“My parents were actively involved in the movement toward desegregation and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. My father served as a delegate at the 1963 March on Washington, where more than 250,000 people came together in Washington, DC. As a family, we were exposed to ethnically and religiously diverse organizers with a common goal of equality and justice. It’s a value rooted in social consciousness throughout my design career to understand the needs and complexities of our humanness and the obligation to pay it forward.”

—Rene Payne, Founder