Strong Women, Strong Girls Names Dr. Jocelyn Horner New Executive Director
Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) July 02, 2017 -- Strong Women, Strong Girls has named Jocelyn Horner, Ph.D., a Pittsburgh native and enthusiastic advocate for the power and potential of all women and girls, as its new Executive Director. Dr. Horner has more than a decade of global management experience with social impact programming in Pittsburgh, New Orleans, London, and Morocco.
“Jocelyn’s education and career has focused on women and girls, and we are fortunate that our search for new leadership at SWSG happily coincided with the completion of her doctoral program in New Orleans,” said Beth Marcello, SWSG Pittsburgh regional board chair. “We are confident that Jocelyn's experience, knowledge, and passion will enable us to empower more girls to envision a broader future and realize their inner strengths to dream and do. And we’re grateful for the support of Interim Director Lee Ann Munger, whose experienced and effective stewardship of the organization since March afforded the board of directors the opportunity to be patient during the search process.”
Prior to joining Strong Women, Strong Girls, Dr. Horner received her doctorate from Tulane University’s interdisciplinary City, Culture and Community program, with a concentration in Social Work. Her research examined innovative strategies for promoting social-emotional wellness among adolescent women exposed to risk or trauma. While pursuing her doctorate, Dr. Horner also founded HerStory NOLA, a mentorship project that leveraged college women as mentors to teach the art and skill of digital storytelling to young women and girls in New Orleans’ schools and youth centers.
In 2014, she was a recipient of Tulane University’s Changemaker Catalyst award as well as a NewDay Challenge grant for her work with HerStory. Dr. Horner has also presented nationally and internationally at academic conferences on HerStory’s unique model of youth development. She received her Masters of Science in Urban Geography from the London School of Economics in 2007, and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. She was a 2004 National Truman Scholar.
“I am beyond excited to be returning to Pittsburgh to join the team at Strong Women, Strong Girls,” Dr. Horner said. “For over a decade, SWSG and its partners have worked to ensure that young women and girls can grow to their fullest potential by providing unique opportunities for positive support, skills development and mentorship. I look forward to continuing this work and to expanding our impact in the region. An investment in girls is an investment in our collective future.”
Dr. Horner has also served as the lead staff member for the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s Charm Bracelet Project and the Director of Operations for Carnegie Mellon University’s Hear Me initiative. In addition, she has worked directly with diverse groups of women, girls, and children as a career mentor, volunteer coach, teacher, and Big Sister. A proud native of Pittsburgh’s Northside, she spends her free time running on the city’s river trails, watching Steelers games, and cooking vegetarian food for her friends and family.
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About Strong Women, Strong Girls
Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) Pittsburgh is a nationally recognized mentoring program empowering elementary school girls to develop the social-emotional and leadership skills necessary to cultivate high ambitions and achieve lifelong success. Founded in 2004, the mission of SWSG is to empower girls to imagine a broader future though a curriculum grounded on female role models delivered by college women mentors, who are themselves mentored by professional women. To achieve this mission, SWSG implements an innovative program model that utilizes the study of contemporary and historic female role models, skill-building activities, and relationships with college women who volunteer as mentors to support the girls. SWSG serves close to 700 girls in greater Pittsburgh, and engages 200 college-aged women as mentors annually. Learn more at http://www.swsg.org. Learn more at http://www.swsg.org. Find SWSG on Twitter (@SWSG_Tweets), Facebook (Strong Women, Strong Girls), and Instagram (@strongwomenstronggirls).
Beth Marcello, Strong Women Strong Girls, +1 412-334-0795, [email protected]
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