She has written for HuffPost, Ms. Magazine and Thrive Global, breaking down financial confidence, political awareness and young entrepreneurship for today's girls. and has just released her first book, "Être: Girls, Who Do You Want To Be?"  Please welcome former lawyer, guest lecturer at Columbia University and founder of Etre a new mentoring and resource for girls approaching high school, 


Key Takeaways:


Être means "To Be" in French, and the goal of this movement is to help today's girls figure out  who they want to be. 


By bringing girls directly into companies to meet strong female leaders face to face, they meet role models at an early - and crucial - age.  


Middle school is not too early to talk with girls about big topics like financial confidence, female mentorship, philanthropy and entrepreneurship. In fact, it's exactly the right time. 


 Illana wants "Every girl to raise her hand instead of lowering her standards."