By Michelle Wolf

One of the best things about us, as women, is our ability to unite together as a community. Call it what you want; Boss Babes, or Girl Gang. Regardless, we can join together to help each other rise up against any adversity (big or small) that might come our way. And you all know I LOVE community, it’s one of my core values!

Becoming a Mother and having my own family is something I am deeply passionate about. Oh; how I longed to be a mom, I tried for three long hard and rewarding years to get pregnant and was devastated by the idea that one of my life-long dreams might not be fulfilled. If I look back on my life as a child the one thing I knew I wanted was to be a mom. I saw it as the most important job so much so that I chose to leave my job in marketing climbing the corporate ladder in hopes to find more balance. No matter how hard I tried to solve the mystery of fertility, it was the first time in my life no matter how hard I worked I could not control the outcome. A great lesson in life of doing vs. being. While science played a role, faith, fate and believing it led my heart to my beautiful girls.

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By Carolyn Mahboubi

My blog, “Don’t Be a Selfless Giver”, elicited more questions than answers from my readers. Every day, I receive more emails asking me to dig deeper into the distinctions I identified. The questions run the gamut from, “How do I know if I’m a Matcher or a Giver?”, to “How can I be sure that I’m a Fierce, and not a Selfless Giver?”.

If you’re someone who loves scientific data and evidence, pick up Adam Grant’s brilliant book, “Give and Take”, where he masterfully parses the qualities inherent to each tendency. My clients and readers generally look to me as the person who takes in all the information and distills it into a form that is (I hope) useful to them. I invite you to keep that in mind as you continue to read.

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By Ellie Tabibian

During turbulent times of intense disruptions many of us suddenly step back and take stock of our lives. What do I want to do instead? How do I make my mark in the world? This is the time to reflect and maybe pivot a little. Or a lot. And it’s a time to find like-minded people to share our passions and our dreams. I can relate.

Having repurposed my career and coached 100s of stuck moms and professionals, one fact remains the same. We need to find our tribe with people who share a strong connection with us. We need to matter when we contribute.

Not sure where to begin?

That’s easy to fix. There are assessments to help you find your tribe of people who share your interests. This is the first step to point you in the right direction. But don’t stop there.

Take a moment to understand what drives you. Thinking about any typical day this week. What peak moments brought a smile to your face or created joy for others? In that moment, were you thinking, achieving, influencing someone, or building relationships? Maybe you lost track of time and it fulfilled a value important to you. It felt easy, natural. It felt like…you. And you mattered.

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Go Campaign delivers local solutions to communities around the world.

By Gina Katz

Since 2006, GO Campaign has directly improved the lives of over 160,000 vulnerable children around the world by partnering with 166 pioneering Local Heroes, delivering local solutions to communities in 37 countries. GO Campaign shines a light on grassroots programs and has funded over 430 projects, giving children access to education, medical care, shelter, food, clean water and a fair chance in life.

GO identifies, carefully vets, then listens to Local Heroes around the world who are advocating for change to help vulnerable children in their communities thrive, because they know better than anyone what they need. (more…)

By Lacie Martin

Is your family feeling off-kilter these days? The world as a whole is pretty off-kilter it seems, and it’s easy to feel like everything is inside-out. Schedules as a rule shifted every which way, and even running errands looks different from how it looked a handful of months ago. Happily, there are several things you can do to get back on track. Check out these resources that will help you and your family regain a healthy sense of balance:

Develop Boundaries

Boundaries are a must for everyone in your family. Reinforcing them in terms of schedules and priorities is the best way to get your footing back on solid ground. (more…)

By Shirin Yadegar

When schools closed across the country in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring, we found ourselves in a strange situation but we all tried to make the best in our “once in a lifetime” situation at home with our kids.

Now with the indefinite closure of schools we are stressed, exhausted and confused. Making sure the kids are physically, emotionally and academically taken care of is more than we can handle. Organization is the key to success.

That’s why I’ve come up with a list of the best ways to ease the stress and chaos that comes with social distancing. (more…)

By Angelica Kessler and Georgia Messinger

Looking for virtual summer plans? Girls Get IT is a beginner-friendly computer science education and female empowerment camp.

Founded by Brentwood School alumna, Angelica Kessler and Georgia Messinger, who are now computer science students at Harvard and USC.

The duo started studying computer science in high school and wished they had the opportunity to discover their passion for technology at an earlier age. So they are committed to inspiring the next generation of girls who code! (more…)

By Dr. Trina Moore-Southall

When I was in college, I had no money to spare. I quickly recognized how much money it took to fill my gas tank, and how many miles I could drive until I was empty. I was also keenly aware that Betsy, my 1988 Ford Escort, could drive for 7 miles after she hit empty. I sometimes parked my car 3-4 miles away from my apartment or from my job, or campus, and I would walk to my destination. This was not a good decision for the overall maintenance of my car, and I often drove on empty. I found myself praying that I could get to the gas station if I was approaching 7 miles past empty.

In the last few weeks, I have been 7 miles past empty. There is no gas station in sight. Some of what has taken away from my tank, is being a mother of two Black men. The mileage required for this role is unexplainable. The visibility of racial inequity and injustice across multiple platforms and media has stolen from my tank. The gas required to show up in predominantly white spaces and continue to operate when I am mourning, sad, hurt, and defeated has emptied my tank. (more…)

By Leila Shadgou
Social media has grown to become a toxic environment for young generations, perpetuating narrow ideals. Unfortunately, this further institutes unattainable standards that lead impressionable individuals to manipulate their bodies to fit these “perfect” expectations. In effect, promoting edited images has produced a spike in concerns over body image and weight, forming a direct link to anxiety, eating disorders, and depression among social media users. This is a serious problem. If left unsolved, people will continue to alter their bodies in an unhealthy manner to reach an archetype that simply doesn’t exist. In order to eliminate this destructive cycle, Hunger for Awareness aims to have every person’s voice heard through normalizing discussion about these personal issues. (more…)

Do your kids still need to take the Sat/ACT?

By Erik Klass

First of all, and most importantly, I hope everyone is healthy and keeping safe. As you may have heard, an increasing number of colleges are changing their admission requirements to “test optional” (regarding the SAT/ACT). Many of our clients have been asking about how this may impact their own SAT/ACT planning. I hope the following information answers the common questions.

Do I have to take the SAT/ACT?
Many colleges, including the UC schools, are now making the SAT/ACT optional for fall 2021 applicants (current high school juniors). I suspect many other colleges will follow suit. However, be careful: as of this writing, most colleges still require one of the standardized tests. My advice: unless you are sure all of your target colleges will go test-optional (which, I admit, is hard to figure out while things are still changing quickly), I think you should plan to take one of the tests. (more…)