The Team
Meet The Board
RYANNE PETERSON
Founder + Executive Director
Ryanne J. Peterson personifies the phrase “living one’s life and passion out loud”. Gifted with the wisdom to recognize and deeply understand the power, value, and potential within her own unique interpersonal relationships, she cherishes and holds sacred the beauty of sisterhood and friendship. At the blossoming age of eighteen, Ryanne declared her desire to help young girls successfully navigate through this thing called “life.” She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from UNC-Greensboro and went on to continue studies towards her Master’s Degree in School Counseling, which she obtained from North Carolina A&T State University in December 2014. In January 2015, she joined Rogers Herr Year-Round Middle School as a School Counselor, where she developed and presented the concept of an extracurricular program intended for the enrichment of her female students, thus birthing the successful GEMS (Girls Enthusiastically Motivated to Succeed) program.
With “Miss Peterson” at the helm, GEMS has taken the school’s administrative and student body by surprise, surpassing all expectations with its thoughtful and impactful programs and leadership. Through community interaction, instruction, encouragement, and mentorship, GEMS has skyrocketed, creating immeasurable interest among students with activities such as: college tours, exposure and networking with corporate speakers and sponsors, fundraising and scholarship, educational workshops, and family-centered mentorship. Since its inception in 2015, GEMS has been attributed to the improved school performance, confidence, and accomplishments of more than 90 girls. However, due to the overwhelmingly increasing interest in GEMS membership and its limited capacity of thirty students, intuition has led Ryanne to expand her vision to influence a greater number of girls and young women.
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ANJULI REDWOOD
Educational Advisor
Anjuli has worked in the education field for the past twelve years. Her experience crosses a variety of age groups including ages birth through 12 and 14-18. She has worked in various fields teaching children in different classifications including, preschool, elementary and secondary education. Anjuli is a trained AVID tutor and utilizes tutoring, growth and development techniques while assisting “at risk” students from kindergarten through college. In addition Anjuli, has eight years of creating and providing trainings in the areas of Professional Development, Early Childhood Education, Mentoring and Tutoring. Anjuli believes in the power of education and experiences in utilizing the E4 model providing students with opportunities, tools and a strong foundation to be successful throughout life.
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