Stephanie Pratt.

Appropriately, the journey to the Little Market began in Africa, home to many of the market’s skilled craftswomen. “When we were trying to come up with the concept for The Little Market Hannah and I were visiting a girl's school in Africa,” Conrad tells us. “While we were there, we had the chance to speak to a lot of the students. When we asked them if there was anything they needed their requests were heartbreaking. Water, vegetables, and a bed. At the very end of our visit it began to rain and the girls started dancing around. The rain meant that they would not have to make their daily four hour round-trip walk to get freshwater and they would be able to read their books in the daylight because they have no electricity and can't study at night.”

Building a marketplace for remote regions devoid of technology isn’t always easy, but Conrad forges ahead with the help of her team. “Language barriers, internet access, long lead times, and customs all can make the process challenging. Fortunately, we have an awesome team who always seems to get it done somehow.”

Moreover, in a culture that increasingly craves fast fashion, it’s all the more important for The Little Market to establish that resonant emotional connection with its audience — to showcase the people behind the product, the lives who benefit from the exchange. “The more a consumer sees value in the story behind the product, the more likely they are to take an interest it where it comes from,” says Conrad, who knows a thing or two about design and manufacturing, herself a Kohl’s fashion mogul. “Continuing to tell these stories and see products for so much more than they appear to be will encourage others to do the same. Whether it's a shoe made from reclaimed plastic or an artisan made product that can help send girls to school, sometimes the message is just as important as the trend.”

"I've learned the value in saying no and learned to delegate."

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As The Little Market continues to make big moves, Conrad navigates the murky waters of being your own boss — she even allows herself at least one day a week off. “Even though you often have to work through the weekend you can give yourself a Tuesday off. It's important to have time to focus on things that aren't work related and to clear your mind. I've found that I'm happier and more productive this way,” advises Conrad, who knits, hikes, and hits the beach with her pups in her spare time and says having a partner has helped her to become more selfless. She’s also learning to be less hard on herself. “There was definitely a point in my life when I took on too much and was burning the candle at both ends. Since then, I've learned the value in saying no and learned to delegate. It can be hard to trust others to work on a brand that you spent so much time on, but you can't do it all,” muses the soon-to-be-new-mama.

At the heart of The Little Market is its mission to support women artisans around the world, but let’s not forget the work that’s left to do right here at home. “Female empowerment means looking at being a woman as a strength not a weakness. Because let's be honest, we are pretty damn strong.”

Food: Farryn Weiner

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Food List Here.

Leading the healthy fast food revolution. 

Farryn Weiner may be 31, but as VP of Brand & Marketing for Sweetgreen—the fast-growing purveyors of simple, seasonal, sustainable salads—she’s already changing the way people around the world think about food.

With roots in social and editorial—previously, Weiner did stints at Jetsetter.com and Michael Kors—the young VP has a long track record of telling compelling stories for adventurous brands through emerging media and technology platforms. Now at the paradigm-shifting salad startup, she has the opportunity to connect passion and purpose, inspire healthier communities, and make the world a better place to live and eat.

“Life is all one big jump,” says Farryn, who actually met Sweetgreen co-founders while skydiving, in a serendipitous event that seems almost too symbolic to be true. “Working in various industries spanning travel, fashion and food were all big jumps that put me in a position to learn, stretch, and in many ways, start over. At Michael Kors, I led a global team, which was a huge opportunity to understand and more thoughtfully communicate with other cultures. I continuously go after experiences that challenge me to gain a different perspective.” 

As a self-described “adventure capitalist,” Weiner is constantly capitalizing on and seeking out moments that expand her worldview. “I’ve always had this passion for connecting with communities, be it global or local,” she says. “Whether that means hiking a mountain in Nepal or connecting with a customer or building a kickass team, I bring a lot of energy and passion to my work. By being inspired, I hope to inspire others.” The best piece of real talk advice she’s ever received is to ‘pull up her big girl pants.’ “It’s the idea that you don’t have to ask for permission, you don’t have to ask for advice. You have the power and ability to figure it out on your own. Trust yourself and think critically to make the best decision you can and charge forward with confidence. Always show up with a recommendation, a point of view. There’s a real freedom and power in that.” 

"Always show up with a point of view. There's a real power in that."

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As Sweetgreen expands from an intimate eatery to a large scale global presence, Weiner’s flair for facilitating human connection is really being put to the test. For example: how do you preserve brand integrity and freshness of ingredients while maturing into new and faraway markets? Apparently, it’s something she’s put some thought into. “As we grow, it’s important to maintain our connection to our customers and farmers, and to create a connection between them, whether that’s through our app or high touch experiences. We’re focused on leveraging technology to enhance the customer experience, while maintaining the human touch that’s so important for building community.”

