Jump to content

Draft:Katherine (Gibbs) Parr

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katherine (Gibbs) Parr
Parr in New York City.
Born (1978-08-14) August 14, 1978 (age 45)
Sea Girt, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Businesswoman, educator, philanthropist
SpouseGary Parr (m.2016)
Relatives

Katherine Parr (neé Gibbs, born August 14, 1978) is an American designer, entrepreneur, public school educator, philanthropist, and former fashion model. Her combination of both public and private sector work has earned her an award from the Fulbright Specialist Program, a program of the U.S. Department of State, and dubbed as the "Model-Teacher" by CNN World News.[1] [2] [3]. [4]

Early Life and Education

[edit]

Katherine is the daughter of public school educators and was raised in the coast of New Jersey. Her maternal grandfather was Paul Fredricks, a trumpeter in the Big Bands of the 1940s.[5]

Katherine attended Sea Girt Elementary School and Manasquan High School in Monmouth County, New Jersey. She received a B.S. Business Administration at Villanova University’s School of Business where she was been named a Top 100 Alumni of Impact [6]. She earned her teaching professional certification at night through Monmouth University while working full-time as a public school teacher.

Career

[edit]

Fashion Model

[edit]

Katherine was discovered by French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier and worked as a fashion model for years in international markets. Following graduation from Villanova University, she began her career as a fashion model when she moved to New York City. Following success in the Elite Look of the Year Contest in 1997, she declined several modeling contracts in order to attend Villanova University. Immediately following graduation, she shot an advertising campaign in New York, the first campaign in Elle Magazine for luxury designer Adrienne Landau, [7] and began working as a model in New York City in runway shows, advertising, and other work for designers including Diane Von Furstenberg, an advertising campaign for French designer Gérard Darel, and several others.

A year later, Katherine was discovered by French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier and signed by his agent Bryan Bantry, in New York, and Elite Model Management in European fashion markets,[8]. She spent years working in New York and international fashion markets doing fashion runway, advertising, magazine editorial spreads, including time spent working as the house model and in various business and creative roles for designers Diane Von Furstenberg and Vivienne Tam. She has been featured in Elle Magazine, Italian Vogue, television work for Piaggio Vespa, and a television commercial for the New York City to announce the non-smoking laws in public areas, as well as work for beauty brand Vincent Longo, and fashion shows for designers including Diane Von Furstenberg, work with creative talent including Patrick Demarchelier, Antoine Verglas, Francesco Scavullo., Vincent Longo, Edward Tricomi, and Joel Warren [9]

Education

[edit]

Katherine was dubbed by CNN World News as the "Model-Teacher" for her career change from fashion to public education. Katherine left her fashion career to earn her teaching certification through enrollment in New Jersey’s Alternate Route Teaching Program in the Title One District of Long Branch Public Schools. She worked as a teacher for 5.5 years, where she developed a Leadership Academy Magnet program, World Languages curriculum, and spearheaded a cross-cultural partnership through the United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI) with Her Majesty Queen Rania’s Madrasati Initiative in Jordan.[10]

Design and Business Entrepreneurship

[edit]

Katherine's jewelry and decorative artwork, inspired by global history and culture; has been featured in exhibition shows in Barcelona, Spain (Galeria RED03) (2010) [11], New York City (Rockefeller Center) (2013), and in London, at Clarence House for King Charles III (2018). It is owned and has been worn by CNN International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, violinist Joshua Bell, tennis player Rafael Nadal, and Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan and has been sold online and in various boutiques and museums including 1stDibs.com, and special curations at the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. [12]

As a designer, Katherine and her work has been featured in media outlets including Town & Country, Tatler Hong Kong, Tatler Malaysia, Tatler Philippines, L‘Officiel, British Vogue and Elle [13] [14], and Palm Beach Illustrated.

In 2016, she co-founded a second ethical luxury brand, Parré Chocolat, an premium chocolate company, with her husband, that works with farmers in Latin America to provide fair trade, luxury chocolate to consumers in the United States. Parré Chocolat has been distributed at the U.S. Open luxury lounges in New York, as well as several cultural institutions and corporate dining rooms in New York City. It is currently available B2C online and B2B in Palm Beach, Florida, [15] [16].

