Changing the World One Bra at a Time

Misinformation about women’s health has been widespread since the dawn of time -- this isn’t meant to be dramatic or exaggerative. It is the fact that quite literally, since as early as literature could record, there have been sometimes dire misconceptions about women’s health.

Founder and CEO of Ms. Brafit Limited, Nicole Joseph Chin, wished to fix these inequities -- an amazing feat that led to the invitation for her to become the Inaugural CEO of Color in Residence at the Eberhardt School of Business. This program was created by Eberhardt School of Business Associate Professor Sacha-Joseph Matthews.

The creation of Ms. Brafit Limited started with two of Chin’s personal challenges -- self empowerment and self-care. Chin found it imperative to engage in service to the many others who also face these challenges. Found at www.msbrafit.com, the services that Chin’s company offers to help these challenges are breast care services, solutions, care, and fitting.

While at Pacific, Chin has seen the amazing intersection between faculty, students, and purpose. In fact, the cohesion that she has seen has been so forthcoming that Chin says, “I would have come to the Pacific had she been 20 years younger.” 

“I got to meet athletes representing University of the Pacific,I got to meet students in creative spaces, I got to be in the business space, the creative space, the health space, the finance space. I got to be part of conversations that are relevant… those around life skills, social engagement, impact, performance and quality of life.” 

From these important conversations, Chin affirms that it is important that we see leaders who “challenge the status quo” and take a step off of the beaten path.

“I came from another country, another territory, and I brought with me specific cultural experiences that I would have to marry into many different discussions… I want to give students the ability to see that they too can aspire to build anything, create anything, innovate anything, and to use their voices to change anything,” says Chin. 

Chin mentions that the creation of her business (the beginnings of which had started in 2002), had begun with herself being uncomfortable in her own clothing. Chin sees “social enterprise as the way to change the world and the way to impact humanity… to change the way that business is done in the world.” 

Mentoring has been a critical part of Chin’s journey: whether it be through the mentors that led her or through those that she mentors.: “I have been mentored by some amazing people. Sometimes it wasn’t even deliberate mentorship but in hindsight it was mentorship.” 

From her own journey with mentorship, Chin has found a critical intersection between empathy and leadership. The pursuit of forgiveness and understanding within the business setting is a large part of growth: without this, the business space can seem daunting in an already uncertain place.  

The challenges that Chin faced when starting her company were not few, but she found importance in being patient and flexible. Patience and flexibility lend to much needed determination in her field. And it is patience and flexibility that are not only key takeaways for those in business, but for anyone in any field. 

There exists a beauty in constant reinvention of oneself -- a feat that most definitely can be learned from Chin.