"Adolescent girls need a safe space for self discovery and support, that's why I believe being a mentor with WYSE is vital." -- WYSE Mentor

"WYSE has given me information I couldn't get from school, my parents or my friends; this has helped me make mature decisions" -- WYSE mentee

Her Story

WYSE was founded by three UCLA students in 1992 who after working with homeless families, were alarmed by the fact that the fastest growing population among the homeless was single mothers and their children. They designed the WYSE program initially to prevent teenage pregnancy and single motherhood by providing young women with contraceptive information. As they organized other students, the group found that teenage pregnancy was just one of the many issues middle and high school girls faced. Low self-esteem, a lack of awareness of future options, and violence in their communities were among many other issues preventing young women from achieving their greatest potential. Thus, over the next five years WYSE developed from simple after-school sessions to include a comprehensive year-long curriculum striving to inform girls of all the issues that can contribute to their disempowerment.

With the graduation of the founders from UCLA, WYSE's national expansion began. First it went to Yale and UC Berkeley, then to Stanford, the University of Chicago, Harvard, USC, CSU Northridge, and eventually to NYU and CSU Long Beach. In 1995, WYSE hired our first paid staff member to provide national support to the various local student-run branches, and in 1997, received generous funding from the California Wellness Foundation to initiate the National Resource Office which would provide much needed branch support and technical assistance.

Today, the WYSE National Resource Office is guided by the WYSE Board of Directors. We have succeeded in providing more than 700 young women with critical information and leadership development, and challenged them to take action to inspire positive change in their communities. Several of these young women are now high school and college students who continue to participate in the program, or have become involved in decision-making for the organization as a whole. Together, we make up the WYSE National Movement calling for a better future for women, girls, and the communities in which they live.