Meet Our Team!

GEM (Girls Empowerment Movement) was founded by a group of junior and senior girls at Sage Hill School in Newport Coast, California. We are passionate about building independence and self-esteem in middle school girls. We will host the third annual GEMfest, a day-long event with inspiring guest speakers and hands-on workshops for approximately 200 middle school girls, on Saturday, February 29, 2020. GEMfest provides inspiration and education about tools for success in middle school, high school and beyond. 

Lizzy
Co-President

Lizzy is currently a senior at Sage Hill School. She hopes to inspire girls and improve their self-esteem by allowing them to have different opportunities through GEM. She has the goal of creating positive communities where girls come together to lift one another up. Outside of GEM, she enjoys being on Student Council, the Cross Country team, and a dance teacher assistant. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering and spending time with children.

Darcy 
​Co-President

Darcy is a senior at Sage Hill School. She expresses both her passion for fashion and for girls' empowerment through her lifestyle magazine Flare. She hopes to inspire a new generation of confident and successful young women through her work as a member of GEM. She is also the captain of her Varsity Sailing Team and gives tours as a Student Ambassador at Sage. When she's not busy with school, she enjoys sewing and playing the ukulele.

Ezugo

​Ezugo is a senior at Sage Hill School. Having an older sister as a strong feminist and role model in his life, he decided to join GEM. His goal is show young girls that guys support the empowerment of women. He is the founder of  Sage Hill's B.A.R.C (Boys against Rape Culture) club, an Eagle Scout and is Sage Hill's current ASB Vice President. Aside from this, Ezugo enjoys music and spending time with his friends and family. 
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Karina 

Karina is a senior at Sage Hill School. She hopes to instill in young girls everywhere the confidence that they need to pursue their dreams.  Also, Karina dances in the West Coast School of the Arts’ dance company and teaches dance to younger girls, in hopes of showcasing girl’s empowerment through performance as well.

 Leslie

​Leslie is a senior at Sage Hill. This is her second year in the GEM. She hopes to make a lasting impact on young girls’ lives by encouraging them to be themselves and forge their path to confidence and self-esteem. Her other passions include the Varsity Volleyball, Jewish Student Connections club, and Future Business Leaders of America.

Linda

   Linda is a senior at Sage Hill
   School. Through GEM, she
   hopes to inspire other young
   girls to reach their highest
   potential through self-expression     and to have a positive outlook
   on their dreams. Along with this,
   Linda enjoys photography
   and co-runs Flare Magazine,
​   that also serves to empower
   girls. Lastly, Linda is also
   a photographer for publications.
   
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Nicole

Nicole is a senior at Sage Hill School. As a part of GEM, she hopes to empower young girls to become strong leaders in every aspect of their lives. She is a strong believer in equality for women. Outside of GEM, Nicole participates in soccer, mock trial, interns at KX 93.5, and loves spending time with her friends.

Sarah

Sarah is currently a junior at Sage Hill School and this is her first year on the GEM Team. She hopes to inspire young girls to be confident and let them know that they can achieve anything that they put their minds to. Besides being a part of the GEM Team, Sarah is the only girl on Sage Hill's Boys' Varsity Water Polo Team and also a member of the Varsity Swim Team here at Sage. In her free time, she loves to hang out with her friends and family, and try new things.

Kaylie

Kaylie is currently a junior at Sage Hill School and she is excited for her first year on the GEM Team. Through GEM, she hopes to inspire young girls to be confident in their own skin. Kaylie believes that empowering girls from a young age will help them live happier and more successful lives. Outside of school, Kaylie is a coxswain on her Girls Varsity Rowing Team.  In her free time, Kaylie loves going to the beach and spending time with friends.

Henry

Henry is a junior at Sage Hill School. Having two older sisters that acted as role models in his life, he decided to join GEM with the hopes of influencing young women the same way his sisters influenced him. He is a member of the Student Ambassadors, the Sage Hill Ocean Club, Varsity Football, Varsity Golf, and Varsity Soccer teams.

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Kaylana

Kaylana is a junior at Sage Hill School. She has her second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and is very passionate about girls empowerment. She teaches young girls self-defense at her Tae Kwon Do studio, and Kaylana is also involved with ACEing Autism, Struck magazine, mock trial, latin club, and much more! Kaylana is very excited to be involved in GEM, and she hopes that she can inspire and be a role model for many young girls.

Aisha

Aisha is a junior at Sage Hill School. Her passion for girls empowerment comes from having to break gender stereotypes growing up in a house full of boys. Through GEM, she wants to show girls that they can do anything they set their mind to. Outside of GEM, she plays soccer, enjoys sewing, and co-runs the True Beauty club.

Nani

 Natalia ("Nani") is a junior at Sage Hill School. This is her first year as a GEM Team member, and she is looking forward to inspiring young girls to have confidence in themselves and follow their passions. She has three younger sisters and continuously serves as a role model for each of them. Aside from being a member of GEM, she is also a member of SAME, a leadership group that promotes diversity and inclusion within the Sage Hill Community. She is also on the Varsity Volleyball team and is on Mamba 17Us club volleyball team. 

Ben

 Ben is a junior at Sage Hill School. Through hearing about the empowering message of GEM from his older sister, Hannah (a GEM founder), he decided to join the team. This is his first year as a member of the GEM team. Having an older sister, he wants to show how boys can be supportive and empowering to young girls. Outside of the GEM Team, he is a member of the Varsity Football, Soccer and Golf teams, while also being part of the MUN team. 

 Our Founders

 Ishani
​Boston University

 Hannah
​UCLA

 Karli
​Tulane

 Eliza
Washington University in St. Louis

Lilly​
School of Visual Arts