From Intern to Superhero: Meet Ready Girl

After experiencing the damaging effects of Hurricane Sandy while a college junior, I began interning with the New York City Emergency Management Department in an effort to focus on educating college students about emergency preparedness. As an intern, I created the City’s first outreach campaign to focus specifically on college students, which is still active to date. After a successful internship, I was offered a position as a full-time outreach coordinator for the Ready New York program, this time educating the youngest students of New York City. From Pre-K to high school, my outreach program focuses on important safety lessons every New Yorker needs to know, training more than 25,000 students a year.

In 2015 I created Ready Girl, the City’s first-ever emergency preparedness superhero, to increase awareness and engagement for kids. Since her debut in October, Ready Girl has taught more than 6,000 kids and presented at more than 30 schools and community organizations. Ready Girl has presented at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando and will be partnering with the City of New Orleans for a school visit in 2017. Ready Girl has also secured a partnership deal with Marvel Comics and in May 2016, Ready Girl’s first comic book will be released to continue educating students about how to be safe and prepared.

In this presentation, I will discuss how I transformed from an intern to a superhero, and the lessons learned in creating my own campaign. I will also give an exclusive look into the life of Ready Girl — from inspiration to creation — and her transition onto the national stage. You’ll also be able to take a peek into the challenges and rewards of creating a superhero for a government agency.

To learn more about Ready Girl and her story, visit nyc.gov/readygirl and www.readygirlnyc.wordpress.com.