Stella Kasdagli
2023 IVLP Impact Award Project: Female Founders' Hub 2023Greece
Stella Kasdagli is a writer, a gender expert and the co-founder of Women On Top, a non-profit organisation in Greece for the professional development of women and for gender equality in the public sphere. Within 11 years, Women on Top has managed to become the most experienced organization in Greece regarding women’s professional empowerment and, in 2020, it became the first nonprofit organization participating in the National Council for Gender Equality, while also taking part in key policy consultations with major stakeholders from state institutions and industry leaders.
Stella is also a published author, a translator, a book club enthusiast and the facilitator of impactful workshops on professional development, gender issues and social change. She previously studied French Literature in Athens, Greece, and Media Studies in London, and has worked for 10+ years as a women’s magazine online editor. She is the recipient of the Social Impact UK Alumni Award. She has published eight books for the empowerment of girls, women and teens, and she lives in Athens with her husband and two daughters.
2023 IVLP Impact Award Project: Female Founders' Hub 2023
The project engaged almost 200 female entrepreneurs with 3+ years of business experience who wanted to grow personally and professionally, and achieve their business goals around scaling, resilience, impact, and sustainability. The program was a six-month long initiative that included four online fireside chats and webinars tailored to participants' self-identified needs, two in-person speed dating events for networking and connecting with potential investors and funders, an online or in-person mentoring program, and six newsletters focusing on the needs and interests of mid-stage female entrepreneurs. Through participating in the project, female entrepreneurs boosted their knowledge around key business issues, accessed useful tools and frameworks to help them increase the profitability, impact, and sustainability of their businesses, and became part of a peer-to-peer learning community to improve their self-confidence, self-leadership, and well-being.
“[The project] was informative and eye-opening, not just in terms of the available funding opportunities in Greece. Seeing the variety and range of female entrepreneurs, who are actively working to expand and better serve their business, fosters a sense of camaraderie - plus, it's super inspiring and motivating.” - Project participant
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Mentors’ Training: The Series
The COVID pandemic was especially difficult for Greek women. Many women were hindered in their professional development, entrepreneurial progress and work-life balance. As a result, applications for mentoring support through Women On Top have soared. The goal of this project was to train 100 female mentors and provide them with the skills that will allow them to support their mentees more effectively in pursuing professional opportunities, building new businesses, scaling their projects and accessing economic opportunities for themselves and their families.
Through four bi-monthly practical and interactive webinars, 414 professional women from all over Greece had the chance to develop goal setting, feedback delivery, unconscious bias management and trust building skills. Many of these women were female entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and women who have retired but still want to share their hard-won expertise and insights. Through this training, they will be able to take on 100 or more new mentoring relationships over the next 12 months. This project empowered Greek women to reach their professional goals, realize their creative and economic potential and contribute more fully to the building back effort of Greek society as a whole.
"The webinar was excellent in every way. The trainer had excellent immediacy. I felt she was talking directly to me and that she was there to support us." - Project participant
IVLP Exchange Experience
Stella was a participant in the IVLP Project Women and Entrepreneurship in 2021, organized by the U.S. Department of State and CRDF Global. She was a participant in the IVLP Project Women and Entrepreneurship II in 2022, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education.
Stella's exchange experience led her to develop her IVLP Impact Award Project: "My IVLP experience provided me with a host of insights both about the challenges and the potential of female entrepreneurs from around the world, but also about initiatives, measures and practices that non-profit organizations can implement to help maximize the impact of those changemakers across borders."
U.S. Communities Visited in 2022
Los Angeles, CA; Washington DC; Kansas City, MO; Philadelphia, PA; Dallas, TX
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually in 2021
Huntsville, AL; Sacramento, CA; Washington, DC; Akron. OH; Cleveland, OH; Charlotte, NC