Threads of Impact NYC: A Benefit Launch Event

Siamanda Chege is the Event Chair of Threads of Impact NYC and serves on the Advisory Council of The Sustainability Laboratory, where she leads strategic development for Project Olgulului, a regenerative development initiative in Kenya. She is the founder of Bébé Ravi and Siamanda Collectif, enterprises that demonstrate how artisan craftsmanship can create dignified livelihoods and sustainable economic opportunity. A former New York fashion model and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumna, Chege has spent nearly two decades building ethical supply chains that connect African artisans with global markets. Her work bridges fashion, systems thinking, and community-led climate resilience through culture, collaboration, and innovation.

Nova Lorraine is a Jamaican-born psychologist, award-winning fashion designer, futurist, author and creative technologist working across fashion, culture, behavior and emerging technology. As founder and creative director of House of Nova, she explores clothing as a tool for self-expression and transformation. With training in clinical psychology and fashion design, Nova creates intentional luxury through limited-edition pieces, thoughtful production and partnerships with women artisans and women-led businesses, including collaborators in Kenya and coastal Nigeria. Recognized among the Top 100 AI Creatives and Top 100 Women of the Future, she uses fashion, art and technology to preserve culture, expand opportunity and imagine new possibilities.

Liya Kebede is a supermodel, actress, designer, and maternal health advocate. She founded lemlem, an artisan-driven fashion brand made responsibly in Africa, to preserve weaving traditions and support sustainable economic growth. Through the lemlem Foundation, she helps create training, job opportunities, and access to women’s health services across Africa. Kebede has appeared on major international VOGUE covers, walked leading runways, and starred in films. She was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in 2010 and one of Glamour’s Women of the Year in 2013.

Dior Delophont Gleysteen is a French-born couture designer whose worldview was shaped by Nancy’s Baroque and Art Nouveau heritage, childhood hand-sewing, and years in Japan exploring the symbolism of traditional attire. Trained through music, sport, atelier work, and international competition, she balanced opera, classical piano, track and field, and fashion with uncommon discipline. After moving to the United States at seventeen, she excelled collegiately while developing her design voice, culminating in an award-winning senior collection at Beijing Fashion Week. Experience at Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger later informed her global perspective on branding before she opened Maison Kébou in 2026.

Jasmine Aarons, a Product Design Engineer from Stanford, spent years working with indigenous artisans in South America with a Haas Fellowship. She consulted Fair Trade foundations for two years in design, production, and commercialization. She pioneered a d.school-styled collaborative design model with Mapuche weavers, where designers and artisans co-create marketable products. Today she directs VOZ’ international business strategy and design vision.

Alexandra Benzaquine (Mor) is a designer, creative director and entrepreneur, whose work sits at the intersection of design, sustainability, cultural heritage, and storytelling. Through her jewelry practice and the Tagua project, she has explored how design can create meaningful connections between people, materials, culture, and the natural world. With a career spanning design, entrepreneurship, brand building, and partnerships, Alexandra brings a multidisciplinary perspective to sustainability and a belief in the power of creativity to inspire awareness, shift perspectives, and create meaningful change.

Deanna Crevecoeur is the founder and CEO of Coeur. She is dedicated to scaling an innovative and traceable sourcing solution within the leather and fashion industries, both known for being deeply problematic, complex, and obscure. She studied production management and ethics & sustainability at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her design background spans over 10 years.

Tanja Andrejašič Wechsler is a philosopher, designer, media ecologist, and water advocate. She grew up in Slovenia among pristine water, studied engineering, philosophy, and media ecology, learning to read water as pattern and the importance of a healthy feedback loop. In New York, her mission is to restore humanity’s relationship with water in the urban world. She created I AM WATER, a water-drop-shaped glass vessel giving water a voice in an anthropocentric world. Her work bridges lifestyle, health and ecological thinking; through her water drop shapes, she is calling on humanity to honor water’s purpose to remain clean and support all Life.

