Girls’
Education

In 1996, Student Leadership Network opened the United States’ first all-girls public school in 30 years, The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem. The success of our NYC TYWLS then inspired dozens of single-gender Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) schools to open nationwide, further advancing our work towards gender equity. Today we impact approximately 10,000 students every year across the country.

Core Pillars

Developing Tomorrow’s
Leaders Today

Our vision was to provide girls and gender-expansive youth growing up in underserved communities with a high-quality college preparatory education based on the finest private school models. Our Whole Girl Education framework supports and inspires the leaders of tomorrow’s competence in four core areas:

Leadership

Respect for yourself and others, striving for personal and academic excellence, and commitment to service that affects positive social change.

Leadership

Early College & Career Awareness

Access to our CollegeBound Initiative directors of college counseling as early as 6th grade and interactions with professionals from a variety of fields.

Early College & Career Awareness

Health & Wellness

Enhanced understanding of nutrition, emotional wellbeing, trauma recovery, and physical fitness for our students, teachers, and administrators.

Health & Wellness

STEM

A rigorous academic track in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) with a focus on computer science.

STEM
Programs:
TYWLS logo

The Young Women’s Leadership Schools

The Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS) are public secondary schools for grades 6–12 that promote high-quality student learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. Our schools provide a single-gender educational choice for students who are often the first in their families to attend college. Students are admitted based on their interest in and commitment to obtaining a single-gender college-preparatory education. TYWLS are open to girls and gender-expansive youth of all academic abilities.

Girls’ Education research guides our TYWLS model, and our schools combine the best practices of all-girls education with effective strategies that address the array of challenges faced by at-risk students. The result is an academically rigorous program fused with strong social-emotional support that forms the basis of TYWLS’ Whole Girl Education framework. TYWLS graduates complete a degree in STEM-related fields at nearly twice the rate of young women nationally.

Program Details

How We Support Our Schools
SL Network provides TYWLS’ students, teachers, and administrators with opportunities, support, and resources that enhance teaching and learning.

Students

  • SL Network’s signature college guidance program, CollegeBound Initiative (CBI), is a major component of success at our schools. When each TYWLS school grows to include tenth grade, SL Network places a CBI director of college counseling in the school to implement a comprehensive early college awareness and college guidance program.
  • Network-wide events are planned for students in grades 6–12 to enhance their college and career preparedness.
  • Extended-day and yearlong enrichment programs focused around SL Network’s core areas allow our students to expand their learning beyond the classroom.

Teachers

  • TYWLS teachers receive many opportunities for professional development, including new teacher onboarding and network-wide collaborative meetings to share best practices.
  • To support and recognize high-quality teaching, SL Network funds curriculum grants for teachers’ classroom innovations and sponsors incentive programs, such as teaching awards and travel grants.

Principals

  • SL Network offers TYWLS principals individualized mentoring, funding for specialized professional development, an annual Principals’ Retreat, and a Summer Planning Institute to facilitate academic year preparations.

If you are a student or a caretaker of a student interested in attending TYWLS, please note that each school hosts open houses for prospective students. Contact the school directly for open house dates and to sign up.

YWLN

Young Women’s Leadership Network

Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) is a national network of single-gender public schools providing an excellent whole model education that challenges the educational and gender inequities that persist in our country. Since 2001, our YWLN  footprint has grown to include affiliate schools in California, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, and our partner network – the Young Women’s Preparatory Network (YWPN) – in Texas.

Program Details

How We Support YWLN Schools
Our support encompasses board members, school leaders, teachers, and students. All our services consider the social, emotional, and educational needs of girls and gender-expansive youth.

