Over the last 21 years at Girls on the Run, what I have heard most from the women who facilitate our curricula to the girls is “I wish I had this when I was young!” I feel the same way. I spent my first four decades with the ‘not enoughs’. Not smart enough, creative enough, competent enough – my inner critic was overpowering, and I did not have the confidence to try hard things. I was an Eeyore, ashamed of my failures and blaming others for my unhappiness. As such, the first twenty years of my professional life were unfulfilling. In 2002, at the age of 39, I had an ah-ha moment and FINALLY realized I was the author of MY story. I made an intentional decision to lead my life versus letting it lead me. I awakened to my inner power and knew I wanted to invest my time with people, ideas, and organizations that mattered to me. The first choice I made was to volunteer for Girls on the Run! At that time, Girls on the Run was a grassroots organization that had served 24,000 girls in its seven years of existence. Volunteering for Girls on the Run provided the purpose and meaning that was missing in my professional life, so much so that I took a leap of faith four years later in 2006 when asked to join the staff as COO. Two years later I was appointed CEO. That leap of faith was the best decision I ever made and seventeen years later, we have now served over 2.25 million girls in all 50 states and Canada! The greatest challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover how we can use our leadership gifts to serve others. I didn’t come to Girls on the Run envisioning myself as its future leader, I simply wanted to make a difference and share my talents in a meaningful way. I have been able to succeed at Girls on the Run because it brings me incredible purpose and allows me to work toward something I have deeply valued for my entire life. I am dedicated to overcoming the unjust barriers that girls and women continue to experience in our society simply because we are female. We are each the mosaic of all our experiences, and my reason for being on this planet is to make the world better for women.