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In celebration of International Day of the Girl, first lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council are honoring 15 young women who are committed to making change in their communities within various arenas, including gun control, period poverty, and food deserts. With the first-ever Girls Leading Change celebration at the White House, on October 11, the first lady tells Teen Vogue exclusively that she hopes the honorees serve as inspiration for girls around the world.
“These young women are protecting and preserving the Earth, writing and sharing stories that change minds, and turning their pain into purpose,” says Dr. Biden. “Together, they represent the potential of young people across the country, and it is my hope that others can learn from the power of their innovation, strength, and hope.”
Teen Vogue speaks to four of the Girls Leading Change honorees — Jazmin Cazares, Brooke and Breanna Bennett, and Gabrielle Nakai — about their work, the honor, and what they want other girls to know about being change makers. The other 11 honorees are:
Mona Cho, 15, Redondo Beach, California; Julia Garnett, 17, Hendersonville, Tennessee; Logan Hennes, 16, New York; Anja Herrman, 17, River Forest, Illinois; Leela Marie Hidier, 18, Yarmouth, Maine; Elisa Martinez, 17, Las Vegas; Zahra Rahimi, 17, Alexandria, Virginia; Gitanjali Rao, 17, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Avery Turner, 17, Colorado Springs; Sandra Ukah, 18, Lake Mary, Florida; Rania Zuri, 18, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Here's what Jazmin Cazares, Brooke and Breanna Bennett, and Gabrielle Nakai tell Teen Vogue:
Jazmin Cazares, 18, Uvalde, Texas
Jazmin Cazares's 9-year-old sister Jacklyn “Jackie” Cazares was killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting in their Texas town. Jazmin spent much of her senior year of high school traveling the country to share Jackie’s story while fighting for gun control. Now in college, Jazmin has founded Jackie’s Loving Hands, an organization dedicated to keeping her sister's memory alive.
Teen Vogue: What was your reaction when you found out that you were being honored by the first lady?
Jazmin Cazares: I was just shocked. I never really planned on activism. I mean, you hear about these young women and activists that get honored for things like that, and you don't really think you can be one of them — until you are.
TV: What do you want people to know about having lost a loved one in the Uvalde shooting?
Jazmin: I mean, most people have experienced loss before, but it's different in the way that it's unexpected. And even then, people understand the unexpectedness of death. But in this violent way, it's different. And navigating grief in that way is a lot different.
TV: What was Jackie like?
Jazmin: The best way I like to describe Jackie is that she was the embodiment of a little sibling. If you have younger siblings, you understand. You hate each other, but you love each other. You argue, but at the end of the day, you love each other. It's just that. It's just the embodiment of a little sister, of a 10-year-old who's navigating elementary school.
TV: Do you feel at all hopeful about the movement for gun control?
Jazmin: Little bit of both. Sometimes you lose hope, but we have little wins every once in a while. I have a great support system…. and the other young activists that are fighting for the same cause, from Columbine until now. Just being able to speak out on this level, it’s very bittersweet because I could be doing anything else right now and I’m doing this. So it’s very bittersweet. I’m just really thankful to be able to do the work that I do.
Breanna and Brooke Bennett, 16, Montgomery, Alabama
Breanna and Brooke Bennett are dedicated to ending period poverty and ensuring that everyone has access to the menstrual supplies they need. When they were 12 years old, the sisters were inspired to give period supplies to girls in a public housing project in Montgomery, kicking off what became their organization, Women in Training. Through their organization, they've distributed more than 30,000 kits with sanitary pads and toiletries. The Bennett sisters have also successfully advocated for the passage of HB 50, a state law in Alabama that creates a grant program for schools to provide sanitary pads to students in need. They are committed to building on that success and eliminating period poverty at the national level.
Teen Vogue: How did you get interested in period poverty as a cause?
Brooke Bennett: When we were in elementary school, my mom used to work at an all-girls school, and most of the questions the students would ask her were, “Can I have period products?” When we would sometimes be at her work, we were shocked by this, and so we asked our mom, “What's going on? Why are these girls asking for these products?” Our mom taught us what period poverty is, and that is the lack of having period products and the lack of knowing your body and knowing what a period is.
Breanna Bennett: Even today, it's like a lot of girls and menstruators don't want to talk about their period because they're embarrassed by it. I don't want to have this be some shame that I carry around, because it really is a beautiful thing. It means that we can carry life at some point when we're ready for that. It should be something that should be lifted up. Especially when I heard stories like my mom's, where she thought she was dying when she got her first menstrual cycle.
TV: What are you guys most excited for with traveling to Washington, DC?
Breanna: I'm excited to meet all the honorees and see how they're making a change. It's really important to me to have a community of like-minded people who are trying to have a change in their [own] community.
Brooke: I'm so excited to meet the fellow honorees. I've already heard some stuff about them, and it seems like they're doing amazing stuff. It just means so much that I could be around people, especially young people, who are doing things in the community. I hope, all together, we can start to make a difference.
Breanna: Not to mention, I'm excited to hear Dr. Biden speak. I'm really excited for that. I know she inspires so many, and she's definitely one of my biggest inspirations, as well.
Gabriella Nakai, 17, Phoenix
Gabrielle Nakai is excited. She’s excited to be honored by the first lady, she’s excited to bring her dad to Washington, DC (she even picked out his clothes), and she’s excited for other young Native American girls to be able to look at her and see a new possibility for their life. Nakai is a 17-year-old Navajo and Choctaw leader committed to food security and sustainability, Indigenous sovereignty, and youth advocacy. She was also a Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute 2023 Champion for Change and works to serve her tribal community in all that she does.
Teen Vogue: What was your first step into activism?
Gabrielle Nakai: It was during the height of the COVID pandemic. My grandparents live on the Navajo Reservation in Utah, and they were struggling to get access to fresh produce. We were like, “How can we make sure our grandparents up in the reservation are able to get access to produce?” The grocery stores were all closing and the closest one was miles and miles away, and they were an at-risk [population]. So, we grew a garden here in our Phoenix home. And then we were able to save some of the seeds from some of the plants to send back up to the reservation. Then my grandma was able to reuse the seeds from our original garden and plant them in her garden up at the reservation. She was able to get access to produce again.
TV: What is it like to be an activist for the Native community?
Gabrielle: I don't really know if I would consider it activism because it's more just doing what my elders have taught me in my community, like gardening and also just speaking up for the youth around me.
It is fun to be the teenage girl singing into her microphone in her mirror, but it's also fun to be the teenage girl screaming into a microphone, leading change, changing the narrative for what it means to be a teenage girl — and getting the recognition that these women are going to pave the [way] for change, they just need the platform.
TV: What excites you the most about going to DC?
Gabrielle: My dad never got to go to DC [before], and he’s going. English is his second language, and he grew up on his reservation. The White House, especially for a little res[ervation] boy, is really exciting for him. His daughter is getting to pave the way, [getting] to lead him to these ways. So I'm excited that he gets to hold my hand as I get to lead him all around places.
TV: Is it important to you to be able to bring Native representation to Washington, DC?
Gabrielle: I want other Native girls to read and see these articles coming out and be like, “Oh, my God! I could do that too.” And to know that I come from their community. The reservation that you're on, I've been there before. I sheared sheep there. I made the fry bread there. I've been in your shoes. You can also be in my shoes to do all of these things.
