photo © Nadia Todres
“Giving is the best investment I’ve ever made.”
—SUZANNE LERNER, social impact philanthropist, entrepreneur, cofounder and president of Michael Stars, the Los Angeles-based fashion company
I first met Suzanne at the Women’s eNews’s 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Awards Gala in 2012. I then began seeing her speak at a variety of other women’s empowerment events in New York City, often discussing what employers can do to support gender equality. In 2017, the first year I hosted the Women’s eNews’s annual gala as its executive director, Suzanne was selected as one of our twenty-one honorees. In 2018, she served as one of our gala’s cochairs.
She invited me into her New York City pied-a-terre in Chelsea to interview her for this book in October 2019. She met me at the door wearing all black, a silver pendant in the shape of a circle with the words DREAM BIG hanging from a silver chain around her neck. Her dog, Ms. Simba, a wheaten terrier who goes by the hashtag #feministpup, nestled next to me on the couch as we started the interview.
It’s easy to be in Suzanne’s presence. She’s candid and warm at the same time. I’d use the word “effortless” to describe her, much like the casual, iconic styles her fashion company, Michael Stars, is known for. Her generosity shines through her bright blue eyes and long, reddish-brown, wavy hair.
We caught up briefly about an inspiring event we both just attended at the annual Women’s Media Center Awards Gala, a nonprofit organization launched by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan to call out sexism in the media.
As we settled in, Suzanne told me how exciting it was to witness new generations of women connect to Michael Stars’ purpose and vision, as well to its contemporary fashions. “We’ve always wanted to help women feel empowered to use their voice and speak out. It’s amazing to see new generations of women connect to that vision and support us.”
Suzanne cofounded Michael Stars with her business and life partner, Michael Cohen, who passed away in 2015. When they met, Michael was working with local artists to print vintage poster art on T-shirts. He asked her to represent his line, and when she saw its potential, she worked with him to more fully develop it. They began with the simple purpose to make fashion that was timeless, effortless, and comfortable. What started with the iconic one-size-fits-all and one-size-fits-most premium T-shirt has evolved into a collection of well-crafted, beautiful contemporary essentials.
Suzanne and Michael also envisioned the potential for their company to create opportunities for their local community. Michael Stars was an early innovator, locally sourcing and manufacturing its clothing in Los Angeles, which gave them direct control over garment quality and the ability to ensure fair wages. The company also became a platform from which she could support gender equality.
“The first year, we knew that our company was going to be about more than fashion. And, when I look back on it now,” she said, “I realize that it was finally my chance to build something where I could bring together all the values I cared about.”
I’ve known Suzanne for nearly ten years. But I didn’t know how she rose to become who she is today. I asked about her childhood years, which she described as growing up in a hard-working Jewish family of “modest means and big dreams.” “Most of the women in my family worked. There were very few stay-at-home moms,” she recalled. “They did all the work of a homemaker, but they also had full-time jobs. Mom was an accountant, and I don’t think she ever considered not working. “
The youngest and only daughter of three siblings, Suzanne’s parents, and particularly her mother, gave her crystal-clear advice growing up: “Get an education. Go be what you want to be. But you still have to learn to type so that you’ll always be able to support yourself, no matter what!” Suzanne’s rebellion against gender-based limitations started as a child. She recognized early on that as a girl she would have to fight for things that were granted automatically to her brothers.
“It was assumed that my brothers would go to Hebrew School,” she recalled. “My parents told me that I could go too, but I’d have to choose between that and the Girl Scouts because they couldn’t afford both. I chose Hebrew School to be just like my brothers.” She laughed, unaware at the time that her choice would require four nights a week of study after school for four years. “It cut into my social life in a big way,” she continued, “But I lobbied so hard to attend that I could hardly quit.” She stuck with it and four years later was one of just a handful of girls at that time to have a bat mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ritual.
