The Empowerment Project

What does it take to follow your dreams? It’s not the easiest thing to do, but also not impossible as host, model and content creator @micaelaverrelien can attest to. Micaéla’s journey did not start out in fashion and media. In fact, her career began on Wall Street working as an accountant. Yet while she was still in the 9-5 corporate grind, she started creating content in her spare time. Eventually, she left her accounting job and dove into the world of modeling. That step forward paid off, and Micaéla has since appeared on websites like Vogue, Nylon, Refinery29, and NYMag, as part of her journey to become a multifaceted creative and on-air talent. She has also been a creative director for projects with Urban Outfitters, Teen Vogue, and The Metropolitan Museum. Most recently, Micaéla completed her 250th episode of the “Macy’s Live” show, where she hosted live shopping events and chats with industry leaders about new products. We spoke with Micaéla about what it means to her to pivot with purpose and how to show up unapologetically in all she does: "I have been on sets where I’ve dimmed my light and I hated how I felt afterwards. So moving forward I promised myself that I would never do that ever again. I always go in being my authentic self. I know as a woman of color who is dark-skinned, curvy, with big curly hair I make a statement even when I don’t say anything. I learned to allow that statement to be my narrative and that it is okay to take space because my ancestors earned this." Wanna follow Micaéla's blueprint for pursuing your creative passions? Head to the link in our bio to read more. ⭐️ . . . #friday #passion #pivot #model #blackwomen #career #wallstreet #fashion #style #pursue #womenofcolor #instagood #followyourdreams #best

"A child’s initial tools for learning when growing up are toys. The toys we obtain and how we play with them shape who we become as adults" Today on the blog we're featuring an enlightening guest post by IT professional and entrepreneur Kusuma Reddy, who is the founder of @culturoramatoys. Through her multicultural toy business, she aims to promote diversity and empower women and children. Hailing from India and migrating to the US in 2015, Kusuma knows first hand the impact dolls can have on the minds of children. "When I was a volunteer teacher at an informal slum school in Bangalore, one of my students brought a white Caucasian doll to the classroom. The doll was her proud possession and she wanted to show this off to her friends in the class. As we started talking about the doll, there were some shocking revelations from these young girls. Unfortunately, those kids believed that white skinny girls with blonde hair and blue eyes are "beautiful" which is why the dolls all looked like "beautiful foreign girls" and we Indian girls were not beautiful enough to be made into dolls." It was a moment that stuck with Kusuma for many years, prompting her to create a solution. "what started as a simple conversation with one of my students led to the creation of Culturorama Toys. What sets Culturorama Toys apart from other toy companies is our focus on handmade dolls that showcase traditional Indian features, fabric, dress, and accessories. These dolls are handmade by rural women artisans in India, who use high-quality organic materials to create beautiful and unique dolls that reflect the rich heritage and culture of India." Her mission is to help Indian girls feel empowered by their heritage: "I want our girls to be proud of who we are, what we wear and how we look. I wanted to create toys for children that reflect their unique experiences and backgrounds and help them develop an appreciation and understanding of different cultures." Learn more about Culturorama Toys via the link in our bio! 👧🏽🧸 . . . #toys #girls #dolls #india #entrepreneur #diversity #culturorama #representation #skincolor #empower #culture #browngirls

Meet Danielle Edmond - founder and CEO of @StayGoldenCosmetics and @uQueenOrganics who now presides over a 7-figure beauty empire that was built with glitter!. The Jamaican born entrepreneur has had a fascinating career path, which actually began in the world of sports. @danz.edmond was the co-captain for Jamaica’s national basketball team, before pivoting to modeling, and eventually launching her own business after moving to the US. She founded Danz Distributors LLC in 2013, the parent company of Stay Golden Cosmetics and uQueen Organics. Stay Golden Cosmetics offers vibrant and fierce eye and lip glam, while uQueen Organics is for rejuvenation – of skin, body, and being. Starting with just 5 glitter lip kits, conceived on her Brooklyn NY living room floor in 2017, Stay Golden Cosmetics has since evolved to 20 varying lip shades and eye pigments and has been seen on the likes of Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, and Cardi B. From scoring points on the basketball court, to taking the beauty world by storm, we spoke with Danielle to learn more about Stay Golden Cosmetics, and the impact of more women of color disrupting the white-centric fashion and beauty industry. “As a model, I found myself always redoing my makeup after sitting in a makeup artist’s chair – it’s sadly still a thing! But what truly shifted gears for me was my education in Marketing. I love the idea of marketing towards women of color because for a while, the majority of beauty commercials didn’t really represent women of color with deep skin tones like mine.” Read more about Danielle's cosmetic empire via the link in our bio! ✨👄🇯🇲 . . . #staygoldencosmetics #jamaican #entrepreneur #glitter #beauty #womenofcolor #makeup #cosmetics #organic #uQueen #Blackwomen #marketing

