December 2019
DECEMBER 2019
GoGirlMgz.com
Volume 1 • Issue 7
Give the gift of MAGIC with FAO Schwarz® .
SPECIAL FEATURES 28 Sara Chevere
COVER STORIES
36 Jennifer Salke
12 Allison Maslan
Businesswoman and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the business-minded “self-help” Scale or Fail, Allison Maslan has made it her lifelong mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs.
The Youngest — and richest — of the kKrdashian clan just sold a big stake of her billiondollar beauty empire
This harvard business school student cut class for good to pursue her tech start-up dreams. Now, the 36-year-old investment guru and serial entrepreneur has set her eyes on another prize!
50 Elephant In The Room
66 Girl Game
See how this veteran visionary brought a flailing amazon studios back from the brink
44 Alexa von Tobel
20 Kylie Jenner
From building brands to budgets, this financial fitness female gives gogirls a run for their money
We’re Bringing Back Board Games with This GoGirlapproved Guessing Game for the Entire Family
Another female-founded breakthrough beauty brand sells big and makes bank. Legendary department store beauty brand Shiseido swoops up cult-status, clean, green beauty machine Drunk Elephant for a lit $845 million.
56 Getting in the Spirits of Things
The pro-woman business purveyor Delta has teamed up with the first-ever femalefounded Napa Valley-based winery to serve up something delightfully refreshing on your next flight.
62 All Women Delta Crew facebook.com
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Delta Airlines Flies 120 Young Girls to the NASA Headquarters During its 5th Annual WING Program
72 Far Out Farah
This Canadian-based NASA badass gives new meaning to “spacing out.” And, it’s not rocket science, ladies.
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P.O.O.P. and
Smile!
“The Power Of One Person” to share a smile is so easy, so simple, so rewarding, and so needed. Laughter and enthusiasm are contagious, …and free! So go ahead… P.O.O.P. and Smile! Your smiles will be spread to so many! Hi, all my GoGirls and GoGuys too! This holiday season, I thought I would share a video I made almost seven years ago called “The Power Of One Person to Share a Smile.” I made it at a time in my life when I realized how many people around me were sad and depressed. I decided to set aside some of my professional projects and become the “Superhero of Spreading Smiles.”
Jennifer Murphy
I gave my little car a GoGirl makeover, added pink racing stripes, pink hubcaps, and some glitter and decals with my logo. I gathered smiles of all kinds, smiley face stickers, smiley face balloons, bouncy balls you name it; I had it! And of course, I suited up in a superhero outfit consisting of a colorful tutu, rainbows, unicorns, suspenders, toe socks, and lace-up sneaker boots.
Love you all,
And I was off! I set out to make a video that I hoped would brighten the lives of the people I surprised along the way, as well as anyone who ever watched or shared my video. I used hidden cameras and my laptop to film my adventures. It was a lot of work and a ton of fun. I was a total dork in the video, but I didn’t care. As long as I was successful in my mission, I was happy. During the holiday season, many people find it to be the most beautiful and festive time of the year. But for others, the holidays can be a tough time. The loss of a family member in the past, feeling alone, not being able to be with family, or being in an unfortunate financial position are just a few reasons why many individuals may be sad or depressed during the holidays. What is something you can do to share a smile this holiday season? You would be surprised how much of an impact the “Power Of One Person” can have in creating a ripple effect of happiness and joy in others.
View our GoGirl Video!: If you like it, don’t forget to “like, comment and share!”
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I hope you all love our magazine, and please share it with those you know who would also gain inspiration from reading our pages.
Jennifer Murphy “GoGirl” Founder/CEO - GoGirl Worldwide Magazine
Jen’s GoGirl Questions and Tips:
• What are some little things you can do to spread smiles to people you come across during your daily life? Sometimes a simple compliment or a smile can brighten someone’s day.
• Who do you know that would appreciate a small gift or even a simple card during the holidays? Maybe it’s someone who least expects it, but would be overjoyed that someone thought of them.
• What are some volunteer opportunities in your local community that help bring gifts, food, or some resource to those in need this holiday season?
Follow Jen on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. She makes funny and empowering videos every Wednesday! @JenniferMurphyGoGirl
Founders Jennifer Murphy | Rachel Medina
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“Women Empowering Women through Events | Magazines | Products | & Giving� The GoGirl Brand is built by women, for women, and specializes in creating content and experiential opportunities for empowered woman, to empower others across the country with their story and GoGirl mission. GoGirl Magazine, LLC. is not affiliated with any other publishing company and is a digital community complimenting the family of GoGirl events, products, services and its foundation. Copy Right GoGirl Magazine, L.L.C., 2019
The team at GoGirl Worldwide Magazine browse the web and social media for ordinary women doing extraordinary things in their lives, communities, and careers. We then spotlight these women each month and bring forward images and content shared by these women online and on their social media accounts. GoGirl Worldwide Magazine takes no credit for images and/or content shared by these women in their public domains and makes every attempt to publish the source of the images used on our website GoGirlMgz.com, our social media accounts and in our monthly magazine. If a photo has been published by GoGirl Worldwide Magazine that has inaccurate photo credits, please contact us immediately with the proper credits at editorial@gogirlmgz.com. If we have shined our bright pink spotlight on you this issue or in a past issue, thank you for being a GoGirl who inspires us all.
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publisher’s note
A Look Back As We Step Forward 2019 marks the end of a decade and positions us to take a leap into a future that was once only imagined in movies. This transition in time is a reminder that we are the authors of our own lives. Our pens guided by a light-force that fills us with the hope that all things are possible and that dreams can come true. But most of all, the excitement that we have yet to imagine what is truly possible for ourselves, our families, and the world.
laughter, and tears. But two powerful reminders bubbled to the top of my 2019; one is that when you set your sights on a goal, you can absolutely achieve it with the right team, but it takes the right attitude to keep that synergy moving forward — the other lesson is that your time with those you love most is simply not guaranteed. In an instant, the things and people we take for granted can be taken from us in a blink of an eye.
