Ekaterina Juskowski, the Founder of the Miami Girls Foundation was featured as “One to Watch” in Miami Magazine‘s Philanthropy Issue, November 2015.
Photo Credit: Ekaterina Juskowski by Zain Ali Shah.
When Ekaterina Juskowski found herself in defense mode every time someone called her a “Miami girl,” she knew something had to be done. The Moscow-born artist and New-York transplant knew the term implied a “bimbo image,” she says. “It was a joke and I did’t like it.” Miami is where I live, she thought, what does it have to do with anything? That’s why this past month she launched the Miami Girls Foundation. Her mission: to recruit women of all ages who are the antithesis of this “Miami girl” stereotype and evoke social change by example. She describes the foundation as a non-profit media company that will partner with other media entities to get their message across. “We are going to tell the real story of what’s happening in Miami- to show it is as the city it is rather than the reputation [some think it has],” she explains. The group she has put together comprises working women and professionals, so they often meet on weekends or at 7am before their workdays begin, to brainstorm ideas and plan for the foundation’s official launch in January. “I get approached by women asking how they can help, and I tell them “However you want to,” she adds. “This is a network. Women’s clubs and circles are decentralized here. I see this as the one network that will help everyone.” modernluxury.com