Having led short and long-form video projects that range from digital series and immersive experiences to narrative films and grassroots impact campaigns, Sam's work with Millennial Ethics has achieved recognition from media and entertainment, government, and social innovation affiliates including Generations United, The WIE Suite, DVF, Caring Across Generations, CoGenerate, New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, New York City Department of Small Business Services, The Global People's Summit, The Roddenberry Foundation, The Gotham Film and Media Institute, and more.
As a filmmaker, her work breaks down systemic issues into educational and entertaining portraits of humanity and has been programmed internationally by independent film festivals. As a performer, her credits span Off-Broadway showcases, commercials, independent films, and digital series. Her essays, commentary, and fiction focus on generational portraits of social issues, and her latest publication, Route 24, deconstructs the real-world impact of policies and practices in transportation infrastructure, immigration reform, environmental justice, racial equity, and more to jumpstart public awareness and, in turn, mobilize narrative change. She has been a featured speaker, guest lecturer, and moderator at various industry forums and has served on the board of directors of notable non-profits.
Her mission: to encourage audiences to change their lens on media, society, and culture - to think beyond the individual, take a closer look at what shapes the system, and motivate and mobilize their circles to do the same. She was educated at Sarah Lawrence College and Wadham College, University of Oxford. An artist of Brazilian, German, and Native American (Muskogee Creek Nation) heritage with a passion for storytelling beyond borders, Sam works primarily in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Miami.
What are the key market differentiators of a social enterprise? When assessing best practices, some businesses may initially de-prioritize profit margins in favor of keeping a core entrepreneurial focus on their social benefit. That said, it’s important for social enterprise leaders to contextualize the full market opportunity of a company mandate that advances the public good by placing priority on societal wellbeing.
A study from the International Comparative Social Enterprise Models (ICSEM) Project traced the evolution and key differentiators of social enterprises in the U.S. and Europe since their origin in the 1990’s. It suggested that the level of government support received, the introduction of impact investing models, and the pursuit of local community interests were contributing factors for social enterprise longevity.
The economic impact of social enterprises is clear. According to The State of Social Enterprise report, approximately 10 million social enterprises around the world contribute $2 trillion in annual revenue and upwards of 200 million jobs to help sustain local economies. In leadership, women-led social enterprises represent one in every two social enterprises worldwide. The Navigating Challenges, Driving Change report further indicates that 49.8% of women entrepreneurs globally and 64.3% of women entrepreneurs in North America cite societal wellbeing as their primary motivation, with 75 million working women driving the U.S. economy forward. Prioritizing women consumers and investment in women-led social enterprises is also proven to expand market opportunities based on research from the Women and Social Enterprises study.
Yet, despite these success metrics, women-led social enterprises continue to face barriers to advancement, such as a lack of access to supportive growth networks and capital, caregiving responsibilities, restricted or nonexistent government support, and limiting social and cultural workplace attitudes. Women are also frequently the subject of workplace misinformation and disinformation, such as the widely contested New York Times’ Did Women Ruin the Workplace? article. The Understanding and Countering Identity-Based Disinformation report revealed how targeted, identity-based disinformation campaigns are leveraged online and offline to discredit high-achieving women.
In an early-on conversation about the viability of Millennial Ethics’ business model, I was told by a male advisor that if I hadn’t achieved notable success by age 25 (mind you, I was 26 at the time), I should just stop now. The implications of this advice demonstrated a concrete example of how age and gender bias inform overall risk assessment and investment interest. It also got me thinking more deeply about how best to develop sustainable pathways for women-led social enterprises to achieve innovation and growth.
When thinking about designing for sustainability and impact, social enterprises apply circular (e.g., recycling and reuse) and behavioral (e.g., purpose-driven) economic principles to their workflow. This could reflect as using compostable plates, cups, and utensils during team meals to reduce waste or offering a direct community benefit with every product sale. Social enterprises also leverage equity-focused, intergenerational leadership structures and ethical emerging technologies to drive public awareness and mutual understanding. This could be applied to a project team where department heads with different generational perspectives work in tandem to reimagine success outcomes or where audience participation is encouraged by incorporating gamification features into a digital content strategy. By fostering cross-sector partnerships and cultures of wellbeing in the workplace, social enterprise models help to maximize productivity. This could take the form of partnering with public-private sectors on a values-aligned initiative or making space for caregiving responsibilities within existing workplace structures.
Whether you’re building a brand, leading an established venture, or working at a Fortune 500, interdisciplinary approaches to women-led social enterprises create opportunities for growth and innovation across industry sectors and open the door to sustainable narrative change.
Learn more:
https://bio.site/millennialethics
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samreetz
