Change Is Messy Work

I first met cover model Nicole Cardoza in September 2016, at a Lululemon event.

She was presenting on her innovative nonprofit Yoga Foster, which leverages tech-based platforms to help schools scale up their mindfulness programs (see page24). I remember thinking that Nicole embodied the future of the practice—entrepreneurial, influential, and a true change maker. I wanted to support her work, so we met again a year later in New York City to shoot a story for the August 2018 issue. We kept in touch and saw each other occasionally. Nicole always had something new to share about her career, and her role in changing the accessibility of health and healing. There was more to share with our audience, too, including news of her fund to support wellness organizations run by people of color and other “underestimated” entrepreneurs, so we scheduled a photo shoot in Denver this summer, for what we hoped would be a cover feature.