Malinda Behrens is a Business Development specialist in the Fashion Industry.  She applies her operational and business development background to pursue and strengthen fashion industry relationships that support internships and entry level positions for students enrolled in the Fashion Program at Marist. She also works cross-functionally with other professors to bring industry talent and subject matter expertise into the classroom and beyond.

As an experienced Product Operations Strategist, Malinda has partnered with CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs to grow their apparel and accessories brands. Most recently, she was the Chief Merchandising Officer at Carbon38 where she earned 2X revenue and 4X profit over her 2-year tenure with the brand. Prior to that, she was the SVP of Product Operations and Sourcing for Global Brands Group responsible for West Coast product operations of the Juicy Couture and Bebe brands. Prior to joining GBG she was President of Monika Chiang at Burch Creative Capital. She also spent five years at Ralph Lauren as VP of International Business Development overseeing global expansion of the Club Monaco brand. Ms. Behrens’s background is rich with experience and skills that span a spectrum of customer-based design, merchandising, product development and production strategies and initiatives. 

Malinda joined the School of Communications & the Arts Fashion Program in January 2024. This is her first time teaching the Fashion Employment Seminar and looks forward to guiding students to achieve their internship and job placement goals.