This year we launched GoGirl Worldwide Magazine and drew in some of the most influential and inspirational cover-go-girls ever, including Elena Cardone, Cassandra Martin, and other awesome ladies. We partnered with great brands such as Spa Girl Cocktails, Perspire Sauna Studio, Winston’s Crown Jewelers, Sharper Image, FAO Swartz, and Pedego, to name a few.
So this holiday season, as you rush around trying to make everything as perfect as possible, remember to slow down, look at those smiling faces, sing those jingle bell songs, dance under the mistletoe and eat the darn pumpkin pie! Give your family the gift of seeing you happy and playful and grateful this season because I assure you they will cherish that more than you’ll ever know.
And we are just getting started!
Happy Holidays from all of us at GoGirl!
I can admit that this year was filled with many surprises, ups, and downs,
Rachel Medina Co-Creator & Publisher
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Rachel Medina Rachel Medina is a 20-year media and publishing veteran, GoGirl Worldwide Magazine Co-Founder, Public Speaker, and a serial Entrepreneur. She is also the host of a new Podcast and YouTube show called Rachel Unpacked “Unpacking Life’s Baggage Together” where she shares the life lessons and tools for success that she has learned as a parent, wife, business owner, and woman... along the way.
Click to Watch Podcast
SOCIAL MEDIA: @rachelmedina101 Online: RachelMedina.com
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Got a great business idea, but don’t know where or how to begin? Has your business hit a roadblock and you’re unsure how to get “unstuck?” Boy, have we got the GoGirl for you! Businesswoman and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the business-minded “self-help” Scale or Fail, Allison Maslan, has made it her lifelong mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs overcome personal obstacles, create innovative marketing strategies, and learn to “level-up” their brand, ensuring a surefire, customized method for success. Meet the go-to business guru that’s got allisonmaslan.com
businesses booming.
allisonmaslan.com
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he’s a bestselling author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, business mentor, certified homeopath, and the executive producer and host of the YouTube series Allie and You: The Business Success and Lifestyle Show. At the age of 19, the Tulsa, Oklahoma native started a modest side hustle prosing personalized poetry that eventually morphed into a fullservice advertising and public relations firm, helping to build the businesses of legendary brands, such as Ben & Jerry’s, Merrill Lynch, Allstate, and Supercuts. Allison Maslan is one of the most sought-after business gurus 14
| DECEMBER 2019
who has helped launched thousands of businesses and generated millions of dollars in revenue, while successfully building and branding ten companies from the ground up. After earning her degree in Journalism from Arizona State University, Maslan went on to complete the Ph.D. program in Homeopathy from the British Institute of Homeopathy, and in 1997, completed a Holistic Health Practitioner Program in Counseling at the Body Mind College. In 1999, she began the Homeopathic Academy of Southern California, the prestigious college for homeopathic studies. Today, she is a
Certified Classical Homeopath and the CEO of the Homeopathy Wellness Center.
A Jill of Many Trades From her full-service advertising and PR firm, a scuba diving certification school, a real estate investment group, a beauty salon, and an accessories and jewelry company, Maslan has built a bevy of diverse businesses — and she’s not even close to being done! Currently the CEO of Blast Off! – A Business Mentoring Company, the oncesingle mother helps newbie business owners brand, market, design, and create a personal blueprint of their ideal, “dream” business while unleashing their inner potential and infallibly setting them up for both longterm financial and personal success. Self Made Magazine listed the awe-inspiring entrepreneur on their coveted list of “50 Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire Us.” And, it isn’t hard to see why. In 2010, Morgan Jones Publishing released Maslan’s “Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality,” a step-by-step handbook to creating a successful business model. Maslan’s latest venture is CEO of her eponymous company Allison Maslan International, a unique, global business mentoring organization, where she has
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personally guided thousands of would-be business owners how to tap into their inner creativity, as well as produce impactful business trajectories tailored for their specific brand. By implementing healthy work-life balance strategies, Maslan helps individuals to not only create monetarily thriving businesses but enriching, fulfilled, personal lives when they’re off the clock. A world-renowned homeopath, Maslan’s work exemplifies a complete synergy of holistic health, hunger for success, and innovative business tactics – the ultimate recipe for a well-rounded career in entrepreneurship.
Taking Your Business to the Next Level If you’re looking to take your business or brand to the next level, learn new skills, freeup/strategize your time, or how to turn an 15
idea into a lucrative enterprise, you’ll want to check out Maslan’s nationwide Level Up live events. The business-enrichment and motivational event is a three-day intensive designed to help burgeoning business owners learn the tools to “scale” their business and build a winning support system, so they can catapult their dream business into reality. Attendees walk away with a personalized business blueprint in product marketing, sales systems, hiring, team management, company culture, and getting into the “millionaire mindset” that will keep those big paydays rolling in time and time again. Guests also learn how to bust through roadblocks that have routinely held them back from reaching their fullest potential, including how to create passive revenue to keep your business booming while you’re
sleeping in bed or sailing on a boat off the sun-drenched shores of Bora Bora. It’s a oneof-a-kind, one-stop-workshop for frustrated and/or overwhelmed entrepreneurs who want to get on the path of success STAT. For GoGirls looking to level-up their business side of things, be sure to visit levelupliveevent. com or allisonmaslan.com. Her private mentoring enterprise Pinnacle Global Network was started in 2010 as a way of paying it forward to those who’ve always dreamt of owning and operating their own business. Maslan is a featured, regular contributor for Success, Fortune, Fast Company, and Forbes magazines, respectively. She is also a regularly scheduled guest on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.
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monumental success in their lives have a think big consciousness.�
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The Youngest — and Richest — of the Kardashian Clan Just Sold A BIG Stake of Her Billion-Dollar Beauty Empire
forbes.com
If you ever swiped any one of Kylie Jenner’s insanely famous, longwearing Lip Kits onto your pout (highly recommended), you’ll want to pucker up to this. Legendary, NYC-based cosmetics conglomerate Coty Cosmetics reportedly bought a 51% stake of the reality starturned-savvy beauty businesswoman Kylie Jenner’s billion-dollar beauty brand, Kylie Cosmetics, including her new skincare line, Kylie Skin. Now, that’s a lot of lip service.
