Elizabeth Pipko

Photography - Craig Ambrosio

Hair and Makeup - Peggy Mackey using Oribe hair products

Styling - Hassni Caina

Cinq a Sept dress, stylist owned necklace and earrings, Sahira jewelry rings

1. Congratulations on graduating from your Master’s Program from University of Pennsylvania! Can you tell us a bit more about what you studied and how you hope to use your degree in upcoming projects and career ventures?

Thank you! So, I attended the School of Social Policy + Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. My school is home to the social work, NGO/nonprofit leadership, and social policy programs which tells you a lot about our studies as well as the path which I hope to take. I went through a very dark time when I was about 17 years old, during which someone recommended to me that I start regularly volunteering. It was then that I really got into the nonprofit space and decided that this was going to be a big part of my life and future. 

2. I saw that you are pursuing culinary school now! What inspired you to want to start working with food? What are some of your favorite dishes to make at the moment?

This is such a tricky question for me because I could easily go on and on talking about my love for food right now. I’ve always loved to cook and everything to do with food, but when the pandemic started, I really got into it more than I had ever imagined that I would. I enrolled in the 6-month professional cook certification course from Rouxbe and knew immediately when I started studying that I wanted to own my own restaurant one day. I would say when it comes to my own cooking, 5 out of 7 nights every week, I’m making an Italian inspired dish. 

3. What type of restaurant are you hoping to open in the future? Do you have any particular cuisines, flavors, or aesthetics that you are hoping to incorporate into the restaurant?

This is also tricky for me to answer because my heart is being pulled in so many different directions! I believe my dream restaurant would be a French-American Brasserie, with a hidden sushi bar. I love Japanese cuisine in general so having a hidden omakase experience would be something I know I would really love to perfect and be able to offer to people.

Anyone who follows me on social media knows that I am the biggest fan of sushi in general, but also specifically of Chef Seki and Sushi Seki, which has three locations in New York City. I can’t possibly recommend Sushi Seki enough both for its atmosphere, and incredible food.

4. Do you have any recipes you can share with us?

So, I love pasta almost more than I love sushi, and love experimenting with different pasta sauces. I recently started making my own basil pesto and then adding it into my vodka sauce. If you haven’t tried this small addition, I definitely recommend!

5. What are your favorite fashion trends of the moment? Do you have any pieces that you’ve been really loving in particular lately?

I’ve always been someone who struggles with fashion in the summer. I was born and raised in NYC, so if I could wear dark winter clothes all year, I truly would. I’d say something I’ve been super into always, but especially lately, is sheer pieces, which happen to work for all seasons. Some great inspiration would be Fendi’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection! I’m really loving AFRM right now for their sheer pieces and how comfortable, affordable, and incredible looking their designs are. 

6. How would you describe your sense of style? 

I absolutely love the styles of Zendaya and Hailey Bieber. I’d say maybe a mix of their styles, plus a little Wednesday Addams!

7. I saw that you participated in the Vizcaya Swimwear anti-photoshop campaign to promote positive body image. Can you tell us more about that? Why do you think it is important to be transparent about realistic body standards? What was it like to be a part of the campaign? Are you participating in any other similar campaigns soon?

I loved not only that campaign, but that entire experience. The idea to not utilize any photoshop came from a conversation I had with the owners of the brand deciding together that this would be something special and something that mattered to all of us. When I participated in that campaign, I was a bit younger, and I think, to be honest, I thought about my own body image a lot more than I do now. This was something which I struggled with a lot in my teenage years especially, so that campaign really meant a lot to me and would certainly be something I’d participate in again!

I think being transparent about not only realistic body image standards, but also realistic lifestyles and experiences can be super important these days where social media completely takes over everyone’s lives and convinces young people that there are certain standards out there that they must live up to which simply aren’t true. 

8. What are your thoughts on the evolution of the modeling industry? What are some changes you want to see and how are you using your platform to change the industry?

I think the modeling industry has gone through changes lately because the world has encouraged those changes across all fields. I think our culture is constantly evolving and pushing for different industries to keep up. I’m not sure if everyone is on board, but I do think and hope that eventually those changes will begin to benefit everyone in the industry. 

