GIRLHOOD TO WOMANHOOD
Empowering girls to be seen, heard, and understood - walking with them through every next stage of life, from girlhood into womanhood, through social-emotional learning, mentorship, and a village that stays.
Rooted in
Milwaukee, WI
Method
SEL + mentorship
Journey
12 → 24
A promise
Seen. Heard. Understood.
Our Mission
Social Butterflii exists to empower girls to be seen, heard, and understood - walking with them through each next stage of life, from girlhood into womanhood.
Founded in 2014 by Shana Washington, Social Butterflii is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to girls' empowerment.
Our core focus is social-emotional learning for girls from under-resourced communities, with a deep commitment to girls in juvenile detention centers and alternative schools, alongside community programming that reaches girls wherever they already are - rooted in Milwaukee, WI and serving the Midwest.
Helping youth recognize their strengths, take accountability for their choices, and develop a vision for their future. Our SEL and resilience work is girls-focused, while career and college readiness is open to all youth ages 16–19. Transitional living remains a future vision.
"Every girl deserves a mirror that tells the truth, and a circle that helps her see it."
The Journey
We meet girls in adolescence and stay with them as they grow into young women - with mentorship now and a vision for supportive housing in the future.
Ages 12–17
Resilient Wings brings social-emotional learning and resilience-building to girls in group homes, alternative schools, juvenile detention centers, and community sites, rooted in Milwaukee, WI and serving the Midwest.
Ages 16–19
Employability skills, career exposure, and college readiness support for all youth - not girls-only - bridging young people toward their next step after high school.
Up to age 24
Our future vision is supportive housing paired with continued mentorship for girls stepping into adulthood - with the possibility of a location serving boys as well.
Our commitments
Girls arrive as they are — no performance required. What's shared in the circle stays in the circle.
Before confidence, before leadership, there's the quiet work of knowing who you are and celebrating it.
Girls grow faster when they grow together. We build friendships that hold, not cliques that harm.
Our mentors model confidence, compassion, and leadership — and stay long enough to be remembered.
Programming
Our work brings identity, emotional wellness, healthy relationships, accountability, self-advocacy, and readiness into the places young people already are.
A two-part social-emotional learning and accountability curriculum for girls ages 12–17. Part I builds skills for emotions, relationships, and choices; Part II puts them to work in everyday life. Both 10-week parts are available now.
A deep commitment to girls in juvenile detention centers and alternative schools. We bring SEL and consistent mentorship inside the walls where other programs don't go — currently active at Vel Phillips, running during the school year.
Ongoing community programming that gives girls a consistent, safe place to land after the school day — SEL, sisterhood, and structure.
Workshops delivered in partnership with the City of Milwaukee's Earn & Learn summer program, covering employability skills and career exposure for youth ages 16–19.
An employability workshop series for teens 16–19 — communication, teamwork, professionalism, and problem-solving through hands-on scenarios.
Girls create and lead public advocacy projects — PSAs, community dialogues, and youth voice initiatives — turning lived experience into leadership.
For parents, guardians, and educators — practical strategies to nurture resilience, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence in the girls they're raising.
Where we work
School-based partnerships are reserved for opportunity youth — we don't run general school programming. Rooted in Milwaukee, WI, serving the Midwest.
Get Involved
01
Adults who want to walk consistently with girls — modeling confidence, compassion, and leadership, and staying long enough to be remembered.
Apply to mentor02
Schools and youth-serving organizations can bring Social Butterflii programming into the spaces where their girls already are.
Start a partnership inquiry03
Invite founder Shana Washington to bring an empowering message to your school, organization, conference, or community gathering.
Visit Shana Speaks LifeBecome a Mentor. Our mentors are women who show up with confidence, compassion, and leadership - and stay long enough to be remembered.
Apply to mentora note to her —
You don't have to have it all figured out to belong here. You just have to come as you are.
— The Social Butterflii Circle
