Jamie Hampton, founder of Mixte Communications Inc. public relations, was recently named a “Top 40 Under 40 Business Leader” by both the San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, as well as being declared a “Top 50 Business Influencer” by The Daily Transcript.

Named for a type of bicycle frame, Mixte’s success is simple, claims Ocean Beach resident Hampton, an avid cross-country bicyclist.

“We have values, and we’ve come to work with those companies that share our values, which makes it easy to find your customers,” Hampton said.

On the company’s website, gomixte.com, it’s stated: “We choose to empower the people who do good. We choose to invest in bold leaders taking action… We use our privileges to fight for equity… Good work takes time… Happiness matters because life is short, because we always have a choice.”

A University of Oregon alumna before moving to San Diego, Hampton’s bicycling background has helped shape her business philosophy.

“After I came to San Diego, I sold my car and rode my bike to work,” she said, pointing out bicycling figured prominently into the women’s rights movement early-on.

“In the 1800s, women wore long dresses and were somewhat reliant on men,” she said. “The bike frame allowed them to ride in their long dresses and to have some independence.”

The bicycle not only gave women a way to get around freely,  but the inherent impracticalities of long skirts gradually caused them to fall out of fashion in favor of shorter skirts allowing more movement and greater safety for cycling.

Hampton said bikes, and their distinguished history, has always inspired her.

“As our name implies, we see the bicycle as sort of a symbol as we work on health, the environment and social justice,” she said. 

Mixte chooses its clients accordingly. The company’s client list includes: Barons Market, Business for Good San Diego, Casa Cornelia Law Center, Creative Youth Development, Environmental Health Coalition, Father Joe's Villages, GRID Alternatives San Diego, Junior League San Diego, Museum of Photographic Arts, North American Bikeshare Association, Orange County Coastkeeper, San Diego Leaders, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, San Diego Organizing Projects, Seany Foundation, Waterkeeper Alliance Internationals and San Diego Workforce Partnership.

Looking ahead, Hampton is contemplating a new social-justice venture: job training for underrepresented minorities. 

“We’d like to help them develop equitable career pathways in the communications field,” she said. “Our long-term goal is to bring more diversity into public relations, because right now the field is 88 percent white people.”