My fast-track from Intern to Partner- and everything in between!

I started an internship as a Program Coordinator in May 2015 at Base Beauty Creative Agency. Before then I literally did not realize that careers in beauty existed. I guess I thought my favorite coral lipstick, pink nail polish and vitamin-C serum along with the ads I’d watch just magically appeared on shelf and screen. At Base Beauty, I quickly learned just how many amazing moments happen behind the scenes for even one piece of social content to go live, one logo to be added to primary packaging, one custom kit to make its way into an influencer’s hands, or one kernel of an idea to turn into a campaign.?

When I first started, our team was lean so I had the opportunity to wear many different hats. This industry was so exhilarating to me and I savored every minute and chance I had to learn and grow. I stayed on to coordinate BBCA projects through my senior year of college at Lafayette and hoped there would be a place for me here after graduation but could never have imagined the path it would create for me. Our inspirational leader and CEO Jodi Katz saw my eagerness to grow and lead and has given me the opportunity to try my hand at essentially every role and function our agency provides. From managing social media feeds, writing influencer briefs, producing photo shoots, auditing brands, executing competitive research, doing consumer research, copywriting, boosting media, editing videos, concepting product names, ideating 360 campaigns, marketing our agency, leading our new business pipeline, speaking at thought leadership events, launching and producing our top-rated show Where Brains Meet Beauty Podcast, spearheading our internship programs, hiring and expanding our agency… it’s hard to even put into one (already very long run-on) sentence each of these assignments that have shaped who I am as an executive today.?

On February 25, 2019 (a day I will never forget!) Jodi named me as the agency’s Chief Operating Officer so that I could take a more external role in shaping the way our team works and the industry meets us. Fast forward to that same date in 2022 when I successfully defended my dissertation in Strategic Leadership & Administration and earned my letters as a PhD. And today I get to officially share that I’ll be putting my advanced degree to use as Partner at Base Beauty…! As Partner & COO, I will continue to innovate the agency and podcast by fostering deeper collaboration with our clients, meaningful thought leadership within our industry and deepening our commitment to leading with kindness and respect. Also as Partner & COO, I will continue to spearhead and advance the role of the Program Success team that ensures our fully integrated holistic approach delivers groundbreaking results and our clients' goals are achieved.?

I am so grateful to everyone I have met these past seven years on my journey from intern to Partner at BBCA. First and foremost to Jodi for seeing my full potential and empowering me to achieve it. Her guidance and steadfast mentorship has helped shape me into the leader I am today. Our diverse leadership team and the staff at BBCA, many of whom have become lifelong colleagues, have also been instrumental in supporting me on this path. It has been an honor to work alongside such a strategic, smart, collaborative, kind group of marketers interested in leveraging the beauty industry’s platform to develop meaningful conversations. To our clients who challenge me to create and lead in new ways each day- I love learning from each of you through our collaboration. To so many of our vendors who have become extensions of our agency. And to those unsung heroes whose names I never knew - thank you for opening Pret-a-Manger after hours so I could buy green juice for an event the next day, or driving me through traffic in a rickshaw to an anniversary event on Broadway so I could hand out tickets on time, or staying on the phone for 30 minutes while I sorted through paperwork and completed an order before COB. So many stories and great memories that it would take a novel to share them all. Every day at this marvelous agency is a chance for creativity, connection, change and new doors with endless possibilities. I don’t know what the next seven years and beyond have in store for me, but I am looking forward to facing this exciting road ahead with optimism, curiosity, hope and maybe…a bright red lip.