Our hard-working, goal-oriented teens have received the repetitive message that they must work twice as hard and be twice as smart just to be competitive in this world. Though there is a lot of truth to this statement, as the guides in their lives who are helping them navigate the complexities of the world, let’s remind our achievers that they must be mindful to focus on what really matters most – their emotional wellbeing. There will always be opportunities to find ways to excel, but at what cost? Let’s encourage our achievers to take good care of themselves, live in the moment, and give themselves grace. In order to do this, ask your achiever to consider making resolutions that nurture her emotional well being. 

Let’s continue to do our part to ensure that while our hard working girls are blazing the trail to greatness, they remember to take care of what matters most – their emotional well being.

Last month Cinnamongirl, Inc. partnered with Meghan Markle’s Archewell

Foundation and learned, first-hand, the power of showing kindness through giving. The Duchess of Sussex invited Cinnamongirls to join her in a national movement to give away a total of $1,000,000 to help women in need. Nominees could range from teachers, to store clerks in her local community. The only requirements were they had to be U.S. residents, 18 years or older, and outside the donor’s family. Cinnamongirls quickly rose to the occasion and submitted videos that were thoughtful and passionate, and displayed a deep sense of empathy.

 

We are grateful to Meghan Markle and the Archewell Foundation for the opportunity to further develop our young achievers for greatness through philanthropy. We believe that powerful leadership embodies more than knowledge and skill. A truly powerful leader is someone who is kind, embodies a willing heart, and a desire to see positive change happen. This opportunity truly aligns with Cinnamongirl’s efforts to develop leaders of tomorrow who will bring about positive change for all.

 

A big Thank You to those Cinnamongirls who participated in this unique experience to spread kindness through giving. We could not be prouder of you!

We are so excited to welcome sisters Seema Batavia and Sobha Pisharody to the Entrepreneurgirl team!

 

An alum of UC Berkeley and The Wharton School, Seema is a marketing and strategy professional with over 25 years of experience. She has worked across multiple industries in that time period, but has developed expertise in healthcare, medical devices and diagnostics after several years at Johnson and Johnson and, subsequently, consulting for start-ups and mid-size companies in the sector. As an industry professional she has developed new medical products and launched them in both the U.S. and Europe. As a consultant, she has helped craft company strategies, define customer needs and translate them to products, create commercialization plans, and build brand identities. In her spare time, Seema teaches yoga, meditation, and breathwork. Seema will serve as the Entrepreneurgirl Program Lead.

 

Sobha (pronounced Shoba) is also a UC Berkeley alum, with a M.S. in Molecular Oncology and Immunology from NYU. She has 20+ years of experience in customer-centered innovation with the mission of helping companies accelerate product development & commercialization to enter new markets. She has worked with startups and large companies, been a Founder, CEO, SVP, and Chief Strategy and Product Officer. She will assist Seema as the Entrepreneurgirl Program Assistant, providing the Entrepreneurgirls with extra support outside of their classes.

Our Writergirls have been soaking up incredible lessons in their master classes and have been hard at work using everything they’ve learned to write their first drafts! They are about to embark on the next phase of the program, an incredibly essential step in the writing process: revision! All writers know that writing is rewriting and while it can be grueling, luckily our Writergirls won’t be doing it alone. Groups of two or three Writergirls will be coached through the entire process by one of our incredible Writing Coaches with expertise in their chosen format (poetry, memoir short story, or fiction short story).

 

We’re honored to have three of our beloved Coaches returning this year, and excited to welcome poet, author, and educator Thea Matthews as well as two amazing professors from UC Berkeley’s College Writing Programs, Becky Hsu and Michelle Baptiste!

We are so fortunate to have Ms. Lena Jennings as one of our amazing curators for the Cinnamongirl Travelgirl cohort. Lena is a phenomenal teacher, speaker, and storyteller. Having visited over 40 countries in the last six years, it goes without saying that Lena is passionate about travel and adventure. She is a People Analyst at Google who most recently introduced her love for Cinnamongirl with her colleagues, resulting in over 60 new Googlers donating nearly $12,000 dollars to the Travelgirl cohort! 

 

Lena has worked closely with our Travelgirl cohort. She has helped them prepare for their trips, develop their passion projects, and grow in their their public speaking abilities. This year, she will deliver Cinnamongirl workshops on Mental Health and Handling Stress. Lena says she was attracted to Cinnamongirl because she was looking to [work] with girls who are going to make a difference in this world. She has made a tremendous impact on the lives of our Cinnamongirls. We are so grateful for her time and passion to help Cinnamongirl fulfill our mission to develop girls for greatness. 

February kicks off two brand new Sister Chats, authentic conversations just for our Cinnamongirls. Our girls will have an opportunity to come together to talk about Mental Health and challenges they face as achievers. Later in the month, we will work with our girls on public speaking as we have many opportunities in which our Cinnamongirls will be before an audience leading talks and sharing their experiences. 

 

If you have a Cinnamongirl who is not currently participating in our cohorts, no worries, she can still get access to our many conversations. We will kick off more talks this year, streaming from Instagram and Facebook. Our talks are short, specific, informative and most of all, authentic. Don’t miss these great conversations. 

 

 

“I'm a firm believer that nothing happens by chance, so the day I met Randy Shane is the day that was set for me to take Cinnamongirl to another level of impact. It was June 14, 2020, and Randy reached out to me in response to a Cinnamongirl announcement I posted on LinkedIn. He wanted to help the organization in some way. I knew this gentleman was different within five minutes into our conversation. His passion for the work he does infused every word he spoke. His brilliance challenged me to approach the work I had been doing for the last 18+ years differently.  We’ve rarely missed a weekly meeting since that Sunday in June. He’s a beautiful friend and a huge advocate committed to helping Cinnamongirl grow and develop, and I am so grateful for him."

 

Randy is the COO of Hilton Global Associates, a start-up background investigation firm. He is the founder of One on One Mentors, LLC and the author of several books including, 173 Pages Every College Student Must Read, Hedge Fund Due Diligence, Professional and Tools to Investigate Hedge Fund Managers. Randy also leads the 2023 Cinnamongirl Board.