25 BLACK WOMEN IN BEAUTY
SHARON CHUTER | KARLA DAVIS | STEPHANIE DAVIS MICHELMAN | ANGELA SIMPSON | LACY REDWAY
DR. CAROLINE ROBINSON MELANIE RICHARDS
MORE TO COME...
ELLA T. GORGLA
Co-Founder, 25 Black Women in Beauty
​
CEO, 25WB.org
Industry Consultant
​
​
Ella is a seasoned Beauty Industry & Strategy Executive with nearly 20 years of professional experience. She most recently served as Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and Corporate Innovation for Estee Lauder Companies and prior to that, Executive Director of Global Retail for MAC Cosmetics where she launched innovative retail concepts around the world and led the entry of MAC Cosmetics into Ulta Beauty.
​
Ella began her career as a Management Consultant with firms including Ernst & Young, IBM, Arthur Andersen and served clients in Investment Banking, Luxury Goods and more. Ella also successfully launched a digital technology startup and raised over a $1 Million in capital. The company was named to Time Inc.’s Top 10 Startups to Watch in 2010.
Ms. Gorgla received her BS in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State University with numerous honors, Masters from The London Business School and MBA from Columbia Business School with additional studies at Yale University.
Ms. Gorgla is passionate about the role and influence of Black women in beauty.
DR. CAROLINE ROBINSON
Dermatologist
Founder, Tone Dermatology
Dr. Robinson is a board-certified dermatologist specializing in general, medical, and cosmetic dermatology. She has a special interest in scarring hair loss, disorders of hyperpigmentation, and skin and hair disorders that disproportionately affect ethnic skin.
​
Dr. Robinson is active on social media and has taken a special interest in making factual medical information available to a broader audience. She has become known for her succinct skincare and haircare tips and advice. Her expertise has been sought after in an advisory capacity and she has been featured in several major media outlets and publications.
​
Dr. Robinson graduated from Cornell University where she studied Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Genetics and Development. She obtained her medical degree from University of Louisville and graduated with Distinction in Research. She is active in such organizations as the Skin of Color Society, Women’s Dermatologic Society as well as the American Academy of Dermatology.
​
Feature Article:
The shampoo bars that save the planet (and your dirty hair).
The Zoe Report Read More
SHARON CHUTER
Founder, Uoma Beauty
Founder, Pull Up for Change
​
​
Listed by WWD as one of the 50 most forward-thinking executives shaping the future of the beauty industry, Nigerian born Sharon Chuter, is a rebel with a cause and on a mission to go off the well beaten path to redefine the rules of inclusivity and diversity. A visionary and seasoned beauty industry executive, Sharon has had a career that with major brands including Revlon, L'Oréal, PepsiCo, GSK and Benefit.
As the creative director of UOMA Beauty, Sharon has created a makeup range that is forward thinking, radical and uncompromising. She draws inspiration from her Afro heritage and infuses it with fierce modernity to create a truly fresh aesthetic. The collection is made of products that are ground breaking in innovation, esthetically pleasing with instant payoff, skin loving, delivers maximum pleasure to all the senses and most of all suitable for all skin tones.
​
Feature Article:
Uoma Beauty Founder Sharon Chuter Explains Why Inclusivity Is So Much More Than Foundation Shades
Allure Read More
KARLA DAVIS
Sr. Director, Integrated Marketing Communications
​
Passionate Marketer. Pastor’s Wife. Property Investor.
Karla Davis leads the Integrated Marketing Communications Team for Ulta Beauty. Karla has built the Integrated Marketing Communications function for the company, which oversees the strategic development and execution of marketing strategies across Category Marketing, Equity Communications, Brand Partnership Development, Grand Openings and Local Marketing. Additionally, she leads Multicultural Strategy development, guiding all research efforts and resulting initiative deployment across the organization.
