- Board Member
- Board
Suzanne Lerner is an entrepreneur, political activist and philanthropist whose career in fashion began while living in India and Nepal. Following her travels abroad through Europe and Asia, Suzanne called the US her home base and settled her roots between Los Angeles and New York City.
In 1977 Suzanne founded Lerner et Cie, a women’s wholesale showroom which now boasts four showrooms nationwide. When Suzanne met her soon-to-be husband Michael Cohen shortly there after, the two co-founded Michael Stars. With Suzanne now running the day to day operations as Executive VP of Michael Stars, the brand has truly made its mark within the lifestyle market, continuing to grow, while transforming the line into a fashion-forward, effortless brand to which style-conscious women feel connected.
The launch of Michael Stars was about more than just creating a clothing line that evokes the luxurious California lifestyle. Suzanne and her husband Michael recognized early on that the women and girls who bought their tees are not just customers. In Suzanne’s words, “They are our daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts and grandmothers. They are our emotional backbones.”
It’s with those beliefs that she and Michael molded the company into one that supports women and girls’ equality. Through the Michael Stars and Cohen Family Foundation currently directed by Suzanne, Michael Stars has supported a variety of charities including the Joyful Heart Foundation, which works to combat domestic violence, Ms. Foundation, dedicated to grassroots women leaders and their organizations, and WE ADVANCE, a non-profit co-founded by actor and activist Maria Bello to advance the health, safety, and well being of women throughout Haiti.
Beyond her career with Lerner et Cie and Michael Stars, Suzanne also serves on the board of directors for Women Thrive Worldwide and is instrumental in making their work as effective as possible. In addition, she is a long-time supporter of civil rights and is a board member of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California for her fifth consecutive year.
Suzanne’s commitment reaches far beyond financial support. She has spent her entire life as an activist and has personally traveled to Haiti often since the 2010 earthquake to make sure that women and girls are represented in the re-building of the nation. More recently, she has become involved with Prosperity Catalyst to assist with economic sustainability and political empowerment. She believes that, “The more empowered women and girls are, the more all of us can positively achieve.”
For anyone else looking to follow the same path as Lerner, she offers this poignant and heartfelt advice:
“Choose your cause. You will love the happiness that you’ll receive in giving. There’s nothing quite like it.”