Women to Watch: Illana Raia
This week's woman to watch is such an inspiration to us, we named a jacket after her (see it here)! Illana Raia not only had a power house career as a lawyer, she also followed her passion to inspire other young girls to live up to their full potential.
A former Skadden Arps lawyer and guest lecturer at Columbia University, Illana has been busy since 2016 founding Être - a resource and mentorship platform for girls approaching high school. She thinks of Être as knowledge strategy for girls - highlighting valuable tools and role models they will need to change the world - and has authored 50+ articles for HuffPost, Ms. Magazine and Thrive Global on these issues.
Named a Mogul Influencer in 2017, Illana has appeared in the HuffPost "Talk To Me" video series, participated in the 2018 Balance Project Interviews and the 2019 #WomenWhoRock campaign, and has been featured on Cheddar TV and podcasts like The Other 50%, Her Money, Finding Brave and Women To Watch Media. Her journey from lawyer to founder was profiled in Forbes and Worth, and her award-winning book “Être: Girls, Who Do You Want To Be?” was released in 2019 on Day of the Girl.
"Être means “To Be” - we help girls figure out who they want to be. How? By linking to smart resources that keep you close to what you love. By bringing you inside companies that matter to you (think Spotify, Google, YouTube, NYSE) and introducing you to the female leaders who work there. Because someday you may want to do what they do…and imagining a future is way easier with examples. That’s why we do what we do."
Etre Girls, Who do you Want to Be is a bold, full color magazine-style collection of articles breaking down big ideas like financial confidence, mentorship, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship for today's motivated girls. Organized by topic (#BeSmart, #BeWi$e, #BeInnovative), and featuring Insta-inspired graphics, Être offers wise words to world-changing girls. A meaningful gift for any girls in middle school to high school!
Illana graduated with honors from Smith College and received her JD from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was managing editor of the Legal Forum. She lives happily in NYC and at the Jersey Shore with her husband and two children, and is unapologetically nerdy.
To learn more about Illana, her mentorship platform Etre Girls or her book Etre Girls, Who do you Want to be, Click below:
