On this month’s episode of Worth’s Leading Voices series, Laura Gerson, the director of Women and Worth, interviewed Illana Raia, the founder of Être—a fast growing mentorship program for girls. Previously, Raia worked as a corporate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, was a member of the International Space Station, and served on the National Girls Collaborative Champions Board. With this impressive resume behind her, Raia now devotes herself to the Être girls full-time (when she isn’t writing books). But, in order to understand what Être is all about, it’s necessary to learn how it came to be.

Worth is joined by Nora Ali and Marcus Glover for an intimate discussion about how to take your DEI initiatives beyond empty promises and filling seats to create a dynamic workforce and add value to your company.

“More than that, she didn’t know what any of my friends did, and they had some of the coolest jobs ever! Surgeons, CEOs, writers and Wall Street wizards – she didn’t see them in their element,” says Raia. “So when she was in middle school I started taking her to see where they worked, and she loved it. The whole time we were doing this, I kept thinking girls everywhere should be doing this.”

Être, when we were only 6 weeks old, participating in the HuffPost #TalkToMe video series! Board members ask Être founder about motivation, making a difference and why mentors matter...as early as middle school.

Each week, an accomplished published author takes over the YEM Twitter account for Thursday’s Twitter Takeover. Each week, the YA author will answer questions, tell stories, and give advice on our social media. This week author Illana Raia will be taking over our Twitter account.

lllana started her career as a lawyer at one of the world’s top law firms. When her daughter was little, she began introducing her to other moms who, like Illana, had great careers and served as amazing role models. This was her way of teaching her daughter that she could be anything she wanted to be. This experience inspired Illana to found Être in 2016. Être is an organization and website that gives girls the tools they need to change the world. Illana’s book was released on the Day of the Girl, October 11, 2019 and was Amazon’s number one new release in Self Esteem Books for Teens and Young Adults!

Ensuring free access to role models for girls from all backgrounds is vital to our mission, and I am constantly seeking mentors of my own to help navigate this path.

Today we’re celebrating International Day of the Girl by teaming up with our friends at Être to help empower and inspire you to follow your biggest dreams.

Être is a mentorship and resource platform encouraging middle school girls to embrace their passions and become their most authentic selves. Their new book, Être: Girls, Who Do You Want to Be? is out today and we think it’s a must-have for every girl. Whether you dream of inventing your own product or using your voice to change the world, the Être book is the tool you need to make those dreams a reality. Having an idea is the easy part, but taking action or figuring out where to start can hold back even the most brilliant dreams. That’s where this book comes in handy.

Through Être, Illana Raia introduces middle school-aged girls to female executives working in companies like Spotify, Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange.