LEAVE YOUR MARK: Freshly Brewed Career Advice with Aliza Licht

Madison Utendahl is the founder and CCO of Utendahl Creative, a Black-owned, female-founded and female-led, storytelling-first, branding, content & social media consultancy. Since its launch, Madison has worked with Refinery29, Milk Bar, Bandier, and has been featured in The New York Times, W Magazine, and Forbes. Prior to launching her company, Madison was a creative on the founding teams of three powerful cultural phenomenons: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 29Rooms, and Museum of Ice Cream, where as the head of content & social media, she earned two Webby Awards and grew their digital presence to an audience of over 1 Billion people in under 20 months. She's also been recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30. In this episode, Madison shares her tactics for a successful content strategy today, what metrics matter most to her, and why she believes that everyone has a story to tell. She will also share her 24-hour rule, why you should not argue for your limitations, and the reason you should trust the timing of your life.

Jillian Straus, a 20-year media veteran and founder of Straus Strategic Communications, shares tactical tips on effective communication: the three C's, storytelling, authenticity, and transparency. She also discusses leveraging voice influence, controlling the narrative, and mastering the art of strategic communication through practice.

You may not recognize Jade Purple Brown's name, but chances are you have seen her work, which is featured as Adobe's splash image for Illustrator 2021. Jade is a New York–based visual artist who uses strong figures, vibrant colors, and messages of optimism in her graphic design, illustration & art direction. She has created art for major brands globally, including Apple, Facebook, Sephora, TikTok, and NYC Pride, to name a few.  Jade was on track to become a stylist, attending the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago for fashion marketing and management. However, in her final year, Jade learned how to use graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign and fell in love with them. Pursuing this love, after graduation, she spent six months creating her portfolio. She made up imaginary artist mentors and began modeling the way they presented themselves. Self-taught, Jade's work stood for itself, and she landed a full-time art director role. Eventually, Jade built up her clientele and skills, breaking away from her day job to pursue her entrepreneurial goals.  In this episode, Jade will share how she intuitively learned to trust the process, launched her business, gets creative, deals with burnout, client load, and copycats. With advice well beyond her years, she shares sage insights on how to prepare for the moment your season comes. As Jade says, things don't necessarily happen in the minute you want them to, but you better be prepared for when they do!

Karla Welch was named one of Hollywood Reporter's Top 10 Stylists of the Decade. As the founder and owner of x karla, and the founder of the premium styling app Wishi, Karla is one of the most visionary and loudest voices in Fashion, especially on issues that matter- using her platform to shine a light on social injustice. In this episode, you'll learn the secrets behind the red carpet, how to bring yourself to the next level, why you shouldn't downplay your success, and how to hold onto hope.

Stacie Henderson has loved marketing and computer programming since her teenage years in Kansas City. The CIA recruited her in college for computer programing, but her love of fashion drew her to pursue an MBA in Fashion Management at Bocconi in Milan. Fast forward, and Stacie's passion for bringing technology to retail and brands has resulted in an extensive resume with 15 years in luxury and retail, developing dynamic growth strategies that blend online and offline tactics. Currently, Stacie is the Head of E-commerce, Digital, and Consumer Experience at Tod's Group, with previous roles at Versace, Ferragamo, and Westfield. In this episode, you will learn what it means to innovate within a corporate structure, how to make yourself indispensable, and why listening is a superpower.

Fluent in Kardashian & Lagerfeld, fashion industry veteran Sasha Charnin Morrison has made her mark in the field as a stylist, style director, and pop culture connoisseur for the last 30 years. She has styled everyone from Jennifer Lopez to the Real Housewives of New Jersey and has been a fashion director everywhere from Harper's Bazaar to Allure to Us Weekly. Currently, she is the style director at CBS WATCH! Magazine. Her book, Secrets of Stylists: An Insider's Guide to Styling the Stars is the little black book of styling where she shares top styling secrets on creating unforgettable looks and advice on landing a choice job. In this episode, Sasha recounts her rise in fashion, incredible stories from the heyday of fashion, and why she got fired from Vanity Fair. Hint: it has something to do with Carolina Herrera's puppies. She shares the lessons she gratefully learned early and why she ultimately walked away from her dream career to prioritize a life well lived with her family.

Sharon Ainsberg's career began in the music industry, working with award-winning composer Philip Glass on recordings with artists ranging from David Bowie to The Rolling Stones. She then managed talent, working with veteran music manager Louis Levin on everyone from AC/DC to Michael Jackson. But during that time, she saw white space in the industry. Why didn't musicians have fashion or beauty deals? Where was that co-branded marketing? This was when Sharon's obvious fashion obsession became too great to ignore. As a pioneer in brand and talent partnerships, Sharon created the music and entertainment division at Ford and the VIP services division at Starworks before launching her own company in 2012. Sharon co-founded SHO+CO with Allison Oleskey, a bi-coastal fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment agency focused on celebrity and influencer initiatives, including product placement, collaboration deals, and talent booking for everything from global events to ad campaigns. In this episode, you will learn how Sharon identified a void in the industry and ideated how to fill it, why creating trust in relationships will lead to long-time collaboration, the importance of respecting the team around the talent, and her expert methods in negotiating partnerships.

The most powerful question in the world is, "How can I help you?" These are the words that Susan McPherson is known for. Susan is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies; a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. As a serial connector, Susan's first book, The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships, is the much-needed reminder that sometimes more than skills, success lies in the relationships we build and nurture. But when we are more physically distant than ever before—how can we reverse the growing trend of disconnection to forge meaningful connections in business and life? In this episode, Susan answers this question. She shares her secrets on how to be a serial connector to create a meaningful constellation of connections around you based on intention, shared interest, and helping others. 

Lindsey Pollak was told in her first job interview that her master's degree in women's studies would get her nowhere. She is now considered one of the country's leading experts on careers, the workplace, and the Millennial generation. Lindsey is a New York Times bestselling author of four books and one of the world's leading career and workplace experts. Her new book, Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work, is rich with tactical moves that you can make right now. In this episode, Lindsey takes us through her five rules for recalculation, how to assess your strengths so you can apply them in a new direction, the secret to communicating effectively across different aged colleagues, and why you need to make your make more visible. 

If you've ever walked down Madison Avenue and past Barneys New York, you've experienced the magic of Simon Doonan. Considered a fashion industry legend and the world's most famous window dresser, Simon served as the creative head behind Barneys's renowned and unconventional window displays, which won him many awards, including a CFDA Award. He then became the creative director of Barneys New York and then served as their creative ambassador-at-large. Over the past 45 years, Simon has added best-selling author and TV personality to his resume. He has written over ten books on various aspects of style and culture: his newest book delves into Keith Haring's life, the revolutionary artist from the '80s. But Simon's glamorous adult life today is a far cry from how he grew up in England. In this episode, you will learn about Simon's incredible journey, how he found his creative calling, and why he credits his mother's work ethic as the secret to his success.