It’s always a telling sign when my favorite friends are suddenly all telling me that I simply have to meet someone because we’re from the same cloth and we’re destined to know one another. That is what happened with me and Becky Straw this fall. And honestly, everyone was right. We have tons of friends, passions and travel experiences in common and Becky instantly become a woman I not only wanted to be friends with but great admired. Soon it was my turn to be telling people about Becky and her new nonprofit, The Adventure Project. I’m proudly on the host committee for tonight’s Join our Nice List: A Celebration of Global Entrepreneurship honoring The Adventure Project and invited Becky to share her story of how The Adventure Project came to be and what we all can do to help.

If you’re in New York tonight, come on out and join us (RSVP here). For everyone else, consider making a $20 donation to buy a cookstove or shopping in their online store.

And now, Becky’s story.

*****

“People will tell you that it can’t be done. And you know what? They’re wrong. Nothing is ever impossible,” Gayle said matter-of-factly, before finishing off her glass of wine.

I admit I have ambitious dreams, but Gayle’s statements are not what I usually hear at happy hour. I was sitting in the clubroom at The Sheraton in Times Square, surrounded by five phenomenal women. Gayle Lemmon was speaking at the TEDxWomen conference in two days, and her friends gathered around her hotel room to hear her practice.

Gayle’s book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, has recently become a New York Times bestseller, chronicling a young heroine working as a successful entrepreneur under the Taliban. I had been invited because my nonprofit, The Adventure Project, works with female entrepreneurs around the world.

To say Gayle’s speech resonated would be an understatement. She shared her stories behind travels to Afghanistan and Bosnia in her quest to meet heroic businesswomen thriving in conflict and post-conflict settings. I remember thinking, “Could I twitpic this, or would that come across as totally uncool?” She was bold, smart and honest. My mind kept repeating, “I want to speak as boldly as her.”

I want to speak out like her, because I share her beliefs.

A few years ago, on a ten-hour bus ride across Tanzania, I remember having a crisis. Too often, our aid dollars excel at giving, but lack long-term sustainability and measurable results. I knew it firsthand, and read it from the academic articles strewn across my lap.

I know if more people invest in high-impact social enterprises, we can end extreme poverty. I came to the conclusion that I like charity, because it makes me feel good to give. But I want to support entrepreneurs, because I know it will change the world.

Two weeks ago I was in Haiti. I had not visited the country for a year, and I was hoping, quite frankly, it would look a lot better. The tents are still there, but most aid workers are not. Our hotel was almost empty. Two years ago, right after the earthquake, I slept in a tent in a hotel parking lot – every room in the capital was booked.

Last year, The Adventure Project supported the launch of a stove enterprise in Port au Prince. The stoves keep families from cooking over open fires, breathing in toxic smoke. The program now employs five women vendors, who earn commission selling the stoves at affordable prices. The stoves are also made locally, providing jobs for 15 masons.

On her stoop, under the hot Caribbean sun, I had a brief conversation with the best selling stove vendor. At only 19 years old, Noelle has sold 142 stoves in the last six weeks. We chatted about her business, her family, and what she purchased with her net profits (she invested in more stoves, of course).

I asked her, “Since you’re so young, what do you dream of becoming when you’re older?”

Noelle replied in two words, “The mayor.”

I smiled and thought, here’s a girl living in one of the poorest places in the world. Half a million people are still living in tents and 70% of the population is unemployed. Many people are eating only one meal per day, because all their savings have dried up. And yet, she’s a thriving entrepreneur. Noelle is selling stoves everywhere. She’s in the market, making house calls, setting up a display on her small stoop. She doesn’t just sell one stove to one customer, she sells multiple stoves to one customer. Delivering them in wheelbarrows.

I realized we may have given her that chance – but she took the opportunity, and ran.

Gayle perhaps said it best on Thursday, standing on stage in front of thousands of inspired minds, “We must move beyond micro-hopes and micro-ambitions for women, because they have so much greater hopes for themselves.”

And that is why my co-founder and I launched The Adventure Project.

