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Blog April 25, 2023

Keratin Nails (Cohort 9, Jiye Gia Son) Coming Full Circle: From Nail Technician to Nail Polish Innovator

Jiye Gia Son, PhD, Founder of Keratin Nails is a Cohort 9 Alum and recipient of the Impact Innovation Award. 


Immigrant Beginnings


I always knew that I was going to start a business but didn’t have a clue on what the business would provide or how I would get there. Immigrating to suburban Long Island, NY, I was exposed to entirely new surroundings from where I was born and raised, in Seoul, South Korea. From the moment I arrived at JFK airport, I stared at faces that looked completely different from mine and tried to grasp a language I didn’t understand. Fortunately, I was only ten years old and unlike my older teenage sister, I didn’t fully understand what was happening to feel nervous about the situation. So, I embraced what all ten-year-old kids are supposed to do – hopped on a yellow school bus and went to school as a fourth grader. I learned that kicking a ball during recess is a universal game that requires no speaking, showed off my long division skills during math class (that I had already learned in Korea), and attended English as a Second Language (ESL) class with my Spanish-speaking friends.



Learning from Life


By high school, I had assimilated into my American life. My sister and I started working at a nail salon to earn money and help our family. First, we started with pedicures. After many years, we graduated to manicures. I enjoyed the work, although some feet needed extra work which I still have nightmares about, especially cutting overgrown cuticles and ingrown toenails (sorry, TMI?). I loved creating nail art and practicing the white strokes of a French manicure on my coworkers during downtime. The women I worked with were Asian or Hispanic who were all first-generation immigrants from Korea, China, Nepal, Venezuela, and Mexico. They lived near Flushing, Queens and were picked up by a van each morning and driven to suburbia, Long Island for work. My high school level Spanish was good enough to have simple conversations about the ladies having sore legs after a late night of salsa dancing and share delicious arepas for breakfast that they brought from Queens. I ate curry and drank mango juice for lunch with Nepalese women who always asked me how my schooling was going. I continued working on weekends and full-time in summers to support myself through college and finally stopped working at nail salons during my first semester as a PhD student in the chemistry program at CUNY Graduate Center. 


From Nail Salon to Chemistry Lab


Graduate school was so much fun. I loved creating new chemical structures that had never existed before and probing them with UV light and electron microscopes to find out what they looked like. My mentors and I filed a provisional patent on novel peptides I had created, which had a potential to be used as a drug-delivery vehicle for targeting metastatic cancer. We didn’t end up pursuing a full patent, but I was very excited at the idea of having my lab invention out in the real-world, being of good service to others. In 2019, I successfully defended my dissertation and became the Associate Director of the Nanoscience Initiative at CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. I fully embraced this opportunity to develop new courses and programs for PhD students to explore entrepreneurship outside academia. Secretly, I still aspired to be an entrepreneur myself, but I didn’t have a good idea about what my business could do for others. 


My “A-Ha” Moment 


One day, as I was doing my nails, like I have done for the past 20+ years, I was thinking about why my nails hurt when I removed polish. The subtle soreness in the nail bed was so common for my clients and myself that I had become accustomed to accepting it as part of the manicure process. But this time, I followed my curiosity and did a little research online. What I found was shocking: nail polish was invented in the 1920s and originally used as car paint. The main ingredients are nitrocellulose, aka gunpowder, dissolved in flammable chemical solvents, mixed with plasticizers, sticky resins, and coloring agents. Many of these chemicals are flammable, carcinogenic, and toxic for the reproductive system. According to the NYCOSH, 25% of nail technicians had complications during pregnancy, compared to 8% of the general population, and they are 3 times more likely to have babies born with birth defects. I know for sure that the common solvents used in nail salons would only be handled under a fume hood with proper PPE, if handled in a chemistry lab. I was baffled to find out that almost 100 years after the original nail polish formula was patented, and with the current state of advanced technology which can grow a salmon filet in the lab, we are basically still polishing our nails with car paint! 


This was the start of my social venture: realizing a problem through my personal experience and identifying with the hardworking, first-generation immigrant women in nail salons, who were my first group of coworkers. 


