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.

A sight to see.

As we bring bring back 2016 midway through National Mentoring Month, it is both on-trend and exactly the right time to highlight four of the astounding girls I met in middle school who are now taking the world by storm.

I can't wait for you to meet them too.

First, meet innovator, change-maker, author and TIME’s inaugural Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao. I first met Gitanjali when she was 11 and had just won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. I interviewed her again when she was honored by TIME in 2020 and we caught up shortly thereafter in 2021 when she was granted her first U.S. patent for developing a “system and method for detecting contaminants in water.” In fact, it was the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that nominated Gitanjali for a White House Award in 2023 on Day of the Girl.

We had lunch when I was visiting MIT last year and I thought I was up to date on this STEM star's progress, but when I reached out last week there was even more to tell.

What is Gitanjali doing right now? In her own words:

“As a junior at MIT, I am currently exploring and conducting research in AI and drug delivery–based techniques at both the University of Oxford and MIT. Through this work, I aim to deepen my understanding of how scientific innovation translates into real-world impact for patients and communities.”

— Gitanjali Rao

"This year, I plan to prepare thoughtfully for graduate studies," Gitanjali added, "while continuing to expand our foundation, with the goal of influencing and shaping a globally accessible K–12 curriculum, one that empowers students everywhere to see themselves as problem solvers, innovators, and ethical leaders in science and technology.”

Next, meet Chloé Bryan. I first met when Chloé when she joined an Être visit to Google to hear Geena Davis speak about role models in media. We met Geena and Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute, who generously introduced a dozen girls to female leaders in media - think execs from Marvel Entertainment, Discovery Inc and more.

This was one of the first times that a company like Google held seats for Être girls at an event they thought we would enjoy. I can still remember the feeling of VIP badges handed out, hands thrown bravely in the air with questions, and joy that could not be contained. When Forbes referenced the event years later and I saw the photo, I smiled to see not only how young the girls looked, but that LH Capital, Inc. & Lyda Hill Philanthropies and current friends at IF/THEN had been part of it too.

By middle school Chloé had made her Broadway debut at the age of ten in Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of School of Rock the Musical, and she went on to be a featured soloist in Kris Defoort’s Opera, The Time of Our Singing and a guest star in HBO’s Gossip Girls reboot. At 13 she was featured in Être's first book, saying, in part: "I am what I want to be when I grow up, becaudse it's never too early to pursue the things you are passionate about."

Where is she today? Not only is she an active Être Board member dropping new singles, but she was selected last year by Hello Sunshine to be part of their first-ever Teen Advisory Board, helping to build their exciting new Gen Z brand Sunnie.

What else is Chloé up to right now? In her own words:

“I’m currently a sophomore at the American University of Paris, majoring in film. I chose to move to France because travel and cultural immersion are central to my creative process, and studying film in the birthplace of cinema has deepened my understanding of storytelling and narrative craft. Living abroad has also given me distance from what’s familiar, helping me see my work and myself more clearly.”

— Chloé Bryan

“As a film major," Chloé adds, "I’m actively involved in short film productions on campus, both as cast and crew, as well as through Rêve Film Productions, my school’s film club. As an artist, I’m constantly generating new ideas, and I love that short films provide a format that allows me to crystallize them quickly and intentionally. During my freshman year, I wrote the screenplay for and starred in Family Dinner, our major Fall 2024 short film production; a story about a cozy dinner between college roommates that quickly descends into chaos. The film was selected for the AUP Film Festival that screened at the end of the semester."

"Alongside school," she concludes, "I write poetry, short stories, and longer-term literary and screen projects that I plan to pitch and bring into production one day. Working independently has helped me approach storytelling with greater intention, focusing on voice, structure, and point of view. Right now, I’m letting this time as an international student and artist shape the kind of work I want to grow into, especially character-driven stories that feel emotionally resonant and globally minded.”

Now meet Darby Lee Stack who, coincidentally, was in attendance at the Geena Davis event referenced above! Darby was 12 when we met and already modeling and acting professionally. Also featured in Être: Girls, Who Do You Want to Be at age 14, Darby's quote (appearing between Arianna Huffington and Komal Singh) presciently read "Take risks. Try new things. Meet new people. #BeHappy doing what you love." She signed books delightedly at our NYC book launch at Luminary and is living up to her own advice.

What is Darby doing right now? In her own words:

“I am currently heading back to university after taking my fall semester off to shoot two beautiful films which I am thrilled to share more about in the new year. To me, 2026 is an opportunity to #BeStrong; to continue learning and creating; to share art that celebrates life and community, challenges stereotypes, and encourages original storytelling that inspires positive change.”

— Darby Lee Stack

Finally, meet Laalitya Acharya, recent dual-degree Columbia University graduate, scientist, engineer and political candidate. You may remember my recent interview with Laalitya when she announced her run for the State House in Ohio (District 56), but I first met Laalitya when she was in middle school and a finalist for the 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

A change-maker from her earliest days, Laalitya volunteered consistently for local STEM education centers, won the Gold Congressional Youth Award for her advocacy work in education, spoke eloquently in her Être TED-Ed talk in 2021 as she encouraged youth to stay curious and then went on to mentor other students as they entered STEM challenges.

Now, after completing graduate school, she is moving home to the district that raised her to continue advocating for public education, affordability and equal access to healthcare.

What else is Laalitya doing right now? In her own words:

“If elected, I would represent the biggest public high school in Ohio - the one that I graduated from - and so many of our programs there are ending. We need to make sure that public education stays strong and funded, because that’s our future. I want to make sure that life is affordable for that [next] girl that we’re thinking about so she can find success at school.”

— Laalitya Acharya

"My generation doesn’t don't know if we're going be able to afford a home," Laalitya continued in our interview, "if we can afford to have kids, to even find a job in the current economy. That’s what I want to make sure doesn’t keep happening to the rising generation – I want to make sure that people can plan their lives, live with dignity, that they can do the basic things that build a future."

And the future is what all four of these leaders are all about.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (whose birthday we celebrate today) famously said that love that will save our world and our civilization, and each of these young women, in unique and powerful ways, are putting their own stamp on the world through love and joy. With patents pending, music dropping, storytelling and campaigns launching, four girls I met in 2016 are poised to make 2026 the best year yet.

If we're bringing back 2016 like this, I'm 100% here for it.

Looking forward,

Illana