Christene Barberich is the cofounder and global editor in chief of Refinery29, a media company focused on empowering women by starting conversations about body image, politics, and careers. Refinery29 says it will connect with 425 million people this year across its site, social media, videos, and live events. Before launching Refinery in 2005, Barberich spent her career in media, and helped build the scrappy City Magazine. The lessons she learned there gave her the confidence she needed to take on Refinery29, which would turn out to be a more ambitious project than anyone expected.