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  • The Lead Incubator (Fall 2025-Spring 2025)

Fall 2025-Spring 2026

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.

Girls Write Now Collaboratory

This Journey is Closed, but You Can Apply for a Fall 2026 Journey Now!

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Learning Objectives

Advance Social Activism Project Goals

Develop and implement strategies to advance community-based social activism projects with the support of Girls Write Now’s resources.

Apply Storytelling and Media Techniques

Use storytelling methods and media strategies, including producing a Lead Podcast episode, to effectively convey your project’s message and engage your community.

Exercise Leadership and Facilitate Engagement

Take on leadership roles, manage project initiatives, and facilitate a community studio to foster collaboration and support for your cause.

Execute and Manage Community Projects

Implement and oversee your community project, applying organizational skills and leadership to drive progress and address community needs.

Evaluate Impact and Enhance Skills

Assess the effectiveness and outcomes of your project, evaluate its impact on the community, and strengthen your leadership skills through practical experience and mentorship.

The Lead Incubator Community Experiences

Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly one-hour Journey meetings listed below.

Fall Cycle:

  • Saturday, November 15, 2025, 3 pm ET
  • Saturday, December 13, 2025, 3 pm ET
  • Saturday, January 10, 2026, 3 pm ET

Spring Cycle:

  • Saturday, March 14, 2026, 3 pm ET
  • Saturday, April 18, 2026, 3 pm ET
  • Saturday, May 16, 2026, 3 pm ET

If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options include Leadership Community Studios, Community Conversations, and Career Chats.

Apply to Journeys Explore Community Experiences
Journey Circle: Community

The Lead Incubator 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.

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.

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.

Apply to Journeys Explore Courses
Writing

The Lead Incubator Mentoring

Mentees and mentors in The Lead Incubator Journey will be matched for two cycles. Each pair will meet two times per month and, as a pair, attend all of the community events listed above.

Apply to Journeys Explore Mentorship Opportunities

Journey Teaching Artist

Jessica Jagtiani

Girls Write Now Staff

Jesse Jagtiani  is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher of Indian-German heritage residing in New York City. Jesse earned her Doctor of Education in Art & Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, complemented by an MFA in Studio Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, and a degree in Visual Communications from the University of Arts, Berlin. Her research centers on the formative dimensions of intuition, bridging indigenous wisdom with contemporary scientific perspectives to foster a balance of the intuitive and the rational mind within Western educational paradigms. Jesse’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and her scholarly contributions extend to various publications, including chapter three of the book Developing Informed Intuition for Decision Making. Jesse has taught in (and outside of) higher education for numerous years and is passionate about supporting emerging artists, writers, and leaders on their creative, academic, and career pathways.

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Jessica Jagtiani
The Lead Incubator

What Past Participants Have to Say

“I believe the prompts for the Lesson Plans helped Kunling work on her presentation and teaching hard skills. She’s excited about the podcast, and I think the outreach to secure an interviewee will be a growing moment for her.”
Sarah E. Bode Mentor
“It overall helped me become a more confident and better person. I realized how much I have grown mentally, and with my Project Wild Wellness, I, alongside my peers and students, are now seeing the world from a more open and more colorful perspective.”
Kunling Wu Mentee

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.

The Lead Incubator is a Journey in the Lead 360 Adventure.

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Explore All Journeys

Explore All Journeys

Girls Write Now Girls Write Now .
Girls Write Now Girls Write Now .

Everything Is a Story: Nonfiction that Reads like Fiction (Fall 2026)

In this Journey, mentees and mentors will explore the ways in which creative storytelling techniques can be applied to nonfiction writing of all kinds, from memoir and personal essay to op-ed and how-to articles. We will dive into what makes a story—from structural archetypes to writing that flows—and learn how to harness the power of story to make nonfiction compelling and transformative.

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Wild Ideas: Nature, Science & Creativity (Fall 2026)

Created in honor of Helen Ghiradella’s pioneering work at the intersection of science and creativity, this Journey invites mentees and mentors to explore the natural world through the complementary lenses of scientific inquiry and artistic expression. Inspired by Ghiradella’s legacy, and through close observation, research, and reflection, they will investigate the forms, patterns, and processes found in nature while creating an original project—through writing, visual art, media, performance, music or another creative form—that celebrates the connections between nature, science, and creativity.

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Dark Tales: A Horror Book Club (Fall 2026)

Step into the shadows of horror and explore what makes a story truly unsettling. Through three monthly book club meetings, participants will engage in close readings and lively discussions of selected horror works, examining how authors build suspense, create atmosphere, evoke fear, and use the genre to explore deeper social, psychological, and cultural themes. Together, we will analyze storytelling techniques, character development, and the many forms horror can take. By the end of the fall, you will have deepened your appreciation of the genre, sharpened your critical reading skills, and gathered inspiration and craft techniques to enrich your own writing.

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