Over the last five years, and through meeting the team at Sweetgreen, Weiner’s relationship to work has done some serious evolving. While she used to view work and life as linear, often in competition with one another, today she’s done away with the tired notion of “work/life balance,” instead replacing it with a more fluid approach that’s inclusive of family, friends, career, and travel. “I’ve always wanted to work in an entrepreneurial environment where I could see the world and apply the lessons I’ve learned around the globe to my career. My sweetlife is a world where all these things coexist and thrive off one another,” she says. She’s also developed a quiet confidence about who she is and what she does. “I know what I bring to the table, and I have a strong understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. Every day, I lean into my strengths, and proactively work on areas for growth. There’s a lot of power that comes from knowing who you are, from being able to see yourself from 30,000 feet without judgment and acceptance.”

"Every day, I lean into my strengths, and proactively work on areas for growth."

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While Weiner is certainly proud to be recognized amongst the growing ranks of female entrepreneurs and leaders, she encourages others to focus on our “accomplishments as people as a whole, not just through the lens of gender.” Looking ahead, she’s excited to bring Sweetgreen’s mission to communities around the globe, asking, “Daikanyama, Japan sounds pretty amazing, no?”

Entertainment: Constance Zimmer

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Hitting a career high. 

Constance is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

At the age of 46, Constance Zimmer, actress/mom/director/wife/advocate, is just now hitting her stride. Many of us first fell for Zimmer as ruthless, skirt-suited studio exec Dana Gordon on "Entourage." The cutthroat character was an instant fan favorite, in part because she served up some seriously strong female vibes in an otherwise testosterone-drenched plotline. After a six year run with HBO complete with a spin-off movie, Zimmer reprises her not-to-be-f*cked alter-ego as power producer Quinn King on Lifetime’s Peabody-winning, Bachelor-inspired "unREAL." In an industry as notoriously sexist and ageist as Hollywood, Zimmer is changing the game, defying stereotypes and shining in her first leading role as a woman in her 40s.

“I wish I could take credit, but it's the amazing women like Marti Noxon, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Shonda Rhimes, Sharon Horgan, Jill Soloway, Lena Dunham and the list goes on, who are changing the roles written for women,” says Zimmer, on overcoming the the industry’s well-documented women problem. “The audiences are changing. We want to see more characters we can relate to… the landscape of television is changing, too. There's more room now for actors to find their voice.”

In an episode of the female-fronted “Better Things,” co-created by the hilarious Louis CK and Pamela Adlon, Zimmer and Adlon’s characters play rival actresses often vying for the same audition. But if you’re looking for a catfight, don’t hold your breath. The competition is nothing more than fiction. “I've never felt competitive with my friends. I have gotten through the ups and downs of this business by believing that we all get the roles we are meant to get. I only have love and support for my friends whether we are up for the same part or not.” For this cool-headed approach, Zimmer thanks her acting coach. "20 years ago, she told me ‘You are enough.’ I still use it to this day, it's something I work on all the time.”

Constance is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

A lot has gone well for Zimmer in the last five years, personally as well as professionally. “I have always been incredibly grateful for my career, but definitely since I turned 40 I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin,” says the "unREAL" leading lady, who jokes that playing fierce matriarchs on TV has allowed her to express her inner voice without getting in trouble for it. “Because of that, the roles I've been lucky enough to play in the last five years feel like I'm using a different muscle. I also feel a little more responsible in how I portray these strong women, I want them to be relatable.”

"Since I turned 40 I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin."

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In real life, Zimmer is fiercely devoted to family. While many of her shows aren’t exactly child-safe, she recently procured her old sitcom “Good Morning, Miami” on DVD and looks forward to a moment of calm to sit down and watch it with her daughter.

This year, Zimmer will celebrate yet another first — her directorial debut with an episode of "unREAL," already renewed for a third season. “I look forward to directing more. I have directors I dream about working with like the Coen Brothers, Jeff Nichols, or Wes Anderson, and of course some favorite actors to work alongside would be Meryl Streep, Tina Fey and Mark Ruffalo.”

Zimmer is is leading the way for a new era of leading ladies, and that means using her status for advocacy. “I find it unbelievable that a woman doing the same job as a man is not making the same amount of money. That's mind boggling to me.” On a personal level, she’s a firm believer in amplifying female voices. “I make sure that all women in my life know they are special and that their voice is unique to them and not focus on trying to being someone else.” While her favorite piece of life advice may not be what you’d expect: “Don't wait for a special occasion to wear that fancy dress, wear it now!”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Music: Claire Evans, YACHT

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Music List Here.

