Meet Natasha Stanislas: #womaninnovator’s new video editor!

Our amazing team behind the #womaninnovator media campaign has added a new fantastic volunteer video editor to its roster. Meet Natasha Stanislas!

My name is Natasha Z. Stanislas and I am from the Bronx, NY.

I am a Junior at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, majoring in Film & Television Arts, with three minors in History, Law & Society, and the Business of Entertainment Media & Technology. My parents immigrated from St. Lucia about 30 years ago, with the hope of providing a better life for themselves and a better future.

I chose to work with the #womaninnovator media campaign because it increases the visibility of socially conscious ventures, and specifically those of women. Personally, I enjoy using my skills to work on projects that are socially aware and promote important causes. With an emphasis on women’s empowerment, #womaninnovator is an inspiring movement to be a part of.

Stay tuned for Natasha’s work on #womaninnovator!

Jennifer Gleeson Blue’s mantra: “Harness the power of story and unleash your #womaninnovator!”

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by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Pipeline  

I’ve played sports since I was a little girl. In hindsight, having a good coach made my season more enjoyable. A good coach pushes you to be better every practice. A good coach motivates you to work hard. But, a great coach teaches you more than the rules of the game you’re playing; a great coach teaches you about life! Jennifer Gleeson Blue, Founder and President of Get There From Here, is an innovative kind of coach. For Jennifer, every human being is bursting with creativity. It has become Jennifer’s personal mission to unleash these creativities in order to effect powerful change and release waves of positivity and innovation: “Coaching is this amazing intersection of story and helping people. Every day, I get to support people in transforming their lives and business stories in authentic and powerful ways. I also have the opportunity to grow and expand my business in any direction I want. These things combined made building a coaching business very attractive to me.”

Collaboration, self-awareness, and honesty helps achieve an authentic path upon which a woman innovator can reach her full potential. Jennifer says, “I know that this combination holds tremendous power and unleashes the innovator in all of us!” Hear more about the value of storytelling and the positive effects of coaching in Jennifer’s #womaninnovator interview. 

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Manager. Her responsibilities include overseeing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, volunteer management, and producing the #womaninnovator video series. As she completes her senior year at Fordham University studying English and Women’s Studies, Claire looks forward to continuing to meet inspiring women innovators, sharing their stories, and documenting her journey through her own career pipeline.

Allison Lynch’s local and global perspective on innovation

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by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Pipeline 

Deep in the heart of Brooklyn lies a credit union like no other. Brooklyn Cooperative opened its doors in 2001 on a mission to innovate the relationship between banks and customers. Unlike a bank—where the owners may be a completely different group of people than those who actually use the bank’s services—a credit union is owned by the people who use it on a day-to-day basis. Allison Lynch is the COO of Brooklyn Cooperative.

Edited by: Jessica Kelley, Pipeline #womaninnovator Video Editor, Pipeline

Allison’s development work experience spans the health and economic sectors and has been both domestic and international in scope.  

As we sat discussing her career pipeline, her passion for her work is obvious. “I’m not the type of person who can just sit by and not take action when there is a need,” she said. That attitude explains her history with Pipeline’s Incubator Lab. Allison launched the Incubator Lab to develop a space for and offer more resources to women innovators. “There were so many interesting and exciting women who had great ideas,” she recalled. “Coming together in a community in a structured way, we could do more than we could do separately.”

Watch the interview to find out more about Brooklyn Cooperative, Allison’s advice to other women innovators, and her definition of a woman innovator!

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Manager. Her responsibilities include overseeing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, volunteer management, and producing the #womaninnovator video series. As she completes her senior year at Fordham University studying English and Women’s Studies, Claire looks forward to continuing to meet inspiring women innovators, sharing their stories, and documenting her journey through her own career pipeline.

How critical is happiness to woman innovator, Chaula Gupta?

by Erica Dorn, #womaninnovator Interviewer

Of all of the insightful things that Chaula Gupta had to say, one stood out in particular, “You’re not going to impact other people if you yourself are not feeling good about where you are.”  As the Managing Director of the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative at Teach For America, Chaula mentors and harnesses resources to support alumni who are emerging social entrepreneurs. Before embarking on her current role, Chaula worked with Ashoka for four years.

Chaula has learned when to direct the changemaker to continue pursuing her/his idea and when to encourage her/him to join a similar movement already in progress.  She also understands that an entrepreneur must be willing to speak up, risk, and accept criticism—small prices to pay if one is passionate and truly happy about one’s chosen path.  Which brings us to the question: How critical is happiness to woman innovator, Chaula Gupta?  According to her, happiness is more than critical—it’s essential.