  • 100% of our YWLN affiliate schools have received approval on their new school applications (charter or district) the first time they applied.
  • 100% of affiliate schools have had their charters renewed since establishing partnership with YWLN.
  • 100% of participants in our 2020 Leadership Development Series training reported that “I left with practices or ideas that are helpful to me or my school.”
  • 96% of the class of 2020 at our affiliate schools graduated on time, and were accepted to college.
  • 100% of the Class of 2020 from our partner network, the Young Women’s Preparatory Network, graduated from high school and were accepted to college.
Incoming sixth graders of The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria. (Photo courtesy of TYWLS)

The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria parent organization celebrates 25 years

With a 94% college enrollment rate and top competitors in STEM extracurricular activities, The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria (TYWLSA) has a lot to be proud of.

Read more

The Latest

25th Anniversary

Join us in celebrating 25 years of history, impact, and expertise in equalizing education for students across the country.

YWLA unveils new STEM Center

By Midland Reporter-Telegram StaffPublished on March 3, 2022 The Young Women’s Leadership Academy unveiled its new STEM Center on Thursday morning. XTO Energy, Diamondback Energy and the Cal Ripken Sr. […]

Women’s History Month: The Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx

By News 12 StaffPublished on March 1, 2022 Tuesday marked the first day of Women’s History Month and News 12 is spotlighting the Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx. […]

Join Us in Driving Gender Equity!

Want to learn more about our Whole Girl Education framework and help us bring academically rigorous programs fused with strong social-emotional support to girls and gender-expansive youth across the country?

Contact us!

Partners

Sara Clarke

Chief Operating Officer

Sara C. Clarke is the Chief Operating Officer of Student Leadership Network. As a dedicated TYWLS volunteer and active contributor for 15 years, Sara is delighted to join the organization to apply her collaborative leadership and business acumen to help drive increased scale and impact. She brings over 20 years of experience at the confluence of strategic analysis, project management, and talent development. Sara has a proven commitment to equity and access to opportunity through decades of volunteer leadership focused on literacy, education, and career advancement.

Sara was most recently the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Analysis, and Collaboration at Showtime Networks Inc. She oversaw an adaptable, solution-oriented team, providing competitive analysis and strategic recommendations that helped Showtime exceed its performance targets. Earlier in her career, Sara was a consultant for Accenture in the Media and Entertainment practice. She serves as Co-President of the HBS African-American Alumni Association and has also served on the Board of Directors of the New York Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications, chairing the award-winning Prime Access Executive Mentoring program and community service committee.

Sara holds a master’s degree from Harvard Business School in Business Administration, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University.

Meg Kayman

Managing Director, Finance and Administration

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Meg is the Managing Director of Finance and Administration and has been with the organization since March 2009.  During that period, the organization has grown from a budget of $3.5 million to $11.0 million. She is part of the Administration Team which is responsible for building infrastructure to support the growing needs of the organization.

Prior to Student Leadership Network, Meg worked in the Financial Services Industry including positions as an equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs and a senior research analyst at General Electric’s Commercial Finance Division.  She also has been an active volunteer with numerous non-profit organizations and a board member of the HIV Law Project from 2005 to 2013.  She holds a B.A. in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University.

Funmilayo Brown

Managing Director, Development

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Funmilayo Brown serves as the Managing Director of Development. Upon earning her BA from Oberlin College, Funmilayo began her career in development at New York Presbyterian Hospital in the annual fund and then in major gifts. After five years in the role, Funmilayo pursued her MPA in Financial Management at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. Wanting to deepen her financial acumen, Funmilayo transitioned to the private sector and joined JPMorgan as a VP, Financial Investment Advisor.

In 2011, Funmilayo joined Choices in Childbirth (CiC) as its Executive Director (ED), returning to her passion of serving women and children. As ED, she scaled the organization’s startup budget by 40%, established an individual giving program, and re-shaped programming, positioning the organization to better receive grants. Funmilayo also worked with the founder and board of directors to help the organization systematize its operations. In 2012, she transitioned to Carter Burden Center for the Aging (CBCA) as its Director of Development. Funmilayo developed and led a strategic fundraising plan that enabled CBCA to scale its budget from $4M to $7M in three years. Most recently, Funmilayo served as the Chief Advancement Officer at Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), where she led the organization’s external relations, development, partnerships, and expansion, enabling the organization to double its budget from $3.4M in 2015 to more than $7M in 2017. Funmilayo has a deep passion for Student Leadership Network’s mission and focus on gender equality, and firmly believes equalizing education is key to disrupting the cycle of poverty.

