Recently named one of the first 250 entrepreneurs on the Forbes Next 1000 List, Illana Raia is the founder and CEO of Être – a mentorship platform for girls. Believing that mentors matter as early as middle school, Illana brings girls directly into companies they select to meet female leaders face to face. Illana is a member of the International Space Station U.S. National Lab Education Subcommittee and serves on the National Girls’ Collaborative Champions Board.
She has appeared on TV, radio and podcasts and speaks on topics including mentorship, leadership and what girls eyeing – and entering – the workforce are thinking. Illana has also authored 60+ articles for HuffPost, Ms. Magazine and Thrive Global, and her award-winning book Être: Girls, Who Do You Want To Be? was released on Day of the Girl 2019. Her second bestselling book, The Epic Mentor Guide, arrived on International Women’s Day 2022. Prior to launching Être, Illana was a corporate attorney at Skadden Arps and a guest lecturer at Columbia University. She graduated from Smith College and the University of Chicago Law School, and lives happily in NYC.
