The editorial team has a special attachment to our new series, The Trailblazers: Rewriting the Narrative, because so many of us feel that media portrayals of women have been too one dimensional. Today, women are doing incredible things in all fields – from science and technology to finance, law, business, athletics and more. With the Trailblazers series, we hope to highlight and celebrate female role models, encourage more equal and just representation in the media, and help foster a more tight-knit community locally helping women find mentors, business partners, friends and more.
Below, you’ll find some incredible trailblazers from in and around West LA that we hope you will check out, follow and support.
Charlene Laurent
My set is based on real-life experiences and how I handled the situations. The comedy scene is dominated by men, but I think there are a lot of great female comedians. I might be the only model going into stand up comedy, which might put me in the spotlight, but I can take it. I am ready to show the entertainment industry what I’ve been working on and am ready to grow as an artist. Read more>>
Sevil Arli
It was a long journey involving a lot of hard work and tears, but I’m so proud that I took this path. I received my doctorate almost nine years ago and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I hope one day we incorporate emotional intelligence and mental health into schools and our workplace. Read more>>
Hannah Flattery
It all began back when I started modeling while I was still going to school for Business in Dublin, Ireland. I quickly realized that I loved modeling and I remember it being hard to focus on my studies in my final year because I couldn’t wait to leave Dublin and getaway to explore possibilities. Shortly after I graduated, I moved to Los Angeles. I didn’t have a plan. Read more>>
Tinger Hseih
As the demand for my expertise grew, I created a separate business to accommodate these requests that are outside the scope of my blog. Dash of Media is a fully integrated business solutions consultancy that provides expertise for digital marketing, influencer marketing, content creation and experiential activations. I’ve been fortunate to combine my industry knowledge from working in the digital advertising space for the past 11 years while creating content as a blogger for the past five years. Read more>>
Sloane Elizabeth
I’ve always been super entrepreneurial and creative in the kitchen (I had a baking business in high school!) and I wanted to start sharing my recipes on Instagram. I was personally struggling with my health – I wanted to eat in a more nutritious way while I was at school, and I was working on my body image – and my brand became the best healing tool I could find. Read more>>
Kamie Crawford
When I was 17, I was crowned Maryland’s first national titleholder as Miss Teen USA 2010. That experience opened me up to so many different opportunities and really broadened my view of the world and myself. I gained some on-camera experience during my reign and I ended up changing my college major from Pre-Med to Communications because of it. Read more>>
Nicole Campoy Jackson
Actually, I started writing by happy accident. I’d studied film in college, but when I graduated I ended up taking over a blog covering the arts in LA (called Fine Arts LA). Turns out, I loved it. I began freelancing for other outlets, like Eater LA and Haute Living, covering restaurants and lifestyle. Read more>>
Kerrie (Kez) Christie
I started Boxing when I was 20 years old, I had been a soccer player all my life, never had time for Boxing but it always caught my eye as a sport I wanted to try! I settled for a high paying retail management job at a young at that slowly sucked my soul away. At 25, I decided to quit and find something I was passionate about, can’t really explain it. Read more>>
