Suzanne Lerner

Suzanne Lerner is the co-founder and CEO of contemporary fashion and lifestyle brand Michael Stars, a B Corp Certified company which she founded and built with her late husband Michael Cohen in 1986. As one of the first socially responsible and purpose-driven apparel brands in the U.S., Michael Stars has always ensured fair wages and continues to be a leader and proponent of local sourcing and manufacturing and use of sustainable fabrics. Suzanne’s activism and philanthropy focuses on funding grassroots and community organizations that are building critical pathways to gender and racial equity. She invests in communities both domestically and internationally through personal grants, impact investments, and the Michael Stars Foundation, which she and Michael established in 2005. She received the Woman of Vision Award from the Ms. Foundation for Women, was recognized as one of Women’s eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century and as one of the 25 Most Influential Angelenos by Angeleno Magazine. Suzanne serves as a board member for the Fund for Women’s Equality and the ERA Coalition and previously served on the boards of the ACLU of Southern California and the Ms. Foundation for Women. She is an advisory board member of Prosperity Catalyst, A Call to Men, and Children Mending Hearts, and a member of Women Donors Network (WDN), One for Democracy, the Maverick Collective at PSI, and the Forbes Business Council. An avid supporter of documentary film, Suzanne was an associate producer of “The Fight,” winner of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize and an executive producer on “Shouting Down Midnight” (2022). Exec producer (vs texas) co exec producer “Sell/By/ Date” co-executive producer… “An Unfinished Journey” She resides in Manhattan Beach, California, New York City, and Mykonos, Greece with her #feministpup @ms_simba.