*****
The Adventure Project is helping Haiti again this year, and we want to get 10,000 stoves into the hands of these vendors. To meet demand, they will expand the business to hire ten additional women, and support the four current vendors, and the one future mayor. Every $20 donation enables a stove to be sold to a family in need. Learn more at: www.theadventureproject.org

Make a donation here:

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This is a guest post written by Adriana Mistick, a junior at Wheaton College. She also happens to be my sister! This past summer she had the incredible opportunity to go volunteer with Mama Lucy at Sheperds Junior School in Arusha, Tanzania. This is her story.

***

Addy and the students from Sheperds Junior School, Summer 2011

I’ve sat down to write about my summer in Tanzania so many times without ever being able to find the words or the descriptions that are just right. I’ve decided now that it was one of those experiences I will never fully be able t explain or attempt to show with photos because what I really want is for everyone to be able to go and experience it for themselves.

It was early this year when I decided I wanted to do something different for the summer. I was about halfway through college at that point and had been lucky enough to take some time off early in college to help me get my head on straight. Now I guess you could say I’m focused. On what, you ask? Water and teaching kids, or teaching anyone I can, about water and our environment. I’m a self-proclaimed “water junkie”. Thinking about my summer and not knowing where to start, my sister Sloane (maybe you guys know her??) was eager to help me find a good match in terms of location and program. The moment I told her what I was thinking she had something perfect in mind but still worked wonders by facebooking, tweeting and emailing a personal ad for her baby sis.

EPIC CHANGE. That’s where Sloane’s mind was from the start and from the moment she first told me about meeting Stacey Monk at a conference and following their progress, that’s where my mind was too.

Epic Change has worked to raise money for a school in Arusha, Tanzania called the Shepherds Junior School. They have done this through various campaigns like TweetsGiving, To Mama With Love and even more recently were able to bring two of the star students, Gideon and Leah, from the first graduating class of 7th graders all the way to America to tell their story across the country.

The school itself, Shepherds Junior School, was started by a woman named Mama Lucy, the most inspiring woman I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Sloane connected me to Stacey, Stacey to Mama Lucy, and then Mama and I had a brief email exchange before deciding that I was coming to live in Arusha for two months to work at the school. Even luckier than just being connected to this incredible woman was that my college thought it was a great idea too and awarded me the Davis International Fellowship, which came with a hefty grant, that made it possible for me to go. My favorite perk of the fellowship has been telling my story at different events and presentations on campus this year.

Each interview goes a little bit differently because there is so much that I want to say. My favorite questions are along the lines of, “What surprised you most about being there?” or “What is the most important thing you left with?”, “Did the experience change your thinking about the future?”

And my responses go like this:

They have some of the best smiles I have ever seen, you know those smiles you can see in their eyes. They truly hung on my every word and would spend break times coming up to me and asking more and more questions about anything. “What is the deepest lake in America?” or “Is there HIV/AIDS in America?” and “What is your favorite food in Tanzania/America and why?” to “How does the rain fall?” and “How does water become a cloud?” – without me even prompting them. I’ll be honest, the questions about the deepest lake in America or how many national parks we have I actually had to look up and come back with the answers another day. The have an undying thirst for knowledge, unlike I’ve ever seen it before.

In terms of changing my thinking about my future and the world’s future it comes down to one word, HOPE. It can be easy to feel defeated by many news stories and through studying climate change and listening to seemingly endless debates in politics that leave us with no real answers or solutions but seeing and working with the people at the school and the children there inspired me and gave me hope. It reminded me that people are stronger than we think and often times deserve more credit. The teachers at that school give up almost all of their time, even weekends, to teach and help those kids. Many of them go home in the afternoon when school gets out and will go to visit children in their village that don’t get to go to school and will tutor them, for free, from home. Knowing that there are people that committed to the future help me to believe that the future is going to be a good place. Those children at Shepherds Junior School, dreaming of becoming astronauts, doctors or teachers, I believe that they can do it. I know that if those children succeed, they will honestly make our world a far better place than we ever could have expected.

For my future, I now feel that I, myself, can make a difference. One person alone can be powerful, and change making. One person can start a school from nothing. One person can inspire hundreds or thousands of more people.

