The project

Girls Driving for a Difference brings middle school girls the tools and inspiration to become leaders of social impact.

In the summer of 2015, our four-woman team embarked on a 14 week journey through 30 states, running 53 design thinking & leadership workshops with over 1,200 middle school girls. We lived in an R.V. together and met amazing educators in communities all over the nation.

And the journey isn't over yet! Our curriculum is now in the hands of hundreds of facilitators equipped to run workshops in their own communities. I am currently an active member of the Board, and am very excited to be helping plan a Girls Driving summer camp, coming summer of 2018.

This talk my co-founder Katie and I gave at the Gel Conference for Creative Good describes our project in depth and explores how we grew along the way.

The process

I won't pretend this one was a anything like a straight road. Along the way we were able to...

Create and execute a successful $35,000 Kickstarter campaign...

Get to know the lives and dreams of 1,200 of America's 10-14 year old girls...

Design custom curriculum and materials together...

Visual design and branding led by Katie Kirsch.

Test those materials in the field and iterate every time...

Build relationships with communities to organize an itinerary of 53 workshops in 30 states...

“The Girls Driving for a Difference workshop is thoughtfully designed, flawlessly executed, and providing girls an experience where they leave feeling empowered by their strengths, passions and opportunity to make an impact. The GDD team is a brilliant example of the impact that women can make with an entrepreneurial spirit, creative mindset and passion to change the world.”

— Alison Tanker, Founder of the Tigress Effect (Cleveland, OH)

Negotiate key sponsorships and partnerships with organizations like IDEO, Field Notes, Post-it, and SAP...

Find, paint, care for, and live in a colorful motorhome together for 14 weeks...

Start a conversation in the media about our work...

IDEO Futures Podcast, Fast Company: Strong Female Lead , Pulse Magazine, The d.school Whiteboard, The Stanford Daily, Design for America's Highlights of 2014, KCBS Radio Broadcast, Ms. Magazine Blog, Women of Silicon Valley

Grow as teachers and leaders ourselves....

Develop and market our brand, and deliver our hundreds of Kickstarter incentives on time...

Share our story and curriculum with educators across the nation...

Aside from meeting educators on the road, we also had the opportunity to present at South by Southwest EDU conference in 2016.

And celebrate the mission statements of thousands of girls, while living our own mission statement daily.

Learn more at: GirlsDrivingforaDifference.com

See more photos and learn about next steps on Facebook