At its 2023 Champions of Diversity Awards, New York Urban League honored The Fragrance Foundation president Linda Levy with the first Catalyst Award, in recognition of The Fragrance Foundation’s commitment to furthering diversity and inclusion in the fragrance industry through its ongoing #FragranceForwardTFF initiative.
“Since taking the helm [at The Fragrance Foundation], Linda has made it her mission to have a positive and disruptive impact on our industry by building a strong community of opinion leaders, and making it a more inclusive one,” said Jerry Vittoria, chairman of The Fragrance Foundation and president, Fine Fragrance Worldwide, Firmenich, upon presenting Levy the award.
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At the ceremony Wednesday, Levy announced she is teaming up with New York Urban League to launch the Fragrance Foundation Catalyst Initiative, which will benefit NYUL’s Diversity Lab and provide training, opportunities and mentorship for professionals of color interested in the fragrance industry.
“It is a natural extension of #FragranceForwardTFF to join forces with the New York Urban League,” said Levy. “We’re going to reach out to students, we’re going to work with young professionals, we’re going to bring them into our world — this is the beginning of forever.”
Also honored at the ceremony were: Clarissa Moses-Washington, manager of diversity, equity and inclusion at JetBlue Airways Corporation, recipient of the Rising Star Champion Award; Black Entrepreneurs NYC founder Kenneth Ebie, who received the Equity and Inclusion Ambassador Award, and Kimberly Davis, senior executive vice president of the National Hockey League, who accepted the Leadership Champion Award.