She is still my first phone call.

From what would you do to what should I wear...from do you remember to can you believe...Linda is my first call.

She is often the first call for my kids - I called Nana and she said - and the ultimate authority on art, fashion, law and ethics for many of my friends. We called Linda.

I love birthdays. Anyone who knows me will tell you this.

I love all of the celebrating – the cake and candles, confetti hurled in the air, the hats, full hearts, and hope that comes from bringing a new year of goals to light.

This birthday – watching The Epic Mentor Newsletter cross the 1 year mark – is a big one for me. Launched last May 8th in response to The Epic Mentor Guide’s success, I was warned that starting a weekly newsletter would be a huge time commitment. Maybe too much.

Oh, but it wasn’t.

Instead, it sparked a new conversation between next gen girls and LinkedIn’s leading women, collecting authentic workplace questions and getting them answered by women who know. And the best part? It feels like we’ve only just begun.

The morning view over Hudson Yards was breathtaking.

Light streamed in through floor to ceiling windows at SAP’s offices as guests sipped coffee, took photos against the New York City skyline, and exclaimed over the speaker agenda. The 2023 Women & Worth Summit was here, and the sold-out crowd was ready.

Milling through the crowd of over 200 women and taking careful notes were seven high school and college-age Être girls, engaged by Worth Media Group to be junior correspondents.

The opportunity was surreal.

Nothing could have been more perfect for Earth Day.

Girls swarmed into the Robin Williams Theater screening room in New York City, chattering animatedly and gaping at the floor to ceiling movie poster ahead. Staring back at them was the image of a girl about their age, flanked by a friend, a chimpanzee, and a tiger the size of a Manhattan taxi.

Instantly, they were hooked.

With World Book Day right around the corner on April 23rd, and with reams of new releases hitting shelves and announcing preorders this spring, picking ten must-reads for a lightning round list isn’t easy.

Nonetheless, with next gen readers in mind – those eyeing and entering the workforce for the first time – here are ten hot-off-the-press books we can’t wait for you to read, complete with author links so rising leaders can connect directly.

When a movie trailer like Barbie drops and a filter goes viral, girls take notice. When the company behind the main character has been highlighting cool jobs and elevating female role models for decades, girls wave their hands wildly and demand to know more.

Être sees you, and we’re here with some answers.

Because modern-day Barbie? As the film says, “She’s everything.”

Only four women have ever directed Robert De Niro, and at 40 – only eight years out of film school -- Laura Terruso is now the youngest. When I asked her what she wants other young women to know when eyeing careers behind the camera, Terruso says simply, “Pursue it, because we need to hear your stories.”

And just like that, I was hooked.

When Lady Magic, Olympian and Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman gave a shout out to The Epic Mentor Guide during Women’s History Month, I was touched. Exactly one year since the book’s morning release on The Today Show and evening launch with Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue, it is always a joy hearing from the 180 extraordinary women who participated in the book.

It got me thinking – what have these extraordinary women been up to over the last year? The answer turned out to be – a lot! As we close out Women’s History Month, join me in a fast review of 40 of the phenomenal women from The Epic Mentor Guide – what they’ve been up to and what’s next.

The room buzzed. Pulses quickened. As women stepped through the heavy doors of Forbes on Fifth, we knew that something big was happening.

Convening change-makers, activists, and founders from a variety of backgrounds, the Forbes Equal Pay Day Forum asked action-oriented women to approach the haystack of equal pay - and move the needle.

Why do we watch?

Why, every year, do we scramble onto couches with remotes or laptops to glimpse the fashion, predict the winners and comment on the speeches? What is it about the Academy Awards that continues to hold our interest?

We asked girls at Être, and while answers like we like to see talent recognized and it makes me want to see more movies in theaters bubbled up, today’s teens actually added to our list of questions with more of their own. Here are a few things that next gen girls wanted to know about the 95th Oscars on the morning after…

I'm back in class. And I couldn't be happier.

As a corporate lawyer-turned-founder, I was an unlikely entrepreneur. But when I launched a mentorship platform for girls called Être, designed, as our French name suggests, to bring girls directly into companies to see what it is possible to be, I knew that everyone I met would have something to teach me. My two main jobs, I told myself, were to listen and learn.

According to CDC data released this time last week, nearly 3 in 5 (57%) teen girls in the U.S. “felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021—double that of boys, representing a nearly 60% increase and the highest level reported over the past decade.”

The numbers left us stunned.

It started with a fly-over.

For the first time in NFL history, the Super Bowl pre-game flyover was piloted by all women, in honor of 50 years of female US Navy pilots. Led in diamond formation by Lt. Peggy Dente, Lt. Arielle Ash and Lt. Saree Moreno, the group of seven paid homage to those who preceded them and gave an encouraging nod to girls watching.

Who’s winning Best New Artist? What will Lizzo be singing? How many new categories are there, even? Will Beyoncé make history and win the most Grammy Awards ever?

How does it feel to ring the bell at Nasdaq?

“Surreal.” “Crazy exciting.” “Powerful.” “Like I could do anything.”

These are words I heard girls around me say last Thursday as Être rang the Closing Bell at Nasdaq in honor of National Mentoring Month.

Why is ringing the bell so important?

What a gift for National Mentoring Month. Three powerful viral videos shared everywhere on social. Three mentor moments offered with insight and intent by actors Kate Winslet and Reese Witherspoon and Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

Today, as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of admiration and celebration, we have ample time to reflect on Dr. King’s leadership and the lasting impact his words and service had on the world.

Including his impact on women and girls. For while Dr. King was a tireless civil rights activist, he was also an early and effective advocate of women’s rights.

Like what? Girls researching his work over the holiday might ask.

Like the fact that women's rights are civil rights.

It’s a new year and there’s a first internship or new job on the horizon! Spoiler alert – there are new rules about what to wear. As we head back to the office after a long hiatus or step boldly into new frontiers after hybrid learning, experts are weighing in on what to wear, what not to wear and when to bend the rules…just in time for a new generation of smartly-clad feet to step into the workforce.