Our History

In 1992, leaders from girl-serving organizations in the Greater Boston area founded the Girls’ Coalition of Greater Boston. Their goal was to leverage their collective ideas, resources, and commitment to girls. These leaders shared a belief in the value of collaboration and a common viewpoint that girls required specific and immediate attention.

The Coalition founders were concerned about diminishing financial resources to sustain their programs, and a political climate that challenged the value of single-sex services. They mobilized in response to research by Tufts scholar Molly Mead, who noted that then, as now, only a tiny percentage of all foundation dollars given to programs locally and nationally went to programs specifically aimed at girls and women. In 1992, for example, the figure was 5.7%; in 1999, it was 6.4%.

The experiences of these practitioners and the girls they served echoed research indicating that girls are underserved and that most youth programs are designed for boys, with girls as an "add- on." The Coalition founders believed then--and they believe today--that to effectively serve girls, programs must acknowledge and respond to gender-specific needs. Other research such as "How Schools Shortchange Girls," (a study commissioned by the American Association of University Women and conducted by the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women) and the work of Carol Gilligan and her colleagues at the Harvard Project on the Psychology of Women and the Development of Girls further motivated the Coalition’s establishment.

Initial goals included creating a vision of how local agencies could work together to improve services to girls; raising awareness of girls’ unique needs, perspectives, and resources; and streamlininge communication about programs, trainings, resources, and job and volunteer opportunities among Coalition members and the community at large. The group held its first public forum, "Girls: Are We Failing Them?" and published its first newsletter. These activities, along with the core values of leading by relationship and focusing on girls’ strengths, served as a blueprints for the Coalition’s ongoing development.

Founding members of the Girls’ Coalition include Jerry Martinson, executive director of Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, who has since been looked upon as the "founding mother" of the Coalition; Laura Watkins, executive director of Girl Scouts, Patriots’ Trail Council; Judi Bell, then executive director of Girls Inc. of Lynn; Marti Wilson Taylor, executive director of YWCA Boston; Megan Shea of Spar and Spindle Girl Scouts; Loretta Davis of Cambridge YWCA;, and a representative from the Harvard Community Health Plan Foundation.

For eight years the Coalition operated solely on the spirit and energy of its founders and volunteers. Its growth and consequent need for staff coincided with an offer of financial support from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Wheeler, then an active volunteer, was hired as the executive director in spring 2000 and continues in that role. The Coalition has maintained its independence, thanks to fiscal sponsorship from Girl Scouts, Patriots’ Trail Council (current) and the Wellesley Centers for Women (past). Its lifeblood of remains its Leadership Council and its many active members and funders, all of whom generously give of their time and resources.

Today, the Girls’ Coalition upholds the founders’ vision of expanding and enhancing the quality of girls' programs by building a stronger sense of community among the adults who work with, mentor, and parent girls, and by providing opportunities for professional development, collaboration, and advocacy on behalf of girls and girls’ programs. For information about current activities, see About Us.

For more about the Coalition’s history, visit the "Girl Matters" News section of this website, especifically the "What Works?" column on pages 4-5 of the Summer 2002 issue.