CAMPBELL, Calif., September 13, 2023 – Girls Leadership Academy Meetup (GLAM), the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit, today announced the successful completion of its first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty girls aged 8-12 convened at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on July 6 and 7, 2023 to be inspired by female role models and learn about business, leadership, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) fields.

 

GLAM responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting an online, virtual format to ensure that girls had opportunities to continue to learn and grow while schools were closed, in addition to expanding the program’s geographical reach. Between 2016 and 2023, GLAM has empowered 1,056 girls in 13 countries through in-person and virtual events globally. The July 2023 program in Silicon Valley was the first in-person experience that GLAM has conducted since November 2019 in London, England. Given the proven positive impact of each type of experience, GLAM events will continue to be offered in both formats.

 

GLAM is unique in that it not only teaches the basics of computer coding, but also a full range of business skills to set girls on a path to senior leadership and entrepreneurship. The award-winning, immersive program is offered free of charge to enable girls from all socioeconomic backgrounds to participate. It teaches girls basic computer and coding skills, as well as leadership experiences through vision boarding, business planning sessions, as well as public speaking and business pitching mentoring. The program culminates in business pitch presentations, where girls present their business ideas to an expert panel of judges.

​

Corporate partner

iTalent Digital, GLAM founding sponsor

 

Event sponsors

• National Mentoring Day

• The Commission on the Status of Women - County of Santa Clara

• JP Graphics 

• Black Lamb Media

• Tooli-Art

• Elevate.RA

• The Kindness Rocks Project

• Mermaid GlamKidtique

 

Introducing girls to inspirational role models is an important component of the award-winning GLAM leadership and STEAM program. Senior female executives who served as speakers and session leaders for the July 2023 experience included: 

• Renée La Londe, CEO and Founder of iTalent Digital and Girls Leadership Academy Meetup

• Trina Celeste Limpert, CEO and Founder of RizeNext Corp and Co-Founder of Tech-Moms.org

• Anne Halvorsen, Executive Director at Chase Bank

• Julie Lane, Chief of Staff at Cisco

• Maitri Chattopadhyay, Senior Software Engineer at Disney Streaming

• Chelsey Baker, CEO and Founder of National Mentoring Day and National Mentoring Awards Organization, expert professional public speaking and business mentor

• Aparna Singhal, Vice President and General Manager of Product Management at American Express

• Jessica Steindorff, Producer at Nine Two Six Media, LLC and Neurodiversity Advocate

• Ishita Majumdar, Vice President of Data Analytics Platform at eBay

 

Special guest speaker

Gabriella "Gaby" Ehrlich Rodriguez, ten-year-old CEO and Founder of Gabzilla

 

Event emcee, keynote speaker, and business pitch mentor

Marisusan Trout, Partner at WINNAR Group

 

Business plan pitch contest judges

• Renée La Londe, CEO and founder of iTalent Digital and GLAM

• Maitri Chattopadhyay, Senior Software Engineer at Disney Streaming

• Uma Achutha, Senior Product Manager at eBay 

• Marisusan Trout, Partner at WINNAR Group

 

Business pitch contest winning teams

• Overall Winners - Team 2: Patient Portal

• 1st place - Team 8: Shampoo Brush  

​

About GLAM

 

Girls Leadership Academy Meetup (GLAM) is a nonprofit organization founded in Silicon Valley, California in 2016 by iTalent Digital CEO & Founder Renée La Londe. It was born from a desire to give girls from all socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to be exposed to technology careers and inspired by successful role models from an early age. GLAM’s immersive, customizable STEAM and leadership programs are delivered in-person or online and are always offered free of charge to attendees, thanks to the generosity of donors and sponsors. 

To find out how you can become involved in helping close the gender gap, engage with GLAM! Watch some program content on GLAMtv, read recent blog posts, encourage business partners to sponsor a GLAM Event, follow the hashtag GLAMReadyToLead on socials, donate, or email info@glam-readytolead.com for more ideas.

​

Contact: Michele Foster at michele@glam-readytolead.com