At Girl Up, youth leadership isn’t something we prepare girls for someday.
It’s something we invest in now.
For 15 years, Girl Up has powered a global movement of young leaders advancing gender justice in their communities and beyond. As the movement has grown, so has our commitment to ensuring that young people are not just shaping change, but helping guide how that change is built.
That belief is at the core of Girl Up’s strategic vision: to be truly youth-led, grounded in intergenerational leadership, and designed to share power at every level.
That’s why, in 2026, Girl Up appointed its first-ever Chief Youth Advisors — Rym Badran and Valeria Colunga — to join the organization’s executive leadership.
Not as symbolic voices.
As decision-makers.
Rym and Valeria bring deep expertise, lived experience, and a clear understanding of what young people need — not just to participate, but to lead. Their leadership is already shaping how we think, how we partner, and how we move forward.
“These roles reflect a fundamental shift in how we lead,” said My Lo Cook, Girl Up Co-CEO. “Rym and Valeria bring deep expertise, lived experience, and a clear understanding of what young people need — not just to participate, but to lead. Their leadership is already shaping how we think, how we partner, and how we move forward.”
Together, Rym and Valeria contribute to strategy, partnerships, and organizational priorities, ensuring that Girl Up’s work reflects the realities, ambitions, and insights of the young people at the center of the movement.
Because intergenerational leadership isn’t about representation.
It’s about shared responsibility and shared power.
Meet Rym Badran
Rym Badran is a youth advocate, policy researcher, and feminist organizer from Beirut, Lebanon, working at the intersection of gender equality, digital rights, and public policy.
Her journey with Girl Up began as a teenager. She went on to found Girl Up Lebanon and Girl Up Arab World, mobilizing adolescent girls across the region through leadership programs, advocacy campaigns, and policy engagement.
Rym has bridged grassroots organizing with global policy spaces, contributing to work on digital governance, youth participation, and gender equality alongside partners including UN Women, Oxfam, and the Malala Fund.
Now, as Chief Youth Advisor, she brings that same approach to Girl Up’s global strategy.
Girl Up’s new strategic vision shows that we’re putting action behind our words
“Girl Up’s new strategic vision shows that we’re putting action behind our words,” Rym shared. “It reflects a deep commitment to collaboration and to building a future where young people are not just included, but are helping lead the way forward.” Rym’s leadership is grounded in a clear belief: when youth voices are embedded in decision-making, the outcomes are stronger and more sustainable.
Meet Valeria Colunga
Valeria Colunga is an international consultant, social entrepreneur, and advocate working at the intersection of policy, research, and global development.
Her relationship with Girl Up spans nearly a decade — beginning as a youth leader and evolving into a role on the Global Advisory Committee where she helped shape strategy for a global community of hundreds of thousands of young leaders.
In 2026, she stepped into the role of Chief Youth Advisor with a clear mandate: to bridge Girl Up’s grassroots movement with executive-level decision-making.
Valeria’s experience spans global governance and policy spaces, from serving as a Youth Delegate to the G20 to contributing to the United Nations Secretary-General’s “Our Common Agenda” as a United Nations Foundation Next Generation Fellow.
That perspective now informs her work within Girl Up.
By appointing Chief Youth Advisors, Girl Up is living its commitment to power sharing and intergenerational leadership at the highest level
“By appointing Chief Youth Advisors, Girl Up is living its commitment to power sharing and intergenerational leadership at the highest level,” Valeria said. “This is what it looks like to trust young people — not just with ideas, but with decisions.” Valeria brings a systems-level lens to the role, ensuring that youth insights are translated into policies, partnerships, and strategies that drive lasting change.
Building What Comes Next, Together
The appointment of Rym and Valeria is an amplification of Girl Up’s model.
A continuation of it.
Across the movement, young leaders are already shaping programs, influencing policy, and building solutions in their communities, from classrooms to global forums.
What’s different now is that those same perspectives are helping guide the organization itself.
Because the future of leadership isn’t something we wait for.
It’s something we build together, across generations.
