Entrepreneurial Academy for Girls

She Elevates, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization is launching the third annual She Elevates Academy to girls across the country in a virtual format. During the program, the girls are trained and mentored by business owners, community leaders, women of great influence, and CEOs. The She Elevates Academy provides an opportunity for girls to learn how to think like a business owner and CEO, develop their own business plan and receive training encompassing goal setting, creative thinking, branding, marketing, sales, financial literacy and public speaking.

She Elevates exists solely to empower girls ages 8 – 14 to become confident leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs. It teaches girls to think beyond what they think they can be and aims to help close the gender gap that exist in business. 

For the safety of the girls, the She Elevates Academy will be held via securely moderated Zoom sessions on June 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22 and 25 from 12 - 3 pm EST with a virtual graduation on Saturday, June 26. Each student will have the opportunity to select their type of business or project – either a service business, community project, product business or author. Current business owners will receive help growing their businesses. All students will also have the opportunity to apply skills learned during the Academy to pitch their businesses and potentially earn seed business funding through the Academy’s closing She Tank competition. Deadline to register is Friday, May 7, 2021.

The Founder and Executive Director of She Elevates is DeLores Pressley. “It went back to my childhood,” said Pressley, a former elementary school teacher who has also been in business for three decades. “Although I was always confident and a leader, I didn’t know much about entrepreneurship despite realizing I wanted to be one in 5th grade.” Pressley had a dream of owning a business at a young age. Pressley realized that there are other girls out there who also have that dream. She states, “This Academy is a pathway to help change the gender gap in business”.