Rachel Boyens, Director
“Work towards intention not perfection.”
Rachel Doyle Boyens (she/her/hers) founded the GlamourGals Foundation in 2000 as a junior in high school in honor of her grandmother who had recently passed away. She was unable to regularly visit her grandmother who lived in a senior home across the country, and she realized there were people in the senior homes in her own community who also were not receiving regular visits from their families.
Rachel combined her compassion and her love of beauty to create a unique program that fosters intergenerational connections while developing empathetic leadership skills in teens. As CEO, Rachel has grown GlamourGals into a national movement with a New York City headquarters and over 1,300 teen volunteers in 18 states and 100 communities around the country.
Read more about Rachel’s first makeover in 2000 and her vision for the future.
GlamourGals has been widely covered by top national press outlets. Rachel has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Montel Williams Show, CBS The Early Show, and The TODAY Show, and has been featured in Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and SAP’s “Going Good: Learning for Life” podcast series. GlamourGals program and Rachel’s leadership style has been included in the following books: “Get It Together” by Lauren Berger, McGraw Hill 7th Grade Health Textbook, and 2007 Prentice Hall College Management textbook.
Known as “an inspirational speaker,” Rachel is regularly invited to share her expertise on the topic of leadership skills development at conferences, schools, trade organizations, and business groups, including Harvard University, Cornell University, University of Southern California, Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership, and OMD Worldwide.
Education:
Entrepreneurship Certificate, The Bank of America Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell, 2019
B.S. Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, 2005
Awards & Recognition:
Marc Fisher #MAKEYOURMARC program, 2015
Sally Hansen and Glamour Magazine Best of You Award, 2012
Yankees' HOPE (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) Week initiative Honoree, 2012
Richard C. Cornuelle Social Entrepreneurship Innovation Award (now Civil Society Award), Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 2011
CNN “Young People Who Rock,” 2007
Woman of Spirit, Morton’s Steakhouse and American Red Cross, 2007
“Fun Fearless Female,” Cosmopolitan Magazine, 2006
Featured in the American Eagle Outfitters national ad campaign, 2005
National Group Volunteer of the Year Award, American Health Care Association, 2004
First-ever “Cosmogirl of the Year,” CosmoGIRL! Magazine, 2001
Distinguished Finalist, Prudential Spirit of Community Award, 2001
