When 17 year-old Ava Shah strode to the Être TED-Ed mic two weeks ago, she had more on her mind than giving the outstanding performance you see here:

They wowed us.

From AI and algorithms to being extra, the power of creativity and living our legacies, the topics this year's Être TED-Ed speakers brought to the mic stunned us.

It happened this weekend and we still haven't caught our breath.

But oh, it was spectacular.

Taking over the Five Angels Theater in NYC for 4 shows (3 live on stage and 1 virtual component) to accommodate 100 Gen Z speakers from across the globe, Season 6 of Être TED-Ed was one for the books.

From the moment they stepped on stage...

There are moments when you take the stage among students and your entire mood lifts. Your outlook brightens. Your optimism soars.

This Monday visiting Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School in Pennsylvania was one of those days. Still celebrating International Day of the Girl, I was invited to address 500 students and faculty members and talk about confidence, entrepreneurship and the importance of early mentorship.

What happened was so much more.

When you know, you KNOW.

And yesterday on Day of the Girl it was the perfect time to announce that Être Girls and The KNOW Women were teaming up to spotlight 25 extraordinary teen leaders across the U.S.

Sparked by conversations I had with KNOW founder & CEO Sarah Benken Foushee and powered by J.P. Morgan, the inaugural 25 Girls to Know List has officially launched and I cannot wait.

I knew I was wearing the jacket.

The minute I heard that Cate Luzio was bringing Luminary Live back to NYC, the I Love NY blazer hanging proudly in my closet leapt to mind.

And the second I saw that Danielle Becker, founder and CEO of Lefty's Right Mind and the artist behind the piece, was joining the kickoff panel Building While Flying, it was like stars aligned.

Last night Taylor Swift broke records at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, becoming the most-awarded artist in VMA history. And as she dedicated one of her wins to “the ultimate showgirl" Dolly Parton, no one watching had a dry eye.

We savored the moment together, because this is where Swift excels - she connects us.

You have to meet these young women.

While day to day I am deeply engrossed (some might say obsessed) with running Être, one of my favorite things to do is to spotlight other next gen organizations. And with Day of the Girl less than a month away, I’m over the moon to spotlight America's Distinguished Young Women – the oldest and largest national scholarship program for high school girls...ever.

We stepped off the elevator, and you could feel the energy vibrating through the floor.

Conversation buzzed, enormous banners of luminaries hung from the ceiling at Lincoln Center and lights from NYC’s Columbus Circle glimmered beyond oversized windows. The morning hummed as coffee was served and Forbes cover photos were taken – and we hadn’t entered the auditorium yet.

But every invitee knew what was coming.

How did we get this lucky? I asked myself anytime I sat with girls in conversation with Gloria Steinem.

How did we even get here?

The answer, of course, is that she brought us here.

My new favorite book, and the one I want in every single backpack this fall, opens with these words:

“My first day at Saturday Night Live felt exactly like being the new kid at school: pretending I was calmer than I was, wondering who my friends would be, and trying to find out where the bathrooms were.”

The scene had me at the start – remembering day one of a first job, circling the same elevator bank multiple times and being wholly unable to find the cafeteria, much less knowing where to sit.

But the best part of this opening? Girls being handed the book by big sisters, wise moms and their absolute coolest aunts will recognize those same first-day jitters.

Over 100 girls hailing from 19 U.S. states and 7 other countries - Canada, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and the U.K. - are connecting with Être mentors from brands they love, universities they admire and organizations changing the world...

Did you catch last week's edition spotlighting 25 Gen Z girls owning Summer 2026?

Well, that was Part 1 and this week they continue to amaze. Shaking the sand off beach blankets as we cheer ourselves hoarse, Être is proud to present Part 2 of our summer series highlighting the accomplishments of game-changing girls.

Last August amid cascades of The Summer I Turned Pretty memes, Être proudly spotlit the summer accomplishments of amazing next gen girls. By popular demand we’re bringing this feature back in a two-part series – shouting from atop lifeguard chairs the impressive things Être girls have going on right now.

As we eye the last weeks of summer and get ready to fill classroom and boardroom seats, take a fast look at how 50 global girls spent Summer 2026.

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.