2025 Girlhood Summit: Be Unapologetically You

Ann Bancroft is a celebrated polar explorer, educator, and philanthropist. As the first woman to cross both the North and South Poles, she has inspired countless individuals to pursue their dreams, no matter the obstacles.

Ann is the founder of the Ann Bancroft Foundation, where she continues to empower young women to reach their full potential. 

Ethelind is passionate about many things and wears many hats with one purpose: to spark in others the same curiosity about advancing human equity, potential, and dignity that motivates her work and life.

As the Executive Director of the Ann Bancroft Foundation since 2021, Ethelind champions its vision—a world in which all who identify as a girl have a chance to live their dream and reach their full potential.

Ethelind is founder of The Stargirl Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering teen and tween girls, for which she was named a Changemaker by MN Women’s Press. She has also received recognition by Twin Cities Business as one of the “100 Top People of 2024,” and by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as one of “50 Black Leaders To Know.”

Ethelind offers her experience to several organizations, including The Jeremiah Program as a Board Member, and serves on the Board of Regents at Augsburg University.

Beverly Martinez is a dedicated advocate for social development in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, currently serving as the Youth Coordinator at Esperanza United. With a strong commitment to fostering healthy relationships and promoting mental health awareness among young people, Beverly plays a pivotal role in facilitating these discussions and initiatives within her community.

Before joining Esperanza United in November 2021, Beverly was actively involved in human rights advocacy and youth empowerment programs in the Bloomington District. Her experience and passion for empowering youth have equipped her with valuable insights into effective community engagement and the importance of inclusivity in decision-making processes.

Driven by her aspiration to create a platform where young voices are heard and valued, Beverly continues to advocate for social equity and positive youth development in her role at Esperanza United. Her journey underscores her dedication to making a meaningful impact on the lives of young people in Minnesota.

Cloie Stevens is a young, innovative business woman. Her entrepreneurial journey started at 14 years old, when she decided to open a Cottage Food Licensed bakery at the farmer’s market in her hometown of Marshall, MN. As her customer base grew, so did Cloie’s love for the business world. Shortly after her own business started, Cloie collaborated with a fellow youth business owner to create a youth only vendor market within their community, coined the KindlMarkt. Since its inception, the KindlMarkt has tripled in size featuring upwards of 30 vendors as well as being a regionally supported event. Cloie was actively involved in many organizations throughout high school, including the CEO Program, where she served as the chief operating officer of the business class where she was tasked with creating a new business. Through an investment from a CEO and with the generous help of an Ann Bancroft Foundation grant, Cloie was able to print and publish her own cookbook titled Gather: The Foods That Made Me. Currently, Cloie is a full-time student at the University of South Dakota, pursuing a business degree with the hopes of continuing to inspire and support other youth entrepreneurs.

Gigi Chawla, MD, MHA, pediatrician, is the Chief of General Pediatrics at Children's Minnesota.

In her professional role, she has oversight over primary care, rehabilitation services, and mental, developmental, and behavioral health, including the development of an inpatient mental health pediatric unit and partial hospitalization mental health programs.

Dr. Chawla is often called upon by the media for her pediatric expertise and is a regular contributor to the Minnesota Parents column and WCCO's segment, "Ask the Pediatrician."

Gretchen Sage-Martinson is a long-time high school English teacher. In 2001 she helped found Avalon, a chartered public school in St. Paul, where students have agency over their education and undertake independent projects in conjunction with taking classes to meet the graduation requirements. Gretchen’s favorite class to teach is Storytelling- which she teaches at Avalon and at various locations around the Twin Cities. She has hosted Moth-style (NPR radio show and podcast) storyslams for groups of women through the YMCA of the North. She has also ventured onto the Moth stage herself- last year bringing home a Grandslam victory with a story about an accidental skinnydip during a tornado. Don’t try that at home. Gretchen is always looking for new ways to help women and girls find, own, and hone their stories.

Hailey Seifert is a first officer on a CRJ-900 regional jet aircraft. With eight years of flight experience, Hailey started learning how to fly early as a senior in high school. After graduating high school, Hailey attended Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she earned her bachelor's degree in professional flight. As she finished her degree, she became a flight instructor, passing on her knowledge to new students to follow in her path. After flight instructing, Hailey moved to Endeavor Airlines, where she currently works and flies as a first officer on a 76-passenger regional jet connecting passengers across the United States and Canada. Hailey will be upgraded to captain later this month, whereupon completion of training, she will hold the highest rank in the aircraft as the pilot in command, holding the ultimate responsibility for the aircraft’s safety, operation, and well-being of the passengers and crew. Hailey is a proud member of the 6-7% of female commercial airline pilots and is excited to inspire the next generation of girls and women to help increase the percentage to an even playing field. 