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his year, reality forbes.com television star, socialite, model, and fierce businesswoman Kylie Jenner became the youngest, selfmade billionaire on the planet. In 2008, then 23-year-old tech tycoon and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg held the spot, while then 31-year-old Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates held the title back in 1987. At only 21 years old, the reality star who gained fame, fortune, and a massively loyal social media following over the past 13 years is no stranger to stardom. Jenner has single-handedly garnered worldwide recognition and made a name for herself, independent of her famous, trendsetting siblings — fellow makeup mogul, designer, and fashionista Kim Kardashian, runway-rocking Kendall Jenner, and designers Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian. 22
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What began in 2015 with her instantly famous Kylie Lip Kits — a simple pout — prettifying product that consisted of tubes of highly-pigmented liquid lipstick colors with matching, stay-put lip liners — quickly morphed into a complete cosmetics collection consisting of blushes, eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, concealers, powders, foundations, accessories, and even a longawaited skincare line, Kylie Skin. The young CEO clearly has got all her beauty bases covered to the behest of her most faithful fans.
When Kylie Met Coty Coty Cosmetics, the parent company that owns other renowned beauty brands, like nail authorities Sally Hansen and OPI and drugstore gem CoverGirl, acquired over half of Jenner’s obsession-worthy cosmetics company for $600 million. While Jenner and her creative team will remain in control over product development and other creative efforts, the two companies will work together to forward overall global presence, including introducing Kylie Cosmetics into other beauty-related categories, such as nail and fragrance. Coty’s board chairman Peter Harf says of the pending, pretty partnership, “This new partnership between Kylie and Coty is an exciting step in Coty’s renewed emphasis on its beauty business…Kylie is a modernday icon, with an incredible sense of the beauty consumer and we believe in the high potential of building a global beauty brand — together.” The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020.
From Reality Star Princess to Beauty Brand Queen When Keeping Up With the Kardashians debuted on the cable news channel E! Entertainment in 2007, then eight-year-old Jenner was thrust into the limelight as the show indiscreetly detailed the personal and professional lives of her older half-sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe and their manager mother, Kris Jenner. With cameras deliberately capturing every waking moment of the blended brood’s life — the good, the bad, and oftentimes, ugly — Kylie and her sister Kendall found themselves basking in the backlight of their sisters’ on and off-air lives. Kylie and Kendall eventually earned their own starstudded spotlight for which they strategically capitalized. The teen siblings would go on to design their own shoe collection Kendall + Kylie and collaborated with California surf style retailer Pac Sun and Great Britain-based fashion brand TopShop. While slender and leggy Kendall went on to grace countless magazine covers, including spreading her catwalk-worthy wings as a Victoria’s Secret’s angel for the legendary lingerie line’s annual, Angel Fashion Show, Kylie turned her lucrative talents to developing her now cult classic Lip Kits.
The cool, lipstick-liner combo became an overnight sensation, generating the biggest beauty buzz since the long-awaited launch of big sis Kim’s own beauty brand KKW Beauty and creating a cosmetics craze amongst beauty bloggers, buffs, and product junkies all across social media. The first-ever “liquid lipstick with matching lip liner” combo kit disrupted the makeup market, making Kylie Cosmetics one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in lipstick history. Using the money she had saved from starring on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, past collaborations, the multitude of endorsements, television appearances, photoshoots, and her Kylie + Kendall shoe collection, Jenner autonomously launched Kylie Lip Kits in 2015. The instant success from the pout-perfecting product inspired Jenner to develop a full-face makeup line, including skincare. And, in 2016, Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin officially burst onto the beauty scene. In 2018, the young makeup mogul’s company got the attention of Forbes, as it was quickly becoming a billiondollar dynasty and making Jenner the world’s youngest self-made billionaire – no inheritance required. Currently headquartered in the coastal city of Oxnard, California, Kylie Cosmetics is estimated to 23
be valued at $1.2 billion, while 21-year-old Jenner’s personal net worth is a bulging $1 billion, surprisingly surpassing the likes of her super famous, brand-building sisters.
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In 2017, Forbes' Celebrity 100 listed Jenner at #59 after earning approximately $41,000,000. The following year, Kylie Cosmetics reportedly raked in $630 million worth of must-have makeup, affording Jenner the number one position on Forbes' Celebrity 100 for three consecutive years. Both Kylie and her mother Kris continually partake in a number of charitable initiatives, including donating 100% of the proceeds from her pale pink-hued lipstick Smile to Smile Train, an organization that seeks to provide financial relief and medical procedures to children affected with a cleft. She boasts a following of 250 million on Instagram (hello free advertising!), while Kylie Cosmetics has 22 million dedicated, liploving followers. Holy mother pucker!
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The Purest Tasting Water On Earth â„¢
Blink — Newport Beach, CA
FROM BUILDING BRANDS TO BUDGETS, THIS FINANCIAL FITNESS FEMALE GIVES GOGIRLS A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY
Okay, GoGirls! We’re quickly rolling into a new year, so let’s have a real heart-to-heart about that dreaded “M” word — MONEY! But, don’t despair, we’ve got a GoGirl who puts the “F” in finances – as in FUN!
Blink — Newport Beach, CA
Do you:
• worry about the future, saving for retirement, and investing in general?
• want to purchase a home or piece of property, but think it’s a pipe dream with your current income or salary?
• want to pursue your passion project as a full-time business?
• dream of being financially independent, free, and secure?
• find the thought of budgeting boring or burdensome?
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I
f you answered “yes” to some or all of the above, you’re most likely financially unfit and in need of a money diet that will help free you financially – forever. Meet Sara Chevere, author of soon-to-belaunched A Man is Not a Plan and founder, creator, and certified coach of The Financially Fit Women and The Financially Fit Network. Sara is also a widely listened-to podcast host, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur who effortlessly and magically takes the pain out of personal budgeting while teaching you smart and savvy techniques to eliminate your debt once and for all, secure your dream job, or start your dream business. She shows you how to “reprogram” your money mindset and debunk long-held money myths, so your hard-earned money can
work FOR you and not AGAINST you. Never again be at the mercy of a volatile market, financial downturn, unappreciative boss, or unceremonious job loss. It’s time to master your money and fearlessly take charge of your financial present — and future.