Erica Dorn works at the microlender ACCION USA in New York City where she manages the Kiva and Volunteer Programs. Her commitment to economic empowerment stems from her volunteer work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and her service as a Kiva Fellow. Yoga, music, and dance studies greatly influence Erica’s approach to her professional life. She is thrilled to be volunteering at Pipeline and gaining so much insight from the wisdom of women innovators.  Connect with Erica in the comments section and on Twitter (@eldorn).

  • 20 Plays

We’re delighted to share a song written by Emmy-winning artist Michal Towber inspired by Pipeline’s initiatives, including #womaninnovator, a media campaign to increase the visibility of women innovators.  

Enjoy!

A post penned by Michal and including her bio to follow.

Elmira Bayrasli: Traveling along an innovative pipeline

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by: Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Pipeline

What is Elmira Bayrasli made of? The perfect balance of unquenchable curiosity, undeniable optimism, a deep connection to her Turkish roots, and foresight to imagine the world as she wants it to be. This could explain Elmira’s dedication to her work at Endeavor, a New York-based nonprofit supporting high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

Edited by: Ghazel Ghazaleh Abassalian, Video Editor, Pipeline

“I am a storyteller,” explains Elmira. “I have always been passionate about writing and telling people’s stories.” A woman innovator creatively imagines the world as she wishes it to be. With a passion for writing and telling stories, Elmira’s imagination is endless. Her career pipeline is now taking her to Turkey to unleash the entrepreneurship potential in the Middle East. She will undoubtedly tell the stories of her exciting new work there and the people her imagination touches. To a budding woman innovator such as myself, Elmira’s success and continued dedication to the greater good is inspirational. 

Watch the video to hear more about Elmira’s personal pipeline and her nuggets of advice to future innovators. 

*In Elmira’s #womaninnovator interview, she draws on Elif Shafak’s comments on creative writing shared in a TED talk.


Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Manager. Her responsibilities include overseeing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, volunteer management, and producing the #womaninnovator video series. As she completes her senior year at Fordham University studying English and Women’s Studies, Claire looks forward to continuing to meet inspiring women innovators, sharing their stories, and documenting her journey through her own career pipeline.


Pipeline Online: The fruits of our social media labor

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by: Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Associate, Pipeline

I am happy to report that Pipeline’s #womaninnovator media campaign is in full swing. Being the lucky Strategic Initatives Associate that I am, I have gotten to interview many vibrant women innovators and ask them to define and explain what that label means to them. When Pipeline is not behind the FlipCam, we are online posing questions to our Twitter and Facebook audience. How would you define the term #womaninnovator? Here are some exciting responses that we have received!
 
@crunkfeminists: A #womaninnovator brings their bold visions & thoughts 2 the world, (re)creating the magic that will heal & help us all!!
 
@sorayadarabi: a #womaninnovator is the same…as a man who innovates…creative and bold.
 
@WomenWhoTech: To me an innovator is someone who is entrepreneurial, a collaborator, networked and can check their ego. A leader.
 
@eldorn: A #womaninnovator looks for truth and will stop at nothing to pursue a correct idea.

Join the conversation: Using the #womaninnovator hashtag, tweet your definition to us at @PipelineWomen!

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Associate. Her responsibilites include managing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, and producing the #womaninnovator series. Claire’s posts will document her summer at Pipeline and her observations as she navigates through her own career pipeline.

Rachael Chong and Jane Slusser’s innovative contribution to volunteer-matching: Catchafire

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by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Pipeline

We’ve all heard the saying, “Two heads are better than one,” but, it wasn’t until I met Rachael Chong and Jane Slusser, the partnership that heads up Catchafire, that I really believed it. Friends since college, Rachael and Jane combined their passions and skill sets to change the world of volunteering. Rachael Chong, Founder and CEO, is ablaze with energy and drive to innovate the volunteer world. For Rachael, every professional can volunteer their skills and every nonprofit has a real need for skilled volunteers.

Edited by: Ghazel Ghazaleh Abassalian, Pipeline

Catchafire connects nonprofits with professionals who can provide the expertise that they are looking for. In turn, professionals are matched with a nonprofit that needs their specific skills, in turn creating a meaningful volunteer experience. Jane Slusser, Vice President, is the peanut butter to Rachael’s jelly. When Jane joined Catchafire, she had the opportunity to apply lessons learned from her time spent organizing volunteers for the Obama campaign.

I caught up with Rachael and Jane on another hot New York summer day. They had fun with the #womaninnovator interview, bouncing answers off one another and finishing each others’ sentences. They shared the back-story of Catchafire’s launch and what makes them women innovators.


Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Manager. Her responsibilites include managing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, and producing the #womaninnovator series. She also manages Pipeline’s volunteers. Claire’s posts will document her summer at Pipeline and her observations as she navigates through her own personal pipeline.

Meet Ghazel Ghazaleh Abassalian: Pipeline’s innovative & tech-savvy #womaninnovator Video Editor

By: Ghazel Ghazaleh Abassalian, #womaninnovator Video Editor, Pipeline

I found out about Pipeline through a friend of mine, Jennifer Lauren. The last time we met we had many conversations about women’s position today in the Western world, but also in the Middle East. One day I received an email from her mentioning Pipeline and that they were looking for a video editor. I went to check out Pipeline’s website and didn’t hesitate for a minute to apply.  

I volunteer as Pipeline’s #womaninnovator Video Editor because:

After having graduated from art school with a major in Audiovisual Art, I really wanted to get more involved doing film and montage for issues that matter to me. Pipeline discusses what I care about. By becoming a video editor for Pipeline[’s media campaign #womaninnovator], I can do what I like to do, which is montage, while working with amazing women who share my ideals. This way I get to help to show something that carries a message and people should really hear about. 

I [was] born in Iran but [was] raised in the Netherlands. My parents fled Iran when I was just a few months old. Growing up with an active and involved mother who raised my brother and me I’ve always been aware of women’s situations in society, especially in the Middle East. 

We live in a male-run world where more and more women are starting to rule the business world, the household on top of that plus maintaining a family life. Still women are in a position where they need to struggle for equality. 

My definition of a #womaninnovator: 

She has a vision of what she wants. Being an open individual she is curious to learn to know and get better, I see her taking charge of her own life. She has the ability to take action, however challenging it may feel at the time, that may mean feeling a bit scared or anxious but deciding to take action anyway in the knowledge it will get a lot easier next time. A women innovator does not let fear stand in her way.


Tammy Tibbetts’ message for fellow women innovators: If you can rock the prom, you can rock the world!

by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Associate, Pipeline

My very first week working at Pipeline, I found myself on the red carpet at Manhattan hot spot Santo’s Party House for the GIRLS WHO ROCK benefit concert. This is where I first met the lovely Tammy Tibbetts, Creator of She’s the First. Female recording artists Kat DeLuna, Lenka, MoZella, Shontelle, Cara Salimando and Kelli Pyle, along with DJ Kalkutta, made music to make a difference for She’s the First, raising funds to support girls’ education in Africa.  She’s the First is a global education campaign that sends girls to school around the world, so they are able to become “the first” to achieve their goals.

Edited by: Ghazel Ghazaleh Abassalian, Pipeline


Despite the inevitable stress of putting on a benefit concert and the chaos of the red carpet, Tammy was poised and friendly as she answered my questions that evening. Fast forward a month later, Tammy Tibbetts sat across from me at In Good Company to formally define what a #womaninnovator is to her. In true woman innovator fashion, Tammy wears many hats these days. She works at Hearst Digital Media on the site DonateMyDress.org. The huge success of this creative site, that gives girls the chance to attend prom who otherwise couldn’t, set off a light-bulb in Tammy’s head. She’s the First is a directory of nonprofits that seek sponsors to send girls to school, capitalizing on social media and creative marketing. As full as her plate is, Tammy invites women and girls who are looking to become innovators to reach out to her and join the conversation about #womeninnovators.

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Associate. Her responsibilities include managing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, and producing the #womaninnovator series. Claire’s posts will document her summer at Pipeline and her observations as she navigates through her own personal pipeline.

Cynthia Hellen: Woman innovator & girl who rocks

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by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Associate, Pipeline

Cynthia Hellen, co-founder of GIRLS WHO ROCK and board member of She’s the First, sat down with Pipeline to discuss the role of women in innovation. I quizzed her on what her definition of a woman innovator is, why she is passionate about women’s issues, and what advice she had for girls who want to grow up into innovators. Here are her excellent answers!

CM: Can you please introduce yourself and your current projects.

CH: Sure! My name is Cynthia Hellen, and I am one of the founders of GIRLS WHO ROCK. I also sit on the board of She’s the First. GIRLS WHO ROCK is a project designed for She’s the First. It brings together creative communities. Simply, we use our social media as a way of getting the word out and bringing together all these creative individuals under one roof to give back.

CM: Sounds interesting and very innovative! Tell us a little more about how GIRLS WHO ROCK is breaking new ground.

