How Storytelling Can Change the World — Starting With Our Girls

Reflections from the BCYF Learning Lab

At Women Leading Baltimore, we believe every girl has the right to speak up — and that her story matters.

Over the past three months, I had the privilege of participating in the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) Learning Lab on Storytelling — a space where nonprofit leaders, youth advocates, and community organizers gathered to explore how storytelling can drive impact. The Learning Lab culminated in an evening where each of us shared the stories of our organizations — not in the language of outcomes or data, but through the voices of the young people and families we serve.

I entered this space as the founder of a grassroots organization with a big heart and an even bigger mission: empower girls to lead the world. I left with a renewed understanding that stories — especially those from girls whose brilliance is too often overlooked — are the most powerful tools we have to change our communities.

Here’s what I shared that night — a reflection on why we do this work, what it means to me, and the girls whose voices fuel our mission every single day.

(And stay tuned — we’ll be sharing the full audio of this event soon!)

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Transcript of my speech

BCYF Learning Lab Final Showcase, June 3, 2025

When I started Women Leading Baltimore, I wasn’t trying to build an organization—I started it because I was once a girl searching for a way out—and a way in. A way out of limitations and poverty, and a way into something more promising than the struggles I watched my mother face raising four children in West Baltimore. Because in so many ways I am every girl we serve in our program.

And like many of them, I too was full of potential, but unsure of what was possible beyond what I saw every day. I didn’t know women who looked like me running businesses, leading meetings, or walking into boardrooms like they belonged there.

But I knew I wanted to be them and I wasn't how.

Has anyone else ever felt that way?

That's why I'll never forget the day I met Delya, a 10th grader in high school, clearly brilliant but already taught to shrink. It was my first year teaching high school when I met her covering her class and I already knew when I walked in I was expecting… yall know… uhhuh that thing right there. Because there was already this energy about her and I was told that this was one of them girls that would cuss you out, without thinking twice. But here is where I was surprised, she was so helpful. I came with the energy that I knew I wanted and it came right back . But it still surprised me three weeks later when Delya sent me an email during the school day that read 911. I write back “if it's an emergency, call the police.” She asks if I’m in my office, I respond yes and before I could look up from my computer Delya was standing in front of me but she wasn't alone.

If a kid wants to see me in the middle of the school day it's usually bcause theyre hungry so  I ask if they wanted snacks, they both shake their head no. And because I can be a bit off the cuff and I ask “what you pregnant…”

Jasmine shakes her head yes.

And in that moment when I could see fear on one child's face the trust of another 

In that moment where I could see it all coming together; the bravery that was necessary to share. The power it took to send that email. In that moment, I understood just a little bit more about not only who Delya was or Jasmine was. But so many of the girls that we all encounter every single day. 

While that day I gave advice, Delya gave me inspiration. Because she told me that the reason why she came to me even though we didn't have much of a relationship at the time was because she felt like I wouldn't judge. And for a young woman who has had her confidence shaken, struggling to focus in school and asking the question, “is there a place in the world for a girl like me…”

Here’s what we know… 

Through Women Leading Baltimore, Delya found sisterhood and self love. She was connected to a network of female mentors who showed up, consistently. She joined our Girls Ready to Lead program and discovered what it meant to own her story. And at our annual Career Day, she stood on stage—bold and brilliant—and told her story like a woman who had already begun leading the world.

And that’s exactly what we’re here to do. Because empowered girls lead the world.

But here’s what we know: Exposure matters.It’s hard to dream of what you’ve never seen.

That’s why we’re expanding our Women in the Workplace initiative—an experience that brings high school girls directly into real workplaces to shadow, ask questions, and see women in action.

And here’s where we need you. Yes, all of you.

We’re looking for partners who are ready to open their doors and welcome our girls for workplace visits, shadow days, and intentional time with your female professionals. We want them to see the depth of possibility—and we want your team to see the next generation of bold, brilliant talent.

So I’m asking: Can you host a group of girls this fall? Can you pair one lunch break with one powerful conversation? Can you be the kind of leader you needed when you were 16?

Because Delya’s story isn’t a miracle.It’s the model.It's what happens when you pour into a girl and tell her, "You were born to lead."

Because when you give a girl a mentor, when you give her access, when you give her exposure—you change everything. Head to womenleadingbaltimore.org and let us know you’re ready to help us expand the circle. 

Let’s deepen the impact. Let’s make sure the next generation of women isn’t just ready to lead… they’ve already started.

Empowered girls lead the world—and we’re inviting you to help them step into it.

Thank you.

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Stay tuned — we’ll be sharing the audio of this night soon, so you can hear the full story in my voice and in the voices of other incredible community leaders.

And if you believe in this mission — if you’re a woman, a girl, a corporate partner, a mother, a father, an auntie, a neighbor — we invite you to be part of this movement.

• Join us.

• Mentor with us.

• Partner with us.

 Let's make sure every girl knows: her voice matters. Her future is bright. And she was born to lead.

#EmpowerGirlsLeadTheWorld #WomenLeadingBaltimore #BCYFStorytelling

Ashley Gibbs (Executive Director of Women Leading Baltimore), her husband and their two children after sharing her founders story.