The following is a conversation between Lauren Franco, the Executive Director at [gather], and Brooke Galonek, The Fem Word correspondent.

Thank you for sharing your story with The Fem Word. Please describe your journey leading up to your big move to New York?

I knew I was going to live in New York from the time I was ten years old. This was a dream that was planted in me from a young age, and it was watered and tended to as I grew up. I got into NYU my senior year and was all set to go, but I knew in my heart I wasn’t ready to live in the city yet. So, I ended up deferring enrollment for two years, working, acting, traveling, doing some human rights work, and realizing a ton about who I was and what I wanted to do. So by the time I moved to NYC, I felt like I had a focus and stability and maturity I didn’t have before. Moving here was still a wild transition, with a ton of newness and change and challenge, and living in this city is hard, but it was the best decision I could have ever made.

Can you tell me about the background of your women's empowerment organization [gather]?

When I moved to the city, I made it a point to start meeting women for coffee to hear their stories. There was a pretty consistent and persistent struggle everyone seemed to have - a lack of being able to find a female community in a place like New York, or have the space to talk about topics we don’t usually discuss. I was already leading a small group, and I told them about what was on my heart, and how I also wanted to create a space for conversation about faith and experience. I asked them to help me do something about it. So we hosted an event, a ton of girls came - way more than expected - and they were so engaged, grateful, and excited for us to host more events. I think at that point we knew we had something special on our hands.

Your mission statement for [gather] is to “foster relationships, to cultivate conversation, and to help women grow”. What is the goal of this community and can you explain the meaning behind creating a “God-designed team”?

Essentially, [gather] centers itself around three pillars - community, conversation, and empowerment. We want girls to come and be a part of a community, give them a place to form relationships and connections with people they may never have met. We want to engage them in conversation around topics not usually discussed: relationships, challenge, change, wilderness seasons, healing, etc. We believe that freedom is found when things are brought to light in a safe space. Empowerment is part of the mission because we provide resources, training, and relationships that help girls grow in their leadership and empowers them to impact the world for the better. Ultimately, [gather] is fueled and guided by the love our team has received from Jesus, and the desire we have to let others know that they too are loved. Every leadership decision and new team member is carefully prayed over, which is why we say “God-designed team”.

What does a typical [gather] gathering look like?

Typically, the events are held in an apartment or home space, to give the feeling of safety and comfort. We provide dinner and snacks, we all chat and mingle for the first bit of time, then settle into a group discussion which is guided by questions. The questions are designed to start off broad and get more personal as the night goes on. There is usually a breaking off into small groups partway through the night, an activity, and lots of photo-taking and connection time. The events are designed to be a welcoming space to all, and the conversation usually digs into lived experience, struggle, faith, identity, and more!

I'd love to know more about the [gather] series called “wild”?

Wisdom in the Wild is our fall series, which takes us through navigating wisdom in different areas or seasons of life. We are working through wisdom in relationships, career, success, and more! The “wild” is any place of unknown or newness or discomfort, and we want to talk and think about how we position ourselves in these places. We also wrote a devotional on a book in the Bible called Proverbs, which is a great resource on practical wisdom and application!

What are the challenges you faced when starting [gather] and how did you overcome those challenges?

I feel like for the most part, [gather] came into existence pretty organically, and the beginning felt like we were riding this wave of God's faithfulness. It was still a lot of work, effort, planning, and dreaming - but it also felt like we were getting to be a part of something bigger than us. And people were hearing about the vision and wanting to be a part of it, so we started teams in other locations fairly soon after. A big challenge was this past spring, when our executive team was living in six different countries. Trying to coordinate all of our schedules and time differences was difficult, but we were able to get good at organization and planning and commitment, which I think made us so much stronger as a team. It cultivated the ability to be efficient and proactive on our own.

Who is your target demographic for [gather] and how do you become a member?

[gather] events usually range from 18-27 year-olds, but all of our locations look a bit different in regards to demographics. Anyone is welcome to attend, anyone is welcome to help serve in some capacity! Membership is something that we are still in the process of developing, but those who are involved received leadership materials and opportunities, mentorship, and other resources.

Where are [gather] communities located now and what the plans to grow the organization?

Currently, we have three fully operational teams in New York, New York; Orange County, California; and Highpoint, North Carolina, but we have hosted events in Paris, France; Florence, Italy; Mazatlan, Mexico; and Chicago, Illinois. We have plans to plant teams in a few other states and cities this year. We want to develop more curriculum, we have plans for more audio and visual content, and we want to expand our team! We also are becoming a licensed non-profit organization this year!

What was a moment when you knew [gather] contributed to empowering women?

I have a lot of these moments! We get messages from women all over the world telling us that they have been impacted by the work we are doing. We have a lot of women who view our site and resources from countries none of our team have even been to. I think just knowing we are building into this generation of women and giving them encouragement in some way makes me weepy all the time. I also love getting to empower our team, to give them a place and space to work on their gifts and talents and develop skills. Once, a girl found us on Instagram and took a two-hour train into the city to attend the event, knowing no one, simply because she was inspired and wanted to be a part of it! She now hosts one of our teams!

Describe a moment when you felt powerful?

There have been so many moments where I have felt powerful. Anytime we do an event and I get to speak into women, it’s a rush of gratitude and excitement and disbelief that we really get to do this. Anytime people share or acknowledge the work that we are doing, it’s powerful. Recently, we had a dream and vision meeting for 2020 with our executive team, and it made me feel so powerful that we were all behind the same vision and had the same heart for [gather]'s growth and future. And to hear how our team has been impacted and grown in their roles is amazing!

Where can we find [gather]?

You can follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/girlswhogather, and check out our website www.thegirlswhogather.com , also on Facebook, our page is called gather!

Lauren Franco, Executive Director at [gather] | NYC