From Spendthrift to Just Thrift Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Sara moved to the mainland, specifically sunny SoCal, over twenty years ago. She worked hard to have it all — a lucrative career in the financial industry, seemingly endless shopping sprees, exotic excursions all around the world, fun with friends, etc. It was like there was no end in sight to all the superfluous spending because the funds were just flowing.
Until they weren’t. In 2008, the financial crisis struck, and the “great recession” set in, leaving Sara abruptly jobless. After experiencing the frustration of one pink slip after another, she also watched her oncebig bank account begin to dwindle from the very financial downturn that devastated so many Americans and
depleted their retirement savings. This was the turning point that led Sara to explore another option – one that would free her from the confines of corporate America and become an online entrepreneur. Sara saw the crippling economic crisis as an opportunity to finally pursue her passion to help others. With her illustrious career and experience in the finance sphere and vast knowledge of personal budgeting and money knowhow, Sara set out to start her own financial coaching business and brand. Sara sought to help “undo” the damaging money DNA that had been deeply imbedded into the minds and cultures of many women — that they were born to breed and nurture, not hunt and gather. The roles of men and women have made an almost 180, with more women than ever before in the workplace, many holding executive and senior-level positions.
Start Over and Start Saving with Sara It's time to start “training like a man” when it comes to manifesting, making, and managing your money. Sara’s famous coaching course The Financial Freedom Formula covers these four philosophies to becoming a fierce, financially fit female:
1. Shift Your Money Mindset Your financial woes are psychologicallybased. Dig deep and start unpacking the budgeting baggage to find out where your behaviors and beliefs surrounding money stem. You’d be really surprised. 31
2. Make a Spending Budget — And Stick to It
This is where you’ve got to personally come clean with your current income and future financial goals, so you can give your money a purpose and direction.
3. Delay Gratification, Embrace Anticipation
This may seem unthinkable for many women, but you need to be candid about what motivates you to get out of bed every morning and go to work. Is it to stop paying rent to own your own home someday? Do you want to invest in a lucrative real estate portfolio that will provide you both short and long -term income potential? Do you want to finally cross that dream vacay off your bucket list? Do you want to know how to properly save for a rainy day, i.e., an emergency fund? Are you confused about retirement investment options? All of the above? Sara has got your back! When you figure out what you want to save/plan for, putting aside the funds will be less painful and more pleasurable. And, with implementing the right budget plan, you won’t have to forego that fabulous Fendi bag.
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4. Automation is King (or Queen) of Liberation One of the best ways to reach your financial fit goals is to sign up for autopay/autosave with your financial institution, and you’ll never miss the diverted money being put aside every month. When you finally reach your financial destination, and you’re ready to cash in the accumulated funds, you’ll be so grateful you made the choice, both for yourself and your financial fitness.
Blink — Newport Beach, C
CA
Sara offers a refreshingly unique, fun approach to protecting yourself and your family against unforeseen financial ruin while paying down debt, growing your wealth, and minimizing tax burdens. Learn successful investment strategies and moneysaving tips and tricks to begin your own business or brand or buy a home. Sara picks up where educational institutions have, unfortunately, left off. School officials tell you to go to college, but don’t show you how to pay for it; they teach you how to have babies, but don’t show you how to support them. Sara breaks through the common roadblocks that perpetrate financial fear and frustration while helping women to ultimately attain financial freedom, fulfillment, and fitness. To learn more about Sara and how she can help you start training your money muscles, be sure to visit www.thefinanciallyfitwomen.com.
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SEE HOW THIS VETERAN VISIONARY BROUGHT A FLAILING AMAZON STUDIOS BACK FROM THE BRINK
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“Years ago, people would say you need a white male star…that women should be sexy… You had talented people pitching original ideas who weren’t successful because they didn’t check off all the boxes. Nobody wants to be bored by a mass volume of the same type of show…the opportunity for global storytelling – that’s where the ‘wins’ are now. How exciting to be a part of that!” — Jennifer Salke.
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ith a refreshingly modest office that’s more reminiscent of a fun family playroom than that of a high-powered Hollywood studio exec, Jennifer Salke’s think tank sits snugly situated on the historic Culver Studios lot, home to the Cecil B. Demille’s entertainment operations and the same lot that brought us legendary films like Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, and Hitchcock’s classic suspense thriller Spellbound. Just beyond her Restoration Hardware walls, Amazon Studios is currently undergoing a discernible do-over – a sprawling, 200,000 square-foot facility is being built in hopes of making cinematic history. It was here that the 55-year-old former NBC development exec successfully 38
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wooed actor-comedian-director-producer Jordan Peele who eventually (and gleefully) signed a first-look deal for a television series with Amazon Studios and is set to work on a series about a group of Nazi hunters in the 1970s. Her unmistakably calm, cool, and confident demeanor played an integral part in Peele’s decision to sign on with the tech giant’s studio sector. “With Jen, it seems like she’s secure and confident. That’s necessary because ego and fear lead to bad decisions,” says Peele.
A Dicey Decision? When Salke ditched her NBC digs to move onto the Amazon Studios lot in March 2018, the film and television studio was a fast-
sinking ship. Its former Chief-in-Charge, Roy Price, had recently been forced to resign after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced, and in the midst of the #metoo movement, left the already-floundering film studio precariously teetering on the brink of no return. Not to mention, Amazon was being markedly upstaged by the entertainment subscription service Netflix and other content-based competitors as they race to acquire creative talent – both above and below the line – was of the utmost importance. And, to add fuel to the flames, Amazon’s poor previous branding positioned them to be a mere afterthought in the minds of consumers – a superfluous freebie that came with signing up for free 2-days shipping on the tech giant’s site.
illustrious years at NBC, “I loved my job… but, I definitely was more than intrigued and really excited about coming to a place that had that opportunity for truly diverse, global storytelling, and not being trapped in more traditional [entertainment] models,” she declares. Salke felt Amazon Studios seemed like the perfect production company to begin taking risks and to start thinking outside of the box…a bigger, better box.
