About Us
Girls L.E.A.P. is unique—we specialize in STEAM and financial literacy, cater to immigrant communities, and involve mentees' families in our programs.
We focus on empowering girls through a wide range of activities and interests, fostering family engagement and loyalty, which results in a low turnover rate among board members and volunteers.
Our target demographic is school-aged girls, offering support from fifth grade through high school graduation. High school participants and graduates are encouraged to mentor younger girls, fostering a cycle of support and leadership.
Our Sister Circles—group mentoring sessions—accommodate both younger and older girls simultaneously. This allows high schoolers, who started in elementary school, to become student leaders as well as peer mentors to the younger girls in the program.
Our Mission
Educate, inspire and empower girls through family partnerships to value themselves, build a community of sisterhood and become bold leaders.
Our Vision
Each girl will build the confidence, leadership skills, self-worth and tenacity needed to reach her full potential to become a changemaker in her community.
Our Purpose
We believe any girl can LEAP and achieve greatness when she is encouraged, inspired, and empowered to grow, knowing her family is supported.
Meet the Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Gabriela Edon
Girls L.E.A.P. Founder
Gabriela Edon is the visionary founder of Girls L.E.A.P., a mentor organization in Columbus, Ohio that serves girls in 5-12 grades. Her love and passion for girl's education and empowerment has inspired her to launch Girls L.E.A.P. in 2019. Gaby’s main goal is to educate, inspire and empower girls to be bold leaders and change makers. She believes education is the most powerful tool to alleviate poverty and that investing in girls/women can result in positive changes in communities. In her role as the servant leader of Girls L.E.A.P., Gabriela brings in over 18 years of experience in the field of Banking/Finance and over 10 years of experience in the mentoring field. She is a goal-oriented and accomplished professional with extensive experience in financial management, budgeting, forecasting, operational management, people management, curriculum development, grant writing and strategic planning. She is a great communicator and enjoys reading and writing. She has recently contributed to a major research paper sponsored by Mentor National titled “Opportunities to Invest in Long-Term Social Capital for Our Youth.” Her passion for educating and mentoring girls is directly linked to her lived experience. She holds an MBA degree in Finance and a BS in Business Administration with a minor in Economics. She loves to help others by volunteering her time to mentor children and serve in soup kitchens.
LaTosha Conner
Girls L.E.A.P. Vice Chair
Senior Community Reinvestment and Community Partnership Relationship Manager—JP Morgan Chase—strategic planning, project management, process improvement, quality assurance, and leadership. She has demonstrated a strong aptitude for these areas. She has a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Ohio Dominican University and Organizational Management from Ashford University. LaTosha has been a board member of Girls L.E.A.P. for the past three years. She volunteers annually with Girls Who Code, TutorMate, and Junior Achievement of Central Ohio.
Jen Evans
Girls L.E.A.P. Treasurer
Jen, VP Branch Senior Review Manager, has worked for JP Morgan Chase for almost 20 years and is currently part of the Controls organization where she designs strategic initiatives and supports multiple cultural development groups. Jen has been involved with mentoring groups for over 10 years, and with Girls L.E.A.P. since its inception in 2019. She enjoys working with the girls and loves flexing her creative muscles to add fun to their development.
Monica L. Bell
Girls L.E.A.P. Secretary
Vice President at JP Morgan Chase, Monica provides business enablement and transformation service support for data center services globally. Monica is a customer-focused team player who leads cross-functional initiatives within the business unit. She possesses excellent people skills and experience dealing with diverse cultures and varying organizational levels. She is an active member in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Business Resource Groups with the firm. During her 30 years with the company, she has worked for multiple lines of business and gone through several mergers. She holds a BS in Organizational Leadership and an MBA from Franklin University. Monica joined Girls L.E.A.P. as a mentor in 2019 and was previously a mentor with One Child One Community.
Chanda Nichols
Girls L.E.A.P Director of Operations
Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President, FSB Financial Corp. and Vice Chairman of the Board, The Farmers State Bank, Chanda is a graduate of DePauw University and the Washington & Lee University School of Law. She has been involved in mentoring Columbus-area girls since 2017 and has been with Girls L.E.A.P. since its inception in 2019. Chanda is passionate about education and empowering girls.
Jackie Cummings Koski
Girls L.E.A.P. Director of Financial Education
Jackie is a financial educator and consultant that holds the Certified Financial Planner® and Accredited Financial Counselor® credentials. After overcoming poverty, divorce and single motherhood, she still reached Financial Independence and Retired Early (F.I.R.E.) in her 40s, making less than six figures. Jackie is the author of two books: "Money Letters 2 my Daughter" and “F.I.R.E. for Dummies”. She is also co-host of the “Catching Up to FI” podcast. Jackie earned her master’s degree in financial planning & financial therapy from Kansas State University. Jackie loves sprinkling her money smarts and $2 bills wherever she goes.
Sherri Kposowa
Girls L.E.A.P. Director of Social Emotional Learning
School Social Worker—Columbus City Schools—specializing in restorative practice and trauma-informed care. She is a licensed social worker with a background as a special education teacher. Her combined experience in both areas spans 24 years. In addition, she specializes in Restorative Practice, and Trauma Informed Care, and she is a licensed ROX facilitator.
Sylvia Hightower Skipper
Girls L.E.A.P. Board Member and Family Liaison
Family Ambassador—Columbus City Schools—providing support to students and their families to ensure academic success. Sylvia supports students in their academic success and encourages parents to take advantage of opportunities that will help enrich their scholars and help them become leaders of tomorrow. She works to be a leader who leads with integrity, competency, and compassion. Prior to her accident, she was a thriving hair stylist. Sylvia is a role model for our students having overcome a spinal cord injury that left her temporarily paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 24 years old but through determination and commitment to hard work is now walking on her own. She didn’t let her injury define her and declared that she would be more than a conqueror. Sylvia gives all thanks to God!
Elizabeth Mgaya
Girls L.E.A.P. Board Member and Mentor
From Tanzania, Elizabeth is a retired international civil servant with seventeen years of working experience with the Foreign Ministry of her country and as a diplomat. She also has 16 years of experience working in peacekeeping in Darfur, Sudan, and Somalia. Known as Betty to her friends, she has always had a passion for working with Youth. After her retirement, she pursued this passion by volunteering with Girl L.E.A.P., a girl’s mentoring Nonprofit organization in Columbus, Ohio. She also volunteers with another Nonprofit organization, StageOneInAction, working with Youth on personal development, talent development, career development, and community engagement. She is certified as a dream builder coach by the Brave Thinking Institute. She enjoys writing and arts and crafts.
History
Girls L.E.A.P. was founded and is directed by Gabriela Edon. Gaby was inspired by a little girl who came to her parents’ house to sell peanuts in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. This little girl was poor but had a captivating smile, great street smarts and eyes full of hope and determination. She was smart but could not be in school because she was essentially supporting her grandmother to survive with the sale of peanuts. Gaby asked her parents for help and through their generosity the girl moved in with them and they were also able to support her grandmother while she was in school.
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This was a turning point for Gaby, who has always had a passion for helping others, especially girls, access education. She believes education is the most powerful tool to alleviate poverty and that investing in girls/women can result in positive changes in communities. Growing up, she served as a youth leader in her church and tutored in math and science. Gaby now serves the girls of Columbus, Ohio through Girls L.E.A.P., which she founded in 2019.