CVNL Placement Announcement: Emily Teitsworth Named Executive Director for GirlVentures

GirlVentures is delighted to announce the selection of Emily Teitsworth as its new Executive Director. Emily will be responsible for the organization’s overall management, operations and development during this exciting next stage of growth. Emily started in her new position on May 16, 2017.

Emily brings over a decade of experience leading high impact domestic and global initiatives in leadership development and organizational management primarily focused around empowerment of women and girls. For the last eight years, Emily has worked for the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California. Most recently, she served as Managing Director of Rise Up where she was instrumental in expanding its programs and spearheading several new initiatives targeting girls and women in 11 countries. Prior to her tenure at Rise Up, she was the Director of Programs at Let Girls Lead, a division of the Public Health Institute. A leader in public health and development programs benefiting girls, youth and women, Ms. Teitsworth holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University.

In making the anouncement, GirlVentures Board of Directors President Gina McFarland said, “Emily brings a unique combination of leadership and operations experience, knowledge of the field, and deep personal commitment to the girls we serve. Emily is a proven leader, with a well-deserved reputation for integrity and commitment to excellence. We very much look forward to supporting Emily as she and the staff work to take GirlVentures to the next level of success.”

“I’m honored and excited to be joining GirlVentures to continue and scale the organization’s incredible work to empower girls in the Bay Area and beyond. I look forward to collaborating with the staff and Board to create transformational leadership opportunities for girls and young women.”

GirlVentures was founded by two Bay Area women who met at the Harvard School of Education and studied the transition from childhood to adolescence among girls. They found that girls faced multiple emotional, physical and social challenges and that underserved girls from urban, low-income communities in particular need extra support and mentorship to foster the self-confidence, perseverance, and sense of community needed for academic, social and career success. Outdoor education, they found, and single-gender outdoor education in particular, fosters the positive qualities that girls need in order to face the challenges posed by the transitions of the teenage years.

Launched in 1997, they transitioned from a founder-­led start-up to a thriving and robust nonprofit serving approximately 135 girls annually across the Bay Area.

Please join CVNL in welcoming Emily Teitsworth to GirlVentures!