Magatte Wade: Founder & CEO of Skin is Skin

The power of brands to influence culture is enormous. Brands carry a kind of cultural cache that when used for good, can have greater impact on social issues than government policy. The truth is, we already have laws in place to tackle discrimination and equality, but sadly, they still persist in our culture today. A brand has the license to create products that work to support values, to use their communication platforms to encourage behavior that can change how we see and treat people. Brands can choose to advocate, educate and become a social signal for others wanting to communicate their own values and support. Brands can be nimble and evolve more quickly, they can set a trend rather than follow the status quo. They can collaborate with scientists, the media and other companies to expand influence. Good brands have a unique ability to inspire change.

The NSS lecture series is made possible by generous contributions from Con Edison.