Gina Reiss-Wilchins is Director of the Girl Up campaign null; an innovative program to build and maintain a constituency dedicated to improving the lives of the worldnull;s hardest-to-reach girls. The null;for girls, by girlsnull; campaign mobilizes American girls to raise funds and awareness for UN programs that support the millions of adolescent girls growing up in developing countries. Through Girl Upnull;s support, these girls will have the opportunity to become educated, healthy, safe, counted and positioned to be the next generation of leaders.Before joining the UN Foundation's Girl Up program, Ms. Reiss-Wilchins served as Executive Director of TrueChild, an action tank devoted to bringing gender transformative approaches to US policy and programmatic work that challenges narrow, traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity and promotes gender equity for girls.Prior to TrueChild, she served as Managing Director of the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, growing it from a small group of volunteers in New York City to a national organization with a budget of almost $2mm/annually, headquarters in Washington, DC and a staff of 15. While there, she created a chapter system that was adopted by college youth advocates on 104 campuses in 26 states. Her 20+ years of advocacy and non-profit experience includes serving as Action Vice-President of NOW/NJ and founding member of Equality Federation.UN Foundation CEO Kathy Calvin said, null;Gina joins Girl Up at a time in which her experience and energy will perfectly fit the mission of the campaign. The number of supporters has grown tremendously in recent months, and Gina is the ideal director to continue expanding that growth and turning support into action on behalf of girls around the world.null;null;null;I am very excited and honored to be working with the United Nations Foundation and the Girl Up Campaign,null; Reiss-Wilchins remarked. null;Girls across the world have dreams and goals just like my daughter does here in America. They want to go to school, be safe, stay healthy and have a chance to grow up and be whatever they can be.null; I understand firsthand the importance of raising the next generation of global leaders and philanthro-teens in America. I am looking forward to leading this campaign and helping to build a movement that American youth have created in rallying behind Girl Up.null;
