Hola hola! My name is Zoila Darton. I'm a Panamanian-Jamaican Jew from NYC currently living in Los Angeles. I'm mostly passionate about innovating new ways to build community, connecting like-minded folks to do such building & using my creativity to give platforms to underserved voices. I'm the daughter of a jazz musician and have had an ongoing love affair with creativity since I came out the womb.
In 2017, I founded WORD, an LA based creative agency committed to cultural storytelling & conceptual ideation that puts creativity at the forefront while supporting advancement for women & marginalized communities. I became pregnant shortly after with my son Dakota and it's been a wild ride ever since. At WORD, we create meaningful marketing campaigns and consumer experiences for brands and founders looking to make the world a better place.
In December of 2019, I launched **OurHouse.la** - an editorial site created to support creative storytelling. My co-founder and I are currently looking to expand this space and support more writers living within the margins. Covid asked us to step up and support community and since April we've hired and paid 45 writers. Our House is quickly becoming my favorite thing to do, until Mom's the Word of course 😉
My most important title and work has been becoming "Mama" to my 2 1/2 year old, Dakota. I'm truly committed to raising a kind & emotionally intelligent human and work daily to undo my own trauma and be a role model and show Dakota what that looks like. In the in-between moments, you can find me binge watching shows (just finished Never Have I ever on Netflix!), volunteering with youth orgs like Las Fotos Project, dancing like a maniac, tending to my growing plant familia, learning to surf and cooking a mean veggie ramen from scratch. Yes, even the broth!
I'm excited to be here with you all. Continuing to grow and tap into that fierce energy and knowledge that only comes from a mother.