Investing in Innovative Young Leaders

6th Innovator Cohort Concludes

In this graduation season when students mark educational milestones before moving on to their next adventure, the Women’s Foundation celebrated the ending of one impactful cohort of young women and gender-expansive leaders who participated in the Innovators program. Since the inception of the Young Women’s Initiative in 2016, we’ve seen how early investments in young leaders lead to lasting change, so we invest in the leadership of young people who are already leading today. The 14 young leaders in the Women’s Foundation Innovators recently concluded their time as a cohort – and celebrated the occasion by presenting videos sharing highlights for their final projects. Meet this amazing cohort.

Innovators ages 16-24 apply each year to receive microgrants of $3,000 to help implement their ideas for social change. To strengthen their development, the program is enriched with supportive, cohort-based learning and individual leadership coaching. Throughout the year, convenings facilitated by Floreo Labs nurture the next generation of innovative leaders and gave participants an opportunity to support, develop, and scale their leadership and ideas through skills-based workshops, while building community. Each Innovator also met with the facilitators for coaching sessions to support their grant-funded projects, personalized development, and networking to deepen their leadership for the long term.

Projects ranged in scope from empowering women for success in STEM fields, creating a podcast about women in forensics, developing a kid-friendly mobile app to reduce pediatric surgery anxiety, providing mentorship for young girls to build confidence and resilience, educating young women about drug overdose prevention tactics and training them to teach others, and a film illustrating the concepts of family, culture, and freedom.

Ella Kahn is writing a children’s picture book about neurodiversity. In her video, she said, “It’s my dream to one day build a nonprofit that teaches children the science behind their learning differences, and pair those children with neurodivergent mentors. This book is an early foundational step towards building this organization.”

In Amiyah Hunter’s video about developing a website for DYGI, the Disinvested Youth Gaming Initiative, she talked about her experience as a young girl in technology.

Disha Mitra, a biomedical engineer, worked with Washington Technology Magnet School, to host a women in STEM panel at the school. Her experience engaging with the school inspired her to continue advancing her learnings into next year with a focus group.

Taylor Tidwell Bennett registered her Girl Grow Initiative as an LLC, and is working to partner with schools, expand her mentorship network, and eventually launch a leadership event for young women and established women in their careers.

“Being an Innovator means I get to be a disruptor in creating spaces where young Black women and brown girls are no longer an afterthought but a priority. And, in turn, we will create more leaders who will shape a better future for the world that we live in today,” she said.

In a concluding survey, participants shared that the convenings helped them feel connected, and that the grant helped support their leadership and project development. One Innovator shared, “I feel better equipped to be an empathetic and passionate leader in my community. I feel I have better means to accomplish my goals because of the grant.”

Janett Jimenez, WFM’s Dr. Reatha Clark King Fellow and YWI Program Manager, has supported the Innovator and Cabinet cohorts from applications to the conclusion of the most recent cohort. She says, “It has been a true honor to watch remarkable individuals bloom into confident leaders while bringing groundbreaking ideas to life. The world needs their unique perspectives, their innovative spirits, and their commitment to making a difference in our communities, especially now. It makes me glad to know that there is trust in youth leadership and resources like this program to help young leaders peruse their ideas with people who genuinely want to help them succeed.”

The Innovators began as a Young Women’s Initiative program in 2019 and has since made 145 grants totaling to $369,500 to 115 young women and gender-expansive youth. After their cohort concludes, Innovators go on to do amazing things as entrepreneurs, educators, and community leaders. Innovators have gone on to build their own businesses like Hilal Ibrahim, been elected to city councils like Cheniqua Johnon, Nelsie Yang, and Aurin Chowdhury, and become the first Somali American mayor in the United States, Nadia Mohamed.

The next Innovator cohort kicks off in the fall!