see her

Rachel, a graduate of the Paul Mitchell Academy of San Diego, spent the past 6 years traveling to Africa and advocating on behalf of the oppressed. She has partnered with organizations such as Invisible Children and spent a year of her life speaking across the country about the critical situation in Uganda.

Rachel joined efforts with KEZA, an organization working to create sustainable employment for impoverished women in Rwanda, many of which have escaped lives of prostitution.

Together we raised hundreds of dollars to benefit Rachel Burney and her work in Rwanda to open a mobile beauty academy that will provide training and jobs for impoverished women.

Vanessa Gonzalez worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles, designing women’s garments that landed her clothing in stores like Fred Segal and Nordstrom. However, she was not satisfied with designing without a greater purpose and dreamt of using her gifts to help women in abject circumstances around the world.

Vanessa left her job in the fashion industry and shortly after found herself sitting at a sewing machine in northern Uganda, training 10 women who were formerly abducted by the local rebel army to sew. With little experience and less direction, she started a groundbreaking program for Invisible Children called MEND, which creates jobs for these and other women by training them to make handbags that are sold in the United States.

Vanessa then turned her attention toward a project with similar aspirations of bringing hope and life to a new community of beautiful, valuable women.

All of the proceeds from the sale of the Summer 2009 jewelry went toward Vanessa’s living and working expenses while in Rwanda, as she worked to oversee the designing, sourcing, and researching of fashion products that brought much needed employment to women in dire circumstances.

She dreams of bridging the gap between the rich and poor by creating products that bind us all together.

seeher.jewelry@gmail.com