2023 Members

The Founder

Clementine Prendergast

Molly Ogbodem

Age: 23

Public Health and Mental health enthusiast

Nigeria

I am a Public Health and Mental health enthusiast with over 5 years of experience demonstrating relevant skills with local, national and international not-for-profits organization. I foresee projects towards improving health outcomes for young people and marginalized groups. These deliverables are only possible with my in-demand skillset which includes communications, project management, research, monitoring and evaluation. My role as communications Lead, has enabled me to foster partnership and meaningful collaborations with partners, donors, sponsors and relevant stakeholders, bringing about fruitful engagements. As a researcher, I've been able translate findings to action that are needed for future reference and advocacy. As a project manager I've foreseen the success of major projects that are relevant in the furtherance of organisation's objectives.

Willow Roe

Age: 19

Student

USA

As the 2022 Southwest Region Military of the year I continue to use my voice to advocate for mental health awareness, self-esteem, body positivity. I work with youth and share my experiences with these issues and more. Helping youth understand that they're not alone and feeling understood is what I had growing up and it has made all the difference in my life.

Noreen Johnathan

Age: 23

Freelance Social Media Marketer

Zimbabwe

Studying psychology has provided me with knowledge about the societal and psychological foundations of body image and mental health. Being a black woman who grew up in a predominantly white space, I became increasingly interested in researching concepts such as colourism, pretty privilege and body image. During my high school career, I wrote and performed slam poetry which addressed themes of body image, racism and ‘growing pains’. My interest in body image, and the like, only grew after reading books such as ‘The Beauty Myth’ by Naomi Wolf and ‘Body Respect’ by Linda Bacon. My formal education, leisurely reading and previous struggles with my own body image have been a catalyst to my interest and passion for body image and change.

Ruby Sands

Age: 28

Student

New Zealand

I have my own personal experience of struggling with body image. Before I spoke at the United Nations in 2017 on the Sustainable Development Goals, my thought looking in the mirror in the bathroom was about how fat I was. I was a body image leader in Auckland, I organised and ran workshops during health classes for girls at my high school. We demonstrated using images from history how beauty and our ideas of beauty are constructed and have changed over time. We also encouraged girls to be confident in their own skins. I have completed "Free Being Me" training (through the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) and I ran activities for my unit of girls aged 7-9. I have also run engagements to hear from children and young people about issues relating to education and children's rights in New Zealand. Regardless of the issues that we are engaging in, children want to talk to us about how they feel judged for their appearances and how this affects their confidence/self image. I have been a leader with Girl Guiding New Zealand. In my role at the Office of the Children's Commissioner I ran engagements with boys and girls aged 8-18 and used their voices to inform the development of government policy.

Sharmin Banu

Age: 25

Student

India

Sharmin Banu M S from BSG UDUPI, she is a young advocate with the World Association of Girls Guides & Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and on WAGGGS U-Report Global Ambassador & Climate Co-Design Team Member. She is Collaborating with UNICEF's steering committee , she has contributed to the U-Report India & U-Report Global teams as one of the Top U Reporter Of BSG , Co Designed U Report Polls related to raising awareness about Education in STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), Rights of the Girl Child and Climate Change. She is also active in the community and educates on the value of practising and living the Sustainable Development Goals. She is a Global Advocacy Champion at WAGGGS _A voice for more than 10 Million Girl Scouts & girl Guides at Commission On Status of Women (CSW66) formulating policies &  recommendations  for world leaders, for governments, and for policy decision makers who are gathering at the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women #CSW66, the principal intergovernmental body shaping policy standards for the advancement of women and girls.  Most Spoken Speaker from Global Advocacy Champion  : Represented WAGGGS at Girl Scouts & American Forest related to Climate Change & Nature Based Solution, She Put Recommendations for making  Climate Education compulsory in Curriculum. & at WAGGGS CSW66 events with United Nations Food & Agriculture, YUNGA UN she advocated for WAGGGS first ever Global Consultation On Climate Change & Gender,  her offline poll consultation with schools, marginalized community girl & women (slum area youngsters) highlighted at HER WORLD  COUNRY TEAM of WAGGGS. Her efforts mainly focused on PLASTIC FREE WORLD with gender equal mindset in association with Climate Action & during covid her voice on importance of youths in spreading verified information from WHO about COVID 19 is highlighted by Voice Of Youth - UNICEF. She is also a Ranger Team Member of Kadiyali Open Unit Bsg Udupi ,where their WINGS OF PEACE - a dedicated service to the community Project got 2nd Place in Lakshmi Mazumdar Award & Upa - Rashtrapati Merit Certificate. Sharmin has a Masters degree in Commerce and is a Wikipedia writer & editor. She uses this platform to promote women's achievements across various regions, and in various wiki languages, adding to the gender equality movement..

