Confidence Workshops Empower Girls to Pursue STEM

Laila Tai, PMP, Director of Individual Giving and Corporate Partnership at Girls Inc., headquartered in NYC, and Risa Rose, Director of Professional Relations at Allergan Aesthetics discuss the Girls Inc. and Allergan Aesthetics partnership to bring “Empowering Confidence Workshops”, now in its third year, to high school-aged girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics). The two-part mentoring program is designed to provide STEM-interested mentees from underserved communities in New York, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, with the tips and tools they need to feel empowered and confident as they look towards their future education and career goals. Laila and Risa are joined by Dr. Caroline Robinson, board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist and founder of Tone Dermatology in Chicago, who shares her own experience looking for a STEM role model, her road to dermatology, and what it means to her to be a mentor to young women. 

Laila Tai, PMP, is the Director Of Individual Giving and Corporate Partnerships at Girls Inc. ​headquartered in New York, New York. Laila drives funding initiatives that support Girls Inc.’s comprehensive approach to whole girl development that equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. Before Girls Inc, Laila was the Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships for Susan G. Komen, Greater New York, and before that the Development Director for the Arthritis Foundation. Laila received her bachelor’s degree in Communications and Women’s Studies from Boston College.

Risa Rose is the Director of Professional Relations at Allergan Aesthetics, where she has held positions since 2005. Risa is the co-architect of the Girls Inc and Allergan Aesthetics curriculum for the Empowering Confidence Workshops, which are designed to provide STEM-interested girls, ages 13 – 18, with the tips and tools they need to feel empowered and confident as they look towards their future education and career goals. The program has presented workshops in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York City for the past three years.

Dr. Caroline Robinson, Founder of Tone Dermatology. Dr. Robinson is a board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist in Chicago with subspecialty expertise in alopecia, preventative skincare, and ethnic skin dermatology. She is a graduate of Cornell University and University of Louisville, where she obtained her medical degree. Dr. Robinson is active in such organizations as the Skin of Color Society, Women’s Dermatologic Society as well as the American Academy of Dermatology.