More than 100 ambitious women in high school and college will descend upon Washington, D.C. in July to meet some of the most accomplished women in the area. Inspiring these young women by connecting them with all too rare high-powered female role models is exactly what Katlyn Grasso founded GenHERation to do.
"When I was in college I realized there was a lack of women in positions of highest power to look up to," Grasso explained in an interview with DC Inno. "I want to open a path to leadership for young women who need role models."
GenHERation's Discovery Days program will offer around 500 young women the chance to meet 150 executives in five cities this summer, the third year Grasso has run the program. Along with the 100 or so expected for the D.C. section, the $300 per day trip trip will include time in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City and Philadelphia.
"The experience of meeting with the executives can make a critical impact," Grasso said."The [participants] are motivated and ambitious, but now can see potential future careers."
Discovery Days is GenHERation's biggest event in a year-long programming schedule that Grasso estimates has reached more than 60,000 women all told. NASA, NVCA and the State Department will be represented in the D.C. section of the trip, but it's notable how much interest there is in the tech companies in each city, according to Grasso.
"The companies are really drawing the girls," Grasso said. "Facebook, Twitter, Google, Uber and some of the others get a lot of attention."
Regardless of the industry or type of career, the effect of meeting women who can draw a map to whatever variety of success the young women are interested in can't be overstated, Grasso said. And the women talking with the students are happy to share their stories, she added.
"I think it's important to see how these women got where they are," Grasso said. What does the path look like from college to where I am today? Every girl who goes on this path will have their own path to success, but they can see some of what's at the end of it."
