Case Study
Girls Build Solutions: Co-Creating a Youth-Powered, Cross-Sector STEM Experience
Executive Summary
Girls Build Solutions™, the signature event of the Million Girls Moonshot initiative by STEM Next Opportunity Fund, has grown into a national model for youth-powered, cross-sector convening. Designed and produced by Collaborative Communications, the event series convened more than 900 participants across three years—Chicago (2022), Atlanta (2023), and San Diego (2024)—with a consistent focus on equity, workforce development, and intergenerational collaboration in STEM. With each city offering a distinct cultural and strategic context, the series built momentum through thematic depth, cohesive design, and intentional logistics. Each iteration elevated youth voice, inspired collective action, and demonstrated what’s possible when young people are positioned as co-creators of the future.
Introduction
From its debut in Chicago to its evolution in Atlanta and culmination in San Diego, Girls Build Solutions has exemplified system-level alignment in action. Rooted at the intersection of youth leadership, public-private partnership, and equity-centered STEM strategy, the convening is both a national learning lab and an aspirational blueprint. Entrusted with full-spectrum design and production, Collaborative Communications ensured each city-specific experience delivered impact at scale—integrating content, place-based design, and logistics while positioning youth leaders at the center of every touchpoint.
Problem
Across all three convenings, the core design challenge was meeting the needs of a highly diverse, multi-stakeholder audience—including Flight Crew youth leaders, nonprofit professionals, corporate innovators, educators, and policymakers—without compromising the event’s unified purpose. Each group arrived with distinct priorities, requiring a nimble design framework that could adapt to context while preserving coherence and equity.
Methodology
Collaborative implemented a repeatable yet customizable approach, refined year-over-year to deepen relevance and scale impact:
- Audience and Content Segmentation: Tailored tracks and agendas ensured content relevance for varied audiences, while shared plenaries and other events cultivated whole-group energy.
- Human-Centered Design: Youth safety, cultural relevance, accessibility, and user experience shaped every interaction—from travel to closing sessions.
- Visual and Spatial Identity: The event brand evolved each year to reflect the convening’s unique themes and elevate youth leadership, while maintaining consistent core elements like the logo and youth silhouettes and nods to each city and its surroundings.
- Seamless Logistics: From coordinating hundreds of youth flights to managing multi-site programming, the team deployed layered systems for smooth, welcoming, and safe participation for all.
- Onsite Cohesion: Trained facilitators, speaker preparation, and support staff ensured flow, warm hospitality, and responsive troubleshooting.
Event Evolution & Analysis
2022 – Chicago: Launching a National Vision
In Chicago, Girls Build Solutions debuted with 250+ attendees at the Museum of Science and Industry and other iconic venues. The event introduced the concept of youth-led design at a national scale, with Collaborative curating every element from venue selection to branded collateral. Custom receptions, immersive breakout sessions, and a spotlight on local STEM innovators established a vibrant, celebratory tone.
Impact: Introduced scalable logistics for youth travel and safety. Validated demand for cross-sector STEM community building anchored in OST (out-of-school time) spaces.
2023 – Atlanta: Deepening the Dialogue
The Atlanta convening expanded the model with a strong emphasis on workforce development and regional STEM ecosystems. Sessions explored how systems, programs, and narratives can align to support equitable STEM learning and career readiness.
Impact: Youth co-facilitation evolved into co-leadership, and storytelling emerged as a key lever for shifting mindsets and driving systems change.
2024 – San Diego: Culmination and Codification
As the capstone experience of the Million Girls Moonshot, the San Diego convening brought together close to 300 participants and youth leaders across three venues for its most ambitious iteration yet. The centerpiece was a series of cross-sector design charrettes where intergenerational teams—including youth, industry, philanthropy, and state leaders—co-created solutions to major challenges in tech, climate, health, and space.
Impact: Cemented the model. Intergenerational co-design matured into strategic alignment, and a legacy framework emerged to guide future convenings rooted in inclusion and youth leadership.
Brand Evolution: Designing for Identity, Continuity, and Youth Celebration
From the inaugural convening in Chicago to the culminating experience in San Diego, the Girls Build Solutions brand evolved intentionally year-over-year. While the core visual identity—including the logo, color palette, and youth silhouettes—remained consistent, each event introduced new creative elements through texture to reflect the distinct themes of the convening and celebrate youth leadership in tangible ways.
- 2022 – Chicago: Launched with a bold, vibrant identity and a custom photo booth experience that gave each youth a branded photo strip—part keepsake, part celebration of presence.
- 2023 – Atlanta: Introduced a large-scale silhouette banner featuring outlines of each Flight Crew member, reinforcing collective visibility and their unique stories.
- 2024 – San Diego: Reached the most personalized expression of the brand to date with custom-designed trading cards for each youth leader, sharing their individual achievements and core beliefs.
Findings & Insights
Across all three years, Collaborative identified consistent insights that now serve as foundational design principles:
- Intergenerational Co-Creation Is Transformational
Youth and adults didn’t just coexist—they created solutions together, shifting power and broadening perspective. - Place-Based Design Drives Deeper Engagement
Each city’s venues, themes, and challenges shaped the program’s tone and authenticity. - Visual Identity Strengthens Community
Branded materials—such as custom photo strips, silhouette banners, and personalized trading cards—weren’t just decorative; they evolved each year to celebrate youth, reinforce the event’s themes, and serve as meaningful artifacts that deepened connection and belonging. - Storytelling Unlocks Systems Change
Youth narratives reframed adult understanding of OST STEM and helped define success beyond metrics.
Recommendations
For organizations seeking to replicate or evolve this model:
- Design for Distinctness + Unity: Create segmented tracks that foster identity and shared sessions that reinforce common purpose.
- Position Youth as Designers, Not Guests: Embed youth leaders early in planning and production for authentic engagement.
- Invest in the Look & Feel: Use design to convey values, center equity, and build belonging.
- Tell Stories With Intention: Prepare, elevate, and center youth voices to unlock mindset shifts among adult stakeholders.
- Don’t Skimp on Logistics: Seamless execution—especially for youth safety and travel—is foundational to mission delivery.
Conclusion
Girls Build Solutions has proven that when youth are trusted as co-creators, and when every detail—from flights to fonts—reinforces shared purpose, extraordinary things happen. Over three years, Collaborative Communications and STEM Next Opportunity Fund have not only produced convenings—they have shaped a national narrative for what inclusive, youth-led, future-ready STEM engagement can look like. Girls Build Solutions now stands as both a blueprint and an inspiration for what’s possible when vision, voice, and execution align.