Happy Thanksgiving!

FAM, can you believe the holidays are here?!

I am hoping yours are filled with joy, love and countless blessings!

As we give thanks, I would like to put an important date on your calendar: Tuesday, December 1st - Giving Tuesday!

This global day of generosity is an opportunity to support the nonprofit organizations working every day to make our communities stronger. Your generous contributions to the S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls help us continue our mission of supporting organizations that are creating opportunities for girls and young women in under-resourced communities. Please consider making a donation at: shaunfoundationforgirls.org/donate.

On a personal note, I had an absolutely wonderful time at the WIN Awards last month, where I was honored to receive the Woman of the Year Award from the Women's Image Network. It was a special evening, and I am incredibly grateful for this recognition that focused on my television career and my work uplifting girls through the S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls.

And what an exciting time! We just witnessed a historic midterm election and this special issue of MAGNOLIA Monthly celebrates the women who are breaking barriers, shattering ceilings and blazing new trails with their history-making victories. Their accomplishments are about so much more than winning elections or making headlines. They represent progress, possibility and the power of women stepping into spaces where decisions are made and history is written.

I hope you enjoy celebrating these extraordinary women with us. Their stories remind us that HERStory is still being written and that every time a woman breaks a barrier, she helps make the path a little wider for the girls who will follow.

As always, thank you for being part of the S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls family. Your encouragement, generosity, and belief in our mission mean more than you know.

I will leave you with this quote “THANKFULNESS is a magnet for MORE because when you consistently appreciate what you have, LIFE has a way of expanding those blessings and surprising you with even more than you imagined."

PEACE AND LOVE,



Shaun

Shaun Robinson

President and Founder

S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls

Partner Spotlight:

The Collective Identity

We’re excited to introduce our newest nonprofit partner and SHE LEADS grant recipient, The Collective Identity (TCI)!

Based in Los Angeles, TCI is a mentorship program dedicated to empowering Black girls and young women.

Through intentional one-on-one mentorship, community-building, and culturally enriching excursions, TCI creates a safe, supportive space where young people can explore their identities, embrace their full potential, and define their own paths.

We had the privilege of connecting with Nicole Lynn, Founder, President & Executive Director of TCI, at our 3rd Annual SHE LEADS Conference. Her passion and unwavering dedication to the girls she serves resonated deeply with us and the entire room of leaders.

We’re proud to partner with TCI and support the meaningful, life-changing impact they’re making!

A Milestone Moment: 2026 Midterm History Makers

Deb Haaland

New Mexico

First Native American Woman Elected Governor of a U.S. State

Keisha Lance Bottoms

Georgia

First Black Woman Elected Governor of a U.S. State

Peggy Flanagan

Minnesota

First Native American Woman Elected to the U.S. Senate

Amy Acton

Ohio

First Woman Elected Governor of Ohio

Gina Hinojosa

Texas

First Latina Elected Governor of Texas

Amy Klobuchar

Minnesota

First Woman Elected Governor of Minnesota

Stacey Plaskett

Virgin Islands

First Woman Elected Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Marsha Blackburn

Tennessee

First Woman Elected Governor of Tennessee

Annie Andrews

South Carolina

First Woman Elected to Represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate

Denise Powell

Nebraska

First Latina Elected to Represent Nebraska in the U.S. Congress

Claire Valdez

New York

First Native American Woman Elected to Represent New York in the U.S. Congress

Melat Kiros

Colorado

First Black Woman Elected to Represent Colorado in the U.S. Congress

Pia Dandiya

Florida

First Indian-American Elected to Represent Florida in the U.S. House

Adrienne Adams

New York

First Black Woman Elected Lieutenant Governor of New York

Tiffany Moore Russell

Florida

First Black Woman Elected Mayor of Orange County

Cognitive surrender is different. It happens when you stop evaluating what the tool gives you and start treating its output as the answer. The grant narrative drafted by ChatGPT that goes out unread. The program evaluation you asked Claude to put together that gets forwarded to the funder because it sounded good. The tell is not how much you used AI. It is whether you could defend the result if a board member or funder pushed back on it. If you cannot explain why a conclusion is right, you didn’t offload anything. You surrendered the task. You gave up the judgment, but the accountability still belongs to you.



For girls-centered organizations, this matters a lot. Your expertise is not generic. You know what a safe program space feels like, how girls talk about their lives, and which communities have reasons to distrust institutions. AI models draw on broad patterns, and those patterns can flatten girls into stereotypes or miss the context that makes your work effective. A tool can write a polished impact story that is subtly wrong about the girls it describes. Only someone who knows them will notice.

Jayne Morgan, M.D.

@drjaynemorgan

Cardiologist and V.P. of Medical Affairs, Hello Heart

Adj. Ass. Prof. of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine

Creator of the Stairwell Chronicles

Advisory Board Member,

S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls

Healthy Her: Why Health Plans Shouldn't Overlook Women's Cardiovascular Risk

Most women's health strategies are built around reproductive care. That's not wrong, but it is incomplete. And for health plans, the gap between those two things is showing up in avoidable costs.

Plan leaders already know heart disease drives cost.

Our 2026 survey found 95% of plan leaders say addressing heart health is important, but only 29% are prioritizing it in a way that changes outcomes. And only 61% correctly identify heart disease as the leading cause of death for women.

That awareness gap matters because cardiovascular risk in women is often silent, missed, and only addressed after it has become a high-cost event. It’s a risk identification and strategy gap—and it shows up directly in cost, utilization, and blood pressure performance.

Featured Fashion Brand: Debra Lee Collection

This month, we're shining a spotlight on the Debra Lee Collection (@debraleecollection), a luxury handbag line founded by our friend and longtime S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls supporter, Debra Lee.

A trailblazing leader, accomplished executive, and passionate advocate for women's empowerment, Debra has spent her career opening doors and creating opportunities for others. Her collection reflects her appreciation for timeless style, quality craftsmanship, and the confidence that comes with expressing your individuality.

We’re excited to celebrate Debra, her many accomplishments, and her continued commitment to empowering women!

Breaking Barriers: This Month's Must-Reads

The S.H.A.U.N. Foundation for Girls is a grant-making, 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving the quality of life for underserved and underrepresented girls and young women. We support initiatives empowering girls in the key areas of our mission: (S)TEM, (H)EALTH, (A)RTS, (U)NITY and (N)EIGHBORHOODS.