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.

January is National Mentoring Month - and it's the perfect way to start a new year.

From famous quotes about mentorship (think Oprah Winfrey's "A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself") to advice offered by 180 women like Hoda Kotb, Bobbi Brown and Tyra Banks in The Epic Mentor Guide, wisdom shared by mentors makes a formidable difference.

We had our best year ever.

Être, the mentorship platform I launched nine years ago to bring girls directly into boardrooms and face to face with female leaders, had a record-breaking year and I cannot wait to share highlights.

From boardrooms at Pinterest, Google, Nasdaq, Bubble and Morgan Stanley to stages at SXSW EDU, TED-Ed, Makers, Worth and Sunniefest, Être girls raised their voices.

From in-person meetings with icons like Gloria Steinem and athletes training for the Olympics to interviews with fashion founders like Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni or author-astronauts like Kellie Gerardi, Être girls raised their hands.

It's been a whirlwind of a month - full of soaring highs and grief-stricken lows.

We need a minute.

We need a minute to reset and recharge. To gather ourselves before we gather in groups...and to take a breath while we take a moment for ourselves.

To no one's surprise, at times like this I get my best advice and pro tips from the next generation.

Where are they going to find calming content and rejuvenating resources? I asked, and they answered. Here are five Gen Z-approved spaces to find peace amid holiday pandemonium and joy as we finish the year.

I met Laalitya Acharya in 2017 when she was named a finalist in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Être was only a year old, Laalitya was 13, and I was interviewing her about all the ways she wanted to change the world.

I smile when I think about it, because that same year I wrote an article for HuffPost about encouraging the next generation to run for office – it was titled getting today’s girls on tomorrow’s ballots.

And now today – for the first time in Être’s history – a girl I met in middle school has announced her run for office.

The years have come full circle in the blink of an eye, and I simply could not be prouder.

I’m proud because Laalitya Acharya was a change-maker from the moment I watched her 3M contest entry video and heard that she was bringing her renewable energy invention to her community in Mason, Ohio.

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow and Être girls everywhere are giving back in astounding ways. From grass-roots community campaigns to jaw-dropping global activations, girls as young as nine are looking hard at the world around them and then looking inward to ask, what can I do?

The answer is a lot. A whole lot.

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.