The Amazon Studios are Salvaged — and Successful! In the short 18 months since Salke signed on to her new chief-in-charge role at Amazon Studios, she has effectively signed a smorgasbord of hot ticket talent, including A-lister Nicole Kidman (whose very own production company is housed within an unassuming white bungalow on the lot), Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, and
With no one wanting to jump into the ravaging waters, Salke, in true entrepreneurial spirit, immediately saw Amazon Studios as a forward-thinking entertainment enterprise that needed to be revamped and redone by the very rarest of Tinseltown types – the ingenious female. “I was really fortunate to be in a time and place, where, unfortunately, Amazon was facing some challenges, so there was such an openness and really embracing support of a female leader,” admits Frederick M. Brown_Getty Images - HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM Salke. Referring to her seven
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Doing it HER Way
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writer-producer Lena White. A year before Salke’s arrival, Amazon was in the red, as it came back from that year’s Sundance Film Festival empty-handed and hopeless. Salke has since taken the once-beleaguered studio on a whirlwind shopping spree – spending a reported $46 million on five films, including Mindy Kaling’s Late Night and the hard-hitting documentary One Child Nation, a deeply-resonating film depicting China’s long-standing one-child policy. Another powerful purchasing pick included Shia LaBeouf’s autobiographical drama Honey Boy. Part of Salke’s show biz appeal is her seemingly innate ability to procure projects that are provocative, riveting, and unforgettable, like when Amazon was in white-knuckle negotiations to make Brittany Runs a Marathon, a feelgood film about an ordinary woman who gets fit and healthy by running. 40
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With Amazon’s newfound audacious reputation and bold branding strategies for producing daring content that their studio counterparts would deem “risky,” Amazon Studios is quickly becoming the home for creative talent and is expected to easily supersede the success of rivals Netflix, Disney, HBO, Apple, and WarnerMedia. However, Salke is wary to note that Amazon doesn’t subscribe to the customary Hollywood obsession of flooding awards season with “fake” theatrical releases in an effort to boost visibility. “Our North Star is to entertain Prime Subscribers…we care about the percentage of Prime Subscribers who see a show. That’s what I care about,” Salke tells the November 2019 issue of Elle Magazine. Although the studio refuses to reveal viewership stats, Salke continues to build a lofty repertoire of entertainment from more than its 100 million Amazon Prime subscribers in more than 240 countries and regions, while creating a plethora
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of opportunities for cross-content with Amazon’s many other divisions and ventures. In a deal this fall with singer-turnedcosmetics connoisseur Rihanna, Amazon Studios agreed to film the performer and fashion/beauty mogul’s Savage X Fenty show for New York’s Fashion Week. Rihanna’s lingerie line is set to be sold on Amazon.com as part of the deal.
Entertainment, Re-imagined Salke is on a fast-track of pulling away from the traditional Tinseltown method of casting big-breasted, leggy ladies paired with the requisite rugged white male lead and evolving into producing unorthodox content that reflects a more inclusive, diverse set of characters with off-the-cuff stories to match. Salke is also pushing to expand the studios’ international presence, as Amazon hopes to attract more shoppers to the site with its original streaming content. “Years ago, people would say you need a white male star…that women should be sexy…You had talented people pitching original ideas who weren’t successful because they didn’t check off all the boxes. Nobody wants to be bored by a mass volume of the same type of show… the opportunity for global storytelling – that’s where the ‘wins’ are now. How exciting to be a part of that!”
help track and embolden gender parity in entertainment. Salke sits on the organization’s advisory board. Salke also signed a pledge with Free the Work, which works to offer opportunities for female directors bidding for commercial work. Salke currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband of 22 years and President of Fox 21 Television Studios, Bert Salke. An original Hollywood power couple, Salke insists their marriage doesn’t suffer competition acquiring the industry’s top talent, as there is enough opportunity to go around.
Within days of signing with the behemoth tech site, Salke signed the studio on with ReFrame, an organization that was birthed from the #metoo revelations to elle.com
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Nearly 12 years ago, then a 23-year-old Harvard University graduate and student of Harvard Business School, Alexa von Tobel, had an unrelenting vision of starting a unique financial planning website that would help millions of millennial women learn to manage their money. She eventually ditched her studies to start LearnVest, sold it, and made millions in the process. Now, the 36-year-old investment guru and serial entrepreneur has set her eyes on another prize – one with a flair for philanthropy.
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former Forbes “30 Under 30” alumni and 2014 cover girl of the financial magazine, Alexa von Tobel launched LearnVest as a free website filled with financial planning tools and innovative personal finance tips specifically geared toward young women before it quickly expanded into offering personal financial planning services for everyone. Basically, the ensuing interactions between clients and consultants would be completely virtual, reducing costs and making financial planning accessible to a wider audience. For one, many here at GoGirl Worldwide Magazine can personally attest to the indispensability of LearnVest, having received the weekly newsletters loaded with savvy tips on how to successfully reach your Roth IRA and/or 401K max-out every year, stick to a budget and like it, start an emergency fund, and still have cash left over to fund passion projects and/or take a dream vacay every year. The money management mecca also published “success stories” from young women who’ve made impressive financial feats, despite the odds stacked against them, such as starting their 46
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dream business, buying a home as a single woman on a single income, or saving 100K in less than two years on a modest income. LearnVest would never disappoint its most loyal and voracious readers, as there was never a shortage of inspirational stories, tips, and services designed to help one meet their own goals of purchasing a home or attaining their dream careers.