If you’re anything like us, you are probably sick and tired of the puritanical cultural and political force rearing its ugly head, influencing legislation and our education systems. We have a LOT of un-learning to do when it comes to ideas around sexuality, bodies, and autonomy, but it is going to take some work to reach a place where we are a culture fully embracing sex positivity. One woman who is going the extra mile to shift our way of thinking about sexuality and taking ownership over our bodies is entrepreneur and sexologist Tyomi Morgan who has dedicated her life to raising awareness and providing education to underrepresented individuals in the field of sexuality. @realglamazontyomi is an international pleasure coach with 12+ years experience as a thought leader, writer and influencer in the field of sexuality. She is also the founder of The Cowgirl Workout™ – where sex and fitness meet. In addition to her work, Tyomi is a member of the National Coalition for Sexual Health, and an on-set intimacy coach in film and TV. With 107k followers on Instagram, and over 140k on Twitter, it’s clear people want to hear what she has to say! Here's what Tyomi told us about how we can individually do the work to break down misconceptions around healthy sexuality: "Women of color come to me mostly with insecurities about their bodies. A number of them feel disconnected from their bodies and feel embarrassment or shame in intimate movement, and this is where I step in with empowerment via somatic movement healing practices. Women of color have been highly fetishized, yet made to feel inferior in claiming sexual freedom. I help my clients develop an awareness of the sexual autonomy they possess and empower them to make their own decisions in pleasure." Learn more about The Cowgirl Workout via the link in our bio! 🧡💋 . . . #sexuality #healthy #BIPOC #sexologist #entrepreneur #TheCowgirlWorkout #TyomiMorgan #shame #body #fetish #womenofcolor #autonomy #sexpositive #culture

What defines a woman? Who gets to decide on that definition? These questions are as controversial as they are dehumanizing, especially given the current landscape of gender discrimination. A new documentary, released on Canadian broadcast TV on March 8, International Women’s Day, exposes how ugly the gender wars are for female athletes. From award-winning Canadian filmmaker and former athlete who has experienced gender discrimination herself, Phyllis Ellis brings the timely @categorywomandoc which delivers a damning exploration of “sex testing,” a deceptive and harmful practice in international women’s sport, that has for over 80 years sabotaged the careers and impacted thousands of international female athletes, notably women of color. ‘Category: Woman’ tracks the devastating medical, social, cultural, emotional and economic impact that such rulings can have on the lives and careers of female athletes from the Global South. Phyllis encourages all of us to stand in solidarity with athletes from the Global South, to create a sporting world free of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, sex testing, misogyny, racism and gender discrimination. Here's what Phyllis shared with us about this documentary: "Gender cannot be questioned or determined, it is personal to each of us. Why it is dangerous and life threatening, is the deep gender-based racism that is at the forefront. Like Dr. Zine Magubane narrates in the film, 'Some bodies are marked. Bodies that are Black, and Brown and female have a particular type of marking. They are marked as insufficiently human. How do you castigate a category of people as insufficiently human? By throwing their gender into doubt'. The film’s message, [the athletes'] message is about informed consent, and that athletes can say no. No is a complete sentence, not a negotiation." Learn more about 'Category:Woman' via the link in our bio.🏃🏿‍♀️🎬 . . . #category #woman #gender #sextesting #sports #olympics #gender #discrimination #humanrights #athlete #womenofcolor #LGBTQ #informedconsent #globalsouth #medical #cultural #impact #phyllisellis #instagood