Building Keratin Nails


With the support of many knowledgeable mentors and programs like Communitas America (shoutout to the changemakers in cohort 9!), I steadily grew the confidence and courage to launch Keratin Nails LLC in November 2022. Keratin Nails will use peptides, like the ones I developed during my PhD, to create a nail polish that is safe for the end users and the nail technicians. Our natural nails are made up of peptides called keratin, and it makes more sense to use the same building block for our nail polish, than to use gunpowder, don’t you think? This will also eliminate the use of 6 M gallons of petrochemical solvents used in nail polish annually, which contribute to formation of smog and pollute groundwater. I am excited and grateful to have this opportunity to combine my lived experience with my scientific training and create a venture that can disrupt the $15B global nail polish industry and develop a solution for my community, from nail technicians to every person who wears nail polish. 


So, if you’re like me and you are looking for a good idea, study the challenges in your own experiences and in your own communities, follow your curiosity, and question the status quo.  


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Privacy Policy

(Last modified: March 2023)

Introduction

Communitas America (the “Company” or “We”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy (the “Policy”).

This policy describes the types of information we may collect about you or that you may provide when you visit the website https://communitasamerica.org/ (our “Site”), register with, access or use the OfficeRnD mobile application (the “App”) in connection with your use of the Communitas America Building located at 461 West 126th Street, New York, New York (the “Heyground location”), or when you work at or visit us at the Heyground location, and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. This Policy applies to employees, temporary, agency or contract workers, interns, volunteers, independent consultants, and candidates (collectively, “Personnel”) of members; members; guests; and visitors to the Heyground location; and recipients of our services. It does not apply to personal information the Company collects from its own Personnel or service providers. Please note that when you register with the App, you provide information to OfficeRnD that is subject to OfficeRnD’s own privacy policies. Please note that we are not responsible for rapthe privacy policies or practices of OfficeRnD.
Please read this policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your information and how we will treat it.
This Policy may change from time to time (see the below Changes to Our Privacy Policy section). Your continued use of this Site after any changes are made is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the Policy periodically for updates.

Children Under the Age of 16

Our Site is not intended for children under 16 years of age. No one under the age of 16 should access or provide any personal information to or on the Site. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 on the Site. If you are under 16, do not use this Site or provide any information on this Site or subscribe to our newsletter on the Site. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 16, please contact us at privacy@communitasamerica.org.

Personal Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It

Personal information means any information about a natural person from which that person can be identified. We may collect, use, store, and transfer several categories of personal information from and about users of our Site, the App, and from and about members, guests, visitors, and member’s Personnel at the Heyground location. We have grouped that information together as follows:

  • Contact Information, including your name, email addresses, office address and number, home address, account username, password, telephone numbers, and social media account handles. We may also collect contact information for your emergency contacts or next of kin (name, relationship, and home and mobile telephone numbers).
  • Identification Information, including your government-issued identification cards (e.g., driver’s license and passport), racial information, date of birth, and signature.
  • Payment Information, including payment card information, billing address and other information necessary to process a donation or payment. Note that your payment information is collected directly by service providers acting on our behalf for donations and Heyground location-related payments.
  • Device, Internet and Network Activity Information, including information about your use of our IT, communication and other systems, other monitoring information including your browsing history, search history, login information, online and device identifiers, MAC address, and your IP address. We may collect and record page and application interaction information and other electronic communications and content from your use of the Site (such as content entry, mouse movements, screen captures, the date, time, and location of your visit, what areas of the Site you visit and for how long, what search terms or other data you enter, and what products or content or links you view and click on), and methods used to browse away from the page. We may also collect information from your devices if they connect to, or are detected by, the wireless internet networks at the Heyground location (the “Network”). If you connect to the Network, we may collect information about how you use our Network and other services, such as the websites you visit while using our Network.
  • Health and safety information, including health conditions (if relevant to providing you with accommodations at the Heyground location or emergency management). From time to time, we may also require health-related screenings to be completed in connection with your entry to the Heyground location and may ask you to provide information concerning any symptoms of COVID-19 you are experiencing or may have experienced in the past, and whether you have been tested for, and vaccinated against, COVID-19. We may also take your body temperature upon entry. We may also ask you about your “close contacts,” such as whether you recently have been in close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 or who has experienced any COVID-19 symptoms, as well as travel-related information, such as locations to which you have traveled within a certain period of time prior to entering the Heyground location.
  • Location Information, including networks data from building access controls at the Heyground location. We may also automatically collect your precise GPS location and IP address when your wireless device connects to, or is detected by, our Network.
  • Images and Video, including photographs and video recordings (including through the use of CCTV cameras and other technologies). For example, when you visit our security desks, we may take a photograph of you for security purposes for admission to the Heyground location. We also maintain security cameras in public areas of the Heyground location for security purposes.
  • Information You Submit, Provide, or Post, including any information you provide to us through our Site, the App, or social media pages. This may include directory information that you list in the App. We also collect any information you provide when you contact us or our third-party service providers concerning your interest in, or experience at, the Heyground location, fill out our surveys, apply for our programs, book certain services and amenities with third party providers, register guests to visit the Heyground location, or answer any health questionnaires.