From Start-up to Scale-up: The Legacy of LearnVest By 2015, nearly 10,000 people were paying for financial planning directly, with an additional 25,000 receiving the essential service through a financial education program sold to employers. In March of the same year, Northwestern Mutual
bought the growing tech site for a lofty $350 million, instantly making von Tobel a magazine cover-gracing, multi-millionaire, while retaining her role as CEO. The goal of the 160-year-old insurance and financial planning powerhouse was to reach an even younger audience while becoming more tech-savvy in the process. Up until this year, von Tobel worked at Northwestern Mutual as Chief Innovation Officer before stepping down to pursue her next clever endeavor. And, although LearnVest’s financial planning services officially concluded in May of last year, the site continues to publish wealthworthy content. According to paperwork
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, von Tobel is on the hunt for $200 million to start another financial undertaking – a venture capital firm she has befittingly named Inspired Capital Partners. Due to SEC restrictions and regulations, von Tobel has declined to divulge details of her plans, however, her recent angel investments indicate she appears to be staying within the financial-tech space, but with an emphasis on the disenfranchised populace. The latest angel investment vehicle von Tobel contributed to was Blue Jumpsuit Ventures, which includes renters’ insurance start-up, Lemonade, and debt management site, Tally.
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Most recently, von Tobel participated in a $12.8 million series A investment Propel – creators of an app used by over 1.5 million Americans to help manage government benefits, like food stamps and housing.
was denotative of the way many financial
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LearnVest’s disruptive tech force into its
In 2014, Forbes featured the tech-savvy, risk-taking money maven on their cover, as part of their exclusive series depicting the myriad of ways millennials’ attitudes toward money were influencing the emerging money management tools. The timing of LearnVest was no coincidence. Its catapult to success
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and tech companies founded during the 2008 financial crisis have had an influence on consumers beyond their small user bases. Northwestern Mutual has embraced own financial family, while investment giants versions to meet customers’ increasing demands for affordable financial tools. Von Tobel is the New York Times’ best-selling author of Financially Fearless, a distinguished member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown
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Fellows, and an inaugural member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship for the White House. A regular contributor to The New York Times, Fast Company, Businessweek, and InStyle, as well as frequent appearances on GMA, The Today Show, CNN, and Rachel Ray, the Florida native has been judiciously selected as one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Powerful Woman” and was included on their prized “40 Under 40” list. The busy businesswoman is currently a columnist for Money Magazine and Cosmopolitan. To steal some of her success secrets and business know-how,
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be sure to tune into her weekly radio show Financially Fearless with Alexa von Tobel on SiriusXM. The tech mogul is estimated to have a staggering net worth of around $100 million. Now, that’s a wealth of information. facebook.com
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ANOTHER FEMALE-FOUNDED BREAKTHROUGH BEAUTY BRAND SELLS BIG AND MAKES BANK
Legendary department store beauty brand Shiseido swoops up cult-status, clean, green beauty machine Drunk Elephant for a lit $845 million.
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ith IT Cosmetics CEO/Co-Founder Jamie Kern Lima pocketing nearly $600 million after selling her cult corrective cosmetics company to beauty conglomerate L’Oreal late last year, another buzz-worthy beauty brand female founder is set to make bank on the sale of her beauty blogger-beloved brand. If you haven’t heard of celeb-status skincare company Drunk Elephant and its simplistic, yet sophisticated, line of cutting-edge, clean, cruelty-free formulations that promise to plump, perfect, protect, lighten, brighten, tone, and tighten your complexion, you’ve been living under a rock. With its social media-obsessed C-Firma Vitamin C Serum and its innovative 72-hour retention reservoir, barely-there mineral sunscreens, retro whipped moisturizer, antioxidant virgin Marula oil, and soothing alternative retinol 52
serums, the beauty brand with the peculiar name has solidified its spot on the skincare scene. Female founder and CEO Tiffany Masterson just sold her fast-growing beauty brand to the cool tune of $845 million to Japanesebased cosmetics company Shiseido, who also owns headlining cosmetics companies NARS and Bare Escentuals. Masterson is expected to stay on board news.yahoo.com as the brand’s chief creative officer and president and will pocket close to $120 million after the impending sale closes at year’s end, as predicted by Forbes. The female-founded squeaky-clean beauty brand has become one of the fastest-growing, luxury skincare lines in recent years. Backed by San Francisco private equity firm VMG, Drunk Elephant enjoyed net sales of toppling $100 million last year alone. With a myriad of “new and now,” cult-fave makeup and skincare companies lining the shelves of big beauty retailers like ULTA and Sephora, as well as skincarebased e-commerce sites, legendary beauty
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conglomerates like L’Oreal and Revlon are more than willing to shell out exorbitant bucks to acquire these boutique beauty brands due to their built-in cult following and loyal customer base. Unilever recently acquired the prestigious Japanese-based skincare brand Tatcha for a reported $500 million last June. While Drunk Elephant was said to have hoped to make $1 billion from the brand’s sale originally, even at $845 million the implied valuation exceeds 8 times in sales, making the impressive acquisition one of the biggest for a fairly young skincare company – and minting 50-year-old Masterson a prodigious fortune in the process. Masterson founded Drunk Elephant in 2012 in Houston while she was a stay-at-home mother of four. With the help of a rock star skincare chemist, she developed game-changing, highly-effective, revolutionary serums, dream creams, cleansers, sunscreens, and peels formulated without what she deemed “the suspicious six” – essentials oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances, and sodium lauryl sulfate. At brand inception, her brother-in-law signed on to invest $300K, while her brother invested an undisclosed figure and became the burgeoning beauty brand’s president. One of the top-selling, obsession-worthy brands in the
billion-dollar beauty biz, its exclusive brickand-mortar is none other than beauty retail giant Sephora. Masterson named her budding brand Drunk Elephant based on the long-held myth that elephants love to eat the fallen fruit from Marula trees. Once the fruit is consumed, the process of fermentation occurs inside the tummies of the elephants, causing them to become drunk! Who knew? “I don’t look at other brands. I don’t go into Sephora anymore,” Masterson told Forbes in 2017. “I stay close to home and stay in my own lane. I’m a consumer first.” And, now, she’s sitting pretty.
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Delta Air Lines Partners with the First Female -Owned and -Operated Winery
Delta does it — AGAIN! The pro-woman business purveyor has teamed up with the first-ever femalefounded Napa Valley-based winery to serve up something delightfully refreshing on your next flight. brownestate.com
The commercial airline has officially collaborated with the original black female-run Brown Estate Winery and is set to serve the brand’s signature sips during the airline’s select flights.
