Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Dr. Joiselle Cunningham Smith of ‘Pathways to Creative Industries’ Is Helping To Change Our World
Don’t give up. Some people ask me how I’ve done some of the things in my life. There are a lot of factors in how I did them, but some of it is that I kept trying and kept believing. There are initiatives that took us five years to build. There are experiences and milestones that took us 10 years to build. Hold on to your dreams, and believe that they will happen, continuing to take steps toward them every day. They are bound to happen…if you keep trying.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Joiselle Cunningham Smith.
Dr. Joiselle Cunningham Smith is the CEO of Pathways to Creative Industries, an organization focused on building access for youth interested in creative careers in partnership with the CFDA, is on the faculty at NYU and works for the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) as a consultant and advisor. Joiselle studied Public Policy and Economics at Duke University, where she received the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship for academic achievement and she earned her doctorate from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I was born in the Bronx and then later moved to Teaneck, NJ. Teaneck is a diverse, middle class suburb of New York City in Bergen County, one of the richest counties in America. My childhood involved a lot of back and forth between low income and middle class areas, so I’ve always been aware of disparity. Even as a little girl, I wanted to be a change agent that recognizes people who have often been forgotten.
I grew up surrounded by artists living and creating nearby, including the Isley brothers, Mario, folks on Broadway and so many others. I also danced, sang growing up. And later when I got to college, I studied abroad in Latin America and Europe. I learned more about global economic disparities and how some of what I saw and experienced as a young girl reflects global struggles. So I learned that I was passionate about creativity and working to solve global issues.
I later began my career teaching and then working in the second term of the Obama Administration before studying what I do now through a doctoral program at Harvard. It led me to think about my creative passions and my mission to help people globally to gain access to opportunity. That’s how Pathways to Creative Industries came to be — a firm that works to support global social impact.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
We held an event for young people with DreamYard, a youth organization that exposes Bronx youth to creativity through amazing programs and initiatives. We invited Tonne Goodman, b michael and Tanya Taylor to speak to young people about their interests in business and fashion. All are very important leaders in the fashion industry.
We had students of all ages asking really important questions about their interests in fashion, videography, business, etc. They shared what their hopes and dreams were and got a chance to meet teachers and professors that could support them along the way. Towards the end of the event, they shared their own collections in a student fashion show. It’s a great memory for us because it brought together folks who ordinarily may not have had the opportunity to learn from each other.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I made the mistake of overplanning when I first started my business. I think it’s funny now because the advice I always give others is to try things out in small ways and to test ideas. Yes, it’s important to have a plan in place, but the planning should also include testing ideas and taking low-cost actions. Just get started and test out the hypotheses you have as best you can.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Recent examples include the work we’ve done regarding diversity in fashion as well as economic justice for underserved communities. Two examples of our work include our efforts with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) where we support thousands of Black and Brown fashion leaders through an initiative called IMPACT. We also support CareerReady ATL, which is a youth apprenticeship program in the Atlanta metro area in partnership with the United Way of Greater Atlanta. We are building out support for young people, including youth in foster care, and helping them access apprenticeships and college courses in an area of interest. These transformative programs support people to get exposure, access, mentorship and ultimately transform their trajectory over time.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
We were helped tremendously by a number of people. Penelope Nam Stevenson is a fashion leader who spent her career building brands that we know and love. She mentored me during our infancy and helped us to learn from other leaders in creative industries. We also have great partnerships with creatives that have supported our work over the years, including Tonne Goodman, DreamYard and others who have supported us with their connections, experience and resources. We are extremely grateful for our supporters!
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Politicians: Political figures have an obligation to use public funds and make decisions that reflect their constituents. I would love to see our politicians fund schools and their arts programs, ensuring that young people can explore careers in fields they are passionate about and have a chance to express their creativity while learning new skills. I would also like to see revised state standards that reflect the times we’re in. Many state standards are outdated, so young people don’t get a chance to learn about the new technologies and skills needed right now. I think we can do without term papers on MacBeth and start to integrate 21st century skills into the classroom. It doesn’t mean that students shouldn’t learn Shakespeare, but it means that we need to think about integrating tools needed to navigate life in 2023.
