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.