Since earning her Master's in Social Innovation from the University of San Diego’s Kroc School of Peace and Justice Studies in 2020, Sienna George has spent her time co-creating community-centered impact strategies for social enterprises and non-profits and co-designing learning experiences with-and-for university students.
After serving as the Social Impact Strategist and Community Engagement Lead at goodbuy, Sienna now channels much of her energy and expertise into her work as the Development and Community Engagement Director with Style Her Empowered (SHE)—a nonprofit on a mission to create sustainable education and employment opportunities for girls and women around the world by addressing the three main barriers that prevent girls and women from flourishing long-term: (1) limited access to education, (2) lack of employment opportunities for women, and (3) climate change.
In this Q&A, we dive into Sienna’s journey, her role at SHE, and the valuable insights she’s gained along the way.
What inspired you to work with Style Her Empowered (SHE)?
In middle school, I vividly recall watching a short film that captured the transformative power of what’s possible when you educate a girl, which deeply inspired me. Shortly after, I learned that globally, 129 million girls are out of school, with millions more facing limited access to education due to gender-related barriers. Since then, I’ve been motivated by female leaders working at the intersection of peace, justice, climate, and education—leaders like Malala Yousafzai, Nemonte Nenquimo, the remarkable Women PeaceMakers I had the opportunity to meet during my time at the Kroc School, and Payton, the founder of SHE.
MASI (’20) students McKenna Schrader (left) & Sienna George (right) with 2019 Women PeaceMaker, Mossarat Qadeem (center).
As someone who firmly believes that education is a fundamental human right—and that access to quality education is crucial for building a more just and peaceful world—SHE’s mission to create sustainable education and employment opportunities for girls and women worldwide has always really inspired me. In 2020, I had the opportunity to meet Payton, and I immediately knew I wanted to work with her someday. From our very first conversation I could tell that she embodied the creativity, compassion, curiosity, humility, empathy, and intentionality of the leaders who I most admire.
Fast forward to today, where everyday I am inspired by SHE’s belief in a world where every girl and woman can do more than survive; she can flourish. This vision, coupled with our holistic approach to empowerment—one that includes access to resources, agency, and opportunities—really motivates me to explore how we can harness the potential of social entrepreneurship, systems thinking, and community design to contribute to a future that is better for girls, women, and our shared planet.
How would you describe your role at SHE? What are your main responsibilities?
I would describe my role at SHE as a connector, creative, and community partner. I especially love my job because it allows me to diverge and converge in my thinking on a daily basis. In the morning, I might develop a long-term strategic plan for building donor relationships, or ideate on the most aligned partners for our work, and by the afternoon, I could be deep in data, understanding our supporters’ motivations, or sharing stories that help someone to really connect with a unique aspect of our work.
Sienna George captured at The University of Twente– Netherlands in April 2024, during which she served as a facilitator for The University Innovation Fellows program with the Stanford d.school.
While my main responsibilities include building and sustaining relationships with SHE's community of donors, cultivating new partnerships and nurturing existing ones, monitoring, evaluating, and communicating our impact, and supporting the continued intentionality and growth of our programs—at its heart, my role is about building meaningful connections and community by developing new ways to educate everyone who engages with SHE—which I find incredibly motivating.
What challenges do you face in your work at SHE, and how do you address them?
I deeply admire the women of SHE for their innovation and ingenuity. Our team is always generating new ideas to address systemic challenges faced by our communities and developing holistic solutions that are both community-centered and climate-aware.
For me, these interconnected parts that make up the “whole” of SHE, present an opportunity rather than a challenge. The unique, multifaceted nature of our programs allows me to identify and share stories with individuals and communities who can see themselves reflected in—or contributing to— one, or multiple aspects of the work that we do. However, communicating this effectively often requires a deep understanding of how each program operates and how they work together, which at times can be rather nuanced.
To address this complexity, I often refer back to the Impact Gaps Canvas and the Causes Diagram—two tools I learned about during my time in the MASI program—to map and make sense of these challenges. I also find myself asking a lot of questions of our team. Thanks to their support and collaboration, I learn every day how to more accurately capture and communicate our programs and their impacts.
Looking ahead, what are your personal and organizational goals for expanding SHE's reach and impact?
Since 2017, SHE has provided over 8,000 education sponsorships to girls in 21 rural villages across Togo, Africa, and we currently employ 35 women full-time at a thriving wage. By 2030, our goal is to support 25,000 girls in schools across 100 rural communities and provide 500 employment opportunities for women.
To achieve this, we’re really excited about expanding our social enterprise model. This model includes our sewn product manufacturing projects for businesses and sales from our SHE products (such as our Changemakers Uniforms, our reusable menstrual pads, and our recycled-plastic backpacks). By 2030, we aspire to sustain our global operations through these earned revenue channels.
Personally, I’m motivated by the opportunity to build lasting, strategic partnerships that can help to amplify our programs in Togo, Africa through the addition of clean water, sanitation, and nutrition infrastructure and programming, and by raising the funds to build our very own Girls & Women Empowerment Center someday.
How can those interested learn more about or support SHE?
Thanks for asking! Currently, some of the best ways to support SHE are by engaging with and amplifying our work. You can do this by sharing our story, following us on social media, or by making a donation (which will help us to hire 42 additional teachers across our 21 rural partner villages in Togo, Africa!)
We're also launching exciting new initiatives, including our first student-run ‘Changemakers Club’ here in San Diego, and are always eager to connect with people motivated to get involved in our work, so if that's you, please feel encouraged to reach out.
Screenshot of the SHE website. SHE’s founder, Payton McGriff, was recently named a 2024 CNN Hero for her work with SHE. Learn more here.
What advice would you offer to current Kroc School students or recent graduates aspiring to work in social impact or global development?
First, I’d offer that the who and the why are often equally, if not more important, than the what and how of what you do. In my experience, the “what” and the “how” of your work might change, but when you’re deeply aligned with and care about who and why your work matters, it can sustain you even when you feel tired or overwhelmed at times.
Secondly, I’d suggest getting to know the values, leadership qualities, and guiding ethos of the people you most enjoy learning from and collaborating with. Then, identify the Sustainable Development Goals that most energize you. Once you have an idea of the “who” and the “why,” that motivate you most, learn everything you can about those people and areas of impact and allow yourself to remain open to being changed.
Last, but perhaps most importantly: stay connected to your heart. By this, I mean to purposefully create time and space free of distraction to allow yourself to sit, to rest, to be still, and to reflect. Get to know yourself. Learn to listen to your body and notice how, what, and why you’re feeling what you do. I believe we can learn so much from turning our attention inward with compassion and curiosity, and then consciously—and with clarity, discernment, and awareness—engage “outwardly” with the world around us.