What Did Next Gen Girls Say About the 2025 Groundbreaking Women Summit? Worth It.
"I love being here. I can't believe we get to talk to everyone!"
"These speakers are amazing - I just interviewed the CEO of Angel City!"
"Um, how did Worth Magazine get so many incredible women on one stage?"
They did it with a history of inspiring summits under their belts and a topic called "Rise and Lead" as this year's banner. And once again, the money mentors at Worth Media Group took our breath away with their roster and gave next gen girls teen journalist credentials to cover the whole thing.
Worth's annual Groundbreaking Women Summit is always a hit, and this year was no exception. I was honored to be selected as a Groundbreaking Woman last year, and this year was thrilled to take the stage this year alongside Maureen Polo from Hello Sunshine and Miriam Spritzer from The Golden Globe Foundation.
What did we talk about?
We started with the moment each of us realized we were the mentors instead of the mentees. Then we moved on to the importance of early mentorship and authentic storytelling. We divulged a bit about what the first-ever Hello Sunshine Teen Advisory Board has been up to and teased more of what's yet to come.
What did other panels discuss?
Think...
Leadership lessons from former U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot ★ Elizabeth McCormick, CSP®, CVP, CVH
Accelerating climate progress with Jacqueline Patterson at The Chisholm Legacy Project, Pooja Tilvawala at Youth Climate Collaborative and Wawa Gatheru at Black Girl Environmentalist
Connecting epic executives with Chief CEO Alison Moore and Nicole Valentine from Milken Institute
Unpacking the impact of foreign aid cuts with Michele Walsh and Adetola Abiade, and
Highlighting the untapped economic potential of women's sports with Lorine Pendleton and Angel City Football Club CEO and co-founder Julie Uhrman.
I'll pause here to reflect on watching Julie Uhrman discuss the importance of women and girls in sports with five Être girls. Having offered Être girls journalism passes and unique author pages on Worth over the past few years, this company knows how much financial mentors matter and these teen writers take their roles seriously.
Need more about the other panels?
We also heard about...
AI advantages from Sanja Bogdanovic-Dinic at HTEC and Neeha Curtis at Encora
the future of women's healthcare from Sunbal (Somi) Javaid and 1nHealth's Kayt Leonard
financial confidence from Aviva Pinto, CDFA, CDS at Wealthspire Advisors
redefining power and leadership with Amee Ricketts Mungo from data.world and Être mentors Jennifer Justice of The Justice Dept. and Talia Bender Small of The Female Quotient, and
employee motivation with Jessica Kriegel at CULTURE PARTNERS .
I'll break again here to note how much joy each of these panel discussions brought. Amid heavy topics and uncertain markets, the mood at the Pendry Hotel in NYC remained not only hopeful, but hyped. Women cheered for each other - their work and their wisdom - and next gen girls watched every moment and wrote it all down.
How did the day wind down?
With panels about...
unlocking capital with the collective from author Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and founders Hali Lee and Wendy Wecksell ("WxL")
turning passion into profit with startup stories from the founders of Wander + Ivy, Cincoro Tequila and Oleada
and closing remarks from Worth's Dan Costa.
What moments struck our young journalists the most?
Stay tuned to hear their thoughts and read their takeaways.
What was the refrain I heard most often as girls, heads bent together in the front row, whispered back and forth?
"That will be us on the stage someday."
And I know with certainty that they're right.
With deep thanks to Eva Crouse, Dan Costa, Gabrielle Doré and the rest of the team at Worth Media Group for welcoming Être girls to the room and me to the mic - the Groundbreaking Women Summit is a day that never fails to inspire.
I can't wait to share more from our Hello Sunshine x Être Girls panel and from the teen takeaways that will follow.
But for now, bringing girls into the room for these mentor moments?
Say it with me...worth it.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more moments from the 2025 Groundbreaking Women Summit you won't want to miss: this year's list of Groundbreaking Women, more about the 2025 Summit speakers, and selected 2025 honoree profiles - role models one and all!
