In this talk from June 2021 for Possibility Project, Ivellisse Morales, Founder & CEO at bombilla, joins Tania Anaissie, Founder and CEO at Beytna Design, to discuss our collective responsibility as creators to pass the mic and co-create the stories we are telling in ways that are equitable, authentic, and not replicating harm.
In the sector, we use stories and images to capture the interest (and care) of community members and potential donors.
How often are those stories and images used in extractive ways, that reproduce the dynamics of giver/receiver, service provider/recipient?
How do the stories we tell and the images we choose, replicate harm and perpetuate false narratives?
Who is collecting, shaping, and telling stories, and for whose benefit?
How can story be rooted in powerful and authentic co-creation, and be shaped by the voices and leadership of those at the center of the work?
This summer our Founder & CEO, Ivellisse Morales had the honor of speaking in front of thousands at The 3 Percent Conference hosted by The 3 Percent Movement. Since its inception, The 3 Percent Movement has helped raise the percent of female Creative Directors from 3% to 29%, while giving agencies a clear road map of ways to champion female creative talent and leadership.
Themed "The Radically Inclusive Future of Work," this year’s conference aimed to address four key pillars about the future of work: agile work environments, wellness, conscious leadership, and multigenerational workforces.
In her talk, "Three Keys to Be #LitOnPurpose: How to Be Creative for a Change," Ivellisse shares her secret to carving out a creative career in social impact, bringing in influences from literature, music, art and her entrepreneurial passion projects that helped folks in her family and community.
Missed the talk? Check out Ivellisse's interview with The 3 Percent Movement (originally published here):
What’s happening right now?
“alarm’s been ringing it’s not too late to wake ourselves up from this senseless state start asking questions ask yourself why use your own senses and sniff out the lies”
^ a short poem I wrote one day when I felt deeply disappointed, depressed and yet radically optimistic about the state of humanity and the planet
What might happen next?
What a time to be alive! We are at an existential crossroads as human beings. We’re globally grappling with the raw realities of white supremacy, patriarchy and global capitalism. “What might happen next?” is a question I ask myself every day. Peering through the fog of fear, there’s one thing I do see with certainty. We’re living ancestors writing history. It’s time to reflect, reimagine, redesign -- collectively, without permission, and with urgency. Let’s lean into the transformation that we desperately need.
What exciting creative opportunities does this open up?
What would it look like if all humans were #litonpurpose? If we all harnessed our creative gifts and angled them towards social, economic, political and environmental justice to accelerate change? How might we reimagine and rebuild our world so we can all thrive? We’ll only get there collectively, and it starts with individual action.
To be #litonpurpose is to embody the change the world needs. Change starts with you (us). And we have powerful renewable resources in our hands: creativity, collaboration and community. In the words of Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
I believe we all should be employed to solve the great social, political and environmental crises of our time. We’re the creative directors of our shared future on this beautiful blue planet we call home.
The future of our planet is sustainable. The future of business is responsible. The future of work is equitable. The future of humans is #litonpurpose.
This is the first episode of a new series of interviews from Paid Leave for the US (PL+US) with dynamic leaders who are changing the way we live and work.
In this first conversation, PL+US Founder and Executive Director Katie Bethell interviews Ivellisse Morales, CEO of bombilla, a creative agency focused on social change that is on a mission to be inclusive and hire creatives who have been historically underrepresented in the media industry: people of color, Black people, indigenous peoples, and women.
Katie and Ivi talk about what it takes to build a diverse and inclusive firm that puts people first.
Paid leave and having that time to just breathe, gave me the expansiveness to think about what my future could look like outside of climbing the ladder on someone else’s company that I don’t want to be climbing.
IVELLISSE MORALES, CEO OF BOMBILLA
Thanks to Katie and the PL+US team for facilitating this important dialogue. You can learn more about PL+US and their mission to win paid family and medical leave for everyone in the U.S. at paidleave.us.
Pluuus, check out our awesome work together as PL+US' go-to creative agency here!
We are a proudly AfroBoricua-led small business, shining bright from sunny Oakland, CA. We are based in xučyun (Huchiun), on unceded territory of the Lisjan Ohlone people.
We are a proudly AfroBoricua-led small business, shining bright from sunny Oakland, CA. We are based in xučyun (Huchiun), on unceded territory of the Lisjan Ohlone people.
We are a proudly AfroBoricua-led small business, shining bright from sunny Oakland, CA. We are based in xučyun (Huchiun), on unceded territory of the Lisjan Ohlone people.
We are a proudly AfroBoricua-led small business, shining bright from sunny Oakland, CA. We are based in xučyun (Huchiun), on unceded territory of the Lisjan Ohlone people.
