MEMBER FOCUS: Alicia Tenise Chew

IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE that @aliciatenise’s beauty and lifestyle blog began as a college hobby. Before her work was featured in ELLE Magazine, before she was named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s “Top DC Fashion and Beauty IG Accounts to Follow,” she was a student at VCU, seeking a creative outlet.

After interning with two leading fashion groups in New York City, Alicia was inspired to find ways to create budget-friendly outfits, write about her findings, but didn’t anything would come of it.

Fast forward nine years—and through her indefatigable work ethic—Alicia’s blog took off and is now a full lifestyle brand. Her now 32K followers on IG read content covering everything from fashion, to travel, to mental health care, to diversity and inclusion. She will be the first to say that no matter the field you’re a part of, no matter the platform you have, you can use it to advance important conversations forward.

She reminds us that, “If you have a social media account and you have people following you, guess what? You’re an influencer. It doesn’t matter if you have 30 followers or 300K followers, you have a platform and you can use that platform to do good.”

Following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, Alicia has been using her platform to amplify the Movement for Black Lives Matter. She shares micro aggressions she’s experienced. She advocates for Black-owned brands and businesses, especially within her field of fashion and lifestyle. And she informs white readers how they can be allies going forward.

“I really hope that anyone who wants to be an ally is in it for the long haul. Learning about systemic racism shouldn’t just be trendy now, but should be a lifelong commitment. It will take prioritizing education, engagement, and soaking up as many resources as possible to relearn accurate American history.”