Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacquelyn Aluotto.
Jacquelyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It started in 2000 when I decided to make a documentary called: Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY). I spent seven years filming in underground battered women shelters across America that served women and children seeking refuge. We wanted to show what it was really like to be abused in America. It was my first film, and it was very raw and gritty. NIMBY continues to screen at conferences, summits, universities, shelters, festivals and agencies. NIMBY received a standing ovation from over 60 delegates representing other countries at the World Conference of Women’s Shelters. After that, I understood the power of the media. Whoever controls the media controls the mind. I understood that Conscious Content or Impact Media would have to be trendy, entertaining, engaging, inspiring and innovative. We have to make Activism Sexy and Giving Back Glamorous.
I created a website called Real Beauty Real Women – it is where beauty, glamour, entertainment, innovation and activism meet social responsibility. In the year 2000, people said it could never be done. Now, it is being done everywhere. People mix fashion, philanthropy and so much more to create change. I am a producer, activist and conscious content creator. I have created doc-series, documentaries and campaigns that people on both national and international levels have seen, and have come to RBRW to help them create their own. I was one of the first to fuse celebrities with social issues. I knew that in order to get the masses involved, celebrities would have to speak about these issues and highlight the people making the difference. Real Beauty Real Women www.rbrw.org is one of the most popular websites in the world, and I hope that we can continue to make an impact through our vision, and to keep on creating content and impact media that is changing the narrative and the world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, I met the resistance everywhere I went. I started my company with $20,000 in quarters. I knew that our production company, Pick It Up Pictures, as well as our entertainment arm (RBRW) and our non-profit (Real Beauty Real Women Foundation) have to work together to create a profound change. This is an 18-year movement in the making which has inspired so many other people to do the same thing or very similar. I like that we have helped pave the way just as my mentor, who was the first person to open a battered women and children’s shelter in North America, paved the way for me. But it was not easy. But then nothing worthwhile ever is. You have to fight for it and believe in it especially when no one else does. You have to know that this is your purpose and calling. You must have faith in it and believe in the magic of changing the world.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Real Beauty Real Women – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am most proud of our Innovation/Film/Making A Difference Youth Camps. We teach them how to create their own films, campaigns, products, games or other ideas to make a difference. Our youths’ films and campaigns have won awards from the Black Media Council, Black Film Festival, the youth have had the opportunity to walk the red carpet, have been on TV, in magazines, in other press and so much more.
These young minds learn that through creativity and passion they can create real change and create peaceful movements that will impact the world. That is my favorite thing that we provide. You really understand that magic exists. They understand that they are all special and that anything is possible.
I am also proud of Pucker Up For A Change. Pucker Up for Change is the lipstick for the Socially Conscious Fashionista, and we are teaming up with American Beauty Star on Lifetime network for a beauty competition to find more “products for a purpose.” Products for a purpose are crucial to changing the world. We are searching for the next beauty product like our lipstick that is making a difference. If you do not know how your product can make a difference, we will teach you.
I also love our RBRW radio show https://www.rbrw.org/rbrw-radio. We are on local Houston FM radio, but digitally we are global. We have people as far away as Africa, Thailand and France write to us while we stream our show live, in addition to followers across America. We love highlighting people and non-profits making a difference.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am looking forward to creating change through impact media, innovation, activism and conscious content. I want the world to understand that media has to change. That we all need to understand each other and have honest 360-degree conversations so that we can find solutions. To believe in magic and understand that it is all possible. I started my company with quarters. No one thought almost 18 years ago that merging all these worlds together could make a difference. In that time, we have helped build computer learning centers, mentorship programs, fashion/beauty classes, we have raised a substantial amount of money for shelters, provide communities with proms, give seminars, provide makeovers, provide arts therapy, programs, makeover shelters, create documentaries and doc series to create change and so much more.
Recently, we just took part in changing legislation for sex trafficking. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could have such an impact. We have always been a conscious community. A boutique hub of impact-makers dedicated to serving people and communities and demanding change for justice. That is who RBRW is and what the NIMBY Pledge Movement has always been about. We just do it differently than most people and organizations. My dream is that we can grow and do more. That we meet more with the same hearts. That we find more donors and sponsors that believe in what we do so we can continue to create change. My dream is to have an innovation center so we can continue teaching children and teens to make a difference through innovation.
About Jacquelyn:
Jacquelyn Aluotto is a visionary. Labeled “The Socially Conscious Fashionista” and the “Underground Documentarian,” her passion is to change the world through media, innovation, and activism. Known as a hybrid producer, creator, director, innovator, and activist, Jacquelyn has dedicated her life’s work to making “giving back glamorous and activism sexy.” She has a gift for merging the entertainment, beauty, and technology world with shelters and non-profits across America that are breaking the cycle of violence, poverty, homelessness, and abuse. This thought leader’s philosophy is that we must sustain these organizations to transform communities in crisis and that standing up to injustices becomes the most fashionable thing in the world.
As a popular radio show host and Director of FUBU TV’s Conscious Entertainment division, Jacquelyn is the go-to girl for celebrities, activist, influencers, NGO’s, and companies, who seek highly effective socially conscious campaigns and brand awareness on national and international levels. She directed the Award Winning Documentary “Not In My Backyard.” In 2012 NIMBY screened in Washington and received a standing ovation from over 63 delegates representing their countries at “The World’s Women Conference Of Shelters.”
This powerhouse has presented at universities, summits, screenings, and conferences. She has received congressional recognition and is the recipient of many awards.
Honors and Awards Highlights:
- 2018- Survivor Unlock Your Voice Honoree Award, Unlock Your Voice Conference
- 2018 – The MLK Greatness through Service Award, Community of Faith
- 2017 – Molding Minds through Media and Innovation Award, World Youth Foundation
- 2017 – Dream It, Do It Award, This Woman’s Work
- 2017 – Moguls In Media, TWEF
- 2016 – Women Making A Difference Award, The Buffalo Soldier National Museum
- 2015 – Bestseller Common Threads Trilogy Global Sisterhood, 100 Women Influencers
- The B.O.S.S. Network “Influencer” Award
- Winnie Mandela Community Service Award
- Community Service Award, National Society of Leadership and Success, New Jersey City University
- 2010 – Top 10 CEO Women in America
Contact Info:
- Address: jac@rbrw.org
- Website: www.rbrw.org
- Phone: 212-502-0725 RBRW NYC office
- Email: pr@RBRW.ORG
- Instagram @jacquelynaluotto, @realbeautyrealwomen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RBRW.ORG/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rbrw
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynaluotto/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
