Alexia Hilbertidou
Alexia Hilbertidou in July 2017
Born (1999-02-10) 10 February 1999
Cyprus
NationalityNew Zealand
EducationAlbany Senior High School, Auckland
OccupationSocial Entrepreneur
Websitewww.alexia.nz

Alexia Hilbertidou is a New Zealand social entrepreneur and the founder of GirlBoss New Zealand,[1] a social enterprise which aims to empower women in leadership, entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.[2] GirlBoss has attracted 13,000 members, and has become New Zealand’s largest women’s network.[3]

Life

Hilbertidou was born in Cyprus, and moved to New Zealand whilst still a baby.[4] She is of Greek and Samoan descent.[5]

She was educated at Albany Senior High School, Auckland. She studied digital IT and physics, and found that she was frequently the only girl in the classes. At 16, she founded GirlBoss New Zealand as a way to encourage teenage girls to participate more fully in leadership, entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, and maths. GirlBoss events have featured guest speakers such as My Food Bag founder Theresa Gattung, Green Party candidate Chloe Swarbrick, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, and Xero's Anna Curzon.[2] Hilbertidou is a strong advocate for equity of access and for ensuring every young woman in New Zealand, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can succeed.[6]

Recognition

Alexia Hilbertidou inside SOFIA

In 2016, Hilbertidou won the Young Leader Award, an award given to the most influential New Zealand woman under at the age of 25, at the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards.[3] She is an Eisenhower Youth Fellow and New Zealand's representative at the Global Teen Leader Summit.[7] She also received the AIMES Bellingham Wallace Emergent Talent Award, which enabled her to work full-time on GirlBoss.[8] In July 2017, Hilbertidou was invited by NASA to be part of the SOFIA Project and ride onboard NASA's 747 jumbo jet during an overnight exploratory mission.[9] She is the youngest person to receive such an invitation.[10] Hilbertidou is also the youngest member of the Super Diverse Women Network led by Mai Chen.[5]

In 2018 Hilbertidou received a Queen's Young Leader Award for her work founding GirlBoss.[11] In 2021, Hilbertidou was named part of the Forbes' list '30 under 30 Asia', as a featured honoree.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "GirlBoss New Zealand". GirlBoss New Zealand. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 Aimee Shaw (11 July 2017). "Meet Alexia Hilbertidou, the 18-year-old founder of GirlBoss and the youngest person to be involved with Nasa's Sofia mission". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Alexia Hilbertidou – Festival for the Future". Festival for the Future. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  4. ↑ @AceeyShaw, Aimee Shaw Business writer, focusing on small business, NZ Herald aimee shaw@nzherald co nz (11 July 2017). "Meet Alexia Hilbertidou, the 18-year-old founder of GirlBoss and the youngest person to be involved with Nasa's Sofia mission". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 10 October 2017. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 "Alexia Hilbertidou | Our Members | Super Diverse Women". Super Diverse Women. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Growth spurt for GirlBoss New Zealand". Stuff. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Alexia Hilbertidou". three dot dash. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "Alexia Hilbertidou". three dot dash. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Alexia Hilbertidou-- NASA SOFIA Experience | U.S. Embassy & Consulate in New Zealand". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in New Zealand. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "GirlBoss' founder is the youngest person ever chosen to go on a NASA SOFIA mission". Idealog. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  11. ↑ Mortimer, Jenni (28 June 2018). "The Kiwi teen who made the Queen laugh". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  12. ↑ "Alexia Hilbertidou". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
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