The LA Fund Celebrates Hundreds of LA Girls as Catalysts of Change at the Inaugural Girls Build LA Expo on May 14

Speakers Include Sophia Amoruso, Best-selling Author and Founder
of Nasty Gal, and LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Girls Build LA, a program of the Los Angeles Fund for Public
Education (LAFund.org/GirlsBuildLA) dedicated to helping girls succeed,
has announced the inaugural Girls Build LA Expo, a unique event
highlighting the presentations of 44 teams of students, on May 14 at
West Adams Preparatory High School, 1500 West Washington Boulevard, Los
Angeles, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Last October, Girls Build LA challenged girls from LA County’s middle
and high schools to identify barriers to their success in education and
life and propose solutions to them. Forty-four team proposals were
funded by the LA Fund; the teams will present and discuss their work at
the Girls Build LA Expo.

The LA Fund will award over $50,000 of scholarships to the top six
middle- and high-school teams. Sophia Amoruso, bestselling author of
#GIRLBOSS, entrepreneur and founder of the Nasty Gal clothing line, will
keynote the event. The girls will also hear from LA County Supervisor
Mark Ridley-Thomas.

“It’s so inspiring watching these girls, who have such hope for the
future, rise up to the challenge and tackle big issues,” said Megan
Chernin, CEO and Board Chair of the LA Fund. “We believe that the
empowered voices of these girls will have a multiplier effect in their
schools and communities. I can’t wait to see their finished projects.”

Following the awards program, the Girls Build LA Expo will feature
student exhibits, food trucks, photo booths, music, activities and a
resource fair.

BACKGROUND:

Middle- and high-school girls in Los Angeles struggle every day with
challenges including poverty, racism and gender bias. Girls Build LA, a
program of the LA Fund, was created to address these challenges.

Last fall, Girls Build LA hosted 7,000 girls for a special screening of
“He Named Me Malala,” a documentary about Malala Yousafzai, the young
Nobel Prize-winner who survived a brutal attack and brought her campaign
for women’s and girls’ education to the world. First Lady Michelle Obama
addressed the audience via video.

At an all-day students’ symposium sponsored by Girls Build LA the
following month, girls were challenged to each identify a specific
obstacle to her future and to develop a strategy for overcoming it.
Categories included Health & Wellness, Civic Engagement & Leadership,
and STEM & College Access.

The girls formed teams to work on proposals with the guidance of adult
team coordinators. Forty-four of these teams received $2,000 each to
develop community solutions, which will be reviewed and judged at the
May 14 Expo. First-, second- and third-place scholarships will be
awarded at both the middle-school and high-school levels.

ABOUT GIRLS BUILD LA:

Created in 2015, Girls Build LA is the newest initiative of the Los
Angeles Fund For Public Education, with the goal of facilitating
meaningful change in the lives of girls and young women in LA County.
The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education partners with LA schools to
invest in innovative, results-oriented programs designed to ensure every
student has a chance to succeed. Through collaboration and creativity,
we inspire action and achieve impact.

Contacts

Los Angeles Fund for Public Education
Emma Brownell, 310-912-3441
emma@lafund.org
or
Hive
Communication Collective
Bumble Ward, 323.650.1920
bumble@hivecomm.com
or
Olivia
Delgado, 323.656.1106
olivia@hivecomm.com
or
Ivers
Communications
Stacy Ivers, 310.779.2255
stacy@iverscommunications.com