Erica Borden Baird ’75 and Karen E. Wagner ’76, Co-founders of Lustre
Erica Borden Baird ’75 and Karen E. Wagner ’76 are the co-founders of Lustre, a platform and community dedicated to redefining the narrative around retired professional women. After distinguished legal careers—Karen was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and Erica was deputy general counsel at PricewaterhouseCoopers—both found themselves facing outdated stereotypes about aging and retirement. They set out to change the conversation. With Lustre, they have built an advocacy-driven venture that highlights the continued impact, creativity, and relevance of women beyond their primary careers. Drawing on their legal expertise, they have navigated the complexities of entrepreneurship, transforming a passion project into a business. Read more below.
What made you decide to pursue a career in entrepreneurship/venture capital/startups after NYU Law?
Karen: NYU Law allowed me to have a fabulous career in private practice. I retired after four decades. I was immediately treated as old and done. I was baffled and appalled, and with a partner, I decided to do something about it. We started Lustre.net, an advocacy site aimed at changing the image of retired professional women. We learned a lot about how to create and run an online platform, and a passion project turned into an economic venture.
Erica: After a wonderful career practicing law, I retired, fully expecting that I would use skills I had acquired in some other purposeful way. It was a shock to discover that was not going to be easy. Outdated stereotypes about age and retirement and, frankly, older women got in the way. Karen and I, both NYU Law grads, realized that we had to challenge those stereotypes, just like we did when we started our careers decades ago. We founded Lustre as an advocacy platform and community for retired career women to show us as we really are: Not done. Still cool.
How did NYU Law prepare you for this career?
Karen: NYU Law taught me critical thinking and deep analysis, preparing me for the practice of law at the highest level. Those skills are foundational for being an entrepreneur.
Erica: It gave us the confidence and foundational skills to be successful–whatever we chose to do.
Why do you think lawyers find success in this career path?
Karen: Lawyers find success by engaging in critical thinking and analysis, by appreciating the value of collaboration, and by refusing ever to give up.
Erica: Lawyers are always thinking about their clients first. They are problem solvers, understanding risks and how to manage them. They have a wide lens, not tunnel vision. They know how to navigate difficult facts and situations and find ways to succeed.
What was the biggest challenge you faced as a lawyer in this career path?
Karen: When I was starting out, in the 1970s, being a woman in law was a challenge. Now, with Lustre, I encounter resistance to entrepreneurial older women.
Erica: Being a young woman in the male-dominated legal profession was always a challenge. Being a woman, and especially an older woman, in the world of entrepreneurship is another big challenge.
What is the most important thing students should do while they are still in law school to prepare themselves for a career in entrepreneurship, in venture capital, or at a start-up?
Karen: Work hard to become the best lawyer you can be, take the best job as a lawyer that you can find, and then you will have the tools to do anything.
Erica: Learn your craft. Get really good at it. Take on the hard stuff.
What was the most important lesson you learned in your career thus far?
Karen: It takes work to get where you want to go, and that there are so many wonderful places to go—even after a fulfilling legal career.
Erica: You're going to fail—not just once. That's more than okay, as long as you learn from it. Failures are the best learning experiences.
---