Who We Are

• Hardy Girls is a nonprofit that partners with Maine girls and nonbinary youth to host trainings, conferences, and coalition groups to help ignite their curiosities, promote critical thinking, and challenge the status quo. 

• Our mission: Hardy Girls takes girls and nonbinary youth seriously and puts the power in their hands to challenge a society that ignores their brilliance. We dare adult allies to join us.

  
  Our vision is girls and nonbinary youth causing a ruckus!

• Each year, Hardy Girls reaches more than 500 girls and nonbinary youth across Maine through school-based programs, workshops, and community initiatives from York to Bangor, Downeast and beyond.

• Over the past 25 years, we’ve supported 20,000+ young people, helping them build confidence, leadership skills, and the tools to challenge gender-based limitations. A majority of donations go directly to funding youth programming and the staff who sustain our work year-round, ensuring long-term, measurable impact where it matters most.

• In 2025, Hardy Girls significantly scaled its reach, leadership infrastructure, and statewide presence. We expanded from two to three conference locations, increasing geographic reach and participation capacity by 50%, tripled Coalition Groups from 2 to 6, grew our Muse leadership team from 3 to ~15, expanded college partnerships from 1 to 5, and added a FAB Ambassador and Program Intern to broaden our statewide leadership pipeline to more areas of Maine.

In practice, this progress meant:

• A scaffolded leadership pipeline serving middle school students, high school organizers, and college mentors

• Expanded peer mentorship through a larger Muse corps and Coalition Group network

• Increased service capacity across programs, conferences, and school partnerships

• Organizational growth and maturation, with dedicated leadership and coordination roles

• A broader statewide footprint, reaching an estimated 60–90 schools annually

• New regional expansion into Franklin County (Farmington) and the Bangor region, extending beyond our historic Portland–Waterville core

• Hardy Girls is youth-led, feminist, and built for the long term. We partner directly with girls and gender-expansive youth as real change-makers—offering paid leadership roles, decision-making power, and mentorship through a multi-year pipeline that supports young people from middle school through college and into early adulthood. Unlike one-time programs, Hardy Girls is a statewide, growing community that takes our future leaders seriously—trusting them with responsibility, resources, and leadership that lasts well beyond youth programming.

Yes! Hardy Girls’ work is grounded in decades of research on girls’ development, youth mental health, and social change, led by co-founder Dr. Lyn Mikel Brown. Our programs turn this research into action by amplifying youth voices, strengthening leadership and belonging, and causing a ruckus. 

• Hardy Girls measures impact through a combination of quantitative evaluation and youth-driven qualitative feedback. Every program includes electronic pre- and post-surveys for youth and adults to assess changes in knowledge, confidence, safety, and leadership behaviors, alongside observations from educators, staff, and volunteers. We pair data with lived experience—collecting participant quotes, artwork, zines, and storytelling—and incorporate direct feedback from FAB youth leaders to continuously improve programming. Because participation is voluntary, high repeat attendance also serves as a key indicator of relevance and success. Evaluation data is reviewed regularly to adapt curriculum, facilitation, and logistics, ensuring programs remain responsive and youth-led.

  • 2024–25 evaluation results show clear impact:

• 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that Hardy Girls made them think differently about their community and the world

• 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that Hardy Girls made them feel safe and supported

• Youth consistently reported increased self-confidence, stronger peer and community connections, and greater self-acceptance

• Hardy Girls hosts youth-led, full-day leadership conferences across Maine that bring together middle and high school girls and gender-expansive youth for hands-on workshops, creative expression, and real-world activism. This year, conferences will be held in North Yarmouth, Brewer, and Waterville, expanding access across southern, central, and eastern Maine. All conferences are 100% facilitated by Hardy Girls youth leaders (FAB), reinforcing our commitment to youth leadership, peer mentorship, and real decision-making power.

  • What participants experience:

• Youth-facilitated workshops on identity, resilience, media literacy, feminism, creativity, and self-expression (including Feminism 101, Speak Up & Shine, Media Mindfulness, and Everything Period)

• Action Spots throughout the day where participants engage in on-site civic action—such as writing postcards to elected officials, creating protest pins, and exploring youth-led advocacy resources

• Community partner tables featuring statewide organizations focused on mental health, reproductive health, LGBTQ+ advocacy, violence prevention, civic engagement, and climate justice
  FAB-led engagement stations—including a photo booth, pronoun bracelets, strengths garden, word wall, and creative art spaces—to build connection and confidence

• 100% of donations goes directly to funding youth programming and the staff who sustain our work year-round, ensuring long-term, measurable impact where it matters most.