The Beauty of Paying it Forward
Interview with Alicia Criner | Philanthropist | Director of Digital Marketing and E-Commerce, L’Oreal
The epitome of beauty, brains, athlete and philanthropist; Alicia Criner is not keen on being put in a box but certainly checks all of them off. She shares with us what motivates her to do all the good she has been able to do as a L’Oreal brand ambassador for St. Jude. We quickly realized Alicia brings more to the table than labels alone.
What is your personal mantra/motto right now?
I don’t know if it’s an official term, but I’ve seen it called “Silent Seasons”. When you’re in New York it’s all about the hustle, the grind, the Millennial, the career woman. A lot has happened to me. I had a great year. I travelled a lot, I got promoted at work, I did my third Triathlon, and I am still involved in the community. But right now I feel like I need a break, I need to breathe. I noticed that some things I thought would happen are not happening and I had to take a step back to realize I may be in need of this “Silent Season”. God has already given me so much and I realize that if he never gives me anything else ever again in my life, I already have more than enough. I don’t have to be “winning” or killing it on the ‘gram. Just being alive and breathing is already more than some people have.
Where are you from?
I’m proudly from Oakland, CA.
Share a moment in your life that made you passionate about making the world a better place?
That’s a hard question, I don’t know if there is a particular moment. It’s just something that has always, literally, been in my DNA. My dad was a Black Panther/hippie and my mom’s side is very religious, so I grew up with preachers, and all my uncles are pastors or deacons. There has always been this spirit of giving. Every Thanksgiving we volunteer before we eat and every holiday we help with a cause like Meals on Wheels. There has always been this need to “do” ingrained since day one, that was just the expectation of my family, our lifestyle. We give back, we pay it forward.
If you could choose one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
I actually have the perfect answer for this and it’s a long story, so bear with me. While working for Amazon I got to meet Deepak Chopra and do the marketing for his book. I interviewed him one-on-one and, five minutes in, I was like, “I need to burn my bra, quit my job, and go help people.” He just brings it out of you.
We asked him: “How do you find one’s purpose? What is your purpose?” He responded, people often overthink and stress over it but your purpose is actually very simple; it should be one word. He told me his purpose is to heal. In the interview, he turned to me and asked, “What’s your purpose? You have five seconds to answer the question.” I was nervous, but said, “To brighten.” And he said, “Tell me more.” I told him, “I feel like whatever I do, I try to give this ease that it’s going to be okay and just make other people’s lives brighter.” And he literally said, “You’re wearing a bright red dress right now.” So I would say my one word is “Bright”.
What sparked your interest and passion to get involved with St. Jude as a L’oreal Ambassador?
When I joined Lancome (which is a part of L’Oreal), I found that St. Jude was fully ingrained in its DNA. Initially, I didn’t really understand why. I figured a beauty brand like ours would be more about helping women with cancer, doing makeovers, and making them feel good. I later learned that the head of our division went to visit St. Jude and came back saying, “This is it. They are changing lives, they are saving families.”
The families don’t pay a single dime and they also have programs for the entire family. While the child is sick and receiving their treatment, the hospital plans things like date nights for Mom and Dad, arranging for siblings to come and live with them, and other activities i.e., soccer for the siblings. They talk about “Treating the person, not the patient.” The hospital arranges for patients to be taught their current school’s curriculum. Each patient has a private tutor and they do all the same homework as their friends back home. St. Jude wants to make sure the kids don’t feel like they don’t know what their peers have learned. It’s like “I did the same project last week, I read the same books as you,” and as a kid, that stuff matters.
That is why I got involved. Lancome sponsors a prom and gives patients makeovers, and it’s not just about wearing makeup. It’s about artistry and expressing yourself, feeling good and being pampered. It made me realize that beauty is more than just lipstick or hair products, it actually changes people’s self-esteem; you can distract yourself from all your worries. Put on that red lip and be more confident. It was like “Wow, I can make a difference at work doing this as well.” One of my big projects was implementing donations at checkout. When you’re checking out on Lancome.com, it will ask if you want to contribute $5, $10, etc.
I don’t like the word ‘charity’ or the phrase “‘giving back” because it’s more like we all have to help each other. No one wants to feel like they are a “charity case” and that’s what I like about St. Jude. Essentially, there were three reasons I felt the need to get involved as an ambassador for my company: 1) You have to support the kids; 2) St. Jude is dedicated to “Treating the person, not the patient;” and 3) It was a way to connect my digital marketing skills to a beautiful cause. You know exactly where their money is going, St. Jude is crystal clear about that. As a donor, we pay for the expenses so all the stuff that is donated to the hospital, goes to the hospital. I had no choice but to do as I only knew how: to step up and “do”.
What do you hope our readers/viewers will gain from your story?
I hope they learn about the beauty of philanthropy. What attracted me to the St. Jude project was actually being able to see the impact of one person. I don’t feel special when I visit the hospital but they see a black woman from a corporate office and they realize, “I can do that.” and it is amazing. Representation matters, you never know who’s watching you.
Resources and technology aside, if you could make one remarkable change in the world by 2020, what would it be?
I want all children to be literate by 2020. If every single child in the world was literate, it would completely change the course of the world. There may still be people doing bad things, but there’s also opportunity. If you can read, you know that there is a choice.
Share something that you’ve learned along the way, whether it’s one piece of advice or an experience that has helped guide you in your journey.
You get out what you put in. We have more power than we know. I feel like people don’t want to be uncomfortable and that’s why they’re still at a job they don’t like. I want to just say, “No, you can quit your job.”
Never let someone tell you who they think you are. People assume one thing about me, I’m some rich, bougie, California girl, but then get to know me and are surprised when they see me work my ass off, making comments like, “You’re involved,” and “You care.” I’ve had so many people try to put me into a box and I want to say “No, I can actually be all of that.” I can be an athlete and want to wear lipstick (I love my pink lipstick). Why can’t I do both?
But this is what I really want to say (and I have to give full props to my home girl, Stacey): she says “We need to adopt a life of AND, not OR.” As a woman of color, people often say you have to be strong. I wonder why I can’t be a boss in the boardroom and also go home and cry if I’m sad. That is a mantra I live by now; it’s AND, not OR. You don’t have to choose.
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Concept + Production by London Wright-Pegs, Michael Tennant + Meghan Holzhauer // Interview by London Wright-Pegs // Portraits by Tom Kubik