I am now one of the many inspired by Mama Lucy, Stacey Monk and Sloane Berrent. And that’s why this year I am thankful for the places I have been, the things that I have seen and most importantly the PEOPLE that I have met.

Asante sana,
Addy

I was so honored to be invited to the recent WIE Symposium that took place in NYC during what is becoming known as Social Good week – a week that includes the UN Open Plenary, CGI, Social Good Summit and the dozens of events that surround those conferences. I attended the “Inspiration Day” which started with a breakfast for the White Ribbon Alliance and continued with talks and panels throughout the day.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the day:

“It’s the we not the me that makes a difference in the world.” – Donna Karan #WIE2011

“Don’t worry about falling on your face, at least it’s a forward movement.” – Pat Mitchell of @paleycenter #WIE2011

“We need to mentor women in all stages of our careers. I take a meeting with any young woman who asks for that 15 min.” - @hilaryr#wie2011

“The world is in chaos & we have to create the calm within the chaos.” – Donna Karan @Urban_Zen #WIE2011

“It’s not enough that I have my health, my children’s health. I want every woman to have choices & options.” - @CTurlington #wie2011

“Women aren’t dying because we can’t treat them but because society hasn’t yet made a decision they’re worth saving.” – M. Fatullah #WIE2011

“You must know your power and the difference you can make.” -@NancyPelosi #WIE2011

These events bringing together women thought leaders and are so powerful and important. I’m so honored to be able to attend a select few of them – but what I love more than anything is reading and following along online! Here are a few posts from around the web that share highlights from the talks and events that surrounded WIE Symposium 2011.

FORA.tv live-stream videos
WIE Symposium 2011: HuffPost Women Talks The Future Of Media
Global and Green: Beauty Trends from the WIE Symposium

“If we can fix things for mothers – and we can – we can fix so many other things that are wrong in the world. Women are at the heart of every family, every nation. It’s mostly mothers who make sure children are loved, fed, vaccinated, educated. You just can’t build healthy, peaceful, prosperous societies without making life better for girls and women.” – Sarah Brown, Global Patron, White Ribbon Alliance. From White Ribbon Alliance Atlast of Birth.

I first came across the White Ribbon Alliance at the World Economic Forum in 2010. I met their founder and was moved by not only her stories about women in the developing world but her hard facts about maternal healths and the truth about what is happening in many parts of the world today where little to no care is given to women giving birth and the very real mortality rate for mothers and newborns.

I have been a supporter ever since. Those who know me often say I’m a “cause filter” because I look very carefully at organizations, what they do, what their intentions are and where they are spending their money. I proudly support WRA because they are making a real impact, with powerful campaigns, partners on the ground and patrons around the world all working towards the same goal – to reduce mother and newborn mortality around the world.

I wrote about White Ribbon Alliance on Help A Woman Out (my Tumblr where I focus on women’s issues only) and frequently tweet and post about their events and campaigns.

I was honored to be invited to a seated breakfast during the recent WIE Symposium hosted by Arianna Huffington, Donna Karan and Sarah Brown. At the Wake Up Call For Women and Newborns of the World Breakfast, I had the opportunity to meet and talk to many women like myself – in positions of influence (though certainly many of them were WAY more influential than me) and use our voices to spread the message of WRA and their mission. We heard from not only our hosts (who are just as fabulous and inspirational as you might imagine) and also hear from Frontline Health Workers on the ground and leaders in the vaccination space like the President of Merck Vaccines, Julie Gerberding.

The good news is that things are getting better. The investments have been made and now the hard work has to be done. Campaigns like Mothers Day Every Day are helping bring awareness to the ground.

The top priority for many of us in the U.S. is education. From there, we must speak up and use our voices to say that this issue matters. To help, here is more information on White Ribbon Alliance and some fast facts you should know. For more information, I encourage you to visit their website and you can also ask me any questions and I’m happy to help or direct you to someone at the organization.

Why White Ribbon Alliance?

A thousand women still die needlessl each day around the world giving birth, leaving millions of orphans. Their newborns often die too.

Half of women giving birth in Africa today do so alone, or with only a neighbor or relative to help them. A million more health workers, better supported, could save millions of mother and their newborns.

