Izzy | Student, Social Entrepreneur, and Gender Equity Activist | Co-Founder and CEO of FIRST EMPOWER | Passionate about STEM, Astronomy, Illustration and Graphic + Web Design | NYC
Instagram: @izzylapidus & @first.empower
1) THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS?
Attending the Generation She Entrepreneurship Makeathon allowed me to synthesize my passions for science communication & female empowerment through entrepreneurship. At this event, I met my co-founder (@lilahr0se) and we created an entire pitch deck for the social enterprise we’ve now started, FIRST EMPOWER, which utilizes STEM as a tool to empower the female leaders of tomorrow.
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2) THE WORST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS?
This past May, my mother -Lenora Lapidus - passed away following a 14-year battle with stage four breast cancer. Her cancer had been a constant throughout my childhood, but it rapidly progressed during my Junior year of high school. My mother was a trailblazing women’s rights lawyer, fighting each and every day to make the world a more just place for women and girls. It's an honor to carry on her legacy.
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3) YOUR BIGGEST WISH FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?
FIRST EMPOWER is launching its first initiative in the next few weeks -our DIY STEMtivities- and I really hope they are a success. On a subscription-basis, FIRST EMPOWER will be sending out STEM toolkits for young girls and their families to explore STEM at home. IIt’s going to be scary to finally put ourselves out there, but a great learning experience regardless.
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4) YOUR BIGGEST WORRY FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?
The current state of the world. I’m worried for all the people that do not have the resources to make it through these next few months. For all the nurses, doctors, healthcare workers, grocery store workers, pharmacists, take-out deliverers, food bank workers, firefighters and everyone else that risks their lives every day to keep the lives of those around them safe. There’s a lot of worry in the world right now.
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5) A CONTEMPORARY WOMAN YOU CURRENTLY ADMIRE?
Meena Harris. I am a huge supporter of her lifestyle brand, Phenomenal Woman, and love her online presence. She’s my style inspo and I hope I can rock a power suit as well as she can someday. Also, her tweets are hilarious.
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6) A ONE-SENTENCE MESSAGE TO OTHER WOMEN?
You are absolutely capable of changing the world.