A Social Entrepreneur's Story

My bosses offer wondrous opportunities to the junior staff. It’s awesome.

Tonight, for example, I found myself sitting at the Social Innovation Forum, a gathering led by Andrew Wolk of Root Cause and full of Boston’s greatest social innovators, funders, and civic-minded citizens. It was fascinating.

I was particularly intrigued by a 2004 college graduate and social entrepreneur named Lindsay Hyde. She’s the founder and executive director of Strong Women, Strong Girls. I was particularly impressed by her maturity and sophistication, and her strong speaking skills. Her words captured the audience, galvanizing them into action.

She told a particularly moving story that articulated why she does what she does. I’d like to share it (as best as I can):


Apparently Lindsay was the keynote speaker at some corporate “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day”. In the room where she gave her address, the 8 to 11 year-old girls were on the left half of the room, and the 12 to 15 were on the right.

She began: “How many of you think you can change the world? Raise your hands.”

On the left, hands flew wildly. Little girls flailed with enthusiasm, struggling not to fall off their chairs, too high for their colorful, white-laced & sneaker-clad feet. It’s like they wanted nothing more in that moment to let Lindsay know they could change the world.

Meanwhile, the 12- to 15-year-olds crossed their arms, blew wisps of hair out of their face, and rolled their eyes. They slouched low in their folding chairs and emanated disgust. It’s like they wanted to tell Lindsay she couldn’t be more naive.

Lindsay stood symbolically between the two groups. What happens that strips the dreams away when young girls become young women? For many, she believes, it’s a lack of role models… especially strong, positive women. So she created this organization to unite and empower females – both girls and women – to stimulate social change.


I encourage you to check it out… http://www.swsg.org/support.htm