G-Eazy and Santana- She's Fire
Caressa L. Brown is a Dayton, OH native and resident, that comes from a long line of business owners and community activists. A 1998 graduate of Jefferson High School and a 2007 graduate of Wright State University, Caressa is preparing to study Horticulture at the University of Cincinnati's DAAP in the Fall of 2023.
A member of the 2024 Class of the Dayton Area's BBB/WiBN Top Women to Watch, she is also a 2019 Dayton Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 recipient and 2021 Ohio Black Excellence award winner who has launched the careers of thousands of models, designers, photographers, HMUA's, stylists, and more. Owner of the first-of-its-kind fashion incubator (DE-FI) Global INC, Caressa has worked behind the scenes of major New York Fashion Week events produced by IMG/Endeavor via the Council of Fashion Designers of America CFDA and Art Hearts Fashion. She is a founding member of the CFDA Connects Program and served as a member of the programs Executive Board in the inaugural year; she sits on the Advisory Board for Hocking College's Fashion Design & Retail Merchandising Programs, and is preparing to launch The Cincinnati Fashion Incubator in 2024.
Known for her in your face bold (DE-FI)ance, GRIT, giving, big heart, caring spirit, yet no non-sense accountability, tough love, and disciplined approach to business and everyday life; Caressa is probably best known for her resilience, tenacity, and perseverance. Her story has served as the foundation for (DE-FI)'s programming.
Suffering from low self-esteem as a child, Caressa's mom, also a former model, worked several jobs to put her into modeling school so that she could learn how to walk with confidence. After the first class, the instructor pulled Caressa and her mother aside and offered to continue to train Caressa free of charge because she believed that Caressa was the only person in her class that had what it took to make it in the industry as a professional model. It was later discovered that this decision had not been approved by the modeling school's owner who gave Caressa's mom the option to pay back the money owed or withdraw from the school, due to financial barriers, it was decided to withdraw from the school.
With newly found confidence and a new dream of becoming a model, Caressa spent a lot of time hanging out in the bookstores at the local malls reading fashion magazines and fashion based books looking for model searches, studying posing, reading interviews from top models and designers, and totally immersing herself into all things fashion. At the age of 12, Caressa signed her first modeling contract, unfortunately shortly after, her mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. As a result, their already strained financial situation worsened; Caressa's dreams were put on hold to become the caregiver for her mom, a title that 30+ years later, she still holds.
Shortly after graduating from high school, Caressa once again pursued a career as a model after attending a model conference where she scouted and offered a contract with Click Modeling Agency in Atlanta. At the time, she was working at General Motors Truck & Bus and was making good money, while also putting herself through college, and still caring for her disabled mother. Struggling to carry the load of being a full-time first generation college student, caring for a disabled mother, working 50+ hours a week at G.M., and chasing her dreams, she struggled to get to Atlanta to meet with her agency, once again her dream slipped away. A few years later, she became a Regional Semi-Finalist in the iconic Elite Model Look Competition and was offered a contract with Elite Chicago where she again struggled to make it to Chicago to meet with her agency. It was then that she realized that just being able to afford to pursue a dream is not enough, she also needed a support system, which she did not have.
It ultimately took her 9 years to complete her degree; years later, Caressa who has also been a loyal community volunteer and activist since the age of 12 created the Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator (DE-FI) LLC using community outreach as the foundation and requiring talent to volunteer in their respective communities in exchange for (DE-FI) services. As a result, (DE-FI) eliminated financial barriers and provided the needed support system that individuals seeking careers in fashion need to find success within the industry.
And success they have found!
(DE-FI) has grown every year since 2013 without ever having to scale down or veer off course. She is an industry builder. Under Caressa's direction, (DE-FI) Global INC has working relationships/partnerships with multiple colleges, universities, and high schools around the state of Ohio as a result of the unmatched and unparalleled number of success stories that have emerged from the community outreach focused (DE-FI) Global INC.
To date, (DE-FI) has working relationships with staff, faculty, and students at The University of Cincinnati, The University of Dayton, Miami University, Kent State University, The Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University, and Hocking College. Locally, (DE-FI) has the pleasure of working with a number of area high schools and their students including Dayton Regional STEM School, Horizon Academy, Alter, Dayton Early College Academy, Ponitz, and Jefferson. And we've made it happen in the most (DE-FI)ant and disruptive way.
From fashion, media, entertainment, business, and more, (DE-FI) alum have successfully done it all and they've done it all on a global scale. Making Dayton and the Southwest Ohio region the Fashion Capital for the development and success of fashion based talent across multiple disciplines. (DE-FI) Global INC ultimately fosters a viable, nurturing, independent, and self-sustaining fashion community in Southwest Ohio.
With a focus on removing barriers, particularly the financial barriers that prevent many from succeeding in the fashion industry, (DE-FI)'s work is inspired by the financial struggles and lack of support system that Caressa faced in her one time promising career as a model; her story has served as the foundation for (DE-FI)'s programming.