Her penchant for activism and philanthropy began at a young age, influenced by her family’s values and the dynamic social movements for gender and racial equality in Chicago. “Social change was all around me and I knew I wanted to be part of it,” she said. “Even though my parents wanted us to work hard, they also felt it was important to give back. I started out by collecting change for UNICEF. Then, when I was old enough, I became a tutor on Chicago’s South Side and a volunteer at Cook County Hospital. There was a shortage of support in those communities. It started to open my eyes to the racial inequality that was being reinforced by segregation. I knew I didn’t want to live in a world like that.”
In high school, she signed on for a student exchange program that would allow her to spend a semester at one of Chicago’s inner-city high schools, made up of primarily African American students. Those students would then spend time at her suburban, primarily white high school. “I never experienced a minute of trouble during my time there. Yet when those students of color came to my school, it was very different. There was bullying and intimidation, fueled behind the scenes by threatened parents,” she recalled. “They were sending a message: This is our school and you’re not welcome here. It was full-force exposure to racism and racial inequality.”
Gender bias would also come into play for Suzanne as she started working as a secretary during her high school summer vacations. “Of course, I could type pretty well by the time I was sixteen, so I worked in various offices around Chicago. The first thing I noticed was that every office was led by a white male boss, and there were mostly white women in support roles,” she continued. “They were expected to serve every one of their boss’s needs. There were also very, very few women of color in professional positions in any of the offices I worked in.”
By the time she became an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Suzanne said that “both my eyes were already wide open” to racial injustice around the world. Much to her parents’ dismay, she dropped out after her freshman year and went on the road, traveling to Nepal, India, Australia, Europe, and many other locales.
Ironically, her mother’s insistence that she learn secretarial skills proved invaluable. “I literally typed my way around the world,” she said with a laugh. “No matter where I traveled, I could always find a job. I was able to support myself in every country I lived in. It enabled me to continue traveling, which was the real education I’d been craving.”
She grew into what she calls a “full-fledged feminist” during her years of international travel. “Everywhere I went, I saw women of all cultures struggling for an equal place in society. I realized then that gender equality was truly a global issue,” she said, although her rising consciousness didn’t make life easy—personally or professionally.
While in Australia, she lived with a “good looking” Australian surfer. “He had blond shoulder-length hair and was a lot of fun. He wasn’t put off by my being a feminist,” she recalled. “But when we would go to the pub to meet his friends, he’d leave me to sit with them, while I was expected to drink in the ladies’ lounge. I guess I wasn’t much of a lady because I wasn’t about to sit in a segregated lounge. I decided to rally all his friends’ girlfriends to join me in breaking the rules. His ‘bro’ pals didn’t like that very much!”
Professionally, Suzanne soon took the bold step of starting her own business. Her first venture was a fashion import business from India which brought her to Los Angeles. A friend connected her to a mentor whom she described as “fashionable and formidable.” She mentored Suzanne and helped teach her the business from the ground up. That experience propelled Suzanne into the fashion business, and ultimately inspired her to become a lifelong mentor herself.
When her first business didn’t succeed, she rejoined the fashion business as an employee but quickly became frustrated as the doors of advancement were continually slammed in her face. She found that she was consistently passed over for promotions that were given to men with less experience, while she was relegated to roles like “showroom girl.” Even though her first fashion business had failed, she struck out again on her own, convinced that there would greater long-term opportunity if she ran her own business. She was right.
By the time, Suzanne cofounded Michael Stars with Michael Cohen, she had become a successful serial entrepreneur with several businesses already under her belt. The eventual success of Michael Stars enabled Suzanne and Michael to establish the Michael Stars Foundation, which has since become a major supporter of organizations that build critical pathways to equality in the US and abroad.
Yet even while running her own business, Suzanne experienced another major battle with gender bias when she took over as president of Michael Stars after her husband passed away. To most this would seem like a natural transition, leading the business she had cofounded, yet there were skeptics inside the company who suggested that the firm might need more “experienced” leadership.
I ask her what it felt like, especially in the wake of dealing with the loss of her husband, Michael. “It was really difficult,” she admitted. “Michael had been the face of the company, while I was knee-deep in merchandising, sales, creative, and design, among other things. There were people inside the company who had no idea how experienced I actually was in the fashion business. I’m not even sure whether, if they had known, it would’ve mattered. I wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt that a man in my position would have been given.”
