Women of Influence: Kristen Greenwood, Executive Director of GirlSpring
Kristen Greenwood is a woman on a mission; a mission to empower young women in Birmingham. Greenwood has been the director of GirlSpring, an online community for girls by girls, since 2016. GirlSpring was founded in 2010 by social activist and philanthropist Jane Stephens Comer. Comer realized she had the opportunity to make a difference when she attended Gloria Steinem’s 75th birthday party. Steinem challenged those in attendance to commit one outrageous act for justice, to do something that would make the world a better place. “Three months later, seven women gathered in my living room to discuss what could be done to raise awareness of gender equity and the power of women to empower each other,” said Comer. The outcome of the meeting was GirlSpring, Inc. a nonprofit organization based in Birmingham, Ala. that focuses on the issues, activities, and concerns of girls and young women. Greenwood has taken to this vision wholeheartedly, and has led the organization to new heights by launching GirlSpring’s website, the hub of the program since 2016. The website currently serves 10,000 girls, ages 13 to 18, each month. It offers resources on “tough topics” and allows girls to use their creative abilities by permitting them to submit original content for the site in the form of writing, poetry and artwork. “Girls also have the opportunity to interact by commenting and sharing content with other girls their age, so they can receive feedback and know that someone is looking at their work…Locally, we have a teen leadership group that really drives the website and is our main team of content creators. We also have public programs, such as films, lectures and seminars, that address issues relevant to girls in our target age range,” Greenwood told Style Blueprint. But Greenwood hasn’t just served girls through GirlSpring. Graduating in 1998 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelors of Art in Art History, and in 2006 completing her Master’s in Art History from the same school. She spent the next decade working at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Starting as a Public Programs Manager, she became an Assistant Curator of Education in 2006, and an Associate Curator of Education in 2012, a position that she maintained until Dec 2015 when she left the museum to work for GirlSpring. Greenwood has always had a heart for working with teens. At the Museum she started a program called Teen BMA; a volunteer group at the Birmingham Museum of Art that gives high school students hands-on volunteer experience, access to Museum staff and operations and opportunities to work with arts professionals. “My own preteen and teen years were difficult, and I know firsthand all of the things that teen girls have to deal with, so when I heard about this job (GirlSpring) from a friend, I knew it would be a perfect fit and that it would be something that could really make a difference in girls’ lives,” Greenwood told Style Blueprint. As Executive Director, Greenwood takes on many different roles at the organization. Not only does she engage in big picture strategy, fundraising, PR and marketing, but she also serves as a recruiter, a liaison to the organizations Springboarders, and supervises interns; only furthering her influence in these young women’s lives. Greenwood is a driven, successful and ambitious woman. In spite of her busy schedule, she managed some extra time to answer some questions from Alabama Today: How have other women influenced your success? My grandmother, Rose Cerniglia Pilato was a role model and inspiration for me. She died when I was only 11 but she was a great influence. She didn’t officially work outside the home, but she had a side business flipping houses in the 1970’s when women really didn’t do that type of thing. She had a strong work ethic, loved gardening and ate healthy before it was in style. Even though she isn’t here, I hope I am making her proud! In my career, I’ve worked with a number of women who have inspired me and whom I look up to, including the founder of GirlSpring, Jane Stephens Comer. What advice would you give young women considering careers in art history or nonprofit organizations? There are so many great opportunities in the field of art history, but it is competitive and many jobs require a PhD. I think it’s important to know that going into the field. There are not as many opportunities locally, but in bigger cities, across the U.S. and internationally, the opportunities are numerous. If it is something you are interested in as a field of study, especially as an undergrad, I would say definitely pursue it, but also use that time to learn as much as you can about the field outside of the college classroom. Intern at a museum or gallery, and read as much as you can about careers in art and art history. Art News Daily is a free email subscription and is a great way to stay informed of what’s going on in the art world, and it’s a good place to find what sparks your interest. It’s hard to know what you will be best at, but there are so many career options — curatorial work, museum education, teaching, appraising, gallery work, auction house, and many more. If you are passionate about it, you will find the right fit. The non-profit world (which includes many museums and art galleries) is very broad and there are many types of organizations, some local, some global, some huge, and some very small. If you are interested in non-profit work, know that it can be challenging as there is always a struggle to find funding, but it can also be very rewarding. I think to be good at it, you have to truly care about the mission. Non-profits can also be a way to put your professional degree to work for the greater good. There are many people I know that make good directors of non-profits because they first got their law degree or MBA and then had the skills needed to