Prior to Ulta Beauty, Karla has held various roles at Fortune 100 companies, such as PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson and Kraft Foods. She began her journey in the beauty industry at Fashion Fair Cosmetics.
Karla holds a master's degree in Design Strategy from IIT's Institute of Design, and received her bachelor's degree from Hampton University, where she studied Advertising and Mass Media Arts.
Karla is the loving wife of Demetrius, the very proud mama of Laila, and an avid traveler – having visited 5 of the 7 continents and counting…
Melanie Richards
Director of Marketing
IT Cosmetics
​
In this role she leads marketing strategy for the brands $250M complexion portfolio. Current priorities include sustaining the brands position as the #1 prestige face brand, increasing brand awareness and continuing to build inclusivity.
Prior to this role, she was Director of Trade Marketing on Lancome and responsible for flawlessly executing the brands retail and merchandising strategy at ULTA. Her first role at L'Oreal was Chief of Staff of the Luxe Division. In this role she led special projects on behalf of the Divisions President and COO to maximize the competitive advantage of Luxe's retail and portfolio strategy. Prior to joining L'Oreal, Melanie obtained her MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She's also a proud alum Hampton University, graduating with her BS in Accounting.
​
Mel's passion for beauty is rooted in her childhood, growing up admiring the elegance and grace of both her mother and grandmother. From them, she learned to celebrate the impact that beauty and fashion has on black identity and individuality.
Stephanie Davis Michelman
VP & General Manager, NA
Stephanie is a full-time working mom, wife and business woman. Stephanie was most recently the Chief Marketing Officer of NEST Fragrances, where she successfully helped to quadruple the size of the business. She was part of the management team that successfully sold NEST Fragrances to Eurazeo, an $800MM private equity firm.
​
Prior to NEST, Stephanie served as the Vice President, Global Marketing for AHAVA, a privately held skincare company. Prior to this role, Stephanie had senior marketing and sales management roles at L’Oreal USA.
​
Stephanie holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.
Stephanie resides in New York City with her husband and two children.
Angela Simpson
Vice President, Marketing
Angela heads Channel Marketing for the U.S region. Prior to joining NARS, Angela was a Senior Merchant at Sephora overseeing Luxury and Asian Skincare. Her portfolio included brands such as Dior, SKII, Amore Pacific, Caudalie and Fresh but her most important accomplishments were launching Glam Glow, Super Goop, Belief and Laneige. Angela began her beauty career at L’Oreal USA where she worked 9 years on the L’Oreal Paris brand.
She has an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern) and her BS from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
She also spent 5 years as a CPA at Ernst & Young and The Gap prior to changing careers. Angela currently lives in Westchester with her husband, 3 sons and 2 dogs.
Lacy Redway
Celebrity Hair Stylist
Lacy Redway is a New York-based celebrity hairstylist. After studying at The Aveda Institute in Manhattan, her career quickly took off.
A combination of Lacy’s proficiency with all hair textures as well as her magnetic personality have earned her an esteemed roster of clients including Tessa Thompson, Anne Hathaway, Laura Harrier, Priyanka Chopra, Karlie Kloss, Sarah Paulson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Elizabeth Olsen, Ruth Negga, Amandla Stenberg, and Diane Kruger, among many others.
Lacy has collaborated with respected photographers like Rankin, Gavin Bond, Alexander Neumann, Warwick Saint, Ben Hassett, Alexei Hay, Willy Vanderperre, Cass Bird, Paola Kudacki, Tyler Mitchell, Emma Summerton, Zoey Grossman, Liz Collins, Norman Jean Roy and Erik Madigan Heck.
Her work has appeared in Allure, ELLE, Glamour, Teen Vogue, V Magazine, Vanity Fair, Vogue andVogue Italia. Lacy is currently a Celebrity Stylist for Nexxus.
​
Feature Article:
Celebrities of All Kinds Trust Lacy Redway With Their Hair—And That’s Inexcusably Rare
Glamour Read More