Take note world.

Claire Evans is not your typical musician. Throughout her years as lead vocals for the electro-pop band YACHT, making her mark in the Los Angeles music scene with her partner Jona Bechtolt, Claire's kept the hunger to create beyond a designated medium. “Like most creative paths, mine hasn’t been very linear,” says Claire. By taking the role of a multi-hyphenate creative as a musician, writer-researcher, and tech entrepreneur, it is safe to say that following a linear 5-year plan was never in her agenda. 

Still adding more titles to her repertoire, doesn’t mean she’s saying yes to every project that gets thrown her way. “For the first ten years of my career, I said yes to everything,” says Claire. “Now, I have learned to graciously refuse ancillary projects, and it has been one of the hardest and most important skills I’ve picked up in life.”

And much of her success is due to that very skill. Since Claire joined YACHT in 2008, the duo has released three studio albums (along with many art projects that they produce under the same moniker) and has created the popular Los Angeles recommendation app 5 Every Day.

Aside from her projects with YACHT, Claire is ready to make herstory.

“My first book will be released by Penguin in Spring of 2018,” says Claire. “It’s a feminist history of the internet. I’d like to do the story justice, to the farthest extent of my ability.”

"WHEN WOMEN HAVE AN INALIENABLE PLACE AT THE TABLE, IT BENEFITS US ALL."

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One main goal for Claire is ensuring that her support for other women translates to her professional work. “I want to make sure their stories are inked, before it’s too late.” And with the present being such a critical time in American history, where a heavy-handed government has plans to disenfranchise women and other marginalized identities, projects like hers are important now more than ever.

“When women and girls can see themselves in the development of our culture’s most transformative technology, they can see themselves in its future,” says Claire. “When women have an inalienable place at the table, it benefits us all.”   

Photo credit: Jaclyn Campanaro

Music: Daya

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Music List Here.

Supporting women through song. 

At 18 Daya writes songs about building confidence and taking control of her own life. Something the songstress hopes “inspires other women to do the same.” 

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, when she’s not touring Daya spends most of her time in the city that raised her. Writing music and performing are in her blood. “Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” she shares. “I played my first gig was when I was nine at a bar uptown from where I grew up in Pittsburgh and I’ve craved the stage ever since then.”

With the rust belt as her background and “four extremely strong, intelligent, and talented sisters,” as well as “hardworking parents who run their own business,” Daya been bolstered on all sides. She represents the best of the future. The Gen Z voice that’s intersectional, accepting, and most importantly: won’t back down. 

And the music world has taken notice. Her debut single, “Hide Away,” went platinum and she’s featured on The Chainsmokers’ double-platinum song of the summer “Don’t Let Me Down.” The idea of a young, female songstress with bold lyrics  

Her goal is to “empower others, especially females, to believe they have the potential to accomplish anything they set their minds to with hard work.” 

She says she feels free to speak to her mind, even in a music industry that is notoriously sexist. (see: Madonna’s recent speech at the 2016 Billboard Women in Music Awards.) But the sage-for-her-age teen recognizes that her “freedom to be honest and open” is not afforded to “many women in different cultures across the world.” 

She swears by journaling, forcing herself to do it even when she doesn’t want to. “It helps clear my mind and usually ends up sparking some cool ideas for songs.” 

Songs that she can’t wait to get up and perform. 

“The adrenaline rush of getting up on stage and seeing thousands of people singing along,” keeps her moving forward. Sure, she says “There have been people along the way who don’t take me seriously because I’m a female and unusually young for the industry.” And in the beginning, Daya “constantly felt the pressure to prove myself to those people,” to only realize, “I’m just as deserving of my own voice and opinions as any other artist.” Which is what the song "Dare," of her first full-length album, it Still, Look Pretty, is all about. 

“I’m just as deserving of my own voice and opinions as any other artist.”

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She’s been on grueling tour schedules and recalls getting very sick the morning of one show. "I tried everything I could but wasn't able to remedy it in time and it was too late to cancel. I proceeded to have the worst show I've ever had and I was embarrassed and depressed because I felt like I wasn’t giving the audience what they came for.  Momentarily I wanted to quit, but in the back of my head I knew I just had to push through because there would be much better days to come.” 

A self-professed perfectionist, Daya says she used to be really hard on herself about everything. “I can still be that way at times,” she admits, “but I’m much more forgiving now. I’ve learned the importance of self-trust and self-love.” She manages to squeeze in some normal teenage stuff as well.  Last year she graduated from high school, attended her senior prom, and managed to squeeze in hanging with her friends and binging on Netflix like the rest of us. Unlike the rest of us, she released Sit Still, Look Pretty and performed at the White House. 

