Inspiring all girls to be
strong, smart, and bold
Get to know our Strong, Smart, and Bold Breakfast Honorees
During the next few weeks, we'll be sharing the biographies of our inspiring honorees - today we bring you:

Emily Bittenbender
Emily’s career focus has been the design, construction, and renovations of public buildings and spaces. Early in her career she was hired by the Rendell Administration to jumpstart the paralyzed system of completing over 300 backlogged capital construction projects within city government. As Philadelphia’s first Capital Program Director for the CPO, Emily was charged with the responsibility of bringing private sector business practices to the city and completed $454 million of capital projects in 3 ½ years time. 

In January 2000, Emily was hired as the Vice President of Design & Construction for the National Constitution Center to lead a team once again in the design and construction of a $137M museum in Independence Mall. 

After the completion of the National Constitution Center in 2003, Emily started Bittenbender Construction, LP, a commercial general contractor and construction management firm specializing in the new construction and renovations of museums and historic sites, retail, higher education and corporate fit out projects (the only woman owned, union affiliated general contractor in the local area). 

In 2009 Emily launched Philadelphia Carpentry Systems, LP, a woman owned carpentry and exhibit Installation Company, providing quality carpentry services to general contractors and building owners in the Philadelphia region.
In 2011, Emily was awarded The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Excellence Award for Small Business Person of the Year. Most recently in 2016, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce awarded Emily with Paradigm Award, the region’s most prestigious award for businesswomen. 

In 2015, The Philadelphia chapter of the General Building Contractors Association named Emily L. Bittenbender as its new chairwoman — the first female to hold the top post in the organization's 124-year history.

Emily currently sits on the following boards: Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, GBCA Executive Committee, Philadelphia Carpenters Company Executive Committee, Drexel University’s Close School Advisory Board, American Cancer Society CEOs Against Cancer and more.

Bittenbender Construction’s most recent high profile project is Love Park, which will be opening late fall of this year. This past September, Bittenbender Construction, LP was ranked #2 on the “The List” for Women-Owned Businesses by the Philadelphia Business Journal – based on Company Revenue in 2016.
Join us on Wednesday, May 2, 2018
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
The Union League of Philadelphia
Girls Inc. will also honor Simi Hoque , Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at Drexel University and Monica Malpass , 6ABC Live Action News Anchor at the breakfast for their many inspirational achievements, and Macquarie Investment Management as our Corporate Champion for Girls for its significant contributions ensuring the success of Girls Inc. and the girls we serve by funding innovative and impactful programs. Shawn Lytle , Deputy Global Head President, Delaware Funds by Macquarie, Macquarie Investment Management will accept the award. 
New and Improved!
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new and improved website! Our user-friendly interface will allow you to find information about our programs, news, photos, and events faster than ever before. Please visit us, explore, and let us know what you think!
Jasmine Selected as a Girls Inc. National Scholar
Jasmine, a senior at The Shipley School and a member of Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey, has been chosen as a 2018 Girls Inc. National Scholar and awarded a $20,000 Girls Inc. Lucile Miller Wright scholarship. Jasmine has been involved with Girls Inc. since middle school, and is currently a member of the Ambassador Club and a STEM GEM mentor for girls in the third to fifth grades. She will attend Brown University in the fall of 2018, and was accepted early decision to the prestigious Program in Liberal Medicine Education (PLME), an eight-year combined baccalaureate/M.D. Jasmine is one of only 96 students accepted to the program this year.

Girls Inc. Day of Service
Each year, Girls Inc. girls choose an initiative for their Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On January 13, volunteers from The Carpenters' Apprentice School, The Finishing Trades Institute, and GEM Mechanical Services, Inc. helped 70 of our girls build 17 "little libraries" for local schools and the community. Partnership with female-led groups such as GEM Mechanical Services and NAWIC Philadelphia Chapter 145 are integral to girls' development, not only to learn teamwork and hands-on skills, but to discover careers early in their lives that break barriers in industries traditionally dominated by men. Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers and our girls for making this project possible!

For a second year, the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey has made Girls Inc.'s Seeds to Read program possible thanks to a generous and transformational grant. The program provides one-on-one reading support to kindergarten and first grade students participating in the American Reading Company’s 100 book challenge and promotes family engagement through the love of reading. Our bi-lingual staff also provides literacy support to Spanish-speaking ESL students. Girls Inc. is projected to provide reading support two or three times per week to over 300 students, and will impact 1,200 individuals total with hosted literacy book fairs and family engagement events. You can find more information about our literacy initiative here.
"I like Girls Inc. because I get to meet new people and I've learned to work better in a team. I also like that Girls Inc. helps girls prepare for higher education because I plan to go to college and then law school. I want to be a lawyer when I grow up because you get to argue your case and debate with the opposing side."

-Alessandra, age 11

Meet Alessandra! She is a member of Girls Inc.'s Rising STARS, a Leadership and Community Action program for girls in the 6th through 8th grades designed to cultivate leadership skills by teaching them to investigate their rights and responsibilities and create lasting social change within the community. She is described by Girls Inc. staff as a natural leader, creative, and full of great ideas!
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