Who We Are
Hello. This is Yoxi.
We are a creative studio founded to study and catalyze social innovation.
What We do
We design experiences that give cultural relevance to social innovation.
Social Innovation is a state of mind, a progressive lifestyle, and a culture-making engine. It’s constantly evolving and gives us a wide range of opportunities to take action. We don’t attempt to define social innovation. Instead, we launch projects that contribute to building the field and showing people new ways to experiment, learn, and make a tangible difference.
Our Tribe
We work with Social Innovation Rockstars.
We are building a community as well as a sentiment.
SIR stands for Social Innovation Rockstars - original thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and inspiring leaders who care about creating lasting social value. As social entrepreneurs, corporate intrapreneurs, and solution-minded activists, they are the cutting-edge R&D department of our society. We celebrate their individual contribution, and more importantly, we recognize that their collective impact transcends the accumulation of knowledge and expertise to embody a lifestyle commitment emblematic of the Millennial psyche.
Our work with SIR gives us unique insights and access so we can continuously expand our capability in making social innovation actionable and prevalent.
Work With Us
How may we help you?
In addition to developing independent projects, we also serve clients who want to infuse more purpose into their work. 21st century problems need 21st century solutions. We are not a consultancy, as we don't just map out a strategy and walk away. We are not an agency, as we don't simply build things for you. We are catalysts for social innovation. We use our own learnings, resources, and network of rockstars to build solutions with you.
By helping you solve complex problems with the most creative and modern approach, we walk the walk of promoting social innovation through meaningful projects.
Instead of describing our expertise in traditional categories such as strategy, design, and social media, we'd like to say that we excel in three critical dimensions:
VOICE
Build your brand.
SUBSTANCE
Build your assets.
ACTION
Build your impact.
For-value is the new black.
Our work isn't just a gentle nudge for doing good, rather, it's an urgent call for creating value. We are changing the rules of the game every day by forging meaningful partnerships to increase our collective impact. Yoxi is a for-value company. We don't waste time debating whether we should be for-profit or non-profit, we simply focus on creating shared value for all.
Our Team
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Sharon Chang
Founder
Trained as a designer and architect, Sharon applies an urban planning philosophy to everything she does. She is the former Chief Creative Officer of 19 Entertainment - the company behind American Idol, brand strategist and creative director for organizations across multiple sectors, media executive, social entrepreneur, impact investor and philanthropist. Sharon is a global citizen obsessed with food and travel. She makes the perfect martini, loves the challenge of making the impossible possible - and seems to believe the two are related.
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Randy Makiej
Chief Operating Officer
Randy brings nearly two decades of production and management experience. Always focusing on the entertainment possibilities of the web, his experience exemplifies Transmedia Production. Most recently he managed all digital production for 19 Entertainment’s If I Can Dream. Randy oversees Yoxi’s internal development; the construction of his off-the-grid, zombie-resistant mountain-top hideout; and the education of his beloved boxer, Bunker.
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Aina Abiodun
Head of Content & Community
Aina bridges the tech+story divide by innovating creative process with initiatives that include the first ever Story Hackathon. An award-winning filmmaker and community builder who now works across media platforms, Aina is the co-founder of StoryCode, a hub and lab for cross-platform and immersive storytellers, now in partnership with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
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Tida Tippapart
Web Editor
Hailing from Sydney, Australia; Tida's work has taken her to the far reaches of the world, from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She has worked along side major feature and animation films for TF1 France, ABC Australia, and Animal Logic, the Academy-Award winning animation and post-production house best known for the Matrix, and Happy Feet. She also helped establish the interdisciplinary studio Assemblage in Sydney; a workshop and exhibition space for early career visual artists, urban planners, architects and industrial designers. For Tida, being BOLD is about always shooting for the moon!
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Courtney Spiller
Editorial Intern
Born and raised in New York City, Courtney brings Native-New-Yorker BOLDness to the Yoxi team. She graduated from Skidmore College with a BA in American Studies and German, and a passion for media activism. Focusing primarily on the effects of media on vulnerable communities, she closely studied LGBTQ images in film and television. She provides support, insight, and an encyclopedic knowledge of 90s pop-culture references to the editorial staff.
Advisory Board
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Mike Edelhart
President, Pivot Conference & Social Week
pivotcon.com -
Debra Dunn
Consulting Associate Professor, Stanford d.school
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Kathleen Gareiss
Managing Director, Digital Delivery at Ogilvy & Mather
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Carl Haacke
CEO of Skylight Interactive
mywebpost.com -
Neil Vogel
Co-founder of Webby Awards, Internet Week and Netted.net
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Marci Zaroff
ECOfashion pioneer, global expert, speaker & consultant
marcizaroff.com -
Jan Morgan
CEO of Sequent Management Group, advisor on sustainable business practices and social enterprise.
sequentmgt.com
Press
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Read the full article »"Changing the world should be fun. When seriousness is embedded in entertainment, and complexity is hidden behind an elegant layer of simplicity, we create intrinsic motivation for people to do good in more creative ways. Yoxi is about creativity and collaboration in the deepest sense we can imagine."
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Read the full article »"The biggest edible roof garden in Brooklyn. Curing Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD). Transforming sweatshops. This is the range of ideas that Yoxi (pronounced yo-see) is working with. By discovering “amazing people who work hard to change the world,” (people Yoxi calls, "Social Innovation Rockstars," or SIRs,) the organization aims to connect them with appropriate brands so those collaborations can boost visibility and grow good ideas into opportunities that spread social impact."
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Read the full article »“Yoxi’s larger goal is to bring social good into mainstream conversation.”
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Read the full article »“The idea to pick a problem and solve it in a way that brings in the most creative ideas from the widest possible audience is born from [Yoxi Founder, Sharon] Chang’s feeling that the ‘only way to truly solve problems fundamentally is to stimulate a higher level of creativity.“
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Read the full article »"Pop culture is driven by superficial qualities, and Chang says she would rather exploit those qualities for a good purpose than wait around for people to change. 'We live in a society where people are obsessed with vanity, with fame, with celebrity,' she says. 'This is not something we can change overnight… it would be more useful for us not to try to fight that.' Chang anticipates criticism and admits her project is controversial, but she’s not going to let that stop her. 'I don’t think we can accomplish anything by being afraid, so we just have to go with it.'"
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Read the full article »“People also typically have an ‘us versus them’ attitude in regards to companies and social entrepreneurs. The older mentality used to be that it was okay to highlight social change for campaign-focused Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. We’re changing the game because we believe in deep collaboration between social entrepreneurs and brands. Business challenges are seen as great opportunities to create Shared Value.”
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Read the full article »Shared value isn’t about reacting to social issues that have immediate effects on quarterly goals, but rather a long-term philosophy that re-evaluates fundamental business principles.