CH: By using social media, GIRLS WHO ROCK relies on Twitter, Facebook fans…We do a lot of blogging. We connect with our beneficiaries online, like AfricAid, what we do is bring what we know about social media and share it. We get people to join us, let them play with it, and have them come to us if they want to do something more.

CM: Explain your role at She’s the First.

CH: I am one of the board members. I manage ideas, meetings, and connecting. I make sure that She’s the First and Tammy Tibbetts, the founder, are connected with individuals who will help.

CM: Why are you involved in this work? Why is it important to you?

CH: The reason why I am involved with women and innovation in general is that I think we have advantages over men. Like being able to listen and going into anything that we do and focusing. We can take a project, take an idea, and mold it as far as what we see and hear from our supporters’ suggestions and ideas. With these projects, like GIRLS WHO ROCK and She’s the First, we try to use everything that is given to us…Building that communication and collaboration with people who are as passionate as you. Innovation is taking what we have, but not forgetting that there are bigger issues at hand. We as women have an important role. We can be that change…women have the initiative to create something ten times better than what they started out with.

CM: What is your definition of a #womaninnovator?

CH: A woman innovator is what I see from the people that I surround myself with. I am going to mention Tammy Tibbetts. I think she’s confident, she has a purpose, and she has a passion. My mother, who is one of the best role models that I have. She has been persistent in business. She is so focused. Natalia [Oberti Noguera], she is a great mentor when it comes to sharing the knowledge that she knows, and making sure that she not only is a guide for those who are seeking that advice, but is also a friend. A woman innovator brings a lot of who they are into any project. They are not afraid of failure. It is about going for it. And knowing that it may not work out. She goes with her idea and she continues on.

CM: How are you a woman innovator?

CH: I simply show and bring who I am into the work that I do, to the projects and the people that I collaborate with. To me, it’s important to find people who you click with, who will drive you and who will give you that push when you need it. I can realize an idea and make it into an action…We had only two months to prepare GIRLS WHO ROCK. We were open to every person who was interested in the idea…we let it be theirs [our supporters], too. When it comes to sharing an idea and letting it grow, you have to share it. You can’t keep it to yourself. If you do, it will never grow. That is why I am a woman innovator: I share and I connect.

CM: What advice would you give to girls who want to become innovators?

CH: My advice for girls, young and older, would be to find your passion, and I think you’ll find your passion in who you are. Find your purpose. If [you] step outside of [y]our comfort zones, if [you] really take a look at what’s going on around us, I think you’ll be able to connect your passion with a great purpose. I do believe in collaboration, so meet as many people as you can. Get involved in volunteer work. It’s the learning that comes with the people you meet…I would suggest you volunteer, you collaborate, you find your passion, and you pursue a purpose.

CM: What is your #womaninnovator mantra?

CH: My mantra is not giving up and going for it.

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Associate. Her responsibilites include managing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, and producing the #womaninnovator series. Claire’s posts will document her summer at Pipeline and her observatinos as she navigates through her own personal pipeline.

Women innovators and immigration reform

by Natalia Oberti Noguera, Founder & CEO, Pipeline

My voice is not represented on at least three counts in the immigration reform debate led by the VC community. 

Firstly, most of the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists advocating for the startup visa, loosening of H1B caps, as well as creating  visas for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates are men.  I wonder how current immigration policies impact the flow of women innovators to and from the United States, and elsewhere in the world.  More voices, particularly from women innovators, will provide additional insight and support for immigration reform.

Secondly, although organizations, such as NCWIT, are doing their part to increase the number of female STEM graduates, I believe we should include non-STEM graduates—women and men—into the conversation.  As an entrepreneur who holds a degree from an academic institution in the United States (BA in Comparative Literature and Economics from Yale), is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is half-Colombian half-Italian, I am an example of talent not yet recognized by immigration reform advocates when they explain “why skilled immigrants are leaving the U.S..”  Game-changing ventures launched by liberal arts majors include Acumen Fund (Founder & CEO Jacqueline Novogratz holds a BA in Economics/International Relations from University of Virginia), Flickr (co-Founder Caterina Fake holds a BA in English Literature from Vassar College), and Sustainable South Bronx (Founder Majora Carter holds a BA in Film Studies from Wesleyan University).  Immigration reform should support skilled talent inside and outside of STEM. 

Thirdly, many women innovators and social entrepreneurs choose to launch nonprofits.  I’m an advocate for collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.  Practically speaking, depending on the mission of a social venture startup, a different legal structure will make sense. This is why a broader view provided by the social entrepreneurship landscape that includes nonprofit alongside for-profit startups is needed when advocating for immigration reform.

