Today in Montgomery County there are many youth organizations that strive to bring people together in the community and to lift one another up. One of these youth organizations in particular has the unique goal of establishing a “safe, vibrant, and close-knit community for young womxn to unlock their full potential.”
MoCo EmpowHer provides a safe space for dialogue about women’s issues and empowerment opportunities for young women.
MoCo EmpowHer is led by teens all over the county with a Board of Directors composed of diverse young women from local high schools including Richard Montgomery High School and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. The Board of Directors is comprised of two Co-Chairs, a communications director, a finance director, a press director, a service director, a social media director and a historian.
It also has a Leadership Institute where members work on “strengthening leadership skills and understanding of womxn’s activism, including public speaking, intersectionality, implicit bias, and team dynamics” over the course of three months. During these Leadership Institute sessions, MoCo EmpowHer holds a variety of compelling meetings that focus on a range of intriguing topics: sexism in the media, public speaking training, political organization and activism on campus and in local communities.
MoCo EmpowHer is a dynamic organization that has been featured in a story on Fox 5 News where the organization was interred at the EmpowerHer Leadership Forum, which focused on women’s leadership in Montgomery County Public Schools. This vibrant youth organization also co-hosted the 2018 Maryland Women’s Leadership Forum.
High school students may become a member of MoCo EmpowHer any time of the year by signing up online and attending its community events. It has several upcoming local events including a personal finance workshop where participants can learn how to manage their own finances and how to start investing their money.
MoCo EmpowHER also intends to hold a training on women in activism, where participants will hear from youth activists from all around the country about how to get involved in political activism or how to start their own movements. Another training focuses on skill building such as, how to write a resume and network. This workshop will also provide practice skills to learn how to perform well in interviews.
Many of these focused skills are essential life skills that may also help students build their clubs, apply for summer jobs or write a resume for future college applications.
Currently, due to COVID-19, all 2020-2021 MoCo EmpowHer events are held online through Zoom. To access these events, register for MoCo EmpowHer. You can find them on Instagram at @mocoempowher and by going to their website.
Article by Isabella Silver of Winston Churchill High School
Photo courtesy of MoCo EmpowHer