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MEDIAGIRLS is a nonprofit organization that teaches girls+ to become critical social media consumers.
We envision a world where social media reflects all girls’+ authentic selves. We use the term girls+ in our language to distinguish that our programming is open to all female identifying, non-binary, trans, and genderqueer youth. MEDIAGIRLS delivers both a 4-week (once a week for 75-90 min) and abbreviated 90-minute #REALMEDIAGIRL curriculum to teach middle school girls+ to think critically about the media they are consuming.
This includes defining your self-worth based on inner qualities, thinking critically about mainstream social media messaging, curating your social media to reflect accounts that matter to you, and diversifying your feed to include different voices. Additionally, we train instructors to teach the #REALMEDIAGIRL workshop program as part of a licensing agreement and host Parent/Educator workshops and free online content that teaches adults about ways they can support girls+ in using social media in empowering ways.
Tell us about yourself?
I am the Executive Director of the Boston-based nonprofit organization, MEDIAGIRLS. I am a life-long advocate for girls and women and a mother to a 3 month old baby girl.
After earning my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management form Bentley University, I knew I wanted to use my business skillset to make a difference in the world. I have always been motivated by helping others and putting people before profits. It is no coincidence that my professional career has led me into the nonprofit space. In 2019 I pursued my Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University.
After starting out as a volunteer with MEDIAGIRLS in 2016, I had the opportunity to join the Board of Directors in July 2020 and by August 2020 I stepped in to serve as Interim Executive Director upon the departure of the MEDIAGIRLS Founder, Michelle Cove. Over the past two years I have used my skills in strategic planning, operations management, and team building to help lead the next chapter int he MEDIAGIRLS story.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
I would tell myself that while you think you can plan for everything, the best things grow in unexpected moments. Loosen up that tight grip of control and embrace the unexpected. While I do believe that my big picture planning skills are a huge asset that have helped me build a successful life, I also know that they can sometimes get in the way of opportunities right in front of me. If the COVID pandemic taught me anything, it was to be patient, get uncomfortable in the unknown, and take things one day at a time.
What problem does your business solve?
Facebook’s recent study reaffirmed what many already knew: social media use is linked to teen girls feeling anxious, having low self-esteem, and negative body image (Wells et al., 2021). 1 in 3 girls spend an average of 6+ hours on social media a day and 79% of girls say they are more lonely or isolated since the start of COVID (The ROX Institute, 2020). Self-esteem already starts to decline in the middle school years for girls+ and they are socially at risk as they spend more time in front of screens, on social media, and away from their peers. There is also new research emerging suggesting that the negative impacts of social media on girls’ self-esteem is also accelerating their disinterest in STEM fields during those middle school years, which clearly has critical impacts for their future (Daniels & Robnett, 2021). The risks cannot be understated. The more time middle school girls+ spend on social media, the more urgent it becomes for girls+ to be critical social media consumers so they can develop a healthy relationship with social media and lead fulfilling lives with a strong sense of self-esteem. We believe in investing in girls+, yet only approximately 1.6% of philanthropic giving is directed towards girls+ and women in the US (IUPUI, 2020).
What is the inspiration behind your business?
The exchange took place in the winter of 2014. Michelle Cove’s daughter, age nine at the time, did not want to come out of the locker room for swim class because her thighs were “so big that they touched.” She was incensed. How many girls were obsessing all over the world about their thighs?!
So she used the media skills she’d gained from 25 years of making books, magazines, documentaries, and blogs to create a 10-week curriculum called MEDIAGIRLS, to be taught for 90 minutes once a week. The plan was to teach middle-school girls to challenge undermining and sexist media images, know their true self-worth, and create content that would make girls feel strong and good.
She piloted the program in summer 2014 in my town of Brookline, MA for eight girls, taking note of what they most enjoyed and revising along the way. It was clear to me that there was a hunger, even desperation, for this information.
In 2015, she started teaching the curriculum to female college volunteers in Boston. They brought their own passion for this cause to the classroom, and a fired-up determination to make things better for the next generation of girls. The middle-school girls loved these “big sisters” looking out for them, and MEDIAIGIRLS continued to grow. We have reached over 4,000 girls and parents with our workshops.
What is your magic sauce?
We exist to compliment other girl-serving organizations, not compete with them. Our curriculum is made to enhance the important work that leaders and educators all across the nation are doing to improve the lives of girls and women. Our curriculum has been taught in Girl Scout troops, Camps, development workshops, and more.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
The plan is to get MEDIAGIRLS programming to every 6-8th grader across the US. To grow our partnership portfolio to include very Girl Scout Troop, Big Sister Mentorship, Boys & Girls Club program, and beyond. We are really focused on building our community-based programming model and offering first class virtual programming and training. We want all girls to have agency over their relationship with social media and for it to be a place of authenticity rather than comparison.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The biggest challenge we’ve faced so far has definitely been pivoting to a fully remote programming model. COVID forced us out of the classroom and behind the screen. Ultimately, I think it also allowed us to expand our reach beyond the Boston area and create MEDIAGIRLS communities across the state, over to our friends in CA for example. Staying nimble in our approach is key to our long term growth. While difficult, I hope it continues to offer us new possibilities to expand our reach.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
If you know a young person in your life that needs our programming please lead them to our website to register for one of our upcoming programs! If you would like to invest in our mission and support our efforts, please head to www.mediagirls.org/donate.