Never had so much been promised to maternal health ($40 billion in 2010); now we must make sure those promises are kept.

White Ribbon Alliance is a grassroots network of many thousands of individuals and organizations around the world, making women’s voices hear and holding leaders to account.

Together, are are succeeding. Join us to help make needless maternal and newborn deaths a thing of the past – for all women.

More Fast Facts:

• Every day, 1,000 girls and women die in pregnancy or childbirth.
• Ninety-nine percent of maternal deaths occur in developing countries.
• In sub-Saharan Africa the chances of dying in pregnancy or childbirth can be as high as 1 in 14, compared with just 1 in 4,200 in Europe.
• The world needs 3.5 million more health workers, including community workers, midwives, nurses and doctors to provide specialist emergency care.

Click here to learn more.

“Women are not dying of diseases we can’t treat…they are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving.” – Professor Mahmoud Fatullah

When I first heard of Natalia Oberti Noguera, the Founder and CEO of the Pipeline Fellowship I was instantly drawn to what she is actively creating – a network of women angel investors. Women have a long history of giving back – philanthropy – but have not made the same impact in the investment community. I simply had to meet her!

Natalia and I first spoke over the phone and she invited me to a really special and unique one-day conference she held this spring where women (and some men) gathered to learn the nitty-gritty of investing. It wasn’t fluffy inspirational talks (though they have a time and a place!) it was really tactical information. A lot of it was way over my head – a good thing – since the women in the room have a net worth way over my head too and were moving towards becoming accredited investors.

In the past few months, I’ve been thrilled to see Natalia speak at Microfinance USA and read features on her and articles about Pipeline in Forbes, Women2 and Next Billion – and these are just the ones I stumbled across!

So for all of those reasons and a thousand others, I wanted to help spread the word about their current applications that open until next Monday, August 29th. More information is below and here is the application to apply. Stay tuned for more in the fall about the new class of Fellows!

*****
The Pipeline Fellowship seeks to increase the number of women angel investors (only 13% of U.S. angels are women[1]) through its six-month angel investing bootcamp, which is specifically designed for women who are first-time angel investors. While Fellows come from a variety of backgrounds (law, finance, healthcare, the arts, small business, and more), they all share a common interest in learning to invest for good.

The program trains women philanthropists to become angel investors through education (modules on due diligence, term sheets, valuations, board governance, etc.), mentoring (matching each participant with an experienced angel investor to serve as a role model), and practice (participants commit to invest in a woman-led for-profit social venture at the end of the training).

The cohorts are intentionally small (10 women) and designed to encourage teamwork, co-mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, as well as group decision-making in the investing process. Each participant commits to invest US$5K for a collective US$50K investment in exchange for an equity stake in the woman-led social enterprise of the group’s choosing. The inaugural Pipeline Fellowship class (NYC 2011) will be announcing their investment in late October.

Applications for the 2011-2012 Boston- and 2012 NYC-based Pipeline Fellowship programs are now being accepted on a rolling basis until Monday, August 29, 2011. To apply, go to: http://pipelinefellowship.producteev.com

The Pipeline Fellowship trains women philanthropists to become angel investors through education, mentoring, and practice. In addition to an all-day conference, the program’s educational components include a series of workshops on topics such as portfolio strategies, due diligence, and valuation. Each Fellow is also paired with an experienced angel investor who serves as a role model and a sounding board, sharing feedback and advice. Lastly, the Fellows put their education to work by selecting and investing in a woman-led, for-profit social venture.

There are so many ways we are all sharing content these days. A lot of it is through social media or social bookmarking, but I wanted to be able to share a few of my recent favorite and recommendations with you. Two of my favorite inspirational powerhouse women, Amy Sample Ward and Sarah Evans, do this too so I definitely recommend you check them out for great links to what’s hot on the web this week as well. The beginnings of each article in included, link through to read in its entirety and see what others are saying.

