You have dedicated your entire career of almost twenty years to social impact, working for a number of different organizations both in the public and private sector, did you always know this was the type of work you wanted to do?
To be honest, it didn’t register to me that working in the public sector or social impact space was a job. We definitely weren’t using terms like social impact, ESG, or even CSR very much. So much has changed (for the better) in the last twenty years. But to get back to your question, I was always very involved in community projects, volunteering, and civic engagement as a student but it didn’t quite dawn on me that it could actually be a career until after I graduated college and found myself VERY briefly working in television production, but that story is better told over a glass of wine... so after a short stint as a production assistant, I had the chance to cofound an organization with my mother in Guatemala, where she grew up, called the
Guatemala Healing Hands Foundation. We still run it together today. Our next service trip in April 2024 will mark our 20th anniversary.
You wear dual hats working as Director of ESG + DEI for Alvarez and Marsal and also maintain a side hustle as “Chief Churning Officer” of Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream, a social enterprise business you founded during the pandemic. How would you describe a social enterprise business and what was your motivation to start making ice cream?
I prescribe to a business strategy called
Creating Shared Value. To me, a social enterprise is just that. It’s a “framework for creating economic value while simultaneously addressing societal needs and challenges.” TLDR: you can do well by doing good. As a society, we still put all the pressure for solving our world's biggest problems on nonprofit organizations who have to raise their operating budgets by asking people and institutions for $10, $20, $100K donations at a time. It’s not sustainable nor does it make any sense when the corporate sector has more resources, capital, and access than the nonprofit and government sectors combined. Yet the business sector takes on none of the responsibility. Beyond responsibility, we continue to see that businesses can actually increase profits and make more money for their shareholders when they implement Shared Value and ESG initiatives.
I never intended to start an ice cream business but like many people, I found myself accidentally building one during COVID. I was giving away hundreds of pints during lockdown. It was an excuse to get out of the house, meet people outside, and bring a bit of joy to the community during such a dark time. I ended up meeting many other incredible small and new businesses who were doing similar things. It was only a matter of time until we started to collaborate. That’s when I realized that if I was ever going to start a business, it would focus on ice cream flavors promoting local and small businesses, with an extra emphasis on women and other underrepresented groups. That’s when Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream went from hobby to passion hustle. I registered as an LLC, got my food handlers license, and joined a commissary kitchen to start production. Every month I would feature three to four local small businesses in each new flavor. You can check some of them out
here.
As much as people know you locally as Mona, the ice cream lady…You were also very honest with me that while you love making and selling your ice cream, it’s not a good business. It’s sometimes hard for people to recognize that just because they have a great product that people love, it’s not always going to be a good or profitable business. Can you talk about what then motivates you to keep making ice cream and what some of the greatest challenges have been in balancing this work with your full time job?
Wow! I am flattered and humbled to think that people know me locally as the ice cream lady. I’m still pretty new to the area but have felt very welcomed so far. I’ve loved meeting my new neighbors at the Earth Day Every Day festival and Food Truck Friday in Pound Ridge this spring.
Ice cream is hard. Food products in general are hard, but there are elements to ice cream that I think make it even harder. First is the seasonality of it. I, of course, love eating ice cream all year round but sales really come to a stand still in January, February, and March. Both from a weather perspective and a New Year’s diet resolution perspective. April is hit or miss… Second, ice cream is hard to transport and an added cost. Dry ice is quite a commodity and it only lasts a few hours. (Talk about a terrible business to be in…your product physically disappears whether you sell it or not.) Third, the cost of ingredients in the last two years has been all over the place. A pint of wholesale cream has almost doubled in the last three years yet I can’t double the price of a pint of ice cream. There’s a limit to what people will spend on ice cream… Which brings me to my last point. What makes my brand unique and what I love about it the most are the small businesses I get to collaborate with. To bring costs down, I would need to work with a copacker and increase output but it’s hard to source mix-ins and swirls at larger quantities when they themselves are being produced by small businesses. So for now, ice cream will remain my passion project. My side hustle. But I am okay with that.
