About Us
Who We Are
She Needs To Know inspires Black girls to be strong, smart, and bold community leaders. We accomplish this through programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers they will face in their journey to and through college.
The Opportunity Path
In the Greater Austin area, there is an opportunity to better support Black girls.
According to the E3 Alliance,
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We believe that in order to improve Black girls’ outcomes, they must see themselves in successful elders to imagine and realize their potential.
A number of organizations in the Austin metro area provide youth mentoring programs, but they are not specifically designed to support the unique needs of Black girls. She Needs To Know’s mentoring program is an evidence-based solution that centers on three pillars: near-peer mentors, social-emotional learning development, and a cohort model.
Our mentoring program is designed to support the unique needs of Black girls by intentionally matching them with a mentor who looks like them, who currently attends college in Austin, who has experienced similar challenges, and who has overcome the challenges to achieve college and career success. A mentoring relationship between Black women and Black girls encourages them to break through stereotypes and helps to create a pathway for them to be future community leaders with college degrees.
Year One Impact
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We employed a school-based approach that utilizes research-based, social-emotional learning principles.
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Each week, undergraduate mentors from Fearless Leadership Institute at the University of Texas-Austin (as part of their work-study employment) met with their group of 4-5 mentees and lead them through activities that focused on a number of skills and aptitudes such as goal setting, communication, and interpersonal skills, empowering identities, relationship building, problem-solving, leadership training and exploring college and career pathways.
Our Partners
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Over the next four year, partnering directly with Austin area school districts and the University of Texas at Austin's Fearless Leadership Institute, She Needs to Know will reach 125 girls and create an evidence-based model for providing authentic near-peer mentorship for Black girls in Austin for grades 9 through 12
