Strong. Smart. Bold. Three qualities that Girls Incorporated of Upper Canada inspires all girls to possess. Strong. Smart. Bold. Three qualities that describe Girls Inc.’s Executive Director, Lesley Hubbard.

Lesley has been the Executive Director since September 2006. In this leadership role, she provides direction to staff, implements the Board’s policies and plans and designs programs to respond to the community’s needs.

As she is still a young woman herself, Lesley understands the societal pressures that girls face. This motivates her to bring girls’ issues to the forefront and raise awareness of the pressures that girls face.

Lesley is proud of the girls she works with and the positive changes they have made in their lives as a result of Girls Inc. programming. This is evident in many ways. As an example, she shared a story from their Media Smarts Day Camp. This camp is designed to educate girls on media literacy so they can intelligently interpret the messages. At the end of the week-long program, the girls were asked to write messages in each other’s journals. All of these girls came from different social and economic backgrounds and as a result, had their differences. But the messages they wrote to each other were so thoughtful and respectful, Lesley knew they had experienced real growth.

All of the programs have the same results. “It is so amazing to see the girls grow stronger and increase their self-confidence as a result of the programs,” says Lesley. Many of the girls go on to accomplish great things in life - accomplishments that were unforeseeable before involvement with Girls Inc.

Girls Incorporated of Upper Canada has been a member agency of United Way for the last 28 years. “This support has been more than financial,” states Hubbard. “United Way has shared resources and donated Gift In Kind supplies. Also, by being affiliated with United Way, there is increased community awareness of Girls Inc.” United Way is proud to be affiliated with such an important agency and hopes that you support United Way so we can continue to foster this relationship.