The Epic Mentor
Newsletter

We had the best time.

From the moment I sat down with visionary CEO, publisher and podcast host Sarah Benken Foushee in the brick-lined, light-filled studio, I knew we could have talked for hours. Because the media ecosystem she has built, aptly named The KNOW Women, cares deeply about what Être's mission is centered around - female leadership and the next generation.

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to the Summer 2026 cohort of the New York Business Fellowship (NYBF), and the day was a joy from start to finish.

Designed, in the words of co-founders Giovanni Gallina and Carlos Tacchetto as a one-week, selective program bringing young professionals and students from abroad to NYC "to connect them with the business ecosystem through workshops, networking, mentorship and company visits (e.g. Google, LinkedIn, IBM, Meta, BlackRock, Salesforce, Bank of America, NYU etc.),” NYBF's mission spoke to me from the start.

Chatting with author and literary activist Marley Dias can feel like a dream come true.

Perhaps it's because I first met Marley when she was ten years old and had just launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign to help girls read more books with Black girls in main character roles.

Maybe it's because Être followed Marley's work through schools and libraries and interviewed her after she wrote her first book Marley Gets It Done and So Can You at age 13.

From the perfectly manicured lawns to the famous gates and crippling heat, all reports from Wimbledon 2026 said this was a tournament for the ages. And whether you attended in person, program and Pimm's in hand, or whether you stood on your couch in sweats breathlessly awaiting match point, time-honored traditions of the game carried forward.

Veterans returned and new champions arrived.

In a summer of joy celebrating hometown champions, America's version of a royal wedding and a semiquincentennial, Independence Day 2026 made us look back at 250 years of history and the last few years of Être's July 4th memories.

It felt like a playlist perfect for sharing.

Let the fireworks begin.

America is turning 250 and the next generation is celebrating as only they know how - with courage, curiosity and a roaring desire to see what's next.

Much like the nation itself.

One night before the New York Knicks won the championship and the city erupted with joy, a full rainbow appeared over the city skyline and heads everywhere craned up. Gaping as we came out of the subway, nudging each other on the street and sharing images across social media, the rainbow, we felt, was a sign.

Who wants to share their TED-Ed talk title this season, I usually ask at the start of each summer, and it's one of my favorite meetings of the year.

From the array of topics to the wide swath of U.S. states and global countries represented, the profound creativity and diversity of thought we hear knocks my socks off every time. Six years into Être's TED-Ed licensed series and I am just as excited to hear the answers at the meeting we will hold tonight.

As I relax into vacation - a full family affair with both adult children, the joy! - I love seeing graduation photos continue to fill my social feeds. With heartiest congratulations to every student moving out, it makes me think immediately about moving on.

As we shake confetti off graduation gown sleeves and slide commencement programs into scrapbooks, it’s natural to try to preserve the day. To capture favorite moments on camera and hold words that matter close to heart. And whether you had a graduate under your roof this year or simply cheered for friends and neighbors, the wisdom shared during 2026 ceremonies is worth noting, savoring and sharing

Earlier this spring I mentioned a capstone project dreamed up by Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine student Fiamma van Biema, designed (in her words) to show the next generation that "life is an adventure, a process, a journey—and that one has to be ever ready to pivot and to recognize and embrace opportunity when it knocks."

Taking her words to heart, Être happily teamed up with Fiamma to run Becoming, a spring program that brought students from middle school through medical school face to face with five extraordinary leaders.

My daughter is now a doctor.

It's a sentence I knew was coming...but typing it out is as surreal as seeing MD after her name or hearing Dr. Sophia Post Raia announced at Madison Square Garden over the weekend.

Ten, nine, eight...

Girls around me were chanting, counting down. Heads were turning on Broadway in the heart of Times Square.

...three, two, ONE!!

I saw The Devil Wears Prada 2 the same day it released, and as the credits rolled I thought to myself, The only thing better than one epic mentor...is two. It made me smile, because just 48 hours earlier Être girls met a runway full of mentors thanks to our new partnership with the Golden Globe Foundation.

How did this HAPPEN?! I heard one girl delightedly whisper to a girl seated next to her.

This is a first for me.

The first time I have reposted an article I wrote earlier - now with some exciting additions.

Last year, when I wrote about why Take Our Daughters to Work Day happens every day at Être, I happily recounted the origins of the day (thank you Gloria Steinem, and I cannot wait to sit together again next month) and how Être's boardroom visits continue this important theme by bringing girls directly into companies and face to face with female leaders.

What are a few of this year's updates? Think...

"A crew is inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked ... Planet Earth, you are a crew."

Words uttered presciently and poetically by NASA astronaut Christina Koch in her first public address after returning from space on the Artemis II mission.

Okay, my complete dream is to work here. Not even kidding.

Even the president is wearing the jeans. I'm obsessed.

She has the coolest job EVER...she decides collabs with any brand you can think of...

Look, our name is on the wall. I can't believe we get to be here.

Snippets of conversations I heard last week as 24 high school Être members stormed the NYC offices of LoveShackFancy and collaborated directly with President Stacy Lilien and execs like Nikki Fasciglione, Jaime Feldman, Olivia Wallace, Erin Schaut and Brianna Halpern.

Picture this:

Over 100 girls and young women.

Hailing from 7 countries and 23 U.S. states.

Proposing topics from AI to Gen Z.

Readying themselves to step to the TED-Ed mic and share big ideas with the world.

Now picture it all starting this week.

