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Femme it Forward Hosts My Sister’s Keeper Empowerment Summit for Next Gem Femme Community in Atlanta

IMPRINTent, IMPRINT Entertainment, Femme It Forward, Live Nation, Lede Company, My Sister's Keeper, Atlanta, Entertainment Company, Music, mentorship program, Next Gem Femme, Heather Lowery, DJ OHSO, Spelman College, Flyana Boss, Janelle Monáe, Fox Theatre, Flo Milli, Ebonie Ward, Gloss Up, Layton Green, Google Pixel,

Femme It Forward, a female-led music and entertainment company, hosted the first ever My Sister’s Keeper (MSK) Empowerment Summit for participants in Next Gem Femme, a leading mentorship program aimed at accelerating career opportunities and trajectories of young women of color. Held in Atlanta, GA, MSK strives to eliminate the opportunity gaps and systemic hurdles that exist for young women of color by building a safe space to learn, grow, and thrive. 

With the Next Gem Femme community located across the United States, MSK presented a unique and exciting opportunity for participants in the program to meaningfully connect, strengthen relationships, and network in person. MSK’s programming provided unprecedented access and opportunities to the next generation of women leaders through a welcome mixer, interactive panels, workshops, and intentional networking, all heavily focused on professional and personal development.

“Through Next Gem Femme, we’ve seen the power and joy of connecting ambitious young women with women who truly want to help them. Proactively creating opportunities for their success is essential to dismantling the structural barriers that keep talented women of color from reaching their full potentials in the workforce.” said Heather Lowery, President & CEO at Femme It Forward. “With My Sister’s Keeper, we were thrilled to finally bring this remarkable community together in person. It was a beautiful weekend full of fun and impactful programming that will empower our wonderful community members.”

Upon arrival on Friday, MSK attendees enjoyed a welcome mixer with DJ OHSO, followed by a meet and greet at Spelman College with hip hop duo Flyana Boss and then a Janelle Monáe concert at the Fox Theatre. On Saturday at The Gathering Spot, attendees learned from an extensive array of interactive panels, covering topics like career journey mapping, financial empowerment, entrepreneurship, mental wellness, and work/life balance. Flo Milli and her manager Ebonie Ward (Chairwoman, CEO, Founder of 11th & Co) spoke on the “Creative Currency” panel, which focused on how to merge creative passions with professional pursuits. Through “Speed Mentoring and Office Hours,” mentors held one-on-one meetings to offer mentees professional advice on their career journey and development. The day was capped off by a “Moms in Music” private dinner with Gloss Up and Layton Green as well as a Flo Military album listening slumber party for Flo Milli’s forthcoming album, “Fine Ho, Stay” at Culture Lab.  

In partnership with Google Pixel, Femme It Forward announced the recipients of the Femme It Future Scholarship, the first scholarship since the inception of the Next Gem Femme mentorship program. This empowering initiative – awarded to Angel Opoku Agyeman (Howard University), Mia Gutierrez-Huang (Brown University), Asia Jones (Full Sail University), Shantel Teixeira (Berklee College of Music) and Tylea Wilson (Missouri State University) – grants these select mentees an impactful scholarship, creating a platform for them to soar to new heights in pursuit of their dreams. At the summit’s Real Tone Lab by Google Pixel, MSK attendees were provided with portraits and headshots courtesy of Google Pixel. 

Femme It Forward first launched the Next Gem Femme (NGF) mentorship program in 2021 in an effort to accelerate career opportunities and the trajectory for women of color in the workplace. The flagship eight-month mentorship cycle and program is designed to pair promising talent with successful women who are currently at the forefront of their fields. Over 150 leading industry executives signed on as mentors from an impressive and vast list of companies, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, iHeart Media, Spotify, Atlantic Records, CAA, and more. To date, the program has enrolled 600 women of color as mentees, including 150 current students and alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. MSK united the Next Gem Femme mentees with their mentors in person for the first time since the program’s launch.

“I am incredibly proud to help open doors and share what I’ve learned during my career through Next Gem Femme, a program that has established itself as one of the leading resources for young women of color,” said Ebonie Ward, CEO of 11th and Co and Next Gem Femme Mentor. “After connecting with my mentees and some fellow mentors, I had so much fun meeting more incredible Next Gem Femme women in Atlanta.”

Developed to jumpstart the careers of the young and talented, MSK also featured an intimate job fair – created in partnership with Live Nation, Sony Music, and Propel – that connected attendees to influential companies across music, media, advertising, tech, and more. Attendees had the opportunity to meet with potential employers, have their resumes workshopped, and seek professional advice on their career journeys.