Monique Santoso

Age: 23

Program Coordinator and Clinical Research Assistant

Indonesia

My previous experience with body image and related topics have included managing an advocacy campaign consisting of high school students from around the US and globally to ban the sale of dangerous, over-the-counter diet pills and muscle-building supplements. In this role, I have worked with senior-level researchers at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children's Hospital to translate research into policy for protecting youth mental health. I have also led the development and execution of an online course that aims to challenge anti-colourist attitudes and knowledge among physicians and public health professionals working with children and youth in India through strategic storytelling and media advocacy. Its aim is to ensure that professionals promote healthy body image ideals to youth who may be vulnerable to Eurocentric beauty ideals portrayed in social media. This year, I am leading the development of this course in Malaysia with a field and community partner. I have also co-led a workshop for high school students on sharing effective testimony with lawmakers on their experiences with body image issues with the aim of promoting safer environments for youth as it relates to the sale of harmful products such as over the counter diet pills that falsely promote quick fixes to self-esteem related body image issues. Moreover, I have worked on the designing of infographics and digital reports for legislation relating to anti-weight discrimination. This year, I am working on a study around the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act to understand the impact of the legislation on adult and youth perceptions, attitudes and behaviours as it relates to promoting inclusive hairstyles and hair textures. I have shared expert testimony with the Massachusetts Committee on Taxation on the importance of a bill that incentivise businesses in Massachusetts to use realistic images in their advertisements by offering a tax credit to those who pledge to not digitally alter models’ skin tone, skin texture including wrinkles, body size, or body shape in advertisements.

Rashidat Raimi

Age: 29

Women Deliver Young Leader 2020

Nigeria

She has volunteered and worked in not-for- profit/NGOs as a program assistant and communication officer. She has accumulated knowledge and skills through advocacy, partnership, and work in community mobilization and organization, development programming and its application in SRHR, gender mainstreaming, poverty reduction, and sustainable human development especially women and youth development programming. Rashidat developed a strong sense of passion for the not-for-profit sector as an alumnus of a youth development program at Global Xchange (VSO) nearly 12 years ago. This experience gave her a deep appreciation of how development organizations seek to improve the quality of life of humanity especially grassroot level.

Faith Omosefe

Age: 18

2022 BGCA Northeast Youth of the Year

USA

At 15 I created and executed a community service project partnered with Aaron's Presents entitled "The Insecurities Project". In it I emphasized the importance in not just showing people who have overcome their insecurities in media, but those that the majority of us who still struggle with them. I gathered together a dozen teens and staged a photoshoot where they held up pieces of cardboard with their insecurities written on them and decorated as they pleased. They then took photos highlighting the things about themselves that they couldn't see as beautiful. These insecurities ranged from body shape, to hair type, to even skin tone but the commonality between them is that when captured on camera they were the beautiful features that set them apart from everyone else. We had a reflection at the end of the shoot and everyone walked away feeling more empowered. At the art exposition I gave a speech about the importance of knowing you are not alone, and the comfort that comes from a community acknowledging that they aren't all at the end of a journey. I hope to have more opportunities like these in the future.

Mubashwira Eshika

Age: 21

Student/Volunteer

Bangladesh

I'm one of the master trainers of Free Being Me. I have facilitated sever sessions both online and offline in Bangladesh. And I was in Zambia for an exchange program of WAGGGS (YESS Girls Movement), have facilities sessions there as well. Whenever I got the opportunity to share my experiences, I always share positive messages about body image. Last year only has taken sessions on different Free Being Me topics with over 500 girls.

Morgan Lottering

Age: 22

Member of WAGGGS: GGSA

South Africa

I am an ITEC-accredited beauty therapist, make-up artist and qualified nail technician. I am also a member of Girl Guides South Africa as a Youth and have been a member of the Dove Youth Board for the past 2 years. I identify as genderfluid and have no particular pronoun preference. I am passionate about body image and mental health issues, especially in the LGBT+ community. It has always been important to me to advocate for others and help wherever and whenever I can. In my job, I want to help people develop a positive self-image and feel confident. My goal in life is to make a positive difference in the world.

Katherine Wang

Age: 19

Student

United Kingdom

Being a part of the Dove Youth Board for the past 3 years has been a wonderful experience. I learned so much more about how body image and ideals vary from country to country and have had really insightful conversations on ways we can promote more positive self-esteem. One way is through advocacy and education. I have a little more experience in this aspect. I consulted on PLAN Canada’s Confident Me curriculum, which is now being delivered in schools across Canada, and I am one of the facilitators for this curriculum. Another closely tied problem to negative body image is eating disorders—an area I am particularly passionate about right now. I am currently trying to work with a few other individuals to work more on eating disorder prevention in the UK and I have been attending STRIPED meetings to learn more about some of the work being done on this area. Generally, I love learning more about the factors that can contribute to negative body image. In fact, I hope to undertake a research project on body dysmorphia next year and currently, I’m learning more about how the experience of cancer can influence body image and contribute to negative self-esteem.