Acts of Transformation

By Rachael Powles '22, February 28, 2022

BOLD Women’s Leadership Network receives $2 million grant.

BOLD Scholars work with Khuba International, a nonprofit in Ithaca dedicated to teaching children about sustainable agriculture.

(Photo submitted)

The Ithaca College chapter of the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network has received a $2 million grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation to fund the expansion of the program through 2026.

The grant will be used to fund the sixth and seventh cohorts of BOLD Scholars through their time at IC and in their first year after graduation. Thanks to the extra money, the program will be able to admit 10 students in each cohort, up from eight in previous cohorts. Each student is eligible for up to $27,500 in scholarships to aid them in their academic pursuits.

“The Foundation’s ongoing investment enables us to continue to participate in a program that supports courage and authenticity among our scholars and manifests real change within our campus community.”

Interim president La Jerne Terry Cornish

“The Foundation’s ongoing investment enables us to continue to participate in a program that supports courage and authenticity among our scholars and manifests real change within our campus community,” said interim president La Jerne Terry Cornish. “I’m very appreciative of the Foundation’s unwavering belief in and commitment to sustaining this transformative program at Ithaca College.”

Since the inception of the program in 2017, BOLD has empowered women at IC through community engagement. Program director Samantha Elebiary hopes this new grant can also be used to build up the program’s robust alumni network and allow current scholars to establish deeper connections in the professional world.

“We’re constantly thinking of ways to include program alumnae and ways for them to support students through workshops, mentorships, or networking opportunities,” says Elebiary.

“To be given the opportunity to make a lasting change on campus and in the greater Ithaca area is something that I am extremely grateful for. I hope that BOLD can continue to be an intersection for amazing women to meet and collaborate, create and build off one another.”

Seidy Bobadilla ’22

Scholar Seidy Bobadilla ’22 is hopeful that the grant will allow other students to have a similar positive experience in the program

“I knew other students who had been a part of the cohorts before mine and I looked up to them and wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself where I could interact with other women with leadership positions,” she said. “To be given the opportunity to make a lasting change on campus and in the greater Ithaca area is something that I am extremely grateful for. I hope that BOLD can continue to be an intersection for amazing women to meet and collaborate, create and build off one another.”

In addition to expanding the size of the program, the grant also ensures that the BOLD transformation project, an aspect of the program that is unique to the IC chapter, will continue to be available. During their junior year, scholars work together to write grant proposals that will be used to create positive social change on campus or within the local community. They then complete the selected project in their senior year.

“What I really hope for is that the program and its participants continue dreaming bigger and bigger about what’s possible for community transformation and individual achievement.”

Makiyah Adams ’23

The program’s current cohort of seniors is working this year alongside BOLD alumna Daniela Rivero ’21 at Khuba International. The Tompkins County-based nonprofit aims to educate school children in sustainable agricultural practices.

Scholar Makiyah Adams ’23 says she hopes future cohorts can bring similar lasting change to the Ithaca community.

“What I really hope for is that the program and its participants continue dreaming bigger and bigger about what’s possible for community transformation and individual achievement,” she said. “The three core values of BOLD are courage, authenticity, and vision. I hope that future cohorts really internalize and embody these values, each one more audaciously than the last.”