5 Tips for Running Successful Cause Marketing Campaigns
Businesses love cause marketing, and the belief is that supporting a good cause translates into stronger sales. The Cause Marketing Forum has some pretty convincing numbers: In 2009, 72% of American consumers said they avoided purchasing products from companies whose practices they disagreed with. Accordingly, two-thirds of brands started engaging in cause marketing in 2010, up from 58% in 2009, according to a study by PRWeek and Barkely PR. Consumers have taking a healthy shift towards doing good, with 86% of global buyers believing that businesses need to place at least equal weight on societal interests as on business interests, according to an Edelman survey. It’s not enough to make money — businesses also need to do good.

More Female Managers And Board Members Means More Corporate Philanthropy
According to new research it’s the companies with more female senior managers and women board members that give more money to charities. Harvard Business School’s Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee looked into the world of corporate philanthropy that since the 1970′s has sparked an ongoing controversial debate. The thought being that if these large companies have so much extra money to give to charities, it should be reinvested in the company – the money does belong to shareholders after all. Another complaint from those who are against corporate philanthropy is that it’s an easy way for CEOs and other top executives to give to the charities that are close to their hearts, but without having to dip into their own wallets.

Defend Your Research: What Makes a Team Smarter? More Women
The finding: There’s little correlation between a group’s collective intelligence and the IQs of its individual members. But if a group includes more women, its collective intelligence rises. The research: Professors Woolley and Malone, along with Christopher Chabris, Sandy Pentland, and Nada Hashmi, gave subjects aged 18 to 60 standard intelligence tests and assigned them randomly to teams. Each team was asked to complete several tasks—including brainstorming, decision making, and visual puzzles—and to solve one complex problem. Teams were given intelligence scores based on their performance. Though the teams that had members with higher IQs didn’t earn much higher scores, those that had more women did.

Inside The All-Female Hamptons Hackathon For Humanity
Hackathons, the one- to three-day programming marathons where coders convene to create innovative web applications, tend to resemble 2 a.m. cram sessions at college dorms. Picture a group of hyper-focused twentysomething men craned over Macs, surrounded by empty 12 oz. cans of Red Bull, eventually passing out for a few hours on the floor. Women are not always eager to participate. The founders of Girl Develop It, a female-centric hacker non-profit, in league with the entrepreneurship startup Jump Thru, understand this. And so, this past weekend, they staged the inaugural Hamptons Hackathon for Humanity. The event — billed as an “anti-hackathon,” and aimed to show that computer programming can be an equally female-friendly endeavor — brought 16 female technologists, web developers, and venture capitalists together in a luxurious cedar-shingled mansion.

5 Best Practices for Beauty Brands on Facebook
Among luxury and personal care brands, beauty brands — a category that, for the purposes of this article encompasses cosmetics, fragrance, skin and hair care brands — have emerged as among the most digitally savvy. Although beauty brands continue to invest heavily in traditional advertising and their own websites — open any women’s magazine and you’ll see plenty of makeup ads and a fragrance sample or two — Facebook is playing an increasingly central role in their marketing, ecommerce and customer service strategies.

See more of my favorite articles by following me on Twitter , @sloane.

The second annual Digitini is here! I’m so excited to be able to bring back this incredible event to SXSW Interactive this year. And bigger than ever with the event being held in the CNN Grill and co-hosted by PepsiCO WIN.

This event brings together incredible women in digital and technology communities to highlight their contributions over the past year! To follow along with today’s festivities, follow #digitini or #pepsicowin on Twitter.

A full recap to come after the event!

I have returned from the most moving trip to Haiti. It’s really truly amazing what happens when you dive into an experience with your whole heart and soul. I am going through photos and videos and will be posting as much as I can over the next few days.

I want to give a huge shoutout and thank you to my digital sisters that shared in this experience with me. Without them, this trip would not have been the same. We bonded in a way that is hard to describe, in part because we had the opportunity to share with each other and in part because we were all really open to sharing with each other.

I created a Twitter list called Heart of Haiti to keep these digital sisters connected and also to let more people follow along with the goodness they are creating in this world.

Our inspirational leaders!

