REM Award Honorees (2010 – 2011) — Mackenzie Riley (Hardy Girls Healthy Women)

Hardy Girls Healthy Women wishes to honor Mackenzie Riley for her dedication to serving girls! Congratulations!

Mackenzie is a tremendous asset to the Waterville community. She has been a member of the Girls Advisory Board (GAB) for the last four years, first as member and head of the committee for the ’zine Girls With Active Voices Everywhere, to president of the Girls Advisory Board. In her second year as president, Mackenzie has led GAB through several fundraisers and community service projects and single-handedly hosted the Girls Rock Awards, where she welcomed and honored five girls for making Maine a better place for girls to grow and thrive.

Last year, Mackenzie participated in a collaborative project between Hardy Girls and the Maine Women’s Lobby to raise awareness about chemicals in cosmetics and marketing ploys targeting girls to use harmful products. Not only was Mackenzie interviewed by local news stations, she later led a presentation to the community on research she had done on the subject.

Mackenzie is one of the most dedicated volunteers at Hardy Girls Healthy Women. She leads by example. Whether it’s helping out at an Adventure Girls event through the woods or doing art projects with girls during Hardy Days in the summer, Mackenzie is there. This fall, Mackenzie was an ambassador of Maine and Hardy Girls at the first ever SPARK Summit in New York City, a call to end the sexualization of girls in the media. Mackenzie continues to be one of the lead bloggers for SPARK, writing gender equity, media literacy, and social activism. Whenever her help is needed, Mackenzie is there. Her volunteer activities, leadership, and organization skills have helped make GAB the great leadership program it is today.

We can’t thank her enough!

For more information about Hardy Girls Healthy Women, please visit its website.