Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anzhelika Steenolsen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Anzhelika , thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Yes, SHER is a mission driven organization, born from both deep empathy and a desire to do things differently.

I didn’t build SHER to compete I built it to expand. To offer something a little wilder, a little deeper, a little less polished. SHER is a sanctuary and a playground. A place where women and girls can come as they are, to be seen and witnessed. Cry if they need to, dream as big as they want to and be held through it all. We dive into mental health, advocacy, storytelling, trauma, identity, leadership and legacy, nothing is off limits.

The mission is deeply personal. I see it in my daughter’s fierce determination to lead, in the legacy of my grandmother who fled persecution with silver sewn into her skirt, and in every woman I’ve met, those who have survived, risen and dared to hope again, and those still searching for a space to breathe, to dream and simply be.

SHER is that space and this mission is more than a cause or my calling. It is my quiet rebellion, my love letter and my legacy.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When people ask what I do, I sometimes stumble, because there’s no single title that fits. I’m a builder and a connector, the one behind the scenes bringing visions to life. I consult, sit on boards, design campaigns, and produce large-scale events that raise both funds and awareness.

I work across philanthropy, advocacy, and production, creating campaigns and experiences that support causes I care deeply about. A big part of my life has been devoted to advancing opportunities for women and girls. I’m especially focused on children’s health, teenage mental health, women’s empowerment, and more recently vulnerable communities affected by conflict and cultural erasure. I’m drawn to work that creates real, lasting connection where giving isn’t just transactional, but transformational.

As a creative, I also recently co-founded The Curated Reserve, a platform representing artists whose work isn’t just beautiful, but intelligent, emotionally alive, and future-facing. Art that transcends trends, becomes part of legacy, yet also functions as equity, operating at the intersection of blue-chip curation and financial foresight.

Most importantly, I’m the founder of The SHER Group organization devoted to amplifying the voices and leadership of women and girls. You could say I hustle with heart and do my best to lead with purpose.

In a past chapter of my career at InStyle magazine, I attended my first women’s empowerment event that led to many more. I want to begin by saying that I wholeheartedly support any initiative that champions women. There can never be too many spaces devoted to sisterhood, solidarity and support. As long as women are still healing, dreaming and fighting to be seen, we need every single one. But I also found myself taking a slightly different view, maybe even a contrarian one.

Some of the events I attended were beautiful in their intention, but unintentionally narrow in their reach, segmented by age, background, race or experience. Powerful, yes but not always inclusive in the truest sense. I couldn’t help but wonder, how great it would be to have something radically open where women from all walks of life could gather, not in curated silos, but in shared space. What kind of magic might unfold if we threw out the boxes and brought every kind of woman into the same room. If we removed the filters entirely? That question became a vision. And eventually, that vision became SHER.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Long before I learned the art of turning mess into meaning. Like many I pivoted professionally and personally.
So fast-rewind years back I decide I want to be in fashion. Not just wear cute clothes, but design things that tell stories. I launched a handbag line -wearable art . I’ve had the honor of seeing my designs walk red carpets even the Oscars, carried by remarkable women: Halle Berry, Katheryn Winnick, Kerry Washington and Denis Rich (among others) who weren’t just holding handbags, but pieces of my story. Sounds glamorous, right? Well, picture this: me dragging giant duffel bags of samples through New York City in the rain, hair a mess, eating cold pizza between meetings. Glamour? Kind of. Chaos? Absolutely. But it taught me something: real success doesn’t look like Instagram, it looks like grit with good lighting.

I’ve written for InStyle magazine, worked with Maxim, produced events and even revived a United Nations campaign. I hustled, I showed up. I made space. Basically, I’ve been everywhere except chill.

But here’s the thing, every time I thought I had life figured out, it changed. And every time I pivoted, I got closer to doing work that made me excited to wake up. So if your path looks messy, weird, or nothing like your you’ve imagined. That means you’re living. You’re exploring. You’re becoming. And one day, you just might wake up and think, ‘Wow… I built this?’

Then came my biggest pivot- becoming a mom. Everything changed. Suddenly, I wanted more than just a business, I wanted meaning. Which with time eventually brought me to working with non profits.

Looking at it now becoming a mother to now a fierce, wise-beyond-her-years daughter awakened a new calling in me: to build something that could help other women step into their strength and knowing. That calling became SHER. Quite a meaningful pivot from my earlier years in fashion and design.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

You know, there was a moment in my life where everything hit at once. I was going through something deeply personal at home, trying to pull off a huge event, and dealing with a major setback in my work life, something that really shook my trust. I remember sitting at my dining table at like 3 in the morning, laptop open, emails piling up, mascara smudged halfway down my face, and just thinking… “This might be the thing that breaks me.”

I was ready to give up, but something deeper rose up , something sacred inside me whispered, “No. Not this. Not now.”
So I wiped my face, made the damn spreadsheet, responded to emails, showed up the next day like nothing was crumbling. But it was. And still I didn’t let it define me.

That’s the thing about resilience. People think it’s about being tough all the time. But sometimes it’s just choosing not to give up on yourself that day. That’s it. And the truth is every single one of us has had one of those 3 a.m. moments.

That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I build what I build. Because I never want a woman or s girl to feel like she has to go through it alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theshergroup.org
• Instagram: @theShergroup

Image Credits

Thank you for your patience
[email protected]