After last year’s overwhelming success, the OWN IT Summit is back! As The Hoya is the campus media partner, 4E will be periodically bringing you profiles of the illustrious speakers. As today is International Women’s Day, 4E is proud to profile social activist Aria Finger, COO of DoSomething.org and the president of TMI Agency. Let’s find out more about Aria, in her own words:
Aria graduated as valedictorian from her high school: “That gave me the confidence to hopefully change the world a little bit.”
She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in economics and political science: “I was an economics major in college and my stubborn self wanted to prove all of my classmates wrong – that working at a not-for-profit could be efficient, effective and world-changing.”
Aria joined DoSomething.org as an associate: “It was a tiny organization, with just six employees, and they empower young people to take action on every issue under the sun. To me, that sounded so fabulous, in addition to their sort of cheeky, fun, exciting vibe.”
One of her major campaigns at DoSomething.org was the Teens for Jeans program, in which Aeropostale shoppers who donated a pair of used jeans would get 25% off a new pair: “Teens for Jeans has been an incredible success in the past seven years because it resonates with young people and it’s an easy way for them to take action on youth homelessness.”
Aria really enjoyed working on the “Give a Spit About Cancer” campaign, which sought to get college students in the bone marrow registry, and combined Chris Pratt with Aziz Ansari in a popular PSA: “It turns out that college-aged students have the best bone marrow. All you have to do is swab your cheek, and you’re on the registry for life… It’s our smallest campaign, but our most impactful.”
Another popular campaign she worked on was “Thumb Wars”, which encouraged teens not to text and drive by giving them thumb socks: “We make it really easy and fun and sexy and entertaining and social to get involved.” (DoSomething.org has given out over 80,000 pairs.)
In June 2013, DoSomething.org launched TMI Agency as a nonprofit/business consulting company, of which Aria is president. When asked about heading up TMI as a supplement to DoSomething.org, she said, “We run 25 cause campaigns a year, and how many issues are out there: a bazillion?”
Aria has been profiled in the New York Times and was the youngest person, at 29 years old, to be part of Crain’s New York Business “40 Under Forty” list. When asked what she would say to a job seeker looking for a meaningful job, she said, “There are… a million ways to look for meaning – you don’t have to work at a not-for-profit. Someone who works at a big financial institution could lead the charge to teach millennials about how to save for their retirement and not get ripped off. This would have a massive impact on millions of people. We need good people everywhere.”
Some fun facts about Aria: “At 6-feet tall I’m the shortest person in my family. And I love, love, love salted caramel brownies.”
So if you’ve got tickets for the OWN IT summit on Saturday, Mar. 28, you might have the privilege to hang out with Aria and hear more about her incredible devotion to nonprofits and youth activism. Sign-ups for speaker sessions will be emailed to ticket-holders TONIGHT at 8:00 pm, so make sure to sign up for a chance to hear from your idols.
Info: https://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/2012/aria-finger, https://www.companiesandcausescanada.com/aria-finger-coo-dosomething-org-and-president-tmi/https://magazine.wustl.edu/2013/october/Pages/Aria-Finger-DoSomething.aspxhttps://www.bmeaningful.com/blog/2014/09/aria-finger-coo-dosomething-org/
Photos: https://217989-www5.dosomething.org/files/styles/blog_landscape/public/pictures/blog/photo_16.jpeg?itok=lehr0E_R, https://forefrontmag.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Aria-Large.jpg, https://www.forefrontmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Aria-Spring-Dinner.jpg, https://magazine.wustl.edu/2013/october/PublishingImages/WU-Alumni-profiles-Aria-Finger.jpg, https://forefrontmag.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/aria-annual-meeting.jpg, https://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Aria+Finger+Bing+DoSomething+org+Kick+Off+zrlmLtjv2u_l.jpg, https://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Aria+Finger+Inside+17th+Annual+Webby+Awards+9BaMhOiJseIl.jpg, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/520507eae4b04eea63476227/t/520d5ed2e4b01d1e97b1bd72/1376607963073/aria_finger.jpg, https://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profile_images/2012/450x300xFingerMain.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Fx8VUi-Myw.jpg