Hawthorne Oachs is a teen musical artist, storyteller, and creative force whose work defies age and genre. With a voice that carries both vulnerability and wisdom, she transforms raw emotion into poetic, genre-blurring songs that resonate across generations. Her sound lives somewhere between pop, rock, and the indescribable - crafted for those who crave meaning in their music.

A recipient of the Ann Bancroft Foundation Grant & Trailblazer Fellowship and performer at the inaugural Girlhood Summit, Hawthorne’s music offers a glimpse into the emotional landscape of a generation redefining what it means to grow up, speak out, and create with purpose.

Her sound is thoughtfully layered and sonically bold - blending cinematic folk, alt-pop, and indie rock with poetic lyricism and immersive production. Tracks like “Speak for a Minute” confront power, environmental collapse, and resilience through haunting vocals and percussive arrangements. Earlier releases such as “Despair,” “Must’ve Been the Wind,” and “Red Spider Lilies” reveal her signature style: introspective, literary, and aurally adventurous. Hawthorne writes, produces, and designs every element of her work, crafting songs that feel both timeless and urgent.

She invites listeners into a world where complexity is honored and voices that don’t fit the mold take center stage. This year, she returns with new original work to continue the conversation - one that challenges assumptions, bends genres, and reimagines what it means to rise. 

Learn more about Hawthorne on her website: https://www.hawthorneoachs.com 

Heritage Aluko (she/her) is a senior at Visitation School, an all-girls school in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. She is the founder of Impact Future Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping and empowering young women of color through mentorship. She developed her non-profit through the Women’s Foundation Innovator’s program.  At Visitation School, Heritage leads as the captain of the Students of Color Society (SOCS), which works to foster inclusion and build a close-knit community across campus by leading initiatives that celebrate diversity. A dedicated musician, Heritage plays the saxophone, piano, and flute and plays in a jazz band, marching band, and concert band. She also contributes to her Church’s music ministry and Dechantle music ministry in singing.

Additionally, she is a member of the Leadership Ambassador team at her school, where she works alongside her peers to amplify the voices of other students and plan initiatives. In her free time, Heritage loves to write poetry that has been published in the lit mag at her school and was a competitor in the MN Poetry Out Loud competition. Heritage strives to uplift Young Women to lead with courage, resilience, and purpose. 

Jecinta Scott is Associate Director Medical Science Liaison at Novartis specializing in Radioligand and radiopharmaceutical cancer therapy. With 17 years of experience in clinical and translational research focused on hematology and oncology, she supports healthcare providers with clinical and scientific information. 

Before joining Novartis, she was the Senior Medical Science Liaison at Exact Sciences, where she focused on cancer screening, early detection, and ctDNA. Jecinta has 4 years of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Before that, she was the Oncology Site Development Director at the University of Kansas Cancer Center, where she served as the primary liaison between pharmaceutical sponsors and institutional providers to build relationships and interactions to grow their oncology clinical and preclinical disease-specific trial portfolios. Before that, she was the Enterprise Director of Hematology and Oncology Research across the Sanford Health footprint in SD, ND, and MN, where she had oversight of clinical research strategy and operations. 

She is also a Board member of the West African Institute for Liver and Digestive Disease. 

She holds a PhD in Health Sciences focused on cancer risk factors and a master’s degree in Biology Medical Sciences. 

Jennifer Baldwin is the Vice President of Capstone Programs, Junior Achievement (JA) North. Jennifer has spent more than 16 years with JA North, enhancing and expanding impactful programs, including JA BizTown and JA Finance Park.

Before JA, Jennifer spent years as a classroom teacher and has a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Thomas.

Jennifer is committed to experiential learning and providing equitable opportunities for all students across our state to thrive.

Jess Smith Chuya is an eighth grader at Columbia Academy who joined Esperanza United through the Youth Leadership Training this past summer. Since then, she has demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to uplifting her community. Outside of school and leadership activities, Jess enjoys playing volleyball and staying active with her peers.

Jorja Wodziak is the Founder and Executive Director of Youth in Law, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating accessible mentorship opportunities for high school students interested in law. Under her leadership, Youth in Law has grown from a local initiative to a multi-chapter organization across the Midwest, connecting students with judges, attorneys, and legal professionals through mentorships, court viewing programs, and hands-on workshops.

Beyond her nonprofit work, Jorja is pursuing her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with the goal of becoming an attorney. She is passionate about closing the networking gap in the legal field and ensuring that students from all backgrounds have the resources and guidance to explore careers in law.

