Global Catalyst puts girls at the center of global change

What you probably already know: In 2007, a chance encounter in Cambodia changed Dr. Kylie Schuyler’s life. As she helped open a school, she noticed a girl standing outside. When Schuyler asked why she wasn’t going inside, the girl gave her a devastatingly simple answer: “My family’s only sending my brother. I’m not going to school because I’m a girl.” Schuyler went on to launch Global Girls Glow, a nonprofit that creates programs across the globe focused on girls’ education and empowerment, including menstruation and period health, conception and pregnancy, birth control and family planning, consent, child marriage and access to education. Effective today, that organization is now known as Global Catalyst, with the new tagline, “igniting girl-led change.”

Why it matters: The Santa Ana, California-based nonprofit operates more than 400 “Glow Clubs” across 30 countries in The United States, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Rather than sending Americans overseas, it works with schools, nonprofits, hospitals, refugee centers and other community organizations to identify local women to serve as mentors, who receive a small stipend. In India, for example, girls have helped lead workshops on making reusable menstrual pads. In Sierra Leone, Glow Girls’ advocacy contributed to the country’s 2024 law prohibiting child marriage. It is particularly focused on the Southern Hemisphere, where many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, face significant gender inequalities, including child marriage, gender-based violence, unequal access to education and restrictions on economic opportunities.

What it means: “Around the world, girls are too often told to be quiet, to wait, and to follow. For 15 years, we have seen what happens when they’re encouraged to do the opposite,” CEO Crystal Sprague says. “When a girl discovers her voice, she doesn’t wait for permission to use it. She leads in her family, her school and her community, and that leadership inspires others to act. Our former name reflected who we serve. Our new name reflects who we are: catalysts for change.” Founded in 2011, Global Catalyst has served more than 100,000 girls. It recently opened new chapters in Bolivia and Costa Rica, with plans to open in Sri Lanka. Its largest presence is in Africa, where it operates 271 clubs. It has 42 across the United States.

What happens next: The 21-employee nonprofit is now embarking on an ambitious expansion strategy, noting that last year it reached more than 17,000 people worldwide. “We’re absolutely challenging some of the issues that are norms in certain societies,” says Courtney Sticklin Burgan, vice president, engagement and communications, adding that the organization’s evolution comes at a critical time for girls worldwide. She cites an example in Peru where girls in the club realized they were the only ones who understood menstrual health. “They had never been taught this before. Their moms had never been taught this. Their sisters had never been taught. And they decided, ‘we have to teach everybody else.’ This is where that kind of agency and voice power coalesces in such a perfect way.”