Agency Values

We are the agency that puts ethics, sustainability, environmental, and social justice at the core of our business. Founded in 2017, the agency came to life from the desire to build a platform where models are given a voice to speak about things they believe in. We wanted to show the world that models can be incredible agents of change and help shift pop culture in the direction needed for a better future.

The Founders

Two models and social activists came together with a shared dream – starting a modeling agency that would disrupt the way we think about and see the industry. One phone call was all it took after having been introduced to each other via a common friend, Val and Anne Therese knew right away that this agency had to happen.

Val Emanuel, our LA-based founder, has been working in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, starting as a model at the age of two. She is a mother and an avid environmentalist. Val has promoted sustainability and animal activism since her early teens. In 2016 she graced billboards across America in the Let’s Recycle Right campaign alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Kristen Bell.

Anne Therese, based in New York City, is the Swedish-born model with a business degree in international marketing. She was pursuing her Master’s in Branding & Integrated Communications at City College of New York when she decided to put her studies on pause to start Role Models. She had started modeling with the hope to gain a voice, but when she realized the industry wasn’t much about empowering models, she knew there was room for some positive change.

All marketing, press, and speaking engagement inquiries can be sent to: annetherese@rolemodelsmgmt.com.