Dr. Karen Ruth-Jarmon is the Capstone Outreach Manager for Junior Achievement North.

She resigned from Farnsworth Aerospace Upper Middle School in June 2022 to begin her retirement after nine years of teaching. For more than 25 years, she held various management positions in veterinary vaccine production, cleanroom validation, and 13 years in various leadership positions within Medtronic, Inc.

While at Medtronic, she was instrumental in achieving regulatory approval for several pacemakers in the challenging Japanese market. She was also the first African American to lead a team of engineers in the company’s history.

Dr. Ruth-Jarmon is the president of the Association of Black Women in Higher Education for the Minnesota chapter and serves as the Financial Secretary for the National Committee.

Dr. RJ’s love of science was encouraged by her parents, a Methodist minister and a housewife. Her passion is to spread that love to as many young people of color as possible.

In addition to her professional career, Dr. RJ is wife to Jeffrie and mother to Jamaal. Her hobbies include tennis, watching Marvel movies, and dancing.

Karlyn Coleman is an award-winning writer, teacher, and creative collaborator based in Minneapolis.

She is the author of the picture books The Great Get-Together and Where Are All the Minnesotans? from the Minnesota Historical Society Press. Under her pen name, K.R. Coleman, she has written nine young adult novels for Lerner’s Darby Creek Series. Her short stories have won awards and appear in Sycamore Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Water~Stone Review, Paper Darts, Revolver, and Crab Orchard Review. Her honors include a Sustainable Arts Grant, a Minnesota Emerging Writers Grant, and a Loft Literary Center Mentor Series award.

A former high school teacher and bookseller, she loves connecting people of all ages to the books they’ll love to read. She has taught all ages from children to seniors, has served on the Loft Literary Center Board of Directors, and works with aspiring writers. She believes in the power of stories.

Katy Martin is a yoga instructor at YogaFit Studios. She considers herself a free spirit. She is a student, artist, friend, and healer. She believes that it is essential to heal the mind and body together. Her discovery into her own spirit and energy has moved her to practice yoga through community healing.

She loves to gather with groups of individuals from all backgrounds to curate a warming collective of energies and healing. In her free time, you may see her hiking, paddleboarding, reading a good book, or studying.

YogaFit Studios in Minneapolis has three local studios. They offer YogaFlow 1, YogaFlow 2, Restore, Barre, Burn, and HIIT classes. Their mission is to make yoga and fitness accessible to everyone. They pride themselves on being affordable and welcoming.  Visit www.yogafitstudios.com to get a free week pass to try them out.

Lisa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Registered Art Therapist. Lisa believes creative expression provides opportunity to move towards health and healing by sharing and witnessing our individual and collective stories. Within creativity we can learn to access courage, compassion, connection, and contribution. Lisa has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient services. Lisa enjoys creating mixed media art, exploring the local art scene, getting outside, and spending time with family and friends.

Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and entrepreneur who thrives at the intersection of culture, business, and leadership.

Her critically acclaimed books Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens (2022), Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual (2021), and I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual (2016) were instant New York Times bestsellers, establishing her as a literary force with a powerful pen.

Her latest book (and first children’s book), Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess, was released on May 2, 2023.

A 19-year blogging veteran, Luvvie writes on AwesomelyLuvvie.com, covering all things culture with a critical yet humorous lens. A prolific writer, she’s also contributed to five published anthologies.

Luvvie is an internationally recognized speaker whose thought leadership on culture, authenticity, and disruption enables transformative action. Her renowned TED talk "Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable" has over 8 million views, has been transcribed into 23 languages, and has placed her in the Top 1% of TED Talks of all time.

Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a true force in the world, and her work has been featured in such outlets as Fortune, Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, The Chicago Tribune, Variety, and more.

Maitreya Reeder is an 18-year-old student activist from Minneapolis and the Executive Director, Youth Voter Project & Minnesota Youth Secretary of State. She is an advocate for overdose prevention and youth representation in politics, and received the Ann Bancroft Grant in 2025 to attend a national legislative debate conference.

At 17, Reeder led the Students Committed to Overdose Prevention and Education (SCOPE) initiative, passing HF2023, a bill addressing overdose prevention and response training in health class curriculum. She also leads statewide nonprofit the Youth Voter Project, preregistering thousands of students to vote each year through voter drives in high schools across Minnesota, and serves as the Minnesota Youth Secretary of state with the YMCA’s Youth in Government.

She is dedicated to youth civic engagement, and believes that citizens should not need to be older or more educated to be participants in democracy- they need to be informed. 

