Girls Write Now + Royal Bank of Canada

Girls Write Now Partnerships

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

Girls Write Now is thrilled to partner with RBC for over five years, helping give young writers access and exposure to an industry in need of their talent and skills. Communication is everything, no matter what field, and our partnership with RBC positions us at the nexus of growth in storytelling for all industries.

Experience the Partnership

Our vision is surpassed by reality.
RBC is 100% behind this partnership.
—Pat Shields, Head of US Corporate Banking at RBC

Stephanie Gordon Joins Girls Write Now’s Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Girls Write Now is proud to announce Stephanie Gordon as the newest member of Girls Write Now’s Board of Directors. Gordon currently serves as a Director in U.S. Public Finance, Corporate Banking at RBC Capital Markets where her portfolio includes capital improvement programs and infrastructure projects, primarily focused on the transportation, power & utilities, student loans, housing and prepaid gas sectors. She was also featured on Girls Write Now’s blog, Life@GWN, and was honored at The 2023 Girls Write Now Awards.

About Stephanie

The RBC Foundation USA Shines Light on How Girls Write Now Is Mentoring the Next Generation of Leaders

Make an Impact

The RBC Foundation USA recently shone light on Girls Write Now as an organization that is meaningfully mentoring the next generation of leaders in an article outlining our impact.

RBC Foundation USA Spotlights Girls Write Now Pair

Change A Life Video Series

The RBC Foundation USA highlighted Girls Write Now as a nonprofit partner that empowers youth in their Change a Life video series.

Learn More

RBC Elevator Pitch Workshop, three women sit at a table smiling

Partnering for College & Career Readiness

Employee Engagement

From publishing to finance, there is a market demand for stellar communication—and in partnership with RBC, Girls Write Now is meeting it, mentoring young people to be creative thinkers, clear writers, and competitive candidates for the trails they choose to blaze. During the course of the spring of 2019, RBC employees served as volunteer “mentors for the day” in a series of five employee-engagement events from college and scholarship writing to internships and careers.

RBC Team Presents at Girls Write Now Career Day

Writing Works

At our 2019 Career Day, hosted by The New York Historical Society, Girls Write Now mentees learned about a plethora of different career options, including finance, freelance, media, publishing, and more. Thanks to the RBC team, mentees discovered how to combine creativity with finance— two industries that might have seemed distant before!

Meet Our Board Members from RBC

Mustafa Topiwalla

Mustafa Topiwalla is Head of Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. He has over 15-years of experience in Finance and has covered a number of sectors over his career, including Healthcare, Media & Telecom, Consumer, and Industrials. Mustafa’s day-to-day job consists of covering clients and managing a team that delivers top quality ideas to and execution of financing solutions for corporate clients, which include mid-sized firms to Fortune 500 companies. Mustafa has been actively involved in Diversity and Inclusion by being a member of RBC’s US Diversity Leadership Council and an Executive Sponsor of the Multicultural Employee Alliance. Mustafa received an AB (honors) in Economics from Middlebury College and an MBA (honors) from Columbia Business School. He lives in New York City, with his wife Melissa Connor and daughters Layla and Yasmeen.

Visit Profile

Mustafa Topiwalla, Patrick Shields and Maya Nussbaum

Girls Write Now Honors RBC’s Patrick Shields and Mustafa Topiwalla at 2019 Awards

Girls Write Now Awards

At our 2019 Girls Write Now Awards, we were thrilled to recognize Patrick Shields, Head of US Corporate Banking at RBC and Mustafa Topiwalla, Managing Director, Corporate Banking at RBC, as honorary chairs. Thanks to their work and partnership with Girls Write Now, we are able to continue to provide access to creative career pathways for today’s young leaders.

Using the Power of Writing to Break Down Barriers to Success for Underserved Girls

Publicity

Since 2019, RBC Foundation has supported Girls Write Now’s Writing Works and Writing 360 Programs. Both programs align with RBC’s signature program, The Emerging Artists Project, which supports organizations that provide opportunities to support the career trajectories of aspiring young artists in visual arts, music, theatre, performance, literature and film.

We are thrilled to partner with an organization whose mission of maximizing the potential of underserved high-school girls aligns well with our core value of helping communities prosper.
—Mustafa Topiwalla, Managing Director of Corporate Banking & Girls Write Now Board Member

Areas of Focus

Community
Building

Royal Bank of Canada “Mentors for the Day” bond with colleagues and come together for a collective moment to exhale, reflect and refresh at our events.

Industry
Exposure

Employees from across departments of the company are invited to share “elevator pitches” and answer mentees’ questions about their jobs, potentially inspiring a new career path.

Creative
Thinking

RBC’s support of Girls Write Now has allowed us to develop our College and Careers initiatives over the years into our College and Career readiness Journeys, supporting multiple years of mentees as they unlock their talents and enter the workforce.

Intergenerational
Exchange

Understanding how today’s young leaders and storytellers from underserved communities are feeling and thinking about the world gives the team at Royal Bank of Canada a new perspective.