Events & AwardsJan 06, 2022
92Y Is Resuming Its Jewelry Artist ResidencyEvents & AwardsJan 20, 2022
WJA, PGI Name Responsible Business Education Grant Recipients
The new grant supports education via a sustainability course at New York University.
Mary Enright (left) and Megan Cochran are the first recipients of the Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation’s Responsible Business Education Grant, sponsored by Platinum Guild International.
New York—The Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation has awarded a new grant based on sustainable business practices.
Sponsored by Platinum Guild International USA, the grant allows two WJA members to enroll in a sustainability course at New York University’s Stern School of Business Executive Education program online.
Megan Cochran and Mary Enright are the inaugural recipients.
WJA Executive Director Jennifer Markas said in a statement: “WJA Foundation is optimistic about its forward-looking and innovative charitable approach with a focus on sustainability education. A partnership with Platinum Guild International USA extends the opportunity to support and develop more sustainability leaders within the industry.”
PGI President Jenny Luker added: “PGI is proud to support WJA Foundation’s Responsible Sourcing & Sustainability Fund and its business education grant towards NYU programs.
“We feel it is important for our industry to make a continued commitment toward sustainable practices in all levels of business, and the first place to start is education. We are excited to see the positive impact these opportunities will have on the recipients’ businesses.”
Cochran is a designer and jeweler in Oceanside, California.
She graduated from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York with a bachelor of fine arts, and the Gemological Institute of America with a graduate jeweler diploma and CAD/CAM certificate.
Cochran has more than 14 years of work experience in design and product development for a variety of brands and retailers.
In 2020, she launched her own company offering ethically minded design and production to small jewelry businesses, called Megan Cochran Jewelry Design.
Cochran is the treasurer of WJA San Diego, and a member and volunteer with Ethical Metalsmiths.
Enright is a jewelry designer and master goldsmith based in New York, with close to two decades of experience in jewelry.
She owned a hybrid jewelry boutique/gallery/workshop in Ireland, which brought her to New York in 2016 for a solo exhibition.
Enright later moved to New York where she worked as a model maker in Tiffany & Co.’s Jewelry Design and Innovation Workshop.
Today, she is a CAD/CAM instructor at GIA and serves on WJA New York Metro’s diversity committee and communications committee.
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