"You should start a leadership program for girls."

"You should start a leadership program for girls."

In 2016, those were the 8 words that planted the seed for this entire organization.

A studio mom from Stage Door Dance Productions suggested the idea.

At the time, I wasn't ready to go all-in, but the thought never left my mind.

As I listened to the #MeToo movement erupt, I kept thinking there needed to be proactive programming for our female youth that would encourage them to realize and recognize their intrinsic greatness and potential.

As the Founder/CEO of dance studios, I had a built-in audience to test and pilot the initial programming concepts. I've built a network of highly admirable, respectable, and successful women, and I've never had a single person say they could not share their story with our organization. Our conversations and training were for the community and by the community. It was exciting to see this level of enthusiasm rallying behind the vision!

I quickly realized how universal the concepts and conversations were and knew we had an opportunity in front of us to form an incredibly powerful non-profit.

It would be an entirely unique program model for developing female leaders.

In 2019, our momentum was strong.

I was passionate, excited, and ready to rock it.

And, then, Covid-19 hit.

Our volunteer speakers had to pause due to the chaos surrounding their own professional and personal lives.

Our 501(c)(3) application was delayed a number of times.

I had to shift my focus to saving the dance studios.

There was a period of time when I felt that this organization might not make it.

In my head, I kept saying "It was a good thought, but maybe the universe is telling me that this isn't meant to be..."

Then, I watched the impact the pandemic had on our female youth.

And, I knew that letting this organization dissolve was not an option.

So, we decided to come back, and we decided to do it bigger and better than ever.

Because now, more than ever, we need confident, inspired, and empathetic female leaders, activists, and visionaries.

There are a number of affiliate organizations testing our modular programming.

In-person events are returning.
And, our long-range plans set my heart aflutter.

I can't believe we did it.
We bounced back.

And, we are here to stay, so that we can remind each and every girl that decides to go for something great that the comeback will almost always be greater than the setback.