In 2002, at age 15, Girl Talk Founder & Executive Director Haley Kilpatrick dreamed of a program that would help middle school girls deal with the pressures and anxieties of being a young teen. Inspired by her own middle school experience, her vision was high school girls mentoring middle school girls. Girl Talk’s mission is to help middle school girls build self-esteem, develop leadership skills and understand the importance of community service. Haley believes that if girls’ emotional needs are addressed, they will excel academically.
Today, Girl Talk is one of the fastest growing nonprofit mentoring programs in the country. It has reached more than 35,000 girls in 43 states and 4 countries. Currently, Haley is working hard to have Girl Talk in all 50 states, fundraising to support the growth each year and completing her first book, The Drama Years (April 2012, Free Press). Known for dreaming big, Haley’s goal is to see that every middle school girl has access to Girl Talk. She believes that Girl Talk will ultimately change the way young girls behave. She will see true results of her efforts when these girls grow up and become mothers who raise daughters who treat each other with respect and compassion, and have a genuine love of service.
Haley has been featured on NBC’s Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CNN, HLN and TBS. Haley was recently named one of Glamour Magazine’s “20 Young Women Changing the World Now,” as well as People Magazine’s “All-Stars Among Us.”
Haley graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Kennesaw State University. She spends most of her time dedicated to the growth and expansion of Girl Talk. When she is not working at the Girl Talk office, she travels the country speaking and motivating youth, teachers and administrators on the importance of mentoring, leadership and giving back. In her spare time, Haley enjoys traveling, spending time with her friends and family, volunteering and inspiring others to discover their passions through community service.
Additional Honors & Awards:
- Glamour Magazine’s “20 Young Women Changing the World Now”
- Huffington Post's “Greatest Women of the Day”
- SELF Magazine’s “Women Doing Good”
- HLN Morning Express “Breakthrough Woman”
- CNN’s “Young People Who Rock”
- People Magazine’s “All-Star Among Us”
- Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Youngest Recipient to Receive “Top 40 Under 40”
- Apex Society’s “Power 30 Under 30”
- “President’s Volunteer Service Award”
- American Family Insurance’s “Our Family Hero”
- DirecTV’s “Hometown Heroes”
- “Atlanta Phenomenal Woman Award”
- Honoring Irish American’s “Star of the South”
- CosmoGirl Magazine’s “CosmoGirl of the Year”
- TBS’s “Pathfinders”
- National Center for Rural Entrepreneurship’s “Entrepreneur of the Month”
- Atlanta Falcon’s “Community Quarterback Award”
- NBC 11 Alive’s “Atlanta Community Service Award”
- Jezebel Magazine’s “Atlanta’s 50 Most Beautiful People”
- $10,000 Maybelline Scholarship Recipient
- National Confidence Coalition Advisory Board