Girl Determined

Girl Determined receives funding from left-of-center organizations, including the Women Win Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, and the Foundation for a Just Society. ² The group paid out $565,721 to foreign organizations, governments, and individuals in 2019. ³

Girl Determined is staffed by individuals affiliated with intergovernmental institutions, including the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration and Population Fund, as well as the World Bank. ^{4 5}

Background

Girl Determined was founded in 2010 by Brooke Zobrist after two years of consultation with girls in Myanmar on problems faced by young, urban, and rural girls in underdeveloped countries. ²

Activity

Girl Determined began operations with after-school leadership programs in Buddhist monastic schools on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. ² It has expanded to more than 70 programs in a variety of urban and rural communities. ² Girl Determined focuses efforts around Yangon and Mandalay, where there are the greatest levels of poverty, disease, and violence. ⁶

Girl Determined educates girls on their rights and abilities. ⁶ By providing a network of peers, Girl Determined works to build coalitions of social activists. ⁶ The group also engages in research and advocacy to garner support for activists internationally. ⁶

Girl Determined organizes Colorful Girl Circles that include peer discussion groups on ethnic and religious diversity, rights in the workplace, and physical and mental health. ⁶ Girl Determined also hosts a leadership camp that provides further education and training. ⁶

By 2019, Girl Determined activities included 4,800 girls attending weekly Colorful Girl programs in 80 communities, with 371,120 hours of programming. ^{5 5}

Funding

Girl Determined has received support from the Women Win Foundation, a gender equality advocacy group; the NoVo Foundation and the Foundation for a Just Society, both left-of-center grantmakers; the SOL Foundation; and the U.S. Department of State. ² In 2019, Girl Determined reported revenue of $470,015 with expenses totaling $691,189. ³ Assets totaled $973,368. ³ Grants and other forms of assistance to foreign organizations, governments, and individuals constituted $565,721 of the expenses. ³

People

Brooke Zobrist is the co-founder and executive director of Girl Determined. ⁴ She has also worked as a strategist for the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration and Population Fund, and Save the Children. ⁴

Kirsten Gelsdorf is on the board of directors. ² She is also a professor and director of global humanitarian policy for the University of Virginia. ⁷

Andrea Maria Menefee is on the board of directors. ² She also holds a senior position at CARE. ⁸ Before this, she worked in advisory roles at Save the Children US and International in Myanmar. ⁸

Andrea Woodhouse is a director on the board of directors for Girl Determined. ² She is also a senior staffer at the World Bank. ⁵