Source author Chloe was able to chat with both Annie Doresca and Elyssa Jenkins-Perez about forming BIJC and developing the soon-to-launch I.D.E.A.

Ian Bone is co-founder of Capricorn Gems, a wholesale gem business that specializes in sapphire, boulder opal, zircon, and chrysoprase from Central Queensland, Australia.

I started out working on various sanctions programs towards Sub-Saharan Africa, including Sudan and Liberia, which had a diamond component.

Jewelry designer and metalsmith Jennifer Dawes was an early adopter of responsible sourcing and eco-conscious jewelry making. She launched Jennifer Dawes Design in 2000 and currently serves as a Board Member of Ethical Metalsmiths as part of her work towards increasing transparency in the jewelry industry.

Nihma Ibironke Oduniyi is the founder and current Creative Director of Lagos Jewelry School in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied at Central St. Martins College of Arts in London and the London Jewelry School and went on to launch her own design company, ION Jewelry. She recently helped start the Pan African Jeweller’s Association (PAJA).

Brian Cook is the co-founder of jewelry company Nature’s Geometry, which he runs with his wife Kendra and daughter Quendi, whom are also designers. Brian also owns Pyramid Mine in the state of Bahia, Brazil; a rutilated quartz mine.

Jay Moncada is the co-founder of Perpetuum Jewels, a New York-based wholesaler of diamonds, precious stones, and fine estate jewelry. Perpetuum Jewels is certified by SCS Global Services as a Certified Responsible Source and for 100% Post-Consumer Recycled Gemstones.

Meet EM member Emily Phillippy: the owner of and designer behind Emily Chelsea Jewelry, a Philadelphia-based jewelry brand committed to social responsibility, environmental conservation and equality.

Stuart Pool runs gem trading company Nineteen48, named after Sri Lanka’s year of independence, with business partner Gary Seneviratne. He’s also a co-founder of Fair Luxury and a partner of the Moyo Gems collaboration in Tanzania.

Amina Egwuatu is a Nigerian gemologist and owner of Mina Stones, a vertically-integrated social business founded in 2011. The brand name comes from her Hausa name “Amina,” meaning “Trustworthy and Honest,” after Queen Amina of Zazzau.

Rachel Hill is owner of Americut Gems, a gemstone company whose “All-American Sapphires” are 100% mined, cut, and polished in America. Americut Gems is the only company in the United States that is commercially producing precision cut and polished Montana sapphires in all sizes.

Robin Gambhir is Fair Trade Jewellery Co.'s (FTJCo) co-founder and manages finance, governance, technology and sourcing. Robin’s varied experience ranges from working as a software developer with Apple, to a writer for the National Post newspaper.

Conversations with Christina T. Miller Sustainable Jewelry Consulting and investor and partner with Better Without Mercury, a project to eliminate mercury pollution at an artisanal gold mine in Colombia.