We collect this information:

  • Directly from you when you provide it to us.
  • Automatically as you navigate through the Site. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and other tracking technologies.
  • From third parties, for example, our service providers, including OfficeRnD, and our business partners.
How We Use Your Information

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:

  • To present our Site and its contents to you and allow you to participate in interactive features on the Site.
  • To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
  • To process your membership application.
  • To process donations or payments.
  • To provide you with access to, and services at, the Heyground location.
  • For marketing purposes.
  • For security, safety, compliance, and due diligence purposes.
  • To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
  • In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
  • For any other purpose with your consent.

We may also use your information to send you emails about our services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, please unsubscribe. For more information on how to unsubscribe, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.

Disclosure of Your Information

We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this Policy:

  • To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
  • To contractors, service providers (including OfficeRnD), and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
  • To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, investment, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Company’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of a bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by the Company about our Site users is among the assets transferred.
  • To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
  • For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
  • With your consent.

We may also disclose your personal information:

  • To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
  • To enforce or apply the Company’s terms of service at www.communitasamerica.org, including for billing and collection purposes.
  • If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our members, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:

  • Promotional Offers from the Company. If you do not wish to have your email address/contact information used by the Company to promote our own or third parties’ products or services, you can opt-out at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe option in any communication you receive from us or by sending us an email stating your request to privacy@communitasamerica.org.
  • Transactional Messages. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving our promotional emails, we may still send you transactional emails related to the provision of our services that you have requested or as pertain to the management of your membership and other administrative matters. These include responses to your questions. We and our service providers may also send you email notifications in the event of an emergency, none of which will have any marketing element.
  • Text Messages. If you provide your mobile telephone number on your App profile, you will have the option to receive text messages to your mobile device related to bookings you have made using the App. For information concerning how to opt-out of receiving such messages, please see the OfficeRnD privacy policy posted on the App.
Cookies

You can control certain cookies and tracking tools. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer or device. We use cookies on the Site to collect the information described above. You can manage and disable the use of cookies by changing the settings in the preferences or options menus in your browser. You may still use the Site if you reject cookies, but it may limit your ability to use some areas of the Site or otherwise diminish your experience of the Site.
In addition, with the assistance of our third-party partners and service providers, third-party advertising networks, social media companies, and other services may collect information about your use of our Site over time so that they or we may display interest-based advertising using information gathered about you over time across multiple websites or other platforms. To do this, we and our third-party service providers may use technologies such as web beacons, tags, Flash cookies or HTML5 to collect or use information about visitors to the Site and their actions on the Site. You can visit https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1 and https://www.aboutads.info/choices, https://www.preferences-mgr.truste.com/ to opt out of certain uses of cookies for advertising purposes.
We do not currently, but may, in the future use Google Analytics to better understand how our users interact with our Site, including measuring and monitoring user traffic and using aggregate statistical analysis, which informs future enhancements and changes to the Site. You have the option of refusing to accept Google Analytics cookies when you first visit our website. You can also learn about Google’s practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and opt-out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Options you select and choices you make are browser, website, and device specific. If you clear your cookies or your browser’s cache, you will need to set your preferences again. For more information about cookies generally, you may visit All About Cookies.
Do-Not-Track Requests. Some browsers have “do not track” features that allow you to tell a website not to track you. These features are not all uniform. The Site does not currently respond to “do-not-track” requests or similar browser settings.

Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as you use our services and products or as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected, resolve disputes, establish and support legal claims and defenses, conduct audits, pursue legitimate business purposes, enforce our agreements, and comply with applicable laws and other legal requirements that apply to us.
When we no longer have a purpose to use or retain your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it, or if that is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

Data Security

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Site. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our privacy policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you by email to the primary email address specified in your account. The date the privacy policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Site and this privacy policy to check for any changes.

Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this privacy policy and our privacy practices, contact us at: privacy@communitasamerica.org.
To register a complaint or concern regarding this Policy, please contact us at privacy@communitasamerica.org.

Terms of Use

Last modified: March 6, 2023

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE (THESE “TERMS”) CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE. THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES, AND OBLIGATIONS, INCLUDING AN AGREEMENT TO SUBMIT (WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION) ALL CLAIMS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST US TO BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS, THEN YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS OR USE THE SITE (AS DEFINED BELOW).

Agreement to Terms of Use

These Terms apply with respect to your access and/or use of the Communitas America (the “Company” or “We”) website (https://communitasamerica.org/) (our “Site”). These Terms govern your use of the Site. Please read them carefully. Although they are long, we ask all of our visitors to read them in their entirety as they contain important information regarding your use of the Site and our copyright and other intellectual property rights.

By accessing the Site, you signify to us that you have read, understand, and agree to all of these Terms as set forth herein. Accessing the Site, in any manner, whether automated or otherwise constitutes use of the Site and your agreement to be bound by these Terms. Please do not use the Site or submit information to us either through the Site or other avenues if you do not agree to these Terms. These Terms are to be read in connection with any other policies and terms of service posted on our Site, including our Privacy Policy, which is expressly incorporated herein by this reference. You do not have a right to change these Terms or any other policies or terms of service on our Site. Our interpretation and application of these Terms and any other policies and terms of service posted on our Site shall be final.

We reserve the right (but not the obligation) to deny access to the Site or any features of the Site to anyone who violates these Terms or who, in our sole judgment, interferes with the ability of others to enjoy our Site or infringes the rights of others.

Your Limited Right to Use Materials

The Site and all the materials available on the Site, including entire contents, features, and functionality (including, without limitation, all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are our property and/or the property of our licensors, and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. The Site are provided solely for your personal, noncommercial use. You may not use the Site or the materials available on the Site in a manner that constitutes an infringement of our rights or those of our licensors or that has not been authorized by us.

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You must not:

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If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Site in breach of the Terms, your right to use the Site will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Site or any content on the Site is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by us. Any use of the Site not expressly permitted by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Children Under the Age of 16

Our Site is not intended for children under 16 years of age. No one under the age of 16 should access or provide any personal information to or on the Site. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 on the Site. If you are under 16, do not use this Site or provide any information on this Site or subscribe to our newsletter on the Site. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 16, please contact us at privacy@communitasamerica.org.

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Prohibited Activities

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The Site is provided as a service to the Site’s visitors. We reserve the right to delete, modify or supplement the content of the Site, or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site, or any portion thereof, with or without notice at any time. We reserve the right to terminate operation of the Site entirely at any time for any reason without prior notice. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for any deletion, modification, supplementation, suspension or discontinuance of the Site or any portion thereof.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part in any jurisdiction, that provision shall be ineffective in that jurisdiction without affecting the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions of these Terms.

Dispute Resolution by Binding Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY AS IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS.

