The enormous yellow letters spelling SUNNIE were visible from the street.

Life-sized orange statues of female role models lined the path like seniors nodding hi in a high school hallway.

And multicolor messages up the huge stairway welcomed the next gen in a red-carpet style that felt entirely of-the-moment.

Sunniefest, the first-ever IRL event by Hello Sunshine's new sister brand Sunnie hit Dallas last week - and Gen Z will never be the same.

On World Kindness Day 2025 I had the opportunity to interview multi-mission research astronaut Kellie Gerardi to talk about compassion, empathy and why it was “a no-brainer” to write the foreword for the new book Beyond Words.

The minute I heard about it I agreed – a no-brainer. This book and the mission behind it will send all our hearts skyward.

A disclaimer at the start: Kellie and I had already met when she provided an inspiring quote about mentorship for my first book Être: Girls, Who Do You Want to Be back in 2019. Since then, Être girls everywhere have followed Kellie’s STEM inspo avidly, cheering with every launch of her own Luna Muna books and watching with mouths open when she became the 90th woman in history to fly to space.

Ohhhhh, Polaroids!

Wait, remember these?! I had these patches!

THIS was my favorite candy…

Hang on. Look what you can make with this…

Snippets of conversations I heard at the opening of Canva’s 2025 World Tour in NYC last month when Gen Z creatives stormed a technicolor Brandwagon Tour Bus to indulge a growing sense of nostalgia while exploring a new set of innovative tools.

A simultaneous look back and leap forward – and rising creators are here for it.

As the first week of November begins, I find I am wearing my thanks on my sleeve...and on my back (thank you Veronica Beard). I am writing it in notes, spelling it out on jackets, and I want to shout it from the rooftops. Indeed, the month has barely begun and I am awash with gratitude.

Why?

Maybe it's the air turning crisp and knowing the younger set is heading home for break.

Maybe it's wanting to hold fast to memories in the making as older members slow down.

Maybe it's congratulating those who raced yesterday in New York City (setting records!) while contemplating what milestones we may all cross tomorrow.

Whatever the reason, as I look around with eight weeks left in the year and a million emotions swirling, I am first and foremost profoundly grateful. Here's a fast list as to why - and I'd love to hear yours.

My mentor said she loves my topic.

Mine zoomed with me for AN HOUR this week!

My mentor sent me her book with awesome stats for my talk.

She’s amazing - I literally can’t believe she’s my mentor.

Texts I received during Season 5 of Être TED-Ed this year, and as I scrolled week after week they just kept coming. And to me, this is what makes Être TED-Ed so special. Because in addition to a cohort of girls approaching the mic from 14 U.S. states and 7 countries, what differentiates Être's TED-Ed program is the pairing of each speaker with an epic mentor in the field of her talk.

It happened yesterday...and every single speaker took our breath away.

On Sunday in midtown Manhattan at the Five Angels Theater, girls from 14 states and 7 countries took the stage to deliver TED-Ed talks they had been writing and practicing for half the year.

To say they earned all of our applause would be an understatement.

Standing before a packed house bursting with excitement, girls as young as nine years old stepped onto an iconic red carpet and up to the TED-Ed mic to share their ideas with the world.

It was the flowers you noticed first.

As you turned the corner on the iconic Universal Studios Lot and stepped into an expanse of green lawn strewn with pop-up activations and women chatting animatedly, it was the staggeringly bright flower installations that caught your eye.

They looked like they were lit from within.

Which is exactly how women from across the country (and further) felt as we arrived at Shine Away 2025, Hello Sunshine’s third annual event boasting a roster of stellar speakers and the most engaged audience on the planet. “Expect a weekend of inspiring panels," Hello Sunshine's website promised, "and meaningful moments designed to unlock what’s next for you. It’s not a reset, it’s your exhale.”

Exhaling and spinning slowly on the grass I thought to myself, they weren’t wrong.

Shhh - it's starting!

Okay, the bell is REALLY loud!

It's actual confetti!! I thought it was digital!

Is that us on TV??

Whispers I heard yesterday as 25 Être girls from 5 schools across 3 states met each other on the floor of Nasdaq's MarketSite studio to celebrate Day of the Girl a few days early.

Two weeks ago Morgan State University announced Agina Simpkins as its new Head Acrobatics & Tumbling Coach, and fans everywhere are still cheering. The first Division I HBCU to ever offer acrobatics and tumbling, Morgan State’s program had already garnered national attention for its strength, stunts and unshakable team spirit. Now with this new hire they are starting the year that much stronger, securing their spot in history.

For three days we sat at the edge of our seats.

For three days we nodded at wise insights, cheered brave announcements, roared at sly humor and scribbled down notes to pass on to the next gen of innovators. Because this year, like every year for over a decade, the Fast Company Innovation Festival was a masterclass in what's next.

We’re one month out and the excitement is building...

Because while the Emmy’s might have been last night, Être’s eyes are on October 19th when close to 60 girls from 15 U.S. states and 7 countries will pick up their own mics and take the TED-Ed stage.

Two questions I get most often are: Who are this year’s speakers and What are their topics?

To answer both at once, see the list of speakers and their talk titles below. But first…click the video below and get a lightning-fast look at Être TED-Ed as we step into Season 5!

“Fashion and media are both evolving at breakneck speed, and I am so thrilled—and awed—to be part of that,” stated newly-minted Head of Editorial Content for American Vogue Chloe Malle last week. “I also feel incredibly fortunate to still have Anna just down the hall as my mentor.”