As for balancing my full time job with ice cream and my organization in Guatemala…Well, I don’t have kids so that helps! I joke that each job/hustle is a child and the cost of my ice cream equipment and supplies are like childcare. Jokes aside, it’s not easy, but I’m motivated by the outcomes. By getting to see kids in Guatemala receive priceless medical care and education, by watching my neighbors try small batch ice cream for the first time and realizing they can never buy a pint from the grocery store every again, by seeing my community partners grow their own businesses- some have become quite the success with daily lines down the block or television shows.
You recently moved to Pound Ridge from New York City where during the pandemic you found yourself building deep connections with an underground food scene burgeoning in Brooklyn. Can you describe that scene and what it was like to leave that behind for a place that while very beautiful can sometimes feel void of creativity when it comes to food? Do you think it’s something that can be recreated in a place like Bedford or Pound Ridge?
During a time when we were supposed to be isolating, I found myself with an entirely new community of food friends. However, since those relationships were started and built on the back of social media, I still feel fairly connected despite having left Brooklyn. Although, I do miss actually eating their food…And yes, the food scene up here is a bit “lite.” However, the good news is, there’s no shortage of creativity up here. I’m so inspired by the other local small businesses I’ve had a chance to meet so far.
It’s changed in Brooklyn too. Now that life is pretty much back to normal, we’re all juggling a lot more. Many have gone back to their day jobs or simply don’t have the time for passion projects with work, travel, families... Others have turned their underground businesses into full time flourishing brands.
There has been a lot of controversy over DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) in the workplace. Can you talk a little bit about some of the pushback and where it’s coming from and how you’ve had to deal with it in your own role?
It’s become political*. It’s frustrating and sad. I’ll mention ESG to someone and they won’t know what it is, but then they HAVE read about “woke capitalism” in news headlines. Sigh. It’s such a shame. We just have to work a tiny bit harder and continue to prove its value. It’s smart business and who doesn’t want that?
*It’s a whole oil, gas and coal thing… I’ll leave it at that.
Are there for profit organizations out there that you feel like “really get it” when it comes to being great businesses but also socially responsible companies?
There are a few gold standards like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Eileen Fisher, The Body Shop, Dove. The
B Corp movement has also helped create a more “user friendly framework” for running a triple bottom line business: people, planet, and profit.
What are some of the initiatives or projects in your own career that you are most proud of?
There was a moment earlier this year, that really stands out. I was unfortunately part of a third round of layoffs at the tech company I was working for as Director of Social Good. It was the best job I ever had with a wonderful boss. I was devastated. Later that same day, I noticed my ice cream instagram account and email list were blowing up. It turns out, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Jodi Kantor (for her work breaking the Harvey Weinstein case) had mentioned my ice cream in the
NY Times. I had all the emotions that day- pride was one of them.
Who have been your greatest mentors and what pieces of advice have you received that you continue to pass on to others?
Maybe it’s not exactly advice, but I’ve always valued the trips I took to Guatemala City when I was young (and continue to take). I have vivid memories of the poverty, lack of access to potable water, and warnings from my abuelito about keeping the car windows up… Being exposed to such a different lifestyle gave me an extreme appreciation for what I have. The simple act of flushing toilet paper or even just having a flushing toilet can bring me extreme joy after a trip to Guatemala. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the most beautiful and warm country (I encourage everyone to go!) but
almost half of all people in Guatemala live in poverty and the poverty rate rises to nearly 80 percent for indigenous people, who make up more than 40 percent of the country’s population. Our organization recently identified 30 families in the town of Chichoy Alto (where we’ve been running community development projects since 2010) living in extreme despair. Their mud homes are falling apart around them. It’s about $3,000 to build each family a new concrete home with widows, a door, cement floor, and a sturdy tin roof so we’ve been slowly finding sponsors to help cover the $3K cost per home. We’ve built five so far. So when you ask, what advice have you received and you continue to pass on to others? It’s this- DON’T sweat the small stuff when you have a safe standing home, running potable water, and a toilet that flushes. DO make sure to appreciate what you have and support others when you can.
Lightning Round:
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Gah! This is the hardest question ever! I’ll go with Chocolate Stout.
The thing that has surprised you most about moving to the area?
How easy it’s been to meet (great) people despite being kid-free.
New Business you’d most like to see here?
Anything food open on Monday’s and open late.
(But really sushi)
What would you do with one extra hour each day?
Practice my Spanish. It’s terrible.