"I have always been drawn to music and to anyone and anything that produces these heavenly sounds. When I was in middle school, social anxiety prevented me from joining the school band. After a failed audition on a borrowed clarinet, my school’s music teacher shook his snowy head and said, “I’m sorry. You aren’t cut out for this.” My mother suggested that since I was an avid reader, I should start writing my own stories. Writing tales about spirited young girls in historical settings eased some of the pain caused by not joining the school band, but music still tugged at me." Today's blog feature by @nataliewelsh285 is a beautiful reminder of how our passions have a way of creating unique opportunities for us to live them out, sometimes in unexpected ways. For Natalie, her love of music was realized through the creation of @SyncopationLit - a non-profit online publication that features music-related poetry, creative nonfiction, flash fiction, and short stories, launched in Jan 2022. "Syncopation Literary Journal has become a meeting place for a diverse set of readers, musicians, and writers. It has connected me with countless musicians, writers, and readers, and some have become friends. As Founding Editor of Syncopation, I would never tell another creative that they were not meant to be a writer. If writing has chosen them, they are a writer," shares Natalie. Right now, the journal is doing a call for submissions for their next issue, which you can find via the link on the @SyncopationLit account. "Syncopation Literary Journal has allowed me to amalgamate my passions for music and literature. I am grateful that music chose me. I’m also glad that I chose to dabble in writing. We all have a story to tell. Don’t ever let anyone convince you that you weren’t meant to tell yours…" Submit your story and learn more about the Syncopation Literary Journal via the link in our bio! 🎵🎸 . . . #music #art #poetry #creativity #story #passion #literature #writer #submit #instagood

Today on the blog we're featuring an insightful guest post by @alliedatgirl from @embarccollective, whose experience spans venture capital & business development. Her message to the VC and funding world is that the lack of investment into female founded startups is a missed economic opportunity. "There is a glaring gap in angel investing and venture capital: far too few women are writing checks and far too few women are getting funded," writes Allie. "Pitchbook data shows that women-founded companies represent just 25.5 percent of total VC deal count in the US. At the same time, just 16.1 percent of the national firms have a woman decision-maker on their team. Additionally, women check-writers are more likely to invest in women founders." She outlines 3 key ways investors can help close the gender gap in tech startup funding, and here's one we loved the most: POINT OF VIEW "If your interest and experience have led to a strong point of view, consider seeking out companies that align with that particular approach to the sector." We recently profiled investment company RH Capital (part of @rhiaventures) which is an all-female founded firm who were devastated by Roe v Wade being overturned, and concerned about the future of women's health. They decided that they were going to fill the gender gap in the market while addressing this glaring reproductive rights issue, by focusing their funding on companies and startups that specialize in reproductive and maternal health. Their portfolio includes biotech and medical devices as well as digital health and services, with a particular focus on under-served and marginalized populations to significantly reduce health disparities in those communities. This is what Allie is talking about, and is a prime example that others can follow. "There’s no single path to investing in startups, but the more we share our experiences, recruit, and promote women check writers, the closer we get to closing the gap of funding for women founders." Read more via the link in our bio! 💸🏙️ . . . #finance #funding #investment #venturecapital #money #startups #femalefounded #entrepreneur #business #gendergap #womenshistorymonth

Renata Cherlise, founder of @blackarchives.co, the treasured platform that chronicles contemporary Black American life, first fell in love with photography as a young girl paging through family albums. Each photograph offered a window into the past, allowing her to experience an intimate encounter that was part of a larger tapestry of the individual and collective family. With her first book, ‘Black Archives: A Photographic Celebration of Black Life’ (February 14, 2023), Renata returns to her roots, drawing upon her own family albums, as well as those of members of the community. ‘Black Archives’ brings together photographs made between the 1930s and 1990s of scenes like family gatherings, holidays, vacations, nights on the town, moments of praise and worship, and styling and profiling on the front porch, in uniform, with cars, and among friends. With so much of Black American history lost or destroyed, Renata understands the power of family albums to create connections across time and space, and to preserve a shared cultural lineage for future generations. Here's what @renatacherlise told us about her message behind the images, and the impact she hopes they will have: "Mainstream media frequently strips Black people of their humanity and individuality, where their entire existence is measured against degrading stereotypes. Growing up in a society where you’re constantly seen as a threat, regardless of age, is never accounted or adjusted for in these mainstream portrayals," she said. "As a mother, it’s important to me that my work celebrates Black families in all their forms, while reminding Black folks of the sweet moments tucked away within the memories of their own childhoods. My desire is to protect the sacredness of Black life, and it is my hope that one day, the kinds of images we see in this series become the norm for how Black people are portrayed: as beautiful, joyful, and free," she added. See more of the images and read our interview with Renata via the link in our bio!📷 . . . #history #Blackarchives #family #photography #joy #stereotypes #image #childhood #memories #Blacklife #Blackjoy #Blackwomen #renatacherlise #instagood #book