Discovery Girls

I started Discovery Girls when my daughter Alexa was eight, because I wanted her middle-school years to be different from mine. I remembered how alone I felt when I was her age. It wasn't until years later that I realized that other girls went through confusing times and struggled to fit in, too--I just hadn't known it back then. I was sure there must be a magazine that connected girls and showed them they weren't really alone. To my surprise, I couldn’t find one. The magazine I wanted didn't exist...so I began to think about creating it myself.

Even though I knew nothing about publishing a magazine, I knew in my heart that I needed to do something to help my daughter and the rest of the girls of her generation. So before long, I'd left my job in high-tech management, put together a business plan, and used my savings to hire a small staff. We set up shop…in my living room.

(Photo courtesy San Jose Mercury News)

A Magazine Is Born

Right from the start I knew girls needed to involved in every aspect of the magazine's creation. So I selected 12 girls from our local schools, and for almost a year, we spent hours every week in my kitchen, talking about everything girls their age are going through. They were so excited that their opinions were important to us. Out of this amazing experience, the idea for Discovery Girls was born.

We'd travel around the country to do our photo shoots, selecting 12 new readers for each issue. That way, we'd have girls from all over the world contributing to the magazine. Not only would they generate ideas for the articles, but they would also be our cover girls and fashion models. They'd be each other's role models…and make Discovery Girls truly a magazine "by girls, for girls."

10 Years and Growing

We've come a long way from having just 1,200 readers back in 2000…and how things have changed! Our office is no longer squeezed into a corner of my home. Instead, we have a sunny office with fuchsia walls, rooms stuffed with clothes for our fashion shoots, and (huge!) stacks of mail from our readers. In 2010, Discovery Girls celebrated our 10-year anniversary with an award-winning magazine that reaches close to a million girls with each issue; a new interactive web site with videos and instant answers (for our readers who can't wait two months for the next issue!); four published books to help girls survive middle-school; and our 10-Year-Anniversary Collector’s Edition…a compilation of all of DG’s best!

Through it all, one thing has remained constant: our connection to you, our readers. Over 800 girls have been Discovery Girls, and many, many more have contributed to the magazine in some other way. You've shared your stories, your opinions, and your dreams with us. Most of all, you've shown true caring for other girls. You continue to inspire all of us at DG every single day. Without you, Discovery Girls would still be just a dream!

Remember, you're not alone!