If you’re sitting across from Dr. Blair Zaid, on the right of her desk, you’ll see a miniature peg board game, a stack of crossword puzzles, and a sign that reads, ‘Your silence is complicit and anti-Black’ hanging above her monitor.

On the wall across from her is a poster board, filled with signatures and messages from the first cohort of Girls Inc. of Metro Denver Eureka program participants she taught during her first year as a Manager of STEM Programs, who she actively remains connected to.

And then there are things you can’t see – like the energy that makes anyone who steps into the organization’s Director of Career Exploration and Programs office feel empowered and encouraged to ask questions, to explore their passions without judgement, and to fully embrace who they are – no matter where they find themselves on the girl journey.

Lest, Dr. Z. has made it clear that even with her team’s progress doubling the number of interns who have enrolled in the organization’s internship program year over year, she chooses to remain grounded.

“I’m not trying to solve all the things,” she tells us. “I just remember being in high school and not knowing what I wanted to do, wishing I had known what else was out there. There’s so much that Girls Inc. of Metro Denver is doing to help communities be successful. I want them to trust teen programming as much as our participants and their families trust our elementary school programming.”

But trust takes time to earn, something the teens of Girls Inc. of Metro Denver immediately vocalized to Dr. Z. upon her arrival at the center just two years ago.

“I’ll never forget when I had two rookies in the Eureka program in 8^th grade,” she shares. “And they said, ‘Miss, there’s been so much turnover in this role, and we just need someone to commit. We don’t need big, beautiful titles for people to show up for us.’”

And that brought Dr. Z.’s lofty goals and ideas back down to earth, where she emphasizes just how important it is for girls to be seen and respected enough to want to stay. For Dr. Z., that’s more than offering quality programming during girls’ high school experience – it’s the relationship-driven approach to community building and collaboration that she considers to be at the center of Teen Programs’ success, something she acknowledges is constantly evolving.

As a former college professor, Dr. Z. has seen firsthand how higher education systems can create barriers for women and women of color. Whether its inadequate high school to college support, refusal to listen and trust their needs, or even how to transition out of college back into the ‘real world,’ she’s using over 20 years of education industry experience to dissolve the barriers and stereotypes she witnesses in her current role when it comes to teen girls.

“I’m fortunate in this role because I get to serve predominantly Hispanic populations, meaning I get to bring my aspect of Black studies training to a different community,” she shares.

This approach helps Dr. Z support girls while they connect who they are to who they want to become in ways that celebrate their histories, legacies, and cultures.

And then there are the things we didn’t know about – things that make Dr. Z. even cooler once you have an opportunity to speak to her.

“I’ve gone surfing in South Africa and I was pretty good at it, I’ve been to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and I’ve had the chance to study in The Democratic Republic of Congo and visit the Caribbean, Europe, Morocco, Botswana, and Mozambique.”

Dr. Z’s global perspective is shaped by a deep curiosity about people, their stories, behaviors, and the legacies they carry. So, if she could have dinner with any woman in history, it would be Octavia Butler.

“Octavia Butler understood human behavior in such a profound way—how we grow, adapt, and build new worlds,” she says. “As an archaeologist, that speaks to me.”

We expected Dr. Z. to leave us with some words of wisdom to noodle on as our conversation came to an end, and she continues to challenge us to think about how we plug into the world around us by going beyond a basic conversation.

“I’d encourage anyone looking to get involved in their community to talk to the community about what’s worked and what hasn’t,” she says. “What you think might be different might be the same, what you think is a burden might not be. Often when people want to make a difference they come at it from one perspective, their own lens. Be present in your community, talk to your community, and be inspired by the people who make up your community.”

Dr. Z isn’t just building programs, she’s building trust, relationships, and futures. Because for her, it’s not about being the hero of the story. It’s about making sure every girl knows she can be the author of her own.