Azaria Van Der Stok-Smallwood is a Black designer, scholar, and activist from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. A recent graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, her practice examines the intersections of design, identity, and liberation. Grounded in critical theory, Black radical futurism, and tactile craft, she centers the Black body as she explores transgenerational trauma, cultural resilience, and ancestral knowledge through fashion. Working with raw, natural materials, discarded waste, and slow fabrication, her garments function as living archives that challenge Western sartorial codes, respectability politics, and the commodification of Black labor. Craft becomes method, medium, and messenger—honoring African diasporic histories and futures

As the leading force behind the creative team at Coalescence, Ben Ben-Aharon and Rick Wellman bring together two distinct careers, perspectives and talents with a shared vision for healthier, more thoughtful beauty.

Ben brings a modern, intuitive approach to hair, rooted in wellness, mindfulness and the belief that beauty goes beyond what we see in the mirror.

Rick brings decades of experience as a master colorist, educator and industry leader, with a philosophy that beautiful color doesn’t need to come at the expense of healthy hair.

Together, they believe beauty, health and sustainability are all connected—from the products they choose and the health of the hair and scalp to the experience of every person who walks through the door. That philosophy is Coalescence — a B•WELL salon concept: the coming together of people, ideas and experience. And B•WELL is personal—B for Ben, WELL for Wellman—while expressing the bigger idea behind it all: be well. When it all comes together, beauty should look good, feel good, and do good.

Yuta Powell is a veteran of the Paris-London-New York fashion scene. As a student in Paris, she was handpicked by Mr. Hubert de Givenchy to work at his atelier. She later went on to own and operate the Givenchy flagship store on Madison Avenue. Upon the sale of the Givenchy name to LVMH, Yuta moved on to own and operate the Carolina Herrera flagship store in the same location. After selling back the operation to Herrera, Yuta opened “YUTA”, her own townhouse salon. During the tragic period of COVID, the salon was closed. Presently, Yuta designs and produces a handmade-to-order collection inspired by western native Americans.

To introduce myself, I am a fashion professional who possesses 5 years of editorial experience. I have had the opportunity to express myself through fashion since a young age and it has truly taken over me. It allows for personality to be displayed at all hours and is truly one of the most powerful art forms.

I have assistant work experience in V Magazine, W Magazine, ELLE Magazine, and presently I hold a role at Bustle Digital Group as a Fashion Market Assistant. I have words in ELLE, Bustle, and The Zoe Report and can’t wait to continue growing as a stylist / editor.

Enjoy the show.

If there’s an event in New York worth documenting, there’s a good chance that photo-journalist Steve Eichner will catch it. Steve’s work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, Newsweek, Time, Rolling Stone, People, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, GQ, W and Details. For the past 20 years Steve has been a staff photographer for Women’s Wear Daily and shot over 40 New York Fashion Weeks, inside the MET GALA every year, the Victoria’s Secret Show and the CFDA awards. His work is diverse, ranging from celebrity portraiture and fashion photography to concerts, extreme sports and aerial scenes. Since he began shooting 30 years ago, Steve has captured thousands of key moments on film and now digitally. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, he was the exclusive photographer for night clubs such as Limelight, Palladium, Wetlands Preserve and Tunnel, gaining access to coveted photo opportunities.

Evan W. Miller is a New York-based fashion photographer and founder of MATEREALIST, a photography and production studio specializing in fashion, e-commerce and brand imagery. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Miller has spent his career photographing apparel, accessories and people, combining a refined editorial sensibility with the precision required for commercial fashion photography. Through MATEREALIST, he works with designers and brands to create imagery across e-commerce, lookbooks, campaigns and digital content. His approach emphasizes clean, considered image-making that lets design, craftsmanship and personality remain at the center of the photograph.

