February has been a month full of meaning and momentum at the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. On February 18th, Helen’s birthday, we paused to celebrate the woman whose vision continues to fuel everything we do. Helen Gurley Brown didn’t wait for doors to open — she created them herself. From a secretary’s desk in Los Angeles to the helm of one of the world’s most iconic magazines, she proved that ambition, resourcefulness, and an unwavering belief in yourself could take you anywhere. Her spirit lives on in every grant, scholarship, and program we support.  Helen’s legacy is still making magic.

In our Empowering Youth vertical, students at BridgeUP + OUT are gearing up for a series of mock interviews at Hearst Tower with volunteers from the Office of General Counsel and the Corporate Human Capital Management team. A partnership that began with the Outsiders, this is another wonderful opportunity provided to build confidence and professional skills in a real-world setting. A goal of the BridgeUP + OUT programming, and events like these mock interviews, instill practice and confidence within Scholars, promoting them to be successful moving forward. Additionally, earlier this month they met with the Deputy Chief of the Youth Justice Bureau, Christian Calderon. Scholars and families met with Christian to hear about career pathways, professional standards, and youth opportunities available in the community. 

At BridgeUP STEM, the team is preparing to select a new cohort of high schoolers who will participate in the summer bootcamp program at Georgia Tech that will then transition into next year’s classroom research rotations. We can’t wait to welcome the next group of future innovators into the program!

Towards the end of the month, BridgeUP Health partnered with Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s The Friedman Brain Institute and MiNDS (Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai) to spend the day learning about how the brain works through fun, interactive sessions that included games, art, and dance. The room was filled with energy and curiosity, we are so glad the Scholars are able to engage in this programming year-round.

In our Empowering Women vertical, Natasha K., a BOLD WLN Scholar at the University of Connecticut, has officially launched her community impact project: the Youth Endo Initiative. Created to address the gap in accessible, youth-focused information about endometriosis, Natasha developed an Instagram page sharing updates on the distribution of her Adolescent Guide to Endometriosis pamphlet, educational content, and reflections on the journey in youth-centered health advocacy. Great work, Natasha! You can follow along at @theyouthendoinitiative on Instagram.

Also in the Empowering Women space, BOLD Theater Associate Mandi Benjamin has been making waves in her industry. When Mandi first joined Northern Stage in 2023, she couldn’t have imagined that her next chapter would involve reimagining one of Roald Dahl’s most beloved works for a new generation of young performers. This winter, Mandi co-adapted and directed Twisted Tales, a production inspired by Dahl’s 1982 classic Revolting Rhymes, as part of Northern Stage’s Youth Ensemble Studio (YES) Jr. Winter Production. It was her first time co-adapting a show and it won’t be her last! Her challenge was to transform this narrative-heavy book into something dynamic for a cast of 8 to 10 year olds. Mandi spent weeks reimagining how the story’s iconic narration could come alive through dialogue, blocking, and creative staging. 

“I wanted to take the opportunity to show them that theater can be anything you want it to be,” she says. 

Students rehearsed four afternoons a week, and by the final curtain call, the young actors had fully immersed themselves in the process of bringing a story to life. For Mandi, whose background spans Theatre, Dance, and Literature, Twisted Tales was a chance to reconnect with a book she loved as a child and share it with the next generation. Well done, Mandi!

Lastly, in our Empowering Innovation vertical, February brought an exciting crossover between two of our grantee partners: the Youth Journalism Coalition and the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, one of the Foundation’s longest-running programs.

During midwinter recess, the Brown Institute brought a set of questions about artificial intelligence (how it works, what it can do for a reporter, and how newsrooms should approach it) to a room full of high school student journalists from across New York City’s five boroughs. The students were gathered as part of the Youth Journalism Coalition’s Journalism for All program, which helps students launch newsrooms at their schools. Participants ranged from sophomores to seniors, and most had never reported a story before. After surveying their school communities and collaborating with experts from Documented and the Brown Institute, each student is now developing an action plan for their school’s publication and newsroom workflow. The YJC then hosted a School Newsroom Launch Showcase, where student leaders presented their blueprints for building newsrooms that authentically serve their communities. It displayed an inspiring group of young journalists. 

We are so proud of everything happening across our programs this February, and we can’t wait to share what’s ahead!