featuring Kelly Budros, Director of Programs,?The Women's Fund; Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Executive Director of the Interprofessional Commission of Ohio and Founder/Director of Ruling Our Experiences (ROX), Scott Boles, Sequent?and moderator Ann Fisher, WOSU Public Media. The role of women in our society has been an ongoing issue and will continue to be as long as women feel they are underappreciated and disregarded compared to men. Although the gender roles have increasingly become more vague in our world, there are still severe issues when it comes to how women view themselves. Teenaged girls especially deal with tremendous conflict-often comparing their looks and talents to other girls they see in the media. The Women?s Fund of Central Ohio has set out to put out this self-deprecating fire so many young girls have lit inside. ?Our mission is clear and simple. Young women deserve to reach their full potential.? This statement lays the foundation of the Women?s Fund of Central Ohio?s The One Girl Initiative, which reaches out to girls under 18 years of age in the central Ohio seven-county area. The program is a researched-based project designed to empower girls and teach them the confidence, leadership, and lifestyle skills they need in order to reach their full potential. A collaboration of several girl-centered groups has created this program and hopes it will increase girls? self-esteem and overall self-image, in order for them to enter the real world with a sense of empowerment. The skills taught to young girls through the One Girl program and the mentors they are paired with allow them to more successfully finish high school, continue their education afterwards, and discover a lifestyle that best suits their desires and goals. Participants also learn to reject the images of women the media portrays as being ?normal? and correctly gain knowledge of what is healthy for their individual lives, finally realizing it is a good thing to be unique. After all, ?When you invest in one girl, you not only invest in her- you invest in her family and in her entire community.? With 200,000 girls currently in the central Ohio area, this community could benefit immensely from The One Girl Initiative. Kelly Budros, Director of Programs, Women?s Fund will lead the panel going into a more detailed account of the goals and successes of The One Girl Initiative. Also on the panel will be Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Executive Director of the Interprofessional Commission of Ohio and Founder/Director of Ruling Our Experiences (ROX). The ROX Program is designed specifically as an intervention for young girls facing issues including: body image, gender roles, sexual harassment, career development, leadership development, femininity, and sexual violence.? Ann Fisher of WOSU Public Media will moderate this event. She joined The Columbus Dispatch in 1997 as part of the newspaper?s editorial board and eventually. In late 2005 returned to writing as the metro columnist. She wrote three columns a week and also blogged until April, 2009. Fisher joined WOSU in August, 2009 as host of All Sides with Ann Fisher. Less