Entertainment

Amy Poehler's Partners Are Equally Amazing

by Rachel Semigran

There are few things in this world that would make me ever want to be a teenager again — one of them is the Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Summer Camp that's happening in Austin, Texas this June. Young women ages 14-18 will get to spend two whole weeks playing, creating, and exploring how to “change the world by being themselves by choosing something they care about and helping in some way.” Color me jealous, ladies, this sounds incredible.

Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls is just one of the many humanitarian and charitable causes the Queen of Comedy (and our Hearts) has helped to grow. Smart Girls is a rapidly-growing online community that fosters confidence in young women and encourages them to unapologetically be who they are. It’s a simple concept with powerful results. Through social media outreach and events like the Summer Camp, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls is helping to change the culture that young women are raised in, and we are oh so thankful for that.

However, Poehler isn’t the only woman running the show. She’s got two incredible partners who are representing Smart Girls all over the country from South by Southwest to the White House. Here are a few things we think you should know about Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls leaders Meredith Walker and Amy Miles.

Meredith Walker

Smart Girls Profile: Producer, Listener, Cook, Shelter Dog Enthusiast, Mystery Solver, Walks the Walk.

Why We Love Her: She's a talented television producer (Saturday Night Live, Nick News) who helped co-found Smart Girls. According to Walker, "We try to home in on girls who are doing things for the sake of doing them, because that's when they feel most themselves...[Smart Girls] is my passion, it's my dream come true." She was a speaker at this past years SXSWedu panel (the education initiative), as well as the Texas Conference for Women in 2012. She's an outspoken feminist who has taken her experience in Hollywood and used it to gain momentum and visibility for young feminism.

Amy Miles

Smart Girls Profile: Musician, Foodie, Book Club Member, Shoe Collector, Fun Fanatic, Friend to All Cats.

Why We Love Her: Like her Smart Girls Co-Founder Amy Poehler, Miles is an incredibly gifted comedian (check her out on the all-female podcast You Had to Be There ). She's also a musician with three solo albums whose work has appeared on the Guys With Kids, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Children's Hospital. Miles is the host of PBS Kids' show Lomax, The Hound of Music and appears to be working in every aspect of the "Creative Arts that Make People Smile" field.

Keep up the great work, ladies. And thank you.

Image: AmyPoehlerSmartGirls/Instagram; SmrtGrls/Twitter