I think my #1 priority is always to keep things honest. Anyone that knows me knows that I love to make a joke out of almost anything, and that I can sometimes be too blunt and honest for many. And as much as I’ve faced some pushback for that, I will always continue to be that person and try and encourage the same for others. 

Patbo one piece

Patbo one piece

9.How do you empower young women?

I have two answers for this!

Number one goes back to my last answer. I think we often get too distracted and bogged down with the daily struggles and stresses that come with life. I know I’m certainly guilty of letting life get in the way of my happiness, so for me this goes back to encouraging nothing but an honest and lighthearted attitude in order to deal with the ups and downs that we all unfortunately must go through in our lives.

Number two: something which I have always stressed is becoming the best possible version of yourself despite the constraints which the world often wants to put on women. For me this means trying to be as kind, healthy, successful, educated…etc. as possible. People have always tried to put me into a box; this is something which I think most women go through. But you don’t have to be that person. You can be a young woman and you can proudly do, think, wear, say, and feel anything that you want.

10. Can you tell us more about the Lest People Forget project? What inspired you to start this project? What can people expect to see upon entering the website? Why are you particularly passionate about educating people about the Holocaust? Why do you believe people should educate themselves about the Holocaust and world history? 

I created Lest People Forget so that we could encourage young people to not only get involved in the preservation of the history of the Holocaust but inspire them to lead the way on this effort. As technology becomes more and more innovative, we know that young people will be at the forefront of its utilization. So, the added feature of decentralized technology in this conversation not only accomplishes the goal of preserving Holocaust materials, but it accomplishes the goal of putting the responsibility onto young people to continue to share this history, something many unfortunately don’t know very much about. 

11. How is Lest People Forget different from other websites and platforms that discuss the Holocaust?

The website is meant to act as a digital Holocaust Museum. It is certainly not the only one out there, however the utilization of decentralized technology in this way is something I have not seen done anywhere with materials such as these. The goal of the project was not simply to be another digital Holocaust Museum, but to provide the tools to enable individuals anywhere in the world, who wouldn’t otherwise have the resources, to be able to contribute to the preservation of the history of the Holocaust.

12. What are the 3 most important facts about Judaism and/or the Holocaust that you think more people in the US should know?

So, in 2020, the first-ever 50-state survey on Holocaust knowledge among Millennials and Gen Z was done. That survey, called the U.S. Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey, had some really scary results including 1 in 10 respondents not being able to recall ever having heard the word “Holocaust” before, sixty-three percent of those surveyed not knowing that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, and over half of those individuals thinking that the death toll was actually fewer than 2 million.

I think these stats alone prove that the basic facts are not known, and that people really need to study their history, or as they say, we are doomed to repeat it. 

13. Moving forward, how can people get involved with Lest People Forget and the Holocaust awareness movement?

I would say just take the time to learn about this history whenever you can. And visit LestPeopleForget.com!

14. Last question for you, we’d love to know what are your future career plans?

Honestly, I wish I had a clear answer to that question! I think I’ve always just really enjoyed getting to have a hand in so many different industries and I hope that I’m able to continue to do that! I’ve had some amazing opportunities come my way these last few years, and I hope this culinary journey will be one that I could soon add to that list. I’ve been a fan of Kim Kardashian’s for years and the commitment which she has to being a woman who is involved in every industry that she can be a part of has really inspired my own thinking. Whether it’s beauty and skincare, tech, fashion, or even working on prison-reform, she manages to succeed in all of these different worlds and inspire other women to know that they can do the same. I want to represent that same thinking and stop so many from believing that any of us are limited in what we can or should be doing. 

I also think having more of a presence and involvement in our culture and conversations is something I’d really enjoy. It’s tough these days to insert your voice into major conversations without fear of some kind of blowback, but I do think it’s an important thing to do when you have any sort of platform or following. I really admire those that seem to have always been able to be honest both with their audiences and with themselves and to keep people informed and entertained along the way. I think Bill Maher is a wonderful example of this too. Luckily there’s always someone to look up to and learn from in the world we live in today

Look 1: Zara pants, custom made top, Chanel earrings

Look 2: Intrigue couture one legged jumpsuit, simmi heels