It’s been a busy summer for our grantee partners! Across Massachusetts, women- and girls-serving organizations have been hard at work creating pathways to economic empowerment. From summer camps to rocket launches, they’ve been sparking opportunities for women and girls to learn, grow, and thrive.
Subtitle: Girlstart Summer Camp: Where Curiosity Runs Wild
Girlstart’s 2025 Summer Camp Program brought girls on an interactive learning journey through the Wild World curriculum, exploring the relationships between animals and plants to life with hands-on activities. Campers designed habitats using coding software, created a glider that soared like birds, programmed a turtle-saving device, and built tiny terrariums to grow beans.
Why It Matters: From Camp to Classroom
A 2016 study, conducted by an external evaluator, found that Girlstart girls were more likely than nonparticipants to:
- perform better on science and math standardized tests
- achieve high-level STAAR science performance
- enroll in more Pre-AP science and math classes
In Their Own Words: The Girlstart Experience
- “Girlstart’s summer program has inspired me to be a coder.” – 4th grader
- “At Girlstart, I learned about women who changed the world in STEM.” – 5th grader
- “I learned all about the different careers you could choose. I never knew there were so many different choices you could choose, now I know because of Girlstart.” – 4th grader
“At Girlstart I learned that girls are powerful in STEM” – 4th grade participant
Science Club for Girls Rocketry Program: Where STEM Takes Flight
Science Club for Girls (SCFG) is helping girls shoot for the moon – literally! Rising 6th-8th graders and high school Junior Mentors explored aerospace engineering at their Summer Rocketry Program. Participants tackled hands-on projects like creating space stations, navigating with a robotic rover, and building and launching rockets. Beyond the STEM curriculum, this program fuels leadership and confidence, proving that the sky is never the limit when it comes to what these young scientists can achieve.
Why It Matters: Launching Leadership and Learning
In 2024, Science Club for Girls conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate the long-term impact of their work. Highlights include that:
- 99% of SCFG alums attended college – compared to the national average of 66%
- 63% majored in STEM – compared to the 27% of Massachusetts college graduates who earn degrees in STEM and health care fields
- 94% credited SCFG with shaping their identities as science leaders
In Their Own Words: Building Strong STEM Foundations
- “Seeing other girls participating encouraged her to speak up and give her opinion. The fact that the group is led by women was very empowering for her.” – Parent
- “My mentoring experience was amazing. I love it so much, and that’s why I’ve been with SCFG for so long now! I started as a student 13 years ago, and I hope to be involved for as long as possible!” – STEM Mentor
Your Support Creates Impact
Join us in empowering women and girls to reach their full potential. Supporting the Women’s Foundation fuels more amazing impact stories like these and helps women and girls across Massachusetts gain economic independence. Together, we can make lasting change and build stronger communities – make your gift today!
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.