Molly Dillon - Yes She Can: 10 Stories of Hope & Change from Young Female Staffers of the Obama White House

My mama has always said theres nothing more interesting than an interested human. And shes so right! It is this curiosity that human progress feeds on; but for too long, girls were not encouraged to follow their curiosity. With educational disparities and discrimination in the classroom and workplaces, the world that we occupy as women comes with the tough reality: we must persevere. Spaces only get more complicated to maneuver in when we include our various intersecting identities: ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, citizenship status, abilities, etc. But what the women who have charted maps of ingenuity, intention, and success have proved is that when women feed their potential, they in turn feed human potential.

We are in the midst of a cultural revolution, and women of all walks of life are leading the charge in the fight for equity! Watching this moment in history inspires me and so many of my peers to push past perceived boundaries and create new possibilities. The brilliant humans in this book represent women who became the change they wanted to see, feel, and experience; and in doing the work, these fierce young women have created space for others to follow suit.

I was fortunate enough to visit the Obama White House four times. In fact, President Obama once joked that I should get my own office in the White House. (I quickly closed my eyes to manifest this!) While any opportunity to be in the same room as the Obamas was a gift to me, one of the moments emblazoned on my spirit happened when I cohosted the White House Science Fair, alongside entrepreneur and educational philanthropist Karlie Kloss, under the guidance of scientist Dr. Knatokie Ford. We interviewed brilliant young scientists from around the United States about the scientific innovations and breakthroughs they were creating. Kids of all ages were turning their passions and skills into making education more accessible, creating diagnostic tests for the Ebola virus, inventing alternative power sources, and so much more! The biggest impact, however, was being surrounded by women of different generationswatching the young female scientists exhibiting their findings and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Dr. Jo Handelsman excitedly participating. The unwavering support from President Obama alongside the brilliant women of the White House, celebrating what is traditionally a male-dominated field, reinforced in me and so many others the deep and continued need for female voices in all places.

The inspiring female staffers in this book did not just happen to land a job in the Obama White House. They worked for it, knowing that other young women were watching and preparing to step into the spaces they created for us through their experiencesgood and bad. Yes She Can is a gift; its filled with ten womens inspiring stories about entering public service under the Obama Administration and how they didnt just survive but thrived in these spaces! These intelligent humans know the importance of their voices and values and became the representation that we are so lacking. Each had her own path to the White House and, once there, made her mark on the worldall while clearing a path and expanding the vision of a more inclusive America.

These women, in part, inspired me to create Eighteen x 18, an initiative to increase youth voter education and turnout. They demonstrated for me and my peers that politics can no longer happen without uswe must share a common love for our global community. Their stories serve as a reminder to young people that we are not alone in this fight, that there are women who have taken it upon themselves to trudge through the sometimes treacherous terrain of politics and public service in order to open the doors and let us all in. Their presence has undoubtedly carved the way for us Gen Zers, and I am so grateful that they have decided to share their experiences.

May our voices continue to carry the power of generations of women from the past, present, and future!

In the hallway outside the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House hang four Norman Rockwell paintings. Anyone who has worked in the White House has walked by these priceless pieces. Theyre part of a seriesa quadriptych entitled So You Want to See the President, and each of the four parts features a day in the life at the center of American power. As the story goes, in late 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave Rockwell full access to the West Wing. Rockwell spent three days sitting in the lobby, sketching all the people he saw coming and going from the front gate to the Oval Office. The paintings depict a parade of policemen, photographers, reporters, Secret Service agents, foreign diplomats, Miss America, members of Congress, White House butlers, and various West Wing staff before, in the final image, the door to the Oval Office and the President himself are revealed.

Of the fifty-eight people in these four drawings, only five are women. Whats more, they show up in the White House only as secretaries, a beauty queen, and a segregated section of the U.S. military.