Suzanne still took the reins and did what she felt was needed to drive the company forward, which included making it “classically female.” “I tore down silos that had formed over the years,” she recalled. “I rallied people to work together and rewarded collaboration. Even the skeptics became supporters. Today, I have a great team, great products, and a purpose, vision, and mission that we work toward every single day.”
As Michael Stars and its foundation continued to grow, Suzanne began to develop a gender lens built around supporting grassroots organizations, informed by her experiences as an entrepreneur, business leader, and activist. I could see the excitement in her eyes as she described two transformational experiences that inspired her approach. The first was during her trip to Haiti in 2011 with the Women Donors Network to witness the devastation and the massive recovery work resulting from the earthquake there. Not one to just observe, she quickly became involved in the relief effort.
“In the midst of all that devastation, I saw the incredible resilience of the Haitian people. In every community I visited, there were core groups of women working together with many healthcare providers, artists, actors, and businesspeople who showed up to help. That experience showed me the importance of partnering with communities.”
Her second experience occurred during a luncheon with a number of feminist women, including Gloria Steinem. Suzanne soon realized that the gathering was not just a lunch, but a fundraiser for the Ms. Foundation. As Gloria spoke during the event, Suzanne found herself growing more and more inspired, so when Gloria finally got to “the ask,” as they say in fundraising, an extraordinary thing happened: “Gloria said they had thirty-nine women, each of whom had pledged a million dollars to the foundation. She was one short of her goal of forty. I jumped up and claimed number forty. It was like an out of body experience,” she said with a huge smile.
She also marked it as the beginning of a friendship with Gloria. “When I introduced myself to her after claiming the fortieth spot, she was thrilled. I thought it was mostly because of my donation, but it turns out she had been a Michael Stars fan for years! That day felt so good!” It was an important milestone for Suzanne, having realized that all the hard work building her business had brought her to that important moment—stepping forward to make a significant commitment to supporting gender equality.
Those experiences also marked the start of a more fully developed gender lens investment strategy that Suzanne created to make decisions about every aspect of her investments, from personal finances to philanthropy. “Gender lens investing has redefined my entire perspective. I’ve elevated my approach beyond traditional methods to invest in companies that are diversifying their leadership to include more women,” she continued. “As an investor and entrepreneur, I love seeing data that shows companies with more women in leadership roles improving their financial performance. As a human being, I love that I can play a direct role in improving the lives of women and girls by investing in their businesses.”
Suzanne’s current philanthropic focus is to support grassroots organizations where women of color are building local, national, and global platforms to advocate change in the constructs of power to enable gender equality. Her background as an entrepreneur and activist draws her to these smaller, more nimble organizations. She sees them as efficient and resourceful, but seriously under-resourced.
“Women—especially women of color—are leading grassroots organizations that are incredible forces for empowerment and social change,” she said. “Typically you’ll find that they have developed broad and deep networks and a high level of trust within communities. They also understand the cultural, social, and economic barriers to creating change, and in many cases have been working for years on ways to overcome those obstacles. Yet only a fraction of foundation and individual giving is targeted to women of color who lead grassroots nonprofits. That has to change.”
We then came to a pause in the conversation. She glanced at her watch to tell me what else was on her plate that day. Meetings at her showroom to review plans for a new Michael Stars collection, calls with several social impact entrepreneurs seeking her advice, and meetings with her team to plan several women’s empowerment events over the next several months were all on her agenda. And, of course, Ms. Simba was in need of a walk outside.
As she led me to the door, she handed me a beautiful, pale pink scarf that she selected for me. “One more really important thing,” she told me as we stood at the door. “It’s our responsibility to share what we’ve learned with new generations of women and help them become business and social justice leaders, as well as philanthropists. There is a misperception among some women that philanthropy is about having a lot of money to give away, and that it’s something you do only when you’re older. Don’t get me wrong, writing a check, whatever the amount, is important. But giving of yourself matters just as much.”
She hugged me good-bye and added, “Giving is the best investment I’ve ever made.”