In what felt like the fastest first quarter ever, Être is heading into what promises to be our most exciting season yet. Armed with new boardroom visits on the calendar (we see you LoveShackFancy and Condé Nast) and a slew of new ideas coming directly from our Gen Z Board, Être is at an inflection point as we look towards our 10th birthday in May.

I was wondering whether you may have time for a quick chat at some point... started an email I received in January, ...as I would love to hear your thoughts on a little idea I have.

The author of the email was Fiamma van Biema, a student at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine deeply interested in both leadership and mentorship. We had met through my role on the Board of the medical school and as a member of their Student Affairs Committee, and as we reconnected by zoom to discuss her idea, my admiration only grew.

If you caught Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' LIVE After the Oscars show this morning, you know how the whisper of one question can turn into the roar of an audience.

The same thing happened a week or so ago for Être...with Kelly & Mark!

Hey there..., I emailed a friend and longtime Être mentor. I have a group of high school girls fascinated by journalism, storytelling and media - they'd be over the moon to meet some of the women making it happen at ABC. Any way to pass this on?

It has been said that standing on the shoulders of others doesn’t make us tall.

But it does support us, raise us up a bit higher and let us see farther.

And for this, as the sun came up the morning after International Women’s Day, girls everywhere were grateful.

The 2026 IWD theme was Give to Gain, and among the many ways this resonated with Être was the deep impact we feel when mentors give so girls can gain.

Exactly in time for Women’s History Month, TIME has given Gen Z girls a gift.

The very best kind of gift.

Because, in releasing their 2026 Women of the Year TIME has not only selected 16 leaders “working toward a better, more equitable world,” but they have served up 16 role models with lessons and learnings to impart to the next generation.

And they are equal to the task.

Join me in celebrating TIME’s 2026 Women of the Year and matching their work with Gen Z girls whose TIME is coming soon…

After a Winter Olympics packed with gold medal moments, next gen athletes know they have big skates to fill. And Gen Z girls are here for it.

With the women's ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada bringing an unprecedented 7.7 million viewers in overtime, Laila Edwards making history as the first Black woman to compete for the U.S. team, Hilary Knight setting records for Olympic goals, Aerin Frankel seeing 99 shots on goal but only letting two in, and Megan Keller's final goal sealing the deal, the U.S. women's hockey team served as an example of what the 2026 Winter Olympics meant to girls watching - teamwork, friendship and barrier-breaking goal-setting.

Themes that women carried aloft throughout the games like...well, a torch being passed.

When I get emails from Gen Z girls seeking to change the world, it makes my entire week. My month, even.

So imagine my delight when just before Valentine's Day and in the midst of American Heart Month I received the following email:

"As the new year dawns upon us, there's been important updates to CPR guidelines taking effect in 2026. I'm interested in writing about these guidelines to spread awareness to first responders, and I was wondering if Être would be able to help publish this article in a newsletter?" - Sharika Dhar, Être TED-Ed speaker

"That was a crazy big weekend in sports!"

"I heard Gen Z makes up 75% of Olympic athletes this year…and there are more women than ever!"

"Someone said the ENTIRE Super Bowl C-suite female this year? Is that even true?"

It was – and it’s true.

After an action-packed weekend in sports, these are snippets of DMs I'm seeing right now – sent by girls obsessed with the games and game-changing mentors on screen.

And they abound.

From the moment I spoke at a high school in New Jersey last week (thank you for the invitation Girl Up!) and spotted the entire girls’ varsity soccer team in the audience, I knew mentors in sports were top of mind. When I asked who in the auditorium wanted more direct access to mentors and three rows of teammates raised their hands in unison, the moment rang true.

Two hundred editions.

That's 2,000 titles considered, 200,000 words written, and - my favorite part - tons of ideas sparked by questions from girls and answers from mentors.

It's my favorite part because - and it's just us talking here - I wasn't even sure I wanted to write a newsletter, much less one every week. I liked the discipline of writing monthly for HuffPost or Thrive Global and occasionally for Ms. Magazine, but the idea of putting pen to paper 52 times a year was daunting.

As teams announce their rosters and athletes land in Milan, the Olympic countdown has officially begun!

And next gen athletes are watching.

With eyes glued to uniform unboxing reels, behind-the-scenes videos and how-I-made-it-here posts, Olympic and Paralympic athletes are filling our feeds with inspo and joy…we’re already cheering ourselves hoarse.

Indeed, Être girls have been fascinated by the road to the Olympics for years – sending in questions to ask favorite athletes even before they were shared on social media. From our interview with paralympian Emma Schieck before Paris to another with Sunny Choi when breakdancing entered the games, girls asked questions and champions answered.

I heard we're bringing back 2016 this month - and I couldn't be more delighted.

Because what are Être girls who started with you doing today is a question I love to answer.

Having founded a Gen Z mentorship platform in 2016 with a handful of curious girls who wanted to (in their own words) meet women with super cool jobs…you know, like, really MEET them, I am now watching original Être members launch themselves into the world.

And it’s a sight to see.

From Boston to Paris, from Los Angeles to New York and Ohio, then-middle schoolers who clamored to visit Google, dance on Spotify stages, ask questions at Marvel Entertainment and meet mentors at 3M are now presenting their own innovations, dropping their own albums, starring in celebrated movies and running for office.

The night opened with a mentor moment for the ages:

"To my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight, our softness is not a liability. Our depth is not too much. Our light does not need permission to shine. We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space." - Teyana Taylor winning Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

And with that - a clarion call that rang through the 83rd Annual Golden Globes last night - next gen viewers sat up a little straighter and listened harder to all the speeches that followed. Because they instantly felt that role models were speaking to them.