Fall 2024 – Spring 2025
The Lead Incubator
The Lead Incubator is a crucial extension of the Lead Community Change journey, offering mentees the space, resources, and support needed to implement their project plans and drive meaningful change in their communities. It acts as a dynamic platform where they can turn their ideas into action. Mentees participating in the Lead Incubator focus on advancing their community-based social activism projects with the support of their mentors and Girls Write Now’s resources. They will take on leadership roles, facilitate a community studio, and develop an episode of the Lead Podcast, interviewing an expert relevant to their project’s cause.
Girls Write Now Collaboratory
This Journey Is Closed, but You Can Pre-Enroll in a Fall 2026 Journey Now!
Journey Led By
Learning Objectives
Apply Here
Deadline: January 15, 2025
Prerequisite: You are eligible for this journey if (either of the following)
You completed the Lead Community Change journey, previously called Lead360 in the 2023/24 programming or you already developed/are engaged in a community activism project, are partnering with an organization, and would like to advance your project with the support of GWN resources.
As a participant in the Lead Incubator Journey, you’ll have access to two courses: one to support the development of your community-based social activism project and another to assist you in facilitating a community studio. You will be paired for two full cycles and are expected to meet with your mentee/mentor for at least two pair sessions each month. Mentees will work on their community-based social activism projects, attend one journey meeting per month, and facilitate three community studios per cycle, with support from their mentors.
- Cycle(s) Fall 2024 – Spring 2025
- Time 4 hours per month
- Areas of Focus Activism, Civics, Environmentalism, Advocacy
- Available Spots Per Cycle 20
Lead Incubator Courses
The Lead Incubator Journey offers three courses designed to support you in developing your community-based social activism project plan.
Courses:
Lead: Maintaining a Social Activism Project
This course focuses on providing participants with strategies and tools to effectively sustain and manage their community-based social activism initiatives. It covers topics such as project planning, resource management, and strategies for long-term impact and growth.
Teach GWN: Facilitating Community Studios
This course provides training in the techniques and best practices for leading and managing community studio sessions. It focuses on creating engaging and productive environments that support learning and collaboration among participants.
Podcasting Fundamentals
An introductory course that covers the essential skills and tools needed to create and launch a podcast. Participants will learn about podcast planning, recording techniques, and editing, providing them with a solid foundation in podcasting.
Lead Incubator Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in the Lead Incubator will be paired for a minimum of two cycles, with each pair meeting for at least two hour-long sessions per month. Mentees will advance their community-based social activism projects, while mentors will offer support and guidance throughout the process. This journey is open to both mentor-mentee pairs and peer-to-peer pairs.
Lead Incubator Community Experiences
Mentees and mentors in the Lead Incubator Journey are required to attend monthly meetings, held on Saturdays from 1:00 to 2:00 PM. Additionally, mentees facilitate one monthly community studio (3 sessions/cycle), preferably with a focus on leadership. The weekday, time, and exact dates for your facilitated studio sessions will be determined based on your schedule before the journey begins.
Community Studio Weeks
Fall ’24 cycle:
- November studio: 11/12-11/25
- December studio: 12/9-12/20
- January studio: 1/13- 1/27
Spring ’25 cycle:
- March studio: 3/10-3/21
- April studio: 4/14-4/26
- May studio: 5/12- 5/23
Lead Incubator Orientation (Mentees & Mentors) :
- Lead Incubator Orientation: Wednesday, 10/9/2024, 6 pm
- Studio Facilitator Training: Tuesday, 10/15/2024, 7 pm ET
Lead Incubator Virtual Journey Meetings (Mentees only):
- November: Saturday, 11/16/2024, 1 pm ET
- December: Saturday, 12/14/2024, 1 pm ET
- January: Saturday, 1/18/2025, 1 pm ET
- March: Saturday, 3/15/2025, 1 pm ET
- April: Saturday, 4/19/2025, 1 pm ET
- May: Saturday, 5/17/2025, 1 pm ET
Lead 360 Adventure
The Lead Incubator is a Journey in the Lead 360 Adventure.