What if a co-founder could sponsor her non-U.S. citizen co-founder for a green card?  What if employees could sponsor their boss?  What if foundations awarded visas, in addition to grants?  Let me know what other ideas you come up with that take into account women innovators and social entrepreneurs who do not fit the STEM profile, or the for-profit requirement.  I will explore these three proposals and your ideas in my next post.

Natalia is Founder and CEO of Pipeline.   She is passionate about women’s empowerment, harnessing her knowledge of co-mentoring practices, talent development, social innovation, and change management to support and promote women innovators.  Natalia holds a BA from Yale in Comparative Literature & Economics, and an MSc in International Health Care Management from Bocconi University.  She is currently completing an MA in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.  In addition to English, Natalia is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and French (she is proficient in Russian and is determined to learn Mandarin).  Natalia serves on the founding board of Fast Forward Fund, a youth-to-youth social venture fund, and you can find her on Twitter (@nakisnakis).

The straightforward and innovative world of Cindy Gallop

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by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initatives Associate, Pipeline

It was 103 degrees out (yes that’s not a typo. One-hundred three degrees!) when I made my way over to Cindy Gallop’s Chelsea apartment to conduct our #womaninnovator interview. I had seen Cindy speak at a NYWSE* event, “Social Media for Social Change”, so I had a general idea of what I was getting myself into. I remembered her humor, her style, and her ability to engage the entire room.

Walking into Cindy’s fabulous home felt like a mirage drawn out of the summer heat: the colors, the fabrics, the art! As Manhattan scorched outside in the heat, I found myself in a breathtaking oasis with a woman innovator. As we began the interview, Cindy’s confidence radiated through her. We discussed her fantastic work with MakeLoveNotPorn.com, which was inspired by her real life experience. “I date younger men,” she stated flatly. “And when I date younger men, I have sex with younger men.” MakeLoveNotPorn.com grew from the disappointing fact that the growing trend of real sex education comes from hardcore pornography. And for those on the receiving end of that education, it can be a drag. Cindy was compelled to start MakeLoveNotPorn.com, and the response surprised even her! After launching at the TED Conference (and becoming one of the most watched speakers of the series), Cindy’s website took off. She told me of her plans of expansion, too, so stayed tuned!

Recently, however, Cindy has been focusing on IfWeRantheWorld.com, an online platform that seeks to turn human good intention into action. One of Cindy’s pet peeves is the fact that most people want change and to do good, yet don’t get off the couch to make it happen. Her platform wants to make it ridiculously simple for people with good intentions to mobilize that desire. Cindy’s philosophy on innovation is straightforward and clear: women by the very fact that they are women, and inherently a minority in the mainstream culture, are natural innovators. Cindy advises other women innovators to ignore the doubters, the haters, and the second-guessers. “Those people who say it can’t be done should get out of the way of people doing it.”

*New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE)

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Associate. Her responsibilites include managing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, and producing the #womaninnovator series. Claire’s posts will document her summer at Pipeline and her observatinos as she navigates through her own personal pipeline.

Learning from the Pros: Pipeline’s Team debriefs after “Advanced Social Media Workshop”

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by Claire McGovern, Strategic Initiatives Associate, Pipeline 

On a warm summer night, I ventured down to the YMCA for an advanced course in Social Media. One cool facet of my job at Pipeline is the opportunity to polish my skills through more education. When the opportunity came to take a course taught by some of the best and brightest in social media, I jumped at the chance. Columbia J-school’s professor and dean Sree Sreenivasan is “a technology evangelist/skeptic” (according to his Twitter profile). He also contributes to DNAinfo.com as an editor as well as runs facebook.com/sreetips, a wonderfully helpful facebook page focusing on the goings-on in social media. Formerlly with the New York Times and developing their social media strategy, Fast Company’s cover girl Soraya Darabi is a celebrity in the social media game. Her expertise was evident, but her presentation was approachable.

Sree and Soraya made social media approachable and stressed the importance of these platforms going forward. Sree even went so far as to say your Twitter domain name will be one of the ways that other people know you. The class focused on how to utilize these tools in a way that promotes and brands yourself, your business, or both. The Pipeline team learned a great many tips and tricks, and we recorded our debrief session for all of you to enjoy. Implementing some of these strategies can jump start your online strategy, which can help your brand and your business!

Claire McGovern is Pipeline’s Strategic Initiatives Associate. Her responsibilites include managing Pipeline’s social media presence, content creation, and producing the #womaninnovator series. Claire’s posts will document her summer at Pipeline and her observatinos as she navigates through her own personal pipeline.