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Carlyne Scott, a spokesperson for Delta’s black community resource group, initially proposed the collab to commemorate Black History Month last year, but the initiative has since become a long-term partnership between the two companies. Delta Domestic One passengers can now kick back with two of Brown Estate’s most sought-after beverages during the 2019-2020 winter travel season — the 2017 Betelgeuse Sauvignon Blanc and the 2017 Chaos Theory red blend. The palate-pleasing wines will be served in business class on select Delta Flights through winter travel. Delta campaigned the upcoming collaboration with complimentary in-flight sample servings for their thirsty passengers during a recent New York-bound flight from San Francisco. “Partnering with innovative, diverse suppliers from certified small, minority, and women58
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owned businesses like Brown Estate’s is fundamental to Delta’s strategy to keep climbing year-round,” says Vice President and Head of Supply Chain Management at Delta, Heather Ostis. “Seeking employee perspectives and leveraging unique ideas brings us closer to that goal while creating the highest quality experience for our customers.” Founded in 1996 after inheriting a vineyard in Northern California’s idyllic Napa Valley from their parents, Bassett and Marcela Brown, siblings Deneen, David, and Coral Brown honed their love of wine-making and bought the 450-plus acres of vineyards
within the Chiles Valley American Viticultural Area and has since grown the small company exponentially. “We are delighted to partner with Delta Air Lines,” Brown Estate President, Deneen Brown, told The Atlanta Black Star. “Delta’s all-in commitment to the spirit of inclusion and to their wine program are perfectly aligned with our core values at Brown Estate.” Located in the heart of quaint downtown Napa Valley, California, Brown Estate Winery is home to some of the most prestigious bottles of wine in the world. What started in 1996 after cultivating what would become the brand’s first bottle of Brown Zin, has grown into a boutique, hospitable, family-run beverage business. In January 2000, Brown Estate introduced three vintages at the famous, annual ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) Grand Tasting in near-by San Francisco. And, in 2016, bottled their 20th vintage vino! The booming business has developed primarily through exposure to a diverse audience, customer retention, and
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tried-and-true word-of-mouth. The winery and vineyard unveiled the highly-anticipated Brown Downtown tasting room in April 2017 in an effort to make their signature wines and unparalleled hospitality experience more accessible to tourists and locals alike. The expanding brand currently employs a diverse team of 19 employees. To learn more and/or make reservations, be sure to visit brownestate.com. Be sure to follow the vino virtuosos on the ‘Gram @brownestate. Wine a little. You’ll feel better
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Delta Airlines Flies 120 Young Girls to the NASA Headquarters During its 5th Annual WING Program An all-female Delta crew celebrated International Girls in Aviation Day with its highly-anticipated 5th annual WING (Woman Inspiring Our Next Generation) flight in an on-going effort to help diversify the massively male-dominated aviation industry while exposing school-age girls to rewarding careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). And, not a single boy was on board.
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n a trip that took off from Salt Lake City, Utah to the NASA headquarters in Houston, Texas, the annual Delta Airlines’ WING flight flew 120 lucky girls (aged 12-18) to help advocate for more women to enter the historically male-dominated aviation industry, while also promoting for pay equality. Bringing awareness for the long overdue need to close the gender gap in aviation careers, Delta’s WING program also promotes STEM careers to college preparatory girls, according to Delta Airlines’ online press release last October. “It didn’t seem realistic to go after a career in aviation. But, today I realized, ‘Hey, I can do this, too,” declares senior high schooler Katelyn.
all-women wing crew, serving as ramp agents on the ground, gate agents boarding the flights, and operators in the control tower who successfully guided the aircraft off the runway. Once the ladies landed in Houston, the girls got to tour NASA’s Mission Control Center, The Johnson Space Center, and Space Center Houston. The excited teens each got to speak to women currently working in aviation, including revered NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer Jeanette Epps, who was selected in July 2009 as one of only nine members of NASA’s 20th astronaut class. The girls selected to partake in the annual “leveling of the skies” are all students of Salt Lake City area schools that currently employ STEM and aviation curriculums. Delta worked with Advanced Learning Center, Bryant Middle School, Granite Technical Institute, Salt Lake Center for Science Education, Jordan Technical Institute, and Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy, respectively.
And, the Teens Take Off! The celebratory flight was completely planned, orchestrated, and wo-manned by an 64
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Fast Flight Facts Out of 609,306 pilots currently employed in the United States, only 7% comprises of women, according to 2017 statistical data acquired from The Federal Aviation Administration’s Aeronautical Center. Even more disheartening, the same study found there are currently zero female flight navigators. However, there seems to be sunny skies for Delta, as the commercial airline constitutes for 5% of pilots being women; and in the past four years, 7.4% of their new hire pilots have been women. And, their annual WING flight program is a unique, promising way to help catapult those numbers. In 2019, Delta successfully achieved 100% pay parity for their employees in frontline positions and was awarded the coveted Best Workplace for Women by Great Place to Work and Fortune Magazine for three consecutive years, as a result. The femaleforward airline also partners with Women in Aviation International, The National Council of Negro Women, and Atlanta’s Women Foundation. Its 20-year Supplier Diversity Program encourages and emboldens women-owned businesses through its own supply chain. The Delta SHE Business Resource Group is a long-standing program news.delta.com developed to engage healthy
and balanced conversations about gender in today’s ever-challenging workplace. In May of this year, SHE went international, as they launched satellite chapters across parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. The WING flight educational initiative is just one of a myriad of ways the legendary airline seeks to address the underrepresentation of inspiring female aviation talent. By breaking through economic, racial, and gender barriers, Delta hopes to empower more young women to enter male-dominated careers in STEM and aviation. Other Deltadesigned initiatives include Dream Flight and The Propel Pilot Career Path Program, as well as partnering with nonprofits Junior Achievement Young Enterprise, Atlanta Public Schools, and others. Now, that’s something we can all get onboard with!
