Interviews with purpose-driven leaders who are dedicated to helping others and making a positive impact in the world.
April 11, 2024
Tola L. | Gyrl Wonder
Tola L. is the Founder and Executive Director of Gyrl Wonder Inc. Follow on Instagram and LinkedIn and learn more at gyrlwonder.org.
TELL US, WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?
Hi, my name is Tola L. (I don’t like to share my last name) and I am the founder of Gyrl Wonder Inc., a national nonprofit that helps young girls of color get into the creative industries. My mission is to create access and opportunities for young adults who want to be in creative fields but don’t know how to get there and then expose them to these roles and opportunities that they didn’t even know they had access to.
HOW DID YOU GET HERE?
My background is in marketing, entertainment, and branding. While I was working at MTV, BET, and Ciroc, I spoke at high schools and colleges to let young adults know that it would behoove them to take advantage of internships and get experience while they were still in school. I loved this work, speaking to college and high school students. Eventually one of my sorority sisters asked me to create an organization at her high school, and I eventually got an offer to interview for a role at that school. I became the assistant director of college success, so I was able to build Gyrl Wonder from that. I really had a career pivot. I spent 10-plus years in entertainment, then was laid off, but I tried not to fight it too much. I just paid attention to the path of least resistance.
Tola L. is the Founder and Executive Director of Gyrl Wonder Inc. Follow on Instagram and LinkedIn and learn more at gyrlwonder.org.
The funny thing about Gyrl Wonder was I had a domain, gyrlwonder.org, since about 2008 when I was a serial domain hoarder. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. In 2015, when I was given the opportunity to create an experience for these young girls at this high school in Brooklyn, I thought it was time to do something with the domain; God was definitely setting me up for a path that I had absolutely no clue where I would go.
WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR? WHY IS THIS WORK IMPORTANT TO YOU?
We’re just making sure that our students in the next generation of girl leaders are prepared for the real world. The formal college education system does a great job of preparing us academically. But where do we pick up those real-life skills? I stand for just making sure that the girls in our organization are well-rounded and prepared for the ebbs and flows of life in the real world. It can be painful, it can daunting, but it also can be exciting. I want them to be excited about it, but I also want them to be prepared for the pivots and the gut punches when they do happen. My mission is to prepare holistic members of society and do my part.
WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?
Before 2020, it was a passion project. Over the last nine years, we’ve given upwards of $70,000 in scholarships. We’ve done more than 150 programs, we just launched our mentorship program with 30+ mentors and top companies like Target, Atlantic Records, and NBC Universal. We reach more than 20,000 girls across all our social platforms. I’ve secured at least 40 or 50 internships over the last couple of years.
WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO DO THIS WORK?
The girls of this organization inspire me. There are times it’s like parenting, and I’m not even a parent. Parents say it’s such a thankless job, and sometimes I feel like this is also a thankless job. However, there are times when girls send text messages and DMs, thanking me for the work I’m doing. That’s what keeps me going, and that’s what keeps me inspired and excited to do this work: the results. The girls who are in this program and girls who wear Gyrl Wonder on their backs, champion the organization more than I do. Anytime something goes up, these girls are sharing it. They inspire me.
WHAT’S YOUR VISION, YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?
As we gear up for year 10, I want to get 100 girls signed up for some form of self-care and therapy. We launched our mental health initiative, “Wholistically Me,” in 2021. I realized that not everybody was ready for talk therapy, so I had to figure out other ways to get them to therapize, if you will. Self-care can be scary, and not all of them are ready for that. So I need to figure out other ways to get them to tap into self-care. One of the goals for next year is to have 100 girls sign up for some type of mental health service and another 100 to participate in our financial literacy program that will be rolled out next year. Essentially Gyrl Wonder began as a pipeline organization, helping girls secure internships and early career opportunities. But the pandemic made me realize that before I send you out into the real world I have to ensure that you’re a whole holistic human being. We created this cocoon programming with “Wholistically Me” and then I realized they needed to learn how to manage their money and make their money work for them. And I’ll also be focused on continuing to help corporate America diversify the entry-level talent pool.
WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING?
I want to say our challenge is rapid growth for such a small team of four or five people. A lot of people think that we are this huge company. People management is the hardest part of being an entrepreneur, being a leader, and running your own business. Right now, one of the biggest challenges is just looking across the board and seeing that all these DEI departments and social responsibility / social impact departments are being disbanded at companies. That’s where we generally get our support. Now we have to shift our efforts to grants, and I’d never applied for grants before this year. It was all corporate partnerships or sponsorships. But I’m learning, I’m very solutions-driven. We’re just trying to figure out how to do more without burning ourselves out.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CAUSE AND/OR THE WORK YOU’RE DOING?
This work is needed. Gen Z is an interesting bunch. They need a lot of help. I think growing up in the digital age has skewed their perception of reality, what they see on social media is everybody’s highlight reel. What they don’t understand are the 10,000 shots that people had to take before they got to the pretty picture. I would love people to support and continue to support organizations that are actually on the ground trying to do this work and prepare the next generation of leaders. They have so many things working against them, and organizations need support from individuals who are continuing to prepare the next generation, or else we are in trouble.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE OR WORDS OF INSPIRATION TO SHARE?
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle—when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
From Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?
You can find us on GyrlWonder.org. We have different opportunities for people to support us through corporate volunteerism or financial contributions. You can share our posts or sign up for our newsletter. All of that is linked on our social platforms. Gather up the girls. If you know a young lady who would benefit from the work that we’re doing at Gyrl Wonder, please share it with her. We’re always looking for new girls who will show up and appreciate the work that we’re doing.
At Orapin, we believe those who are working for the greater good should be known, supported, and celebrated. We help purpose-driven organizations generate consistent media coverage and thought leadership opportunities to increase awareness, influence, and impact. If would like to be featured in INSPIRED IMPACT™, reach out to hello@orapin.co.