To celebrate International Women’s Day, we asked some of the inspiring and accomplished women who work at Aveda HQ about what their careers in the world of beauty mean to them, and what they hope their impact on the lives of other women will be.

Working with Aveda perfectly aligns with my core values to bring care to the world we live in. The Aveda salon and spa professionals that I have the privilege to work closely with every day deliver amazing, holistic beauty services. The world needs “touch,” and when you visit an Aveda salon you’re grounded in a high-touch, sensorial experience that will create a beautiful ripple effect for the rest of your day!
-Sue Trondson, VP Salon Development & Engagement

What my career means to me and what I hope my work brings to the world is simple. By aligning myself with a brand that treats the planet with respect, I am able to inspire others with my love for beauty. This passion fuels my purpose of helping others. I do this by educating and engaging with them to create beauty and wellness in their lives and helping them grow their business. I hope by doing what I love, it empowers others to do the same.  
-Janell Geason, Global Artistic Director for Makeup

 
I really enjoy bringing my passion for plants to the world of beauty. Plants have many powerful properties that help restore skin and hair to their best, and my quest is to search for the best plant ingredients, sourced sustainably, for our products. I also love educating people about the power of plants to plant seeds of reverence for nature to a wide audience.
-Cindy Angerhofer, Executive Director, Botanical Research & Aroma 

I want to help people be the best version of themselves – I want them to feel the most beautiful, the healthiest, most vibrant, most radiant and best self that they can put forth into the world. Through our products and through the services we offer, we have the ability to bring that to all of our guests.
-Stephanie Wagner, Executive Director, Global Retail Education

I think the beauty industry is incredibly powerful. It’s about transformation into whoever you want to be. I really enjoy being part of that. I’ve seen people jump out of the chair and kiss me because they felt empowered or confident. I think it’s my job as a creative director to unlock something within them that they might not have known they had, and bring it out there.
 
I think our industry provides tools to make you feel your best. And that gives you confidence. The beauty industry is a mega confidence builder.
 
But it needs to be done respectfully, and I’m very much an advocate for that. It must be done in the most healthy, caring and conscious way. That’s why when I do pictures of women, they come across as quite strong. I see beauty in that. There are really still very few female creative directors in the world.
 
I see beauty everywhere. It’s my job to bring it to the foreground.
-Antoinette Beenders, Global Creative Director