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We’re Bringing Back Board Games with This GoGirlapproved Guessing Game for the Entire Family
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Guess what? Female Polish
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uessing game Who’s She? commemorates the ground-breaking, game-changing achievements of the world’s most illustrious “GoGirls.” With a birchwood, laser-cut board that flips up to aptly display the striking, diverse faces of 28 venerated women, including artists, athletes, scientists, astronauts, and more, the twoplayer tabletop Who’s She? features 20thcentury painter Frida Kahlo, to contemporary tennis star Serena Williams, to fearless flyer Amelia Earhart. The entire game is beautifully depicted using eye-catching watercolor illustrations by artist Daria Golab. Inspired by the popular board game Guess Who? Warsaw-based board game company Playeress gives the 70s classic a muchneeded makeover. “Instead of superficial questions, like ‘Does your character have glasses?’ the game questions characters’ notable achievements and contributions, such as “Did she win a Nobel Peace Prize?” asserts Kozerska, creator of Who’s She?. 68
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board game designer Zuzia Kozerska (finally!) developed the female version of the cult-classic 70s board game “Guess Who?” that honors the world’s most distinguished, accomplished, and esteemed women — in all fields — throughout history. And, even boys can get in on the game!
Apparently, its predecessor prompted controversy with just 6 out of 24 characters on the board being female and only one being non-Caucasian. Developed to empower a younger generation of girls, the board game’s characters come replete with their own biography card containing fun facts and intriguing anecdotes about their lives and successes. Who’s She? highlights triumphant, wow-worthy women who have taken great strides and risks in the midst of adversity and opposition, including innovative women who’ve made world-changing discoveries, inventions, and scientific theories. “The triumphs, adventures, discoveries, and inventions will inspire you to dream bigger and take risks,” hopes Playeress founder and creator Kozerska. “In the game, we’ve put female profession names where possible to show that girls can do ANYTHING. Inventress, discoveress, empress, paintress…” You get the picture.
Looks like they’re not playing any games. Have fun, GoGirls!
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Kozerska’s hope is that boys, too, will want to play the game to learn more about their multi-talented, multi-cultured counterparts. After receiving a benevolent 3,300% funding from interested backers and believers on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, the soon-to-be cultclassic is finally available for order and comes in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Polish languages. Currently, the Who's She? staff comprises of foundress Kozerska and 6 dedicated team players, 85% of which are women, who work untiringly each day to assemble and ship the girl game from their Warsaw workshop across the world.
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The female-forward, hand-crafted creation was showcased at Switzerland’s last Lean In conference, Dream. Dare. Do., where they hosted the visionary of the board game, Kozerska, herself. The guessingbased board game dominated social media platforms on International Day of the Girl Child, whose tireless mission is to “highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.”
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Aerospace Engineer Farah Alibay is One Out-of-this-World Woman!
This Canadian-based NASA badass gives new meaning to “spacing out.” And, it’s not rocket science, ladies.
Farah Alibay has been obsessed with the elusiveness and timelessness of space since she first watched the award-winning, legendary film Apollo 13 when she was just an impressionable eight years old. “What fascinated me was not only the vast expanse and dangers of space but also that teams of engineers rallied together to solve what seemed to be insurmountable problems,” she tells InStyle Magazine. Born to parents who emigrated to North America from Madagascar, Alibay grew up in the quaint and quiet Canadian town of Joliette where she dreamed of shooting for the stars — literally. Now 31, the accomplished NASA engineer recalls never quite having a female role model — let alone one of color — to emulate while growing up. She hopes to dutifully fill that void for future generations of badass-to-be female engineers.
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As the tactical shift lead for the team responsible | DECEMBER 2019
for landing the InSight Spacecraft on Mars last November, Alibay helped make space history. Her critical role in the mission was to build the commands that would allow complete communication between the spacecraft and the NASA headquarters on Earth. “As a young woman of color, it was hard to feel like I deserved a seat at the
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table, but I learned to trust my judgement and to find allies who gave me a voice…Now, I literally get to talk to a robot on another planet!”
Seeing Stars A voracious over-achiever, Alibay attributes much of her on-going successes to the fearless, unstoppable women who preceded her. One in particular who comes to mind is French-Canadian astronaut and current Governor-General of Canada, Julie Payette. This former Chief Astronaut at the Canadian Space Agency pioneered for future otherworldly women by flying on the space shuttle not once, but twice, including excelling and exceeding the highest of societal expectations in roles traditionally
driven by men. Alibay attests her steadfast, studious disposition and “self-professed” NASA nerdiness, including persevering a bullied childhood, are what led to her notable achievements. Gaining coveted admission to England’s prestigious Cambridge University, Alibay earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering, a somewhat formidable feat for someone who routinely struggled with attaining self-confidence. Through intense counseling and mentoring, Alibay was finally able to conquer her demons and overcome sometimes debilitating and self-limiting intimidation issues. Eventually, she went on to graduate with the highest of honors and earned her Ph.D. “A badass woman smashes stereotypes and believes in herself…And, when she has setbacks, she reaches out to her mentors and peers for help. When things are going well, she reaches out to her community to inspire and help elevate others.” Spoken like a true GoGirl, as this very statement is a testament to the GoGirl manifesto of cultivating and enriching empowerment, unity, and leadership amongst young girls and women everywhere.
Special Advocates of Los Angeles) where she mentors and life-coaches disenfranchised children, specifically those in foster care. Looking to take away some tips from a reallife rocket scientist? Alibay shares some tried-and-true tidbits to getting ahead and manifesting your lifelong dreams, goals, and desires:
1. Pick something you’re greatly impassioned by and irrepressibly curious with and go for it. twitter.com
A Perennial Badass Gives Back BIG Although incredibly immersed in her career, Alibay still finds time in her busy work schedule to mentor young girls and women as part of the Big Brother, Big Sister program. She also continually supports and works with CASA (The Court Appointed 75
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2. Never let anyone tell you that you cannot achieve your goals, nor let anything hold you back from attaining them. Stay true to who you are and what you wish to become and don’t derail from your trajectory.
3. If you fail, pick yourself back up, brush yourself off, and try, try, try again. And, again.
“The sky is the limit, but for those of us who work in aerospace, the sky is just the beginning.” — Farah Alibay. We’re over the moon for this GoGirl! twitter.com
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