Inspiring Conversations with Erin Ross of Girls Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Ross.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Denver and moved to LA County when I was ten. I was incredibly fortunate to have parents who recognized the barriers that were put in front of girls and young women and encouraged me to challenge them. They were even intentional in giving me and my sister fairly gender-neutral names so we wouldn’t face immediate discrimination when applying for jobs.

In middle and high school I was a drama kid. I wasn’t terribly talented but I loved the camaraderie of building something from scratch with my friends. Being comfortable on stage in front of a large group of people has served me extremely well even if I stopped performing a long time ago.

I went to college at Tufts University, which was the perfect place for me to tap into my passions for politics, service and social justice. I was active in student government and co-founded a non-profit organization called United Leaders. United Leaders turned out to be a boot camp for all things non-profit – learning to develop a program and curriculum, raising money, building a board and champions and all the other pieces that go into running an organization. It was there that I met incredible mentors who invested in young, idealistic leaders who encouraged us to dream big. That set me on a career path where I have continually invested in young talent and I continue to believe that it is young people who can and will change the world.

After I returned to LA, I worked for the non-profit organization City Year for almost 15 years, wearing nearly every hat and learning so much. All of that prepared me to become the CEO of Girls Inc. of Los Angeles a year and a half ago, a job that taps into my early feminist roots and leverages my non-profit expertise. Amazingly, some of the same challenges I saw as a young girl still exist but now I feel better equipped to help this generation of girls tackle them.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The non-profit sector is inherently challenging. Organizations are set up to fill in the gaps that the government and private sector create in society – inequitable access to high-quality education, lack of affordable housing, a complicated healthcare system, etc. But for a non-profit organization to sustain and thrive, you must then engage with government and the private sector to fund your work. Organizations must make a strong case for why their work and their impact is superior to that of other organizations – even when those groups are doing equally important work. And you are at the whim of corporate leadership or government administrations – I have often lost long-term funding from corporations when a new executive comes in and wants to make their mark. As non-profit leaders, you must pay a lot of attention to what is happening in the economy and in the industries in your area. The mergers in Hollywood have had a big impact on my fundraising over the years – in some cases, I used to get gifts from three companies that are all part of the same entity now. But, if you believe deeply in your work and know the those investments will make a significant impact in the community, you have to persevere.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Girls Inc. is a national network of non-profits that has been around for almost 160 years. Across 78 affiliates in the U.S. and Canada, we run programs that inspire girls to be strong, smart and bold. Los Angeles is one of the newer affiliates, founded in 2016.

In LA, our focus is empowering girls to tap into their strengths and amplify their talents to transcend stereotypes and systemic barriers – becoming leaders of today and tomorrow. While we know girls from all over LA would benefit from our programs, we prioritize serving in systemically under-resourced schools in key neighborhoods where girls might not otherwise have access to programs that provide enrichment and social-emotional support while creating a safe space for girls to be themselves.

At our elementary schools, we are running a curriculum around the core tenets of our mission – giving the girls the tools to be strong, smart and bold. That includes everything from mental and physical wellness to hands-on STEM projects to learning how to be change agents in their community.

And our middle school girls are spending a full year learning about and engaging in entrepreneurship in partnership with a program called Mindset & Milestones sponsored by The Office of Angela Scott. Because while every young woman of color may not want to become an entrepreneur, we know they need to be entrepreneurial to navigate the world.

We have a long-term strategic plan to go deep in our priority neighborhoods – Watts, South LA and Venice – so girls grow up with Girls Inc. There is a lot of research about how girls lose confidence, especially academically, as they get older. If we are there throughout their academic journey to counter that self-doubt and societal messages, we can ensure our girls thrive in their future pursuits. You can learn more about our work and how to get involved at www.girlsincla.org.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Be fearless in asking for what you need. If you believe in the work your organization is doing, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for that donation or investment. Not everyone will say yes and you can’t take that personally, but you don’t get what you don’t ask for. It can be awkward at first to ask for money, but in most cases, the people, companies or foundations are going to give somewhere, so why not give them the opportunity to invest in your work, which you know has a meaningful impact?

I think that lesson applies beyond fundraising too – you should be fearless is asking what you need from your partner, your work environment, your friendships, etc. We teach our girls to advocate for themselves and speak up about what they need, as the leader of the organization I need to role model that.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.girlsincla.org
• Instagram: girlsincla
• Facebook: girlsincla
• Linkedin: girlsincla
• Twitter: girlsincla

Image Credits
Erin photo and group board shot: Jordan Strauss Girls portraits: Deutsch LA Program pictures: Erin Ross