Morgan Kerfeld is a serial entrepreneur, strategist, and educator passionate about driving innovation and empowering the next generation of changemakers.

As Associate Director of the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Minnesota, she designs experiential courses and co-curricular programs that inspire students to launch and grow their own ventures.

Outside the classroom, Morgan is actively building her third startup, TELO, which is transforming the landscape of mobility aids with the first major innovations in over 40 years.

In her work, Morgan aims to bridge cutting-edge entrepreneurship with tangible social impact to make meaningful change both in the classroom and the world.

Nora Ngaling is a Junior at Math and Science Academy in Woodbury, Minnesota. She has a passion for hair that extends beyond vanity, seeing it as a way to build community, foster connection, and bring people together.

Growing up with 4 sisters, getting everyone's hair done was often too expensive. This inspired her project: to host free braiding workshops, a skill that will follow girls throughout their lives, creating spaces of comfort and empowerment. 

Beyond this, Nora is a varsity track captain, a board member on her school's Black Student Union, and student council. She hopes others take away that small acts like doing someone's hair can have a powerful impact.

Oluwatomini Ola is the Senior Program Manager at Restoration for All Inc. (REFA), where she leads community-based programs that connect African immigrant and refugee families with mental health, wellness, and social support services across Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), with a focus on resilience, community health, sustainable well-being, and the role of spirituality in healing. Her work blends research, advocacy, and program design to create spaces where youth and families feel seen, supported, and equipped to thrive. Outside of her professional and academic work, Oluwatomini enjoys walking as a way to recharge and practice mindfulness.

Dr. Sara Gonzalez (she/her) is a bilingual (Spanish-English) pediatric psychologist at Children’s Minnesota. Dr. González is the current Clinical Director of Psychological Services. Dr. Gonzalez is committed to providing evidence-based treatment for her patients, utilizing cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, behavioral interventions, and integrative medicine approaches.

Taylor Jasper is the Susan and Rob White Associate Curator, Visual Arts at the Walker Art Center. Grounded in Black Studies’ interdisciplinary rigor and civic imagination, she approaches curating as public scholarship—research-driven, hospitable, and attentive to how race, gender, sexuality, class, and place intersect.

Artist-driven and practice-based, Jasper works collaboratively across media, foregrounding process, co-authorship, and durable relationships, and mobilizes exhibitions as platforms for research, pedagogy, and civic exchange.

Since joining the Walker in 2023, her curatorial projects and exhibitions have included This Must Be the Place (2024), a reinstallation of the Walker’s permanent collection; Sadie Barnette: The New Eagle Creek Saloon (2024); and Kandis Williams: A Surface (2025).

From 2020 to 2023, Jasper served as Curatorial Associate, Visual and Performing Arts at the Momentary (affiliated with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art), supporting exhibitions including Yvette Mayorga: What a Time to be (2022), Cauleen Smith: Space Station: Radiant Behind the Sun (2021), Diana Al-Hadid: As in the Trade Winds (2021), and Garrett Bradley: American Rhapsody (2021).

Prior to the Momentary, she was a Curatorial Research Assistant at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, contributing to the exhibition and catalogue The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse.

Jasper was born and raised in Richmond, VA, and received her BA in Black Studies and Art History from the College of William & Mary in 2018.

Wintana Melekin is the Founder and Executive Director of Groundwork Institute, a statewide civic engagement organization dedicated to building the next generation of leaders in Minnesota. With more than a decade of experience leading transformative campaigns and organizations, Wintana has been at the forefront of efforts that have reshaped the state’s civic and political landscape. 

Her work has contributed to the election of leaders at every level of government from school board to Congress and to major policy victories, including raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour in the Twin Cities, passing paid sick time, restoring voting rights for more than 55,000 Minnesotans, and ending prison gerrymandering. 

Through Groundwork Institute, Wintana is advancing her vision of a statewide hub where leaders are trained, supported, and resourced. The Institute equips organizers and community members with the skills, strategy, and connections they need to strengthen democracy and build a more just Minnesota.

Zia Raukar is a high school senior and founder of AEDs for Athletes, a youth-led nonprofit she launched after a teammate collapsed during a lacrosse tournament. Since then, she has helped integrate training into local health curricula and partnered with the National Federation of State High School Associations to create an educational video reaching athletes nationwide.

Beyond her nonprofit, Zia serves as a state officer for Business Professionals of America, directs youth engagement and public relations for the Rochester Community Initiative, and is the Student Body President at her school. She is also a swim team captain and a nationally ranked speech competitor. Zia believes society often conditions young women to feel they must continually prove their worth, and she is committed to reframing that narrative by fostering confidence, authenticity, and belonging.