Rob Robinson

Senior Managing Director, Programs and High School Partnerships

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Robert Robinson is the Senior Managing Director of CollegeBound Initiative (CBI). Prior to joining Student Leadership Network’s central office team in 2008, he served as director of college counseling for CBI at two Brooklyn high schools: Juan Morel Campos and Middle College High School at Medgar Evers College. As a college counselor, Robert worked primarily with first-generation students of color with the goal of preparing them academically and financially for college enrollment. Before joining CBI, Robert served as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at his Alma Mater, New York University (NYU) for nearly four years where he worked specifically with the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) in an effort to increase minority and financially disadvantaged student enrollment.

Robert received both his Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and his Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from NYU.  He has also spent a summer in South Africa where he had the opportunity to study higher education and social reform. Robert prides himself on being an active member of his community.  He has volunteered with various non-profit organizations such as Grand Street Settlement and Publicolor. As a member of the New York State Association for College Admissions Counseling (NYSACAC), he has served as a Conference Presenter, Workshop Moderator and Planning Committee member. He has also served as a Summer Institute Mentor where his responsibilities included training new high school and college admissions counselors.

Laura Rebell Gross

Senior Managing Director, Girls’ Education National Team

[email protected]

Laura Rebell Gross is the Senior Managing Director for the Girls’ Education National Team — comprising The Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS) and Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) — which serves more than 10,000 students every year. A leader in the education field for decades, Laura implements a vision for developing innovative programs that enrich students’ lives, create experiential leadership opportunities, and build a path to college. Her expertise is widely recognized and she has been honored by Jewish Women International and The Center for the Women of New York. Laura is a national speaker and expert on girls’ public education.

To impact the lives of girls beyond New York City, Laura co-founded the Young Women’s Charter Prep School of Rochester, a YWLN affiliate, and takes the lead in identifying and establishing new school affiliates nationwide. Notably, Laura’s path to leadership started as a public school teacher, including serving as an English teacher at SL Network’s flagship school in East Harlem for six years.  She earned a BA from Tufts University, an MAT from Brown University, and has completed coursework toward an Ed. D. in Curriculum and Teaching at Teacher’s College, Columbia University and the Warner School, University of Rochester.

Jon Roure

Executive VP & Chief Innovation Officer

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Jon Roure is the Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) for the Student Leadership Network. As the organization’s first CIO, Jon oversees program planning and implementation across the network. He continues to provide overall leadership to CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) while developing the work streams that support the organization’s strategic planning efforts. This includes increased focus and programming around alumni engagement, research and evaluation, and national expansion via Young Women’s Leadership Network affiliate schools.

Prior to this year, Jon served as the Senior Managing Director of CBI for many years and totals decades of college counseling and management experience in both the higher education and nonprofit sectors. Jon began his career at Columbia University as an Early Intervention Initiative Coordinator for the Double Discovery Program and a College Advisor for Columbia’s Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). In 2001, Jon was hired by SL Network (formerly Young Women’s Leadership Network) as one of four inaugural counselors to pilot CBI in some of New York City’s Title 1 public high schools.  He served as a CBI director of college counseling at Health Opportunities High School for almost five years where he worked to build a college-going culture with its families, faculty, and staff that helped guide nearly 400 students to college.

Jon holds a B.A. in Sociology (1998) with a minor in Professional Youth Work from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Student Personnel Administration (1999) from Teachers College, Columbia University.  He is a proud alumnus of the Educational Opportunity Fund Program (EOF) at Rutgers University and is an example of what opportunity and access to higher education can do for first generation students.