Philanthropy and Non-Profit Advisory

[edit]

Katherine is active on several charitable boards with a focus on education and economic empowerment for women, including Custom Collaborative, a New York City-based nonprofit helping low-income immigrant women of color with education and employment in the fashion industry, [17], the Global Advisory Council of Education for Employment, the leading nonprofit in the Middle East North Africa region helping educate and connect youth to jobs; [18] and the Town of Palm Beach United Way [19] [20]. She has been a teacher for UNICEF in Chinatown, New York City.

Since 2016, she has been a designer for Turquoise Mountain, a charity founded by King Charles III, working with artisans living in conflict zones including Afghanistan and Syrians living in Jordan [21] [22] She recently designed a limited edition capsule collection of fine carpets, handmade by women carpet weavers in Afghanistan, commissioned by the Qatar Fund for Development through Turquoise Mountain charity.

Katherine has been awarded for her entrepreneurship and advisory work by the Fulbright Specialist Program, a program of the U.S. Department of State, overseen by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, whereby American industry experts are selected to advise overseas universities and governments. [23] [24]. She was named to Villanova University Top 100 Alumni of Impact [25]

Personal life

[edit]

Katherine has been married to American finance executive and philanthropist Gary Parr, since 2016.

Katherine presented a TEDx Talk “The Road to Economic Empowerment is Conscious Consumerism,” at the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City in 2019. At the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August 2021, the talk was temporarily removed from TED.com in order to protect the Afghan women featured, including jewelry artisan Saeeda Etebari, but it has since been reinstated.[26]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Fulbright Specialist Program". Fulbright Specialist Program - World Learning. 2022.
  2. ^ "It Takes Two Cover Story". Palm Beach Illustrated. 2024.
  3. ^ "Kate Gibbs "Model:Teacher"". CNN World News. 2010.
  4. ^ "Former Resident Honored for Contributions to Education and Business". The Coast Star. 2010.
  5. ^ "Italian Style Magazine". Italian Style Magazine. 2009.
  6. ^ "Katherine Gibbs Parr: VSB Top 100 Stories of Impact". Villanova University. 2023.
  7. ^ "Kate Gibbs Model at Bellazon". Bellazon. 2016.
  8. ^ "It Takes Two Cover Story". Palm Beach Illustrated. 2024.
  9. ^ "Kate Gibbs Model Italian Vogue". Italian Vogue. 2010.
  10. ^ "Kate Gibbs "Model:Teacher"". CNN World News. 2010.
  11. ^ "Kate Gibbs Artist Exhibition in Barcelona". Galeria RED03, Barcelona, Spain. 2009.
  12. ^ "Museum of Fine Arts, Houston". 2022.
  13. ^ "Katherine Parr". Tatler Hong Kong. 2021.
  14. ^ "Brands Supporting Women Artisans". Town and Country Magazine. 2019.
  15. ^ "Parré Chocolat". 2016.
  16. ^ "The Willy Wonka of Wall Street". Bloomberg. 2019.
  17. ^ "Custom Collaborative Founders Circle and Advisors". Custom Collaborative Charity. 2018.
  18. ^ "Education for Employment Global Advisory Council". Education for Employment Charity. 2021.
  19. ^ "The Coastal Star". Champion of Women Worldwide. 2024.
  20. ^ "United Way Board Leadership". Town of Palm Beach United Way. 2023.
  21. ^ "Turquoise Mountain Charity". 2024.
  22. ^ "The Essence of Ancient Kingdoms". Turquoise Mountain Charity. 2021.
  23. ^ "The Coastal Star". Champion of Women Worldwide. 2024.
  24. ^ "Fulbright Specialist Program Award". Fulbright Program of U.S. Department of State. 2022.
  25. ^ "Katherine Gibbs Parr Top 100 Stories of Impact". Villanova University. 2023.
  26. ^ "Ted Talk: The Road to Economic Empowerment is Conscious Consumerism". TED.com. 2019.
[edit]


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Katherine_(Gibbs)_Parr&oldid=1237999955"