Impact Interview: Rebecca Magee
What are you working on these days?
I’m currently running my company, Sister Seasons. My days are spent actively developing and leading programs and services that help women and menstruators regenerate their well-being and our planet’s at the same time. It’s a unique approach that integrates menstrual cycle awareness practices, systems thinking, science and wisdom traditions, so that women and menstruators can restore their energy and health as they build the confidence and capacity to show up for our planet’s future.
Even after a few years in business, it still feels wild that my environmental + social impact career evolved to include menstrual cycle education. But it emerged as a beautiful solution to addressing the fact that the same systems that have harmed the earth have also harmed women and gender diverse people. So we address these issues together: helping women and menstruators build body literacy and climate literacy at the same time, so that every body (including our planet) can thrive.
We currently do this through offering events and group programs for individuals, and private workshops and advisory services for visionary organizations that want to ensure all members of their community are resourced to lead on climate.
What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social impact?
I think the moment was a middle school science fair. I had to choose a project focus, and I went searching for something that I felt would have practical real world applications and be meaningful. I ended up doing a project on oil spill cleanup, since I’m from Louisiana and that is still a very real part of life in that region.
This did not mean I was a nature lover at that point. I was completely terrified of the outdoors (and my body - an early parallel that informs my current work!). But there was something very instinctive about directing my energy to caring for people, animals and the places I loved. I think that was the moment I discovered that about myself, and I’ve been following the thread ever since.
How did you break into the social impact space?
My guess is it was a mix of curiosity, hard work, luck, and taking opportunities that presented themselves even when they weren’t perfect.
I pursued environmental studies in college and graduated in 2008 with a dream of working in corporate social responsibility in the fashion industry. But those roles were limited then. So I went into the nonprofit sector, because the jobs were more abundant and it felt like my experience in event planning would be useful.
I got my first two nonprofit jobs by responding to job postings. The second role was at Echoing Green, which funds early stage social entrepreneurs. I was there at a time when there was a shifting tide from exclusively non-profits to more for-profit businesses calling themselves “social entrepreneurs”. That re-confirmed for me that I wanted to work in business.
During that time, I was also taking sustainable fashion classes at FIT (which is how I met Reconsidered’s founder Jessica!) and going to every related event I could find. At no point did I think it was going to become my career; I just loved learning more and meeting people who cared about it as much as I did.
Eventually, I decided to make a go of pursuing it as a career. My big break came when I connected with Amy Hall at EILEEN FISHER through my alumni network. A conversation turned into a job interview, which turned into nearly seven years on the Social Consciousness team there. The opportunities I had at EILEEN FISHER (combined with studying menstrual cycles in my free time) eventually led to the idea for Sister Seasons.
I’ve built my career on following my curiosity for sure. But it was equally important that I invested time in cultivating my skills, building my network and demonstrating interest in the field.
Working in social impact is often about driving change. What is the skill or trait that has been most important for your work as a change agent? How did you learn or hone it?
Listening. It is the most underrated but transformative skill you can have in social impact.
To create just and effective collective change, we have to take the time to understand the many different perspectives and experiences of the stakeholders we’re working with. If I don’t take the time to listen and ask questions, I’m likely acting on assumptions or only considering my lived experience — and that can create “solutions” that don’t actually work for everyone or, worse, unintentional harm. This is why sometimes we see people who are trying to “do good” recreating oppressive systems.
Listening is not only a way to ensure what we make will actually create the change we seek, but it is also a way of practicing collective care in this moment right now.
At EILEEN FISHER, I really learned how to listen. There is a cultural norm within the company of not interrupting or speaking over others. Each person is given the chance to speak. When you know your turn will come, you can simply listen with the intent to understand. I can get really excited about things, but that experience helped me to slow down and listen before springing into action.
What most excites you about the social impact space right now?
I think the climate crisis is really emboldening people to act creatively and take risks, because when you stand to lose everything, you have to just try. It was really scary to start a business where I talk about periods and climate in the same sentence. I’ve worried my sustainability colleagues would think I was crazy. But I completely understand now that it will truly take all of us sharing our gifts and developing many, many different types of solutions to the crises we face to actually build the regenerative, just future we know is possible.
We each have to do our part, and I LOVE the crazy ideas now. A current favorite: two women in Germany with a company called Vyld making tampons from kelp, which is better for the vaginal microbiome and our planet. What’s not to love??
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