• @willashalit: Social entrepreneur, Fair Trade activist, artist, merchant, mom, knitter, traveler. http://www.fairwindstrading.com

• @danicakombol: Everywhere Communicator, Catalyst, Pie Baker, Partner in Social Media Marketing Firm, Everywhere, Guinness Record Holder for #beatcancer. http://www.beeverywhere.tv

Who are these inspiring women? Let’s see…

• @anandaleeke: Yoga + Creativity + Internet Geek = Ananda Leeke. Innerpreneur. Author. Artist. Coach. Yoga Teacher. Her next book is @DigitalSisterhd, a memoir (12/11). http://www.anandaleeke.com
  

• @prtini: Social Media • President of Geben Communication • #pr20chat co-moderator • Love reading, nachos, wine, sports & my iPhone • heather@gebencommunication.com. http://gebencommunication.com
  

• @JohnicaReed: Travel tastemaker, writer & twentysomething entrepreneur with a passion for curated experiences. Bringing you destination inspiration from around the globe. http://johnicareed.com
  

• @msciocia: Professional Ghost Tweeter. http://www.lauraciocia.com

And the partners that helped make this possible:

• @BeEverywhere: We blend digital, social, experiential, and traditional marketing tactics and solve problems for our clients. Social Media Guinness Record holder #beatcancer
  http://www.BeEverywhere.Tv

• @CBHaitiFund: At the request of President Obama, we are partnering to help the Haitian people reclaim their country and rebuild their lives. http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org
  

• Heart of Haiti
  

• @brittont13: Digital Coordinator and Social Media Specialist living in Atlanta GA. Passionate about food, fashion, and fun!

A special shoutout to the non-Twitterers of the group: Deana, Juliana and Chad. It was amazing to spend this time with you. Thank you for sharing yourselves and making this trip so incredible. Many thanks also to Natalie and Pascale, the program directors in Haiti for Fairwinds, you both were simply amazing. Your passion and dedication to your culture within Haiti was an inspiration. And another hello to Taryn who had planned to join us but couldn’t at the last minute. You were there with us in spirit.

Here’s to creating special bonds with amazing women. Willa said on the trip that so many people have asked her about Haiti and her work in Haiti. She told them, “Come to Haiti and see for yourself.” Until this past weekend, no one had gone. The biggest success of the whole trip? THAT WE WENT. That we made the trip. That we said YES. That we broke through our own barriers and made room in our busy lives as professional women to make this trip come alive. That is the most magical part of all. Thank you to all you incredible, beautiful women for joining me in Haiti. #onelove

“What is the one thing we can take back from Haiti with us to tell people?”

That was the question I asked people while in Haiti over the weekend. For there is a lot going on. A lot of sadness. A lot of frustration. A lot of violence. Struggles to reconstruct, rebuild, take a country that was already the poorest in the Western Hemisphere and have it come back better than before.

“Tell the good. There is positive happening here. The (traditional) media only tells the stories of hardship but there are a lot of positive stories coming out of Haiti too.”

And indeed there is. Smiles and laughter. People helping each other. Community leaders stepping up. International aid organizations committed to helping in the reconstructions. Houses are being built. Schools are in session. A presidential election is right around the corner.

So that’s what I want to do. I want to honor the wishes of the people I met in Haiti. I want to tell stories that haven’t been told 100 times. It’s important for us – us in the privileged developed country – to remember that in the aftermath of a natural disaster most other countries don’t have the option to cleanup like we do.

Sanitation is often argued to be the number one indicator of how developed a country is. Second is infrastructure in roads and the ability to get from point A to point B. Haiti is obviously behind the U.S., so is there trash in the streets and piles of rubble? Yes. But I expected that.

What was amazing was the bright colors! The creativity of the Haitians. The way they are embracing art as a means of expression. They are struggling of course, but there is hope in Haiti. There is hope for the future. That is humankind, that is what makes us resilient. Hope.

I hope you’ll remember that when you think of Haiti, if nothing else.

I’ll be sharing more of that perspective of Haiti in the coming days. In the meantime, I’ve just started using Cinch to record audio messages to share. Below is a message I recorded today about Haiti and storytelling.

If you have specific questions about Haiti, please let me know. If I don’t know, I’m happy to help find someone who would. And for more information on the Heart of Haiti campaign visit Fairwinds Trading or follow the hashtag #heartofhaiti on Twitter.