Referring, of course, to Vogue legend Anna Wintour, Malle’s fashion-forward hat tip was immediately returned. “Chloe has proven often that she can find the balance between American Vogue’s long, singular history and its future on the front lines of the new,” said Wintour with respect. “I am so excited to continue working with her, as her mentor but also as her student, while she leads us and our audiences where we’ve never been before.”

And as icons hit the fashion runways, tennis courts and rockstar stages, it feels that fall is bringing the mentor moments we need.

“It’s a day off in the summer.”

“It’s the last weekend before school starts.”

“It celebrates workers.”

“It has something to do with fair conditions and equal pay...I think.”

All true, and all Labor Day definitions I’ve heard from Être girls celebrating #LDW this year. And yet, there’s more – particularly for the working women girls look up to as mentors. At the start of this summer, the labor force participation rate for women in the U.S. was 57.5% and women represented nearly half (47%) of the total U.S. labor force. Girls, seeing the numbers, lowered their sunnies to take stock. Using their DMs as a guide, here are four fast facts about Labor Day that girls can keep in mind today as they eye tomorrow’s workforce.

Loving every The Summer I Turned Pretty meme beach-blanketing your feed right now?

Same here. But not just for the fun – for the phenomenal things girls accomplished this summer! Three days ago, when I threw out the simple query what did you do this summer to girls previously featured by Être, I didn't know what the tide would bring in. But all weekend long joyful responses about internships and innovation, global treks and hometown visits, magic made with audiences and solo moments of peace filled my inbox. As we head into a holiday week and watch August wane, take a fast look with me at how 42 global girls filled their summers.

One important note - you'll be struck not only by what they're telling you, but how they're telling you...with unabashed pride, unfiltered delight and unapologetic goals.

Soak it in - it's a mini-mentor masterclass, reminding us how to tell the world about what lights us up.

When I've written in the past about brands painting the town pink for Barbie and waving marketing wands for Wicked, I've been impressed by the breadth and depth of their product collabs. With over 500 combined promotional partners at those launches, media events turned the world pink and green for months with dazzling success.

With the announcement of her newest album The Life of a Showgirl on 12:12am ET on August 12th, Taylor Swift not only broke the internet, but fast-moving brands broke records. A recent Meltwater report notes that within the first 48 hours of the reveal, brand-led activations generated 2,600 posts with a potential audience of 20 million for engagement. And the pace has only quickened.

"What do you wish you knew?"

"What's one thing we shouldn't forget?"

"If you could tell your freshman self anything...?"

Questions casually hanging in the air as suitcases slam shut and packing tape zips. While college drop-offs happen this week and rear-view mirror glances stay imprinted on our minds, the next gen is asking for last-minute mentor missives.

Luckily, today's workforce has acres of them.

When COVID temporarily halted Être's next gen boardroom takeovers, we pivoted quickly and collected workplace questions from girls around the globe. Seeking career advice, interview insight, internship hints and sports team tips, hundreds of girls raised their hands, and when 180 women answered and The Epic Mentor Guide was published, it became not only a book passed from backpack to backpack but a favorite off-to-college gift.

In that spirit, and sending all good vibes to starting freshmen, here are 8 fast pieces of advice pulled from The Epic Mentor Guide to keep in mind as you eye those first hallways - sent with pride from women who've walked them:

"I want it to feel like MY space."

"Where do I even find this?"

"Wait, can I do that myself?"

"What do I actually NEED?"

All questions Être is hearing from first-time frosh as they pack up their rooms and head off to campus. From dorm design to storage hacks, study tips and staying sane, high school grads have questions - and they're good ones. Where do we usually turn for answers? Back to the companies whose boardrooms we visit and whose execs or influencers we interview!

And we like to share what we know.

Here, then, are five fast tips from mentor orgs expert in getting you ready and out the door, armed with the items & advice you need. Want more? Part 2 will be packed and shipped next week.

Last month I was honored to give the opening keynote address at the International Coalition of Girls'​ Schools' 2025 Conference in Philadelphia. Gathering over 600 delegates from 250 girls' schools and mission-aligned organizations across 14 countries, this three-day event was brimming with energy from the moment the lights went up, and I couldn't wait to start.

Because what I was there to talk about was Gen Z mentorship, confidence and 2025 research that had just been released at Cannes five days earlier.

"Would an international rock star ever mentor my TED-Ed talk?"

"What about a Nobel Prize winner?"

"Do you think the CEO of that company we visited would be my mentor?"

"Could I ask a legendary leader even though she's such an icon?"

YES. The answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES.

Since the day I founded Être - a mentorship platform bringing girls into companies and face to face with female leaders - I've watched a new generation of thought leaders raise their voices to share big ideas.

In every boardroom we visited, game-changing suggestions and transformative thoughts bubbled up in conversations with execs and girls kept their hands in the air, ready to say more.

Ready to head to campus in epic style and hang with your BFFs?  Yes, it’s early to be thinking about decorating dorm rooms, but then again founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni have always been one step ahead of the crowd.

That's why this back to college season these recent Stanford grads, co-founders of the fashion startup Phia and co-hosts of the podcast The Burnouts are partnering with Command™ Brand to help every new student feel at home. As only roommates know, surrounding yourself with inspo brings on the big ideas. Just listen to the podcast episode Sticking With Style dropping later today to hear their tips and recommendations alongside interior decorator and DIY expert Tay Nakamoto (AKA Tay BeepBoop) about the hottest dorm trends, how to balance classes and college social life...and everything in between.