Our Team
DÔEN was founded in 2016 by sisters Margaret and Katherine Kleveland in Los Angeles, California, in collaboration with an amazing collective of founding partners -- Hilary Walsh, Katharine Hall, Phoebe Dean, Hilary Tisch, Allie Furlotti, and Courtney Santry.
Since day one, our team has been at the core of DÔEN’s mission, and the inspiration and energy behind everything we do.
We’ve steadily grown since our early days, and are always looking to add more inspiring people to our team! Visit the Careers page to see our current openings. Our main offices are located in Los Angeles, California, and we’re excited to grow our team nationally. We’d love to meet you, wherever you are.
Our Collective
Margaret and Katherine Kleveland were inspired to found DÔEN after witnessing firsthand the barriers to true ownership faced by women throughout the fashion industry -- even though women are the driving force behind the industry.
Each of our founding partners bring a unique area of expertise - from law and finance to art direction and photography - to the table. Creating opportunities of ownership - for a true collective, a collaborative enterprise - was critical to our foundation, and remains integral to our mission of supporting women throughout all aspects of our organization.
Study after study has shown that when women-identifying individuals have positions of power and leadership in companies, there is more focus on equality policies and practices -- yet only 38 women were included in the Fortune 500 CEOs list in 2020. We believe that number should be higher, and that representation, inclusion, and the elevation of those historically left out of these central roles matters. This steadfast belief shapes the way we seek new partnerships and informs the way we work together to build DÔEN.
We hope that the DÔEN company structure is a living argument for sharing ideas, responsibilities, and credit -- and imbues a sense of the importance of collaborative work within organizations at large.
margaret kleveland
CEO and Co-Founder - I grew up in Southern California and it has served as a main source of inspiration all my life. I began my career in Operations and have held roles in Ops, Production, and Business Management leading up to founding Dôen with this incredible group of partners. I thrive working with people and being in the details - I am forever curious and ask too many questions. My strengths lie in discipline, patience, and calculated risk. I am an unconventional person and leader, seeking personal growth wherever I can find it, and forever working to improve my relationship with joy. I am a queer-identifying single mom of two with incredible co-parent support. My ambition is for Dôen to lead the next generation of American heritage brands, and working alongside this inspiring Collective, including my sister, is a constant source of motivation and pride.
katherine kleveland
CCO and Co-Founder - Growing up in the Santa Barbara foothills, my inspiration has always been steeped in nature, family, and nostalgia for a time before my own. Since I could hold a pencil, I sketched clothes – this pastime becoming a career is a dream come true. I am grateful that our company is one where family comes first: founding the company with my best friend who happens to be my sister, building the business with a strong group of like-minded women who I consider soul sisters, seeing my three children grow up in and out of our office and at photoshoots, and sharing joys along the way with my husband has been incredibly fulfilling.
hilary walsh
Partner and Photographer - I am a photographer, maker, and mother. After 20 years of commercial photography, I now balance my time between working on Dôen and other creative outlets such as ceramics, fiber art, and permaculture. My husband and I live with our two sons, three alpacas, two parrots, and seven chickens, splitting our time between Ojai and West Marin, California.
phoebe dean
Creative Director - Content - I live in a Venice Beach bungalow with my love. I'm a vintage junkie (own close to 30 plain white t-shirts, all with holes) and am happiest being creative, working with women who I look up to and who empower me. I feel most inspired finding vintage photos from the 70s and listening to The Velvet Underground.
katharine hall
Founding Legal Advisor - I currently live in Austin, Texas, and enjoy spending time outside with my three little boys, running, swimming and practicing yoga. I also love live music and reading - the Avett Brothers and Murakami are two of my favorites. Watching my strong female friends nurture their families and themselves has helped me grow as a person and a mom, and I’m continually inspired by Katherine and Margaret, who do so while also bringing their creative dreams to life through Dôen. I feel honored to be part of a company that celebrates and cherishes the strength, balance, and beauty of all women in all stages of life.