  1. Agreement to Arbitrate. This Dispute Resolution by Binding Arbitration section is referred to in these Terms as the “Arbitration Agreement.” You and the Company agree that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen or may arise between you and us, whether arising out of or relating to this Terms of Use (including any alleged breach thereof), the Site, or any aspect of the relationship or transactions between us, will be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration before a neutral arbitrator, rather than in a court by a judge or jury, in accordance with the terms of this Arbitration Agreement, except that you or we may (but are not required to) assert individual claims in small claims court, if such claims are within the scope of such court’s jurisdiction (as explained further below). Further, this Arbitration Agreement does not preclude you from bringing issues to the attention of federal, state, or local agencies, and such agencies can, if the law allows, seek relief against us on your behalf. You agree that, by accepting these Terms, you and we are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement.
  2. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief. YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND WE (WHERE EITHER OR BOTH ARE A PARTY TO AN ASSERTED CLAIM) AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S OR PARTY’S CLAIMS AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, OR CLASS PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY RELIEF) ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S), EXCEPT THAT YOU MAY PURSUE A CLAIM FOR AND THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD PUBLIC INJUNCTIVE RELIEF UNDER APPLICABLE LAW TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED FOR THE ENFORCEABILITY OF THIS PROVISION.
  3. Pre-Arbitration Dispute Resolution. We are always interested in resolving disputes amicably and efficiently if there is an opportunity to do so informally. Before an arbitration (or suit in small claims court, if available) is commenced, you or we agree to attempt to avoid the costs of formal dispute resolution by giving each other a full and fair opportunity to address and resolve a dispute informally. Both parties recognize this is an important requirement, and that breach of this requirement would be a material breach of these Terms. To provide this opportunity, before commencing any arbitration (or suit in small claims court, if available), each party agrees to send to the other party a written notice of dispute (“Notice”). The Notice to the Company shall be sent to 461 West 126th Street, New York, New York 10027 with a copy to privacy@communitasamerica.org. The Notice to you shall be sent to the last email address we have on file (each, a “Notice Address”). The Notice must (i) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute in sufficient detail to evaluate the merits of the claiming party’s claim and for the other party to determine if an amicable resolution is possible and (ii) set forth the specific relief sought, including the amount of money (if any) that is demanded and the means by which the demanding party calculated the claimed amount. Both parties agree that they will attempt to resolve a dispute through an informal negotiation within sixty (60) calendar days from the date the Notice is received. If the claim is not resolved within sixty (60) calendar days after the Notice is received, you or we may commence an arbitration proceeding. Each party agrees that state and federal courts in New York, New York, may enter injunctive relief to enforce the pre-filing requirements of this paragraph, including an injunction to stay an arbitration that has been commenced in violation of this paragraph.
  4. Arbitration Procedures. The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16, including its procedural provisions, fully applies. Arbitration will be conducted by a neutral arbitrator in accordance with the American Arbitration Association’s (“AAA”) Consumer Arbitration Rules in effect at the time that such arbitration is initiated (collectively, the “AAA Rules”), as modified by this Arbitration Agreement. For information on the AAA, please visit its website, http://www.adr.org. Information about the AAA Rules and fees for consumer disputes can be found at the AAA’s consumer arbitration page, http://www.adr.org/consumer. If there is any inconsistency between any term of the AAA Rules and any term of this Arbitration Agreement, the applicable terms of this Arbitration Agreement will control unless the arbitrator determines that the application of the inconsistent Arbitration Agreement terms would not result in a fundamentally fair arbitration. The arbitrator must also follow the provisions of these Terms as a court would. Except as set forth above, all issues are for the arbitrator to decide, including, but not limited to, threshold issues relating to the scope, enforceability, and arbitrability of this Arbitration Agreement and issues relating to (a) whether the terms of these Terms (or any aspect thereof) are enforceable, unconscionable, or illusory and (b) any defense to arbitration, including waiver, delay, laches, or estoppel. Although arbitration proceedings are usually simpler and more streamlined than trials and other judicial proceedings, the arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual under these Terms and applicable law. While an arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief, the arbitrator may do so only with respect to the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the individual party’s claim.  The arbitrator’s decision and judgment thereon will not have a precedent or collateral estoppel effect on any other claim or dispute.  Decisions by the arbitrator are enforceable in court and may be overturned by a court only for very limited reasons.

