In 2019, while attending grad school at the University of Texas at Austin, Kara Elyse Henderson was modeling on the side for extra income.
Hired to be the face of well-known and well-loved local brands, Henderson, who is Black, began to realize a disconnect: The decision-makers on these projects weren’t reflective of the diversity she saw every day on campus. Instead, they were almost always white, and mostly men.
“Most of the people who were behind the camera, who’d been selected for these opportunities, did not look like me,” Henderson said. “Seeing the broad range of diversity—not just in terms of background and ethnicity, but even just talent—I knew that there was ample opportunity to diversify that industry, and I wanted to provide space and opportunity for creators that look like me to be able to enter into, occupy and work with these brands.”