A StrongHER Foundation. A HighHER Future.

A StrongHER Foundation, a HighHER Future

Before we talk about leadership, we have to talk about belonging.

Nine years ago, the Founder of HighHER TogetHER co-founded non-profit StrongHER TogetHER, which was built on a simple idea:

Girls are stronger when they stick together — no matter how different they are.

That belief shaped everything that followed.

Girls typically join StrongHER TogetHER in fifth grade and remain with their cohort through high school graduation. For eight years, they grow alongside peers from different cultural, socioeconomic, academic, and lived experiences. Over time — through shared moments big and small — they come to understand something powerful: they are far more alike than they are different.

This work has never been about a single program or event. Belonging doesn’t form in one workshop or one summer. It develops organically, through consistency, relationships, and time.

Sometimes that looks like meaningful conversations about mental health, identity, or equity. Other times it looks like ice cream in a park, a community service project, or listening to someone talk about their work and path. Every summer, girls come together for a full week of broad, immersive experiences that strengthen relationships and widen perspectives.

For nine years, StrongHER TogetHER has been entirely free to families. Powered by a deeply committed volunteer network, the program has grown into a community where girls learn — gradually and authentically — how to stand with one another.

And that foundation matters.

Because what this work has made clear is that belonging is essential — BUT it is not sufficient.

As these girls have grown, so has our understanding of the world they are entering. A world where women’s voices still struggle to be heard. Where progress toward equity is slower than it should be. Where confidence alone is not enough to create change.

Leadership is the bridge.

Leadership doesn’t automatically emerge from belonging. It has to be practiced. It has to be named. It has to be developed intentionally.

That realization is what led to HighHER TogetHER.

HighHER TogetHER builds directly on the StrongHER foundation — but shifts the focus to leadership as a skill. Through structured programming, leadership labs, and multi-year pathways, girls learn how to:

• understand their strengths

• choose when and how to step forward

• collaborate across difference

• and lead with clarity, purpose, and confidence

  
  

StrongHER TogetHER teaches girls to see one another as allies.HighHER TogetHER teaches them how to lead — together.