    Any arbitration hearings will take place in New York, New York, at another mutually agreeable location or, if both parties agree, by telephone or video conference. Whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator or by a hearing will be determined in accordance with the AAA Rules. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator will issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based.
  5. Small Claims Court. Subject to applicable jurisdictional requirements, either party may elect to pursue a dispute in a local small claims court rather than through arbitration so long as the matter remains in small claims court and proceeds only on an individual basis. If a party has already submitted an arbitration demand to the AAA, the other party may, in its sole discretion, inform the AAA that it chooses to have the dispute heard in small claims court.  At that time, the AAA will close the arbitration and the dispute will be heard in the appropriate small claims court, with no fees due from the arbitration respondent.
  6. Appeals. Arbitration awards are enforceable like any court order, but are subject to very limited review by a court.
  7. Cost of Arbitration. Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees (collectively, the “Arbitration Fees”) will be governed by the AAA Rules, unless otherwise provided in this Arbitration Agreement. If the arbitrator determines for any reason that you should not be required to pay your portion of the Arbitration Fees, we will pay your portion of such fees, subject to allocation in the arbitrator’s award. In addition, if you demonstrate to the arbitrator that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, we will pay as much of the Arbitration Fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive. Any payment of attorneys’ fees will be governed by the AAA Rules.
  8. Confidentiality. Each of the parties shall maintain the strictly confidential nature of the arbitration, including all aspects of the arbitration proceeding, and any ruling, decision, or award by the arbitrator, and shall not (without the prior written consent of the other party) disclose to any third party the fact, existence, content, award, or other result of the arbitration, except as may be necessary to enforce, enter, or challenge such award in a court of competent jurisdiction or as otherwise required by law.
  9. Opt Out. You may reject this Arbitration Agreement, in which case only a court may be used to resolve any dispute.  To reject this provision, you must send us an opt-out notice (the “Opt Out”) within thirty (30) days after you first access the Site.  The Opt Out must be sent to the Company’s Notice Address.  The Opt Out must include your name, phone number and email address(es), including, where applicable, the email address(es) you used to sign up and use the Site.  This is the only way of opting out of this Arbitration Agreement.  Opting out will not affect any other aspect of these Terms, and will have no effect on any other or future agreements you may reach to arbitrate with us.
  10. Severability. If a court or the arbitrator decides that any term or provision of this Arbitration Agreement (other than the Section 2) above titled “Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief” is invalid or unenforceable, the parties agree to replace such term or provision with a term or provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of the invalid or unenforceable term or provision, and this Arbitration Agreement will be enforceable as so modified. If a court or the arbitrator decides that any of the provisions of Section 2 above titled “Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief” are invalid or unenforceable, then the entirety of this Arbitration Agreement will be null and void, unless such provisions are deemed to be invalid or unenforceable solely with respect to claims for public injunctive relief. The remainder of these Terms will continue to apply.
  11. Future Changes to Arbitration Agreement. Notwithstanding any provision in these Terms to the contrary, we agree that if we make any future change to this Arbitration Agreement (other than a change to a Notice Address) while you are a user of the Site, you may reject any such change by sending us written notice within thirty (30) calendar days of the change to the Notice Address provided above. By rejecting any future change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any dispute between us in accordance with the language of this Arbitration Agreement as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).
Situs, Venue & Jurisdiction

This Site is controlled by the Company from its offices in New York, New York. Visitors who choose to visit the Site from other jurisdictions do so on their own initiative. Those visitors are solely responsible for compliance with their local laws.

Claims relating to the Site, to the use of the Site, and to the information content, material, goods and services available through the Site are governed by and construed in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act, and by the internal substantive laws of New York, without regard to its conflicts of laws principles. By using our Site you hereby unconditionally, voluntarily, and irrevocably consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts, local and federal, located in New York, New York, United States of America for any litigation concerning the Site, your use of the Site and any purchases made through the Site that is not subject to arbitration, as set forth above. You agree not to plead forum non-conveniens in any such action. You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive any right you may have to a trial by jury in respect of any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement that is not subject to arbitration, as set forth above. Please do not proceed to use the Site if you are not wholly in agreement with giving your consent.

No Assignment; No Third-Party Beneficiaries

These Terms are personal to you and you may not assign them or the rights and obligations under them to anyone. Any attempted or purported assignment shall be null and void, and will automatically terminate your right to use the Site. These Terms are not intended to benefit any third party, and do not create any third-party beneficiaries. Accordingly, these Terms may only be invoked or enforced by you or us.

Limitation on Actions

You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action that you may have arising out of or related to use of the Site or these Terms must be filed by you within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Entire Agreement

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us and you with respect to the subject matter contained in these Terms and supersedes all previous and contemporaneous agreements, proposals and communications, whether written or oral. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use the products or services of a third party that are provided through the Site. In the event of any conflict between any such third-party terms and conditions and these Terms, these Terms will govern.

Changes to Terms of Use

We reserve the right to change these Terms or to impose new conditions on use of the Site, from time to time, in which case we will post the revised Terms on the Site and update the “Last Modified” date above to reflect the date of the changes. By continuing to use the Site after we post any such changes, you accept the Terms, as modified. We strongly encourage and expect that you will review these Terms frequently and each time you log in to the Site so that you will be aware of any changes, since they are binding on you.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or requests, you can contact us at: privacy@communitasamerica.org.

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