All journeys within this Adventure emphasize leadership, aiming to help mentees and mentors develop their leadership skills and work together to create a better future. Explore the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below to learn more.
Find Your Journey
Find Your Journey
Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Spring 2026)
In this Journey, mentors and mentees will develop essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through engaging activities and interactive discussions, participants will learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present their ideas with confidence. They will explore techniques for effective communication, refine their ability to think critically under pressure, and practice responding to diverse perspectives in a structured setting.
STARS: Crafting White Papers for Change (Spring 2026)
In this Journey, Fellows from STARS CGI partner organizations engage in a youth-led writing and advocacy experience that empowers them to turn their experiences into policy-focused narratives. Through in-person and virtual sessions, participants learn to research, write, and collaborate on a White Paper that amplifies youth voices across New York City and advocates for increased support, funding, and policy improvements for youth programs. The Journey builds communication, leadership, and advocacy skills, culminating in a youth-authored White Paper presented to a City Council Member as a public call to action.
Inimitable Voices in the Age of AI (Spring 2026)
AI can replicate form, but not the glorious quirks of you. Together, we’ll explore the tenets of human inimitability—Play, Empathy, Friction, Serendipity, Physicality—and explore AI tools that amplify (not blur) your unique voice. That wonderful, specific, spiky point of view that each of us has—and that the world needs now more than ever.
Thousand Voices Book Club (Spring 2026)
In partnership with the Thousand Voices imprint, this Journey invites mentors and mentees to explore contemporary literature. Participants will close-read three books and discuss them at monthly Journey Meetings. We’ll focus, in particular, on reading as writers and taking note of the ways each author crafts their story.
Sharpening Your Inimitable Voice in the Age of AI (Fall 2025)
AI can replicate form, but not the glorious quirks of you. Together, we’ll explore the tenets of human inimitability—Play, Empathy, Friction, Serendipity, Physicality—and explore AI tools that amplify (not blur) your unique voice. That wonderful, specific, spiky point of view that each of us has—and that the world needs now more than ever.
Storytelling Across Languages and Cultures (Fall 2025)
This Journey invites multilingual storytellers—and those curious about language, identity, and culture—to explore how the languages we speak and the communities we come from shape our stories. Through writing, discussion, and creative expression, participants will examine the connections between language, culture, and self. The Journey celebrates multilingual voices and empowers participants to honor their perspectives and grow as confident storytellers across cultures.
Perspectives on Media (Fall 2025)
The Perspectives on Media Journey is designed to help develop the skills and understanding needed to work in today’s media ecosystem. It provides insight from media professionals in a variety of fields such as sports journalism, broadcast journalism, true crime podcasting, and more! Participants will also learn how to develop a pitch for a media project of their choice.
Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter (Fall 2025)
In this fiction Journey, our curriculum will focus on opening chapters. The first pages of a novel are some of the most daunting for many writers. There's so much to establish in very few pages—the ones your future readers will flip through to decide if they should keep reading. In this journey, we'll deep dive into the varied ingredients that make a compelling first chapter. We'll examine how to use your limited space to build motivated well-rounded characters, craft palpable stakes, establish a fully-realized setting, create a killer hook, and so much more. We'll tackle big questions, like how to know if you are starting in the right place and how to get all this information onto the page without overwhelming your readers. Whether you're starting a story from scratch or already editing a draft of your novel, join us to develop some impactful opening pages.
Wicked Stagewriting: From Plays to Musicals (Fall 2025)
The Writing for the Stage: From Plays to Musicals Journey is designed to help develop the skills and understanding needed to work as a writer in today’s theatre industry. This Journey provides insight into the work of a playwright – a deep understanding of live storytelling and professional scripts, plays vs musicals, professional working practices, and employment strategies. We will look to popular musicals such as Wicked for inspiration in creating original pieces. Specific topics range from story structure and formatting scripts to actually seeing a script to fruition.
Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Fall 2025)
In this one-Cycle Journey, Mentees will develop essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through engaging activities and interactive discussions, participants will learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present their ideas with confidence. They will explore techniques for effective communication, refine their ability to think critically under pressure, and practice responding to diverse perspectives in a structured setting.