Lesley Guggenheim

Chief Operating Officer

[email protected]

Prior to joining Student Leadership Network Lesley spent 15 years supporting school systems, schools, and educators across the country to ensure students in under-resourced schools have access to the excellent education they deserve. She began her career working at – and later leading – the NYC Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) program and later became a Partner and then a Vice President at TNTP (formerly The New Teaching Project). Lesley has a BA in political science from Union College and an MPA in non-profit management from New York University’s Wagner School.

Yolonda Marshall

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

Yolonda Marshall has committed more than a decade of her life working to ensure that children growing up in underserved communities across the country receive the education they deserve.  She is Student Leadership Network’s first-ever Chief Executive Officer charged with overseeing the management of the organization’s $11M budget, leading the implementation of the organization’s strategic direction, operations and ensuring that the organization is a great place to work and grow.

Prior to joining Student Leadership Network, Mrs. Marshall served as the Deputy Chief Officer, Regional Programs for New Leaders; an organization whose mission is to ensure high academic achievement for all children, especially students in poverty and students of color, by developing transformational school leaders and advancing the policies and practices that allow great leaders to succeed.  In this role, Mrs. Marshall was responsible for managing a team of Executive Directors who led all local program implementation, client engagement and management of 70+ staff across the country.

Mrs. Marshall began her education non-profit career with Teach For America where she held a number of leadership roles on their national development and human assets team, and also served as Interim Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia region. Prior to joining Teach For America, Mrs. Marshall had a 14 year career with Showtime Networks Inc where she honed her sales and marketing skills, provided strategic direction to the nation’s top cable companies and managed a team of marketing specialists that created and executed comprehensive marketing plans to help launch critically acclaimed and Emmy award winning programming.

Mrs. Marshall received her BS degree in Marketing from Tuskegee University and her MBA with a concentration in Marketing and Media Management from Columbia Business School.

Jennifer Powers

Board Chair

Jennifer Powers joined Student Leadership Network’s Board of Directors in 2012 and was elected Board Chair in 2015.  Her leadership has been critical to the organization’s financial and strategic growth.  She believes passionately in equity for all students, and as a graduate of a women’s college, has personally experienced the benefits of a single-sex education.

Ms. Powers joined Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in 2017 as a Partner and Chair of GIP Credit. She focuses on the strategic direction of GIP’s credit business with aim to expand and build out GIP’s credit business into one of the market leaders in infrastructure debt financing.

Prior to joining GIP, Ms. Powers was co-head of Investment Grade Debt Capital Markets at Mizuho Bank. Prior to Mizuho, Jennifer was a founding member of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Credit Markets Business. Ms. Powers also spent 12 years in the energy investment banking and capital markets teams at Credit Suisse. She has extensive experience and client relationships, having spent her career advising and financing clients in the energy and broader infrastructure sectors. Ms. Powers has played a lead role in over $60 billion of infrastructure debt financings. Ms. Powers holds a B.A. in Economics (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude) from Barnard College and is based in New York City.

Ann Rubenstein Tisch

Founder and President

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Ann began a 19-year career in broadcast journalism at WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas. She then moved to WCOO-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later joined NBC Network News as a national correspondent, where she developed a strong interest in educational issues.

After covering dozens of education stories for the network and reading and studying data on single-sex education, she was inspired to create an all-girls inner-city public school to serve disadvantaged families. In 1996, with the unanimous approval of the New York City Board of Education, Ann turned her idea into a reality and opened The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem – the first public all-girls school to open in the United States in 30 years. Her vision was to provide students growing up in underserved communities a high-quality college preparatory education modeled on the finest private schools.

Ann was educated at Washington University in St. Louis, where she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in psychology and sociology. She currently serves as a trustee on the Board of Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves on the Dean’s Council of The New York University Tisch School of the Arts and is a trustee of the Center for Educational Innovation. She consults with many school districts and parent groups across the country about creating schools similar to TYWLS.

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