Sabine Blaizin is a NY-based Haitian descendant DJ, producer, and event curator whose work explores the rich cultural intersections of the African Diaspora. As the founder of Oyasound Productions, she curates sonic experiences that blend AfroHouse, AfroTech, Haitian roots, and other diasporic rhythms with electronic music. Her sets and productions are grounded in the spiritual and ancestral sounds of Africa and its global descendants, creating a journey that is both danceable and deeply intentional. Through Oyasound Productions, Sabine highlights artists, music, and events that honor diasporic heritage while pushing creative boundaries. Whether behind the decks or curating immersive events, her mission is to amplify the voices and traditions of the Diaspora through sound, community, and cultural storytelling.

GDP Drummers is a dynamic percussion ensemble blending the rhythmic traditions of West Africa and South Africa into a powerful contemporary sound. South African singer, percussionist, and music innovator PitsiRa Ya Mabala joins treasured Guinean percussionist Golipe Camara and master drummer Delwyn Gikes, whose musical connection was forged in Brooklyn. Together, they create a vibrant tapestry of rhythm that moves beyond conventional genres and celebrates the depth and spirit of all music.

Lisa Quama is a Ghanaian dancer and a member of the most celebrated dance group in Africa, Dance with Purpose Academy (DWP). Lisa has over the years refined her dance craft, developing distinctive dance movements that have caught the attention of global massive dance audiences and superstars leading to memorable collaborations. Lisa’s impressive skills in various dance styles, including contemporary, hip-hop, and Afrobeats have given her the solid foundation that has paved the way for her rise to stardom in the Ghanaian dance space. Lisa’s dance expertise extends beyond just performances. As a sought-after choreographer, Lisa’s impressive dance journey boasts numerous nominations and awards, including winner for Ghana Dance Awards (Best Dancer), nominee for the Ghana Entertainment Awards USA (2024) in recognition of her contributions to African dance and entertainment, and being featured as a performer on big stages like the Africa Dance Festival.

Zinhle (Zee) Ngema is a storyteller, vocalist, and journalist from Johannesburg, South Africa. Her seven years in New York City have been coloured by African culture, ingenuity, fashion, music, and more. Through her work as a reporter, podcast host, and emcee, Zee continues to tell and uplift Africans stories to her community and global audiences.

Abigail is a creative sustainability professional focused on work intersecting creative subjects with action-oriented environmental work. Abigail is most passionate about outreach, development, event coordination, and design thinking. In May of 2025, Abigail graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies and Theatre Performance. Since then, Abigail launched their community event platform, Eco Spirit Collective, Interned with the Broadway Green Alliance, and served as the Sustainability Coordinator for Bodies of Earth. They recently had their art displayed at the Climate Imaginarium on Governors Island and finished a continuing education course on Circular Economy with the University of Exeter. They are thrilled to serve on the Event Committee with The Sustainability Laboratory!

Shelley Frost Rubin is Co-founder and Chair of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, which opened in 2004. A philanthropist and cultural leader, she sees art as a cornerstone of resilient communities and civic life. As Chair of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, she funds arts and cultural organizations advancing equality, advocacy, and policy change. With her husband Donald, she founded The 8th Floor, an exhibition space exploring art as an instrument of social change, and in 2011 launched A Blade of Grass to support socially engaged artists. Her board service includes Human Rights Watch (Emeritus), Thirteen/WNET (Life Trustee), the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (Trustee Emeritus), and the Interfaith Center of New York (Honorary).

From marching in Selma to traveling the world for UNICEF to serving as a board member to many non-profits, Eva Haller has been at the heart of what matters. She is a fierce advocate for social justice and the environment and has received numerous Humanitarian awards. Eva works to promote peace, justice, and a healthy planet. She mentors and inspires others to do likewise. Most recently, she joined the board of Unite to Light, an organization that provides clean, reliable light and power to people living without electricity.

Founded in 2000, Blue Medium is a public relations company serving the visual arts community. From short-term public relations projects to full-scale, long-term marketing communications strategy and implementation, Blue Medium provides a range of services to ensure the most effective positioning, reach and results.

Elly Zifchock is an artist exploring the ebb and flow of human emotion through film. Elly Zifchock is focused on developing an experience that feels personal, honest, and grounded. With a passion for color and detail, she hopes to create films that viewers can connect with and find something of themselves in.