Her actions make an impact: Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta CEO Tiffany Collie-Bailey
Girls Inc. is an international nonprofit organization with affiliate sites in 350 cities across the United States and Canada. Its mission is powerful and straightforward: Teaching young women to learn their value, to take risks and discover their inherent strengths.
And according to Tiffany Collie-Bailey, the CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta, that’s not just a cute one-liner they say to donors. From programming for trauma care, physical health, college readiness and financial literacy, Girls Inc. uses a combination of long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and evidence-based programming equipping girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers.
When it comes to their holistic approach, the results speak for themselves. From 2018 to 2019, Girls Inc. saw a 9.4% growth in the number of girls receiving their highest level of support. And to do this, the organization raised over $12 million, representing 3% more than the budgeted goal of $11.7 million.
But numbers only tell part of the story. Speaking with Tiffany about the work done at Girls Inc. provided the human element to this organization’s incredible story. It also shed some light on her impressive career.
In a career spanning theater associations and charitable organizations, Tiffany has dedicated herself to the nonprofit arena in working and leading organizations with a mission to improve the communities they serve. For the past three years, she’s served as CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta and has wasted no time in making her impact.
Her big picture goal has been to focus on making sure her Girls Inc. affiliate not only serves Cobb County, the location of their offices, but also the 13-county area that represents the entire greater Atlanta community. By dedicating more resources to host summits and community-at-large events in those neighborhoods, as well as increased outreach to raise awareness of the programming Girls Inc. has to offer, she’s making good on her goal to serve all of the communities in her organizational footprint. On the individual level, she’s taken great pride in developing her staff’s natural talents and soft and hard skills.
“I’m a big proponent of developing the next set of female leaders. So, I do that by working with our all-female staff. Because while I’d love for them to work here forever, I know someday they’ll leave to grow their careers. And when they do, I want their new employer to be blown away by the talent that comes out of Girls Inc.”
As Tiffany looks ahead to the future, she wants to see more women pour into the tech and STEM fields. She recognizes that as a society, we haven’t nurtured girls in these areas of study. Ultimately, Tiffany envisions a world where we don’t need special programming for women in STEM because they’ll have been taught those skills starting in kindergarten. In her eyes, that’s the kind of equality and level playing field we should all aspire.
Her greatest hope is that her work will remove some of the obstacles she’s faced throughout her career for the next generation. From never having to walk into a conference room and be asked, “Are you sure you’re in the right room?” to overcoming the stereotype that working for nonprofits is somehow less legitimate than working for a business, she’s creating seats at the table for women leaders yet to come.