From our team in Portland, Oregon:

Last November, we blogged about a mentorship program taking place in our office where four of the women on our staff would be mentoring a small group of teenage girls. Coordinated by Girls, Inc. of NW Oregon, the Associates Mentoring Program provides opportunities for busy professional women to join forces with girls in crafting a project to explore different career paths, develop new skills, get to know one another, and have fun in the process.

Seven months and a ton of work later, we’re proud to show off the fruits of their labor: a new podcast!  “Past, Present, and Future…The Voices of Girls and Women” explores the diverse and shared perceptions of women and girls, the stories they tell, and the common themes they share. A team of three girls and four Idealists met every other week to create this new podcast, determining the theme, crafting six questions to ask each person, interviewing 17 women and girls who ranged in age from 14 to 61, and doing lots and lots of editing (with the guidance and assistance of our own Amy Potthast, host of The New Service podcasts). The end result? A twenty minute window into unique dreams and goals, stories of perseverance and ambition, and shared hopes and ideals of girls and women today.

Special thanks to rock stars Christa, Polina, and Galyna, Girls Inc of NW Oregon, and the many fascinating girls and women who participated in our project!