In a little over a decade, she has expanded her initial company the Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator, better known as (DE-FI) into an internationally recognized and highly coveted brand which consists of an interdisciplinary fashion incubator that focuses on the business of fashion, the first-of-its- kind one stop interdisciplinary fashion co-working space that focuses on team and brand building, the House of (DE-FI)ance, a modeling agency, (DE-FI) Models, Dayton Fashion Week, and more.
Always with the community in mind, Caressa started Veggie Soul: The Farmers’ Market in 2019 as a way to teach the residents of west Dayton (where she lives) and Trotwood how to garden and become more self-sustaining and self-sufficient in the midst of the food desert, and she offers her services free of charge. Her future plans are to open Noirquility which will be an urban retreat/homestead bed and breakfast.
Previously, Caressa has served as a Trustee for the Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District, Community Voices producer for NPR affiliate 91.3 FM WYSO in Yellow Springs, and contributor to Dayton Most Metro now Dayton 937.
She is a mentor, brand building coach, model coach, and business advisor. She continues to focus on the betterment of her community while using fashion as a platform to enact real economic change and empower those who she crosses paths with to (DE-FI) the status quo, be disruptive, find their voice, and use it to walk in their purpose.
Finally got me a Professional Headshot that I like; thanks to APC '23. #VegasBaby
The work I've done and do with (DE-FI) creates a level of curiosity and folks wanting to know more about me. For over a decade, the only social media platform I was on was Facebook, in fact, I was nicknamed Twitterless Caressa. lol I kept my FB page private for the majority of the past decade, only making it public temporarily after receiving an onslaught of friend's request and messages from complete strangers and folks I've crossed paths with at some point on this journey.
I started 2022 off with FB my page private again and in the Spring of 2023 have since been very selective with what post I make public. My "friends" list is down to 500 people, and randomly shrinks as the spirit moves me. 8.5 times out of 10, removal from my friends list isn't personal, especially in the past 2 years. Sometimes I want a quiet space with a limited audience of people that I really know, engage with on a regular basis, and/or post things that interest me or that I can grow from. I rarely add people, especially if it's business related.
However, while I enjoy being private, I know that being in business especially in the fashion industry requires a certain level of accessibility and familiarity. So as I'm navigating this space and exiting my shell...kinda! lol My goal is to share more intimate details about my life...I think...Hell I don't know! I promise nothing! In the meantime, check out some "fun" facts about me.
Negotiating terms and conditions of Dogs on the Catwalk. (DE-FI) raised $38K for pet owners in need.
I absolutely love working in my garden, yes even with my mani and pedi, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty and I love walking in the grass barefoot!
Don't let my size fool you, I'm a foodie, I plan my day around food and snack all day every day.
Is being noonish a thing?
I've always dreamed of driving cross country in an RV visiting every state , eating local cuisine, taking in the scenery, and camping out.
Intro: One Moment In Time by Whitney Houston; Outro: Trophies by Young Money and Drake
Where do I start? lol I'm afraid of the shower curtain touching me when I get out of the shower and my wet feet touching the tiles of the floor. I have to step out onto a towel and I scooch the towel all the way across the bathroom floor until I'm able to step out on to the carpet! lol #GoAheadJudgeMe
I'm an extremely anti-social...I mean an introvert, an INFJ to be exact.
Steamed broccoli with lots of butter, garlic and salt please!
Not wearing my glasses and walking around squinting at everything and trying not to make eye contact with anyone just in case I see someone I know who I can't see because...well, I don't have my glasses on. lol Did you follow that?
Non-alcoholic: Vernors Ginger Ale, water, and coconut water
Alcoholic: Any beer on tap, the darker the better, and cabernet sauvignon, the dryer and spicier the better.
Kenny Rogers-The Gambler
I absolutely love nature, hiking through the woods, and being out in the elements minus the heat! lol I'm (DE-FI)nitely a member of #TeamWinter. More frequently, I've been craving time with nature and learning to live off the land and grow my own food. While owning a farm has always been a goal of mine as a part of my retirement plan at the age of 48. I've been putting in the work the past 3 years in preparation.
Always with my community in mind, I started Veggie Soul: The Urban Farmers' Market in 2019 as a way to teach the residents of west Dayton (where I live) and Trotwood how to garden and become more self-sustaining and self-sufficient in the midst of the food desert that we live in. While I have access and can afford to travel across town and sometimes to 2-3 different stores to get exactly what I want, many of my neighbors can't...and that's a problem.
There have (DE-FI)ntely been some bumps and unexpected plot twist along the way from an insecure and jealous business partner who was more concerned about whether my physical appearance and what I had on aligned with her basic image of what a farmer looks like. To opening the House of (DE-FI)ance: A Fashion & Design Co-working Experience, and everything in between while in the midst of a global pandemic. So, I have 4 gardens at my house and allow my neighbors to shop my yard, free of charge.
I'm still committed to lessening my community's dependence on food pantries, the government, and corporate/co-op grocery stores...In 2023, I'm planning to enroll in the University of Cincinnati DAAP program to study horticuluture in preparation for Noirquility which is more of an urban retreat/homestead bed and breakfast. It's a part of my 5-year plan that I've been planning out in my head for over 15 years, I'll be sharing more details on that along the way.
I was honored when asked to drive the We Do Ag truck in the 2022 Central State's Homecoming Parade!
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