Help A Woman Out is your guide to finding organizations, events and nonprofits that support women and girls. Attend. Donate. Learn. Join. Jobs. Curated by your biggest cheerleader, me!

I released this site within 3 days of coming up with the idea. I found a domain name. Found a tumblr theme I liked and customized it. Started seeding content and then pushed publish to the world. Sometimes we need to create just to create. The power to press publish is powerful and freeing. I am of the school that (in regards to personal projects) you can fix just about anything after it launches. Start small, start anywhere, see what happens…and then iterate to match the feedback. It’s the entrepreneurial spirit in me that wanted to put this site out there to share, and then get feedback and figure out what needs to change or be upgraded.

I learned a lot about customizing tumblr themes for this site and also how to put the Facebook “like” and Twitter buttons into the HTML. I’m working on learning more of the development parts of websites this year and this was a great introduction towards that goal.

I know many women would like to get involved and help but don’t know how. Because they are too busy with their lives, careers and families. I wanted to create a place on the web that would seem magazine-like. A place to flip through women’s organizations, inspirations quotes by women, events listings and job opportunities that would focus specifically on girls and women. All of this content would create a portal to Help A Woman Out.

I really believe that woman are at a crucial point in history. Women are being recognized as the changemakers for society, an emphasis on girls education exists in some countries for the first time ever, the UN recently joined all of their programs and projects for girls and women together into one platform called UN Women. The third Millennium Development goal focuses on gender parity, and there are only 5 years left until those goals are set to be met.

I have three inspirations I’d like to thank that helped piece this project together first in my head and then in reality:

1. Help A Reporter Out, which if you know it, is a site founded by Peter Shankman to help reporters find sources and sources get stories placed in a quicker and more efficient fashion. There are lots of projects out there that play off of the name of another and I hope Peter (who is an amazing guy I had the privilege of working on My Mardi Gras Experience with in 2010) doesn’t mind this flattery! I didn’t have a name in mind at all for this project and was out walking one night in my neighborhood, where I usually get my best inspirations, and playing with words in my head. Something with the word “woman” and something that indicated “help” but maybe not exactly that word. It all literally happened in one hour. I thought of the name Help A Woman Out and came home to see if the domain was available (the real test) and was surprised that it was. I bought it on the spot…you never know when you’re going to want to use good domain names! I always believe in giving credit where credit is due, so thanks Peter.

2. Nerd Valentine, is a recent web project from my friend Amrit Richmond. When I asked Amrit what prompted her to start this new Tumblr, she said, “Sometimes you just have to create something to the internet for fun. I wanted to create something people would love. Plus there wasn’t a good site of gifts for nerds.” I loved her attitude. I had the idea of a site focused on girls and women-based initiatives for awhile but it was far down my to-do list. After talking with Amrit, it jumped to the top. I realized I didn’t need to create something complex and complicated. I could create just to create! I could create and not ask for anything in return. This was a huge wake-up call. The internet pays my bills, but it also drives a lot of my relationships. I love it. I want to do more to show that respect by creating projects like Help A Woman Out.

3. Susan McPherson is a true inspiration. I’m so lucky to have been connected to her first through To Mama With Love (a 2010 EpicChange project by Stacey Monk) and then in-person when I moved to New York. She is a true connector either through her work at Fenton or by being on the board at BPeace or from just loving to put people together. She immediately included me into her circle of high-achieving women and a good part of my New York experience is thanks to her and the women she’s introduced me to. When I left Los Angeles after five years, I knew I was leaving behind a group of amazing female power brokers and that has consistently been the #1 thing I miss about LA. Those women, some friends and some in my extended network, shaped my experience in Los Angeles. I’ll never forget the change that happened when I started cultivating a strong female network to be around. I know it will take time for that to happen here in New York, but Susan has helped a lot with the first hurdle. Her excitement about women’s issues and conversations about women, CSR and the broader scope of business where a big inspiration to this site.

So thank you to those above. I hope everyone checks out this new site and gives feedback. I’m always looking for more to post on the site. If you have any suggestions for content, please submit the information here or leave a comment below.

Thank you!