Initially, EmpowHer Institute collaborated with the Network for Training Entrepreneurs (NFTE) to use its curriculum and develop a customized signature program called E-BEST (EmpowHer-Building Entrepreneurial Skills for Tomorrow).
The E-BEST program delivered workshops focused on building high school girls’ entrepreneurial skills as a way of engaging, learning, and preventing dropout. E-BEST workshops would impart entrepreneurial values, attitudes, and skills to girls with the highest at-risk rate of dropping out of school. In implementing the E-BEST program it became increasingly apparent that to improve academic performance for girls in marginalized communities, with a nearly 50 percent dropout rate in Los Angeles public schools, we needed to address the experiences and situations outside the classroom — pregnancy, low self-esteem, depression, family violence, sexual assault and other trauma — that profoundly affect their readiness to learn and achieve academically. We also recognized that, in order to be more effective at changing the trajectory for teen girls, it was imperative that we intervene earlier than high school.
In 2012, EmpowHer Institute turned its attention to serving middle school girls as young as 11. We developed the EmpowHer Girls Academy (EGA) and began collaborating with Title I middle schools to deliver the program. In contrast to the E-BEST program, which focused on developing entrepreneurial skills, EGA focuses on developing social and emotional learning (SEL) skills coupled with mentorship. The program utilizes SEL as a means of giving girls the skills they need to overcome the negative experiences and trauma outside the classroom – low self-esteem, depression, family violence, and sexual assault — that affect their ability to engage in school, perform academically, and reach their full potential.
In 2016, we established the EmpowHer Leaders Academy (ELA). ELA provides continued support for EGA alumni as they transition from middle school and navigate through high school. The program utilizes mentorship and tailored workshops to provide girls with the information, support and tools they need to reach their full potential and thrive.
In 2021, we introduced our Summer programs, launching a Social Justice STEAM Camp for middle-school aged girls and a paid internship program for high schoolers.
Since 2003, EmpowHer Institute has positively impacted the lives of 4,100+ Black and Brown girls throughout Los Angeles County.
Iris Gordy (Co-Founder), Rickeyna (student), B. LaMarr (C), Karla Gordy Bristol (Co-Founder)