hilary tisch
In memoriam: 1983-2020
As a founding partner, Hilary’s contributions to the brand are invaluable and immeasurable. She was our first champion and a stalwart friend and supporter. After years of dreaming of creating something together, Hilary accompanied Katherine on the first trip to India to meet with potential partners. Deeply connected to the spirit of Doen, Hilary was foundational to the creative ethos — even helping come up with the brand name — and vital to the business growth over the years. Her enthusiasm and vigorous empowerment of her friends made Doen possible, and she is forever embedded in the soul of the brand.
allie furlotti
Founding Partner - I am a design fiction artist and stand up comedian, philanthropist, and mother. My husband, daughter Dylan, and I split our time between Portland and Santa Monica. I have an MFA from Central Saint Martins which taught me to love shape and form and desire as an object and as a performer. As a devotee to art and fashion in equal measures, I love Dôen for creating a community of motherhood based around how we choose to dress when our bodies change or don't change. The art is the female form and the fashion is the clothing. As the head of the Calligram Foundation, I have had the chance to nurture a number of exciting projects through the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. I hope to bring Dôen into the world of contemporary art in some way.
courtney santry
Partner and Financial Advisor - Partner and Financial Advisor - I was raised in Santa Barbara and currently split my time between Santa Monica and Ventura, CA. After earning my CPA license, I started a finance consulting firm with some encouragement from friends. Our firm provides the platform to success for creatives and entrepreneurs, letting them focus on their business while we focus on the financial operations. Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be in finance, but also dabbled in playing dress up with my mom's couture. It continues to be an inspiring experience to work with such amazing long-time friends and enables me to combine my fondness for finance with my curiosity about fashion.
Tracey Cunningham
Partner - I moved to LA from Seattle to pursue my passion for all things beauty-related. I used to blow dry my mom’s hair growing up and have always been interested in coloring hair. When I moved to Los Angeles in my early twenties my boss at the time encouraged me to attend beauty school. That’s where it all began! I love being behind the chair and seeing my clients every day. It can be long hours and hard work but I genuinely love being in the salon and getting to travel the world to see all my clients. Being a single mom and working a full time job with unexpected hours is no joke, but you just keep working and providing for your family. I think the epitome of happiness is being around my friends and family and in life I enjoy continuing to learn and finding different ways to give back.
Knoernschild Family Trust, Cindy & Joe Knoernschild
Partner - We met as Social Ecology undergraduates at UC Irvine; and married in 1977. We’ve always had extremely different interests: Cindy, in love with the arts - a ceramist who can often be found on her wheel throwing new creations - while always intrigued by business, and Joe, a lifelong surfer who now celebrates being a 32-year season ticket holder to the ballet. We’re bound together by our shared spiritual values. These connections led us to plant our roots together in the apparel industry in 1983 as founding partners of Billabong USA, working alongside each other for 16 years covering all aspects of the business, building and scaling a company while having a hand in creating the surf industry. Action sports were truly fun, the community was hyperly engaged, and we had a front row seat -- all while raising Joel and Katie. Great times! Throughout the years, we’ve left Billabong, started Hurley International and were there through the Nike acquisition. Since retiring, Joe’s enjoys teaching and volunteering, while Cindy focuses on her ceramics as a potter. We’re truly honored to be a part of the DÔEN collective.
Holly Soroca
President - I grew up in a family of fashion and theater, both passions of mine to this day. I get to experience the magic of both daily, infused into the magnetic culture of New York City, where I live with my husband and three sons. My days are spent working in fashion, for nearly 25 years, with an unwavering goal of prioritizing a culture of women supporting women, and my weekends are spent out and about - on a field or a court - cheering along my incredibly sporty boys. Having worked with Katherine and Margaret throughout the years, it’s an absolute dream come true to be reunited with these strong women. I am immensely proud to be a part of this powerful Collective and on this incredible journey.
Anne Marecki
VP of Product - I am a 4th generation Californian raised in Ventura, and currently living in Highland Park with my love and sweet Sonny boy.
From an early age I dressed myself and coordinated multiple outfit changes a day. My mom sewed most of my clothes, and her mom for her. I have fond memories of watching my mom sew, and I still get the same childish excitement when I’m working in factories - to say this is my life’s work is an understatement!
My passion lies in creating beautiful products and connecting with the women around the world who make them. Behind every garment is a story and community that I feel deeply connected to.
I find so much joy in motherhood and my work and am forever grateful to be on this journey with such a powerful group of women.