She’s game to accept every challenge, motivated by strong female artists that have come before. “Amy Winehouse, Alanis Morissette, and Dido impressed me the most as women able to channel raw, powerful emotion and honest stories into their songs.” 

It’s what she intends to do with the music she makes. “My career was something that I used to fantasize about, and now it's my everyday life. I’m so passionate about it and determined to tackle anything thrown at me.”

STEM: Rachel Tipograph, MikMak

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full STEM List Here.

Saw the future of digital and commerce. 

“What risks can you afford to take?” This is the question Rachel Tipograph, founder and CEO of the world’s first mobile video shopping network MikMak, asks herself with every new challenge she faces. And in building a startup that takes on the Goliath that is the $250 billion home shopping industry, you can be sure the challenges abound. “The bigger the risk, the more likely the failure. You have to develop thick skin if you want to accomplish a lot in life,” says the 29-year-old minimercial mogul.

Tipograph, whose groundbreaking platform creates short, shoppable videos to market beauty, tech and home related products all priced under $100, has been destined for a career that bridges comedy and commerce since being crowned an eBay power-user at age 13. And she  harnessed the power of social media to launch an up-and-coming comedian she managed while attending NYU.

“The bigger the risk, the more likely the failure. You have to develop thick skin."

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After graduating, she cut her teeth working as a digital strategy consultant for corporate giants including Levi’s, GE, and PepsiCo. And then came the proverbial big break. By age 24, she was named Global Director of Digital & Social Media at Gap. “It was there that I saw the future of media and commerce, and decided to quit my job to build MikMak,” says the mobile shopping maven. With MikMak, Tipograph is on a mission to reinvent the traditional infomercial for the millennial generation. No more cheesy late-night sales pitches or impractical gimmicks. Just 30 second, mobile-friendly spots featuring actually-engaging comedians as spokespeople.

While Tipograph may have some of the biggest names on her resume, nothing has quite prepared her for the uphill battle that is building and running her own business. In May of 2016, a deal she spent four months orchestrating fell apart. For the first time in her impressive career, there was nobody to rely on but herself.  “I was exhausted. After a momentary pause where I allowed myself to feel defeated, I remembered I was the one who chose to build MikMak. No one will ever want this company to succeed more than me. The moment that energy waivers, it will spiral,” she explains. “Starting MikMak is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I am MikMak. When you work for someone else, it’s not the same.”

As a CEO turning channel-switching ads into must-see entertainment, Tipograph does things differently, and that includes company culture. Every Sunday, she sends out the “MikMak Attack,” a weekly email that breaks down the goals by department and offers company-wide visibility into all high-level initiatives. “Each email ends with me answering the question: ‘What’s inspiring me to attack the week?’ The time I put in Sundays to organize saves me hours during the week.”

Just a little over a year old, MikMak has already raised its first millions in funding. And for Tipograph, it’s nothing short of all-consuming. “It’s my number one priority,” she says. “I do hope within the next five years it reaches a point where I can allow for other life milestones to occur. I want to own a home, start a family and for all the founders who do all of that while running a company, I have so much admiration for you.”

Music: Faarrow

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Music List Here.

Touching the world through song.

Somali sisters Siham and Iman Hashi makeup the Canadian pop duo Farrow, a name which combines combines the translation of their names into English -- Iman means "Faith" and Siham means “Arrow." They released their debut EP “Lost” in 2016, with tracks like “Shut Up” and “Chasing Highs,” both deal with subjects of empowerment.  

They released since “Rule the World,”  a jazz-infused pop track in 2013 and then took a three-year intermission while working on their EP with producer Elijah Kelley. The majority of the tracks are written and produced by the sisters and Elijah. 

The sisters are also political refugees from Somalia, who took refuge in Canada. Born in the Somali capital of Mogadishu they fled the country after war broke out in 1991. They are the the first female Somali artists to sign a major deal with a U.S. label. 

Though to the music world they are “pop,” Faarrow sees their work a bit differently. “We feel like the culture clash of our upbringing really shaped who we are as women and artists,” they share. ‘Our music is what we like to call underdog, girl power anthems and has the spirit of breaking out and wanting to be heard.” 

They’ve found that “the biggest challenge,” to their work has been, “people trying to put us in a box when there are so many layers to us.” It’s music they’ve said is “pop with undertones of hip hop and rhythmic African percussion. It's a fusion of everything.”

Having recently walked away from their record label, they gained more insight into themselves and their music. “The relationship between us became so toxic that we had to walk away. The biggest thing we learned was when a situation creates chaos within yourself, the best thing to do is let it go.”

"When a situation creates chaos, the best thing to do is let it go.”

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These are wise words from women, but this duo also describes themselves as “ageless.” 

Siham and Iman are wearing Keds' Triple Metallic and Triple Solids.

“Being able to see yourself in every woman regardless of race, class, religion..." the site duo says. "When that happens empowerment is just a byproduct.” 

Boundless as well. In the last five years they say their relationship to their career has changed for the better. “We've completely let go of the notion that a label or anyone for that matter can make or break us. We are the architects of our lives.” Dream gigs include performing at the World Cup. They like to keep it in the family. “Dad was a professional soccer player in Somalia and I think we'd secretly be fulfilling one of his dreams as well,” they share. 

As for secrets to success? “We're taking responsibility for everything that happens in our life both good and bad. Thankfully it’s mostly good.”  

Their music and their capital "P" Purpose, which includes working with the UNHCR, keeps them going. “We know that our musical gift is our tool to touch the world.”

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

Fashion: Yael Aflalo

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Fashion List Here.

The eco fashion warrior. 

Yael Aflalo didn’t set out to be the eco-warrior fashion mother for the A-list and beyond, but if you dig a little into her fashion roots, you’ll find the beginning buds of Reformation. 

Prior to the eco-conscious label that counts influencers like Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss as repeat Ref'ers, Yael founded her first label, Ya-Ya, in 1999. “Towards the end of my time at Ya-Ya,” she shares, “I started to dislike a lot of the things that I had become a part of - overprinting lookbooks and tossing 80% of them, yards of leftover fabric getting thrown out. In 2009 I created Reformation with the goal of changing the way people see ‘green’ fashion and to offer eco-friendly designs that don’t sacrifice style.”

Prior to Ya-Ya, Yael kickstarted her career in fashion by hand-making skirts from pashminas and selling them to Fred Segal. It was her first business foray into repurposing fabric.  

Today, Reformation uses sustainable fabrics and vintage garments, manufacturing a large swath of their want-it-all-outfits in their environmentally friendly sewing factory. Based in LA, investing in green building infrastructure to minimize waste, water, and energy footprints, was a must. The company uses 100% recycled packaging for all shipments. And in a move toward transparency, they track their environmental footprint with what they call RefScale.

It’s a move Yael says is one of the riskiest she’s ever taken. “Making the decision to step away from traditional fashion was a terrifying but incredibly rewarding experience. It allowed me to let go of what I knew and begin to develop new and innovative practices that didn’t harm the environment.” She's grateful she listened to her gut. 

Though “green” dominates fashion conversations today, Yael was initially told to “play down the fact that we were an eco-clothing brand,” noting that concerns arose that “people would automatically roll their eyes at us and associate ‘green’ with ‘granola.’” She also shares that, “At the time, many eco brands weren’t looking at trends or focusing on fit,” another strong motivator for her to do something different with Reformation. So she did. Now her career goals include pioneering sustainable technologies in fashion and cheekily, “becoming a billionaire.” She encourages women “to seek solutions to problems they want to fix. If you don't like something," Yael says, "create a path to change it.

"If you don't like something, create a path to change it."

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Today for the new mom that includes changing some of the culture and contradictions around female empowerment. “We as women, are holding on to some inherently sexist practices and calling them ‘old fashioned’ and yet demanding to be treated as equals,” Yael says. “My favorite example of this is women who insist that men should pay for dinner on a date. Then in their very next breath complain about the wage gap. Men used to pay for women because women weren't employed or had very low paying jobs. If women want to be paid exactly the same as a man then why should men pay for us on dates? When I ask this of a lot of women they reply, ‘Oh I'm old fashioned like that. I expect a guy to pay for me on a date.’ Why shouldn't higher ups at corporations say, ‘I think 74 cents on the dollar feels right. I'm old fashioned like that.’ Anyway, what's more empowering than being a superstar in your career, making good money, going on a date and saying. "Oh no really I have the check!”

“What is more empowering than being a superstar in your career?"

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The CEO admires thinkers like Elon Musk. “[He] said something a few years back that was really impactful,” she says. “‘The path to the CEO’s office should not be through the CFO’s office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design.’” And calls Patagonia, a brand that is helping destigmitize eco-fashion (and one she’s had in her wardrobe since youth) “the holy grail, start-it-all sustainable brand. They have pioneered some of the most innovative materials and production methods, motivating other companies to do the same. And that's what I hope to do with Ref.” 

From the looks of it, she’s doing it, and doing it well.