By Florence Sidi, Programs Coordinator
Meet the 2025 Cohort
We are excited to announce the addition of 42 new members from over 30 countries around the world to the She’s the First Girls Advisory Council! This includes 30 new members of the English-speaking council and 12 new members of the Spanish-speaking council. These inspiring and passionate young women join us from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, making the GAC stronger and more vibrant than ever before!
“The passion and commitment that radiate from this year’s council are inspiring. Their voices will without a doubt, help shape a brighter future for girls everywhere.”
“This is the second year we’ve had the Spanish Speaking Council, and it’s exciting to see its diversity and number grow. With more girls from Latin America joining, we’re ensuring their voices and ideas are heard.”
What is the Girls Advisory Council?
We are thrilled to welcome a new cohort of the Girls Advisory Council, a dynamic group (ages 14-22) representing a cross-section of the girls we serve. To ensure inclusivity and diversity, we have an English-speaking and Spanish-speaking council. We design council meetings to be flexible, with online and offline options available to ensure every girl participates, regardless of time zone or access to technology.
Shaping She’s the First’s Mission
Over the years, the council has been instrumental in shaping our Strategic Plan by identifying focus areas and areas of growth when creating pathways for girls’ power within She’s the First. When we built our Feminist Mentorship Manual, the council helped us identify key characteristics of a mentor, why a girl needs to have a mentor, and the most important element of mentorship: trust. With regards to the “What Would You Do?” game, they were instrumental in providing us with diverse scenarios that young girls commonly encounter, particularly during their adolescent years.
The council amplifies girls’ voices at the highest level of the organization; two council members sit on the Board of Directors and act as liaisons between the Board and the Girls Advisory Council. The senior girl board member assumes a pivotal role as a full voting director. This responsibility ensures that she has the power to influence organizational budgeting and make decisions regarding top-level strategies. The junior girl board member takes on a learning role for the first year and gradually progresses to the senior role. This year, our senior girl board member is Sukeji Modi, 22 years old and from South Sudan, and our junior girl board member is Allison Choong, 20 years old and from Malaysia.
Looking Ahead
At She’s the First, our work is rooted in the fact that girls’ voices take center stage in everything we do, and the GAC plays a vital role in keeping our programs aligned with the needs, experiences, and aspirations of girls everywhere. Therefore, in 2025, we aim to:
Deepen Girls’ Engagement by providing different opportunities for the girls to engage with STF; whether through advocacy efforts, personal storytelling, or creative campaigns, we will ensure that each member has the flexibility to contribute in ways that suit them. This way, we ensure that our programs resonate with girls from all walks of life
We are committed to continuing to cultivate and train a global group of girl ambassadors who can use their voices to champion girls’ rights at their local level. Using tools such as The Global Girls’ Bill of Rights and the Discover Your Power Journal, girls will be able to stand up for themselves and advocate for meaningful change for girls within their own communities.
“I didn’t know about some of the rights of girls. I am already learning more about what I can do as a girl. A girl or a woman is not only good for a housewife, but also good to do many things, to have dreams, to have goals. ”
