Laura is on a mission…

to support the next generation of leaders, teenage girls from around the world. And she is going about this as if our future depends on these girls because it does.

Laura Peña is a Dominican-American speaker, filmmaker, storyteller, entrepreneur, creative producer, motion designer, traveler, proud Latina, and supporter of girls.

Laura is a woman traveling the world on a mission, “to listen to the stories and support the dreams of our future leaders, girls”. As an international speaker and workshop leader, Laura has shared her story at TEDx, Creative Mornings, and schools all over the world.

 

She is the founder of She is the Universe, an award-winning Global Movement and 501(c) 3 non-profit for Girl’s Empowerment. Laura looks to inspire, and offer girls from around the world the support they need to stand in their own stories and to pursue their dreams, through storytelling, mentorship, and community. 

For three years Laura has traveled the world collecting on film the stories of teenage girls. 

They share their dreams, struggles, and their ideas for the world they want to see for her documentary video series with Stories of Girls told by Girls. Laura encourages and supports girls to use their voice