For the general population, or our community, I think the best way to transform our society is for individuals to heal themselves so that we can all show up as whole with our families and communities. Healing allows us to show up better for ourselves and the people around us. If we can show up for each other from a place of wholeness, our planet would transform.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
In a course I taught on leadership, I shared a personal definition of leadership: that we take full responsibility for our actions, life and business. Great leaders build self awareness and reflect on themselves so that they can respond and change as needed. Great leaders don’t dwell on their challenges, but they take responsibility for the power they hold to move forward. Similar to what we spoke about in regards to healing and how that ripples out to our families and communities, leaders have the ability to influence thought through their actions.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Set mini-goals and celebrate them. People who are starting a business or trying to lead an organization start out with a vision for what they want to achieve. But it’s really important to break that vision down into daily goals that will bring you there. Think about your big goals, or your quarterly goals, but also think about daily actions. An example of this is, you might have a goal to open a space for your big idea. You might need to reach a financial goal in order to achieve this, you might also need a realtor, along with a number of details to be ready for this goal. You might want to do this within the next six months if you were to work on the score for 15 minutes a day, what would that 15 minutes look like even if it’s just doing an Internet search, or connecting with someone over coffee who has done this before, how are you actively working on that long-term goal? When you reach those mini goals, celebrate them, show yourself and your team that you are moving forward. An example of this is we had a celebratory reception recently to celebrate our wins.
- The second piece of advice that I would tell people is to hire an excellent accountant. Do you want to be able to achieve your vision to make the world a better place, and you don’t want to be distracted from that vision. A way to do this is to hire an accountant and other team members that understand what it takes to build an organization that is organized. Our finance team is compassionate and meticulous — they make us better!
- Define your values as clearly as possible. Your metrics for success, ideas and viewpoints may change over time, but many of your values will remain the same. When you are trying to build a social impact organization, or any type of business, things evolve over time, but your belief and your wife or why you got started will likely remain unchanged. Define this early on and use it as your northstar. My main focus is to bring healing and uplift to our world. Even when some of our initiatives change, that will remain the same. When we’re making decisions or at a crossroads, I have a concrete value to return to help to determine our path.
- Don’t give up. Some people ask me how I’ve done some of the things in my life. There are a lot of factors in how I did them, but some of it is that I kept trying and kept believing. There are initiatives that took us five years to build. There are experiences and milestones that took us 10 years to build. Hold on to your dreams, and believe that they will happen, continuing to take steps toward them every day. They are bound to happen…if you keep trying.
- Set your own blueprint. Even if you have mentors or folks, you look up to, set your own blueprint for how you want to lead. You don’t have to repeat the same ways of being that you’ve seen. I know many entrepreneurs who have created a new product or service, but they’ve also redefined how people work at their company, or something else that’s important to them. Be you. Set a new path.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would work with companies who have established themselves to redefine “going public.” Going public typically means that you are open to trading on the stock market. Does that also mean that because you have reached some financial stability, it’s time to donate a portion of your proceeds to support philanthropic causes and social impact? It would help consumers to understand what companies believe in and also what good they promote in the world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I love music, so many of my favorite quotes come from songs. Notorious BIG says “Stay far from timid, only make moves when you’re heart’s in it and live the phrase ‘sky’s the limit.’” I love this quote because it asks us to live life boldly and to make decisions that are led from the heart.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
There are so many! I have to give you a three who I would love to sit down with because they’ve carved out a new path in some way. I would love to speak with influential creatives and business leaders about their work. I think the top of the list would be Pharell Williams, Tinashe (@tinashenow) and Delphine Arnault. Wildly different answers, but people I see as creatives who have created new paths in their industries. Pharell was known for producing and has used his creativity in many other ways. Tinashe is young, smart and used her abilities to independently market her sound, creating music she loves. I think it’s an example we can learn from about pursuing our passions. Finally, Delphine Arnault is a businesswoman in luxury fashion and I’d be curious to hear more about how to create more opportunities for people in fashion.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find my work here:
@JoiselleSmith
www.PathwaystoCreativeIndustries.com
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Dr Joiselle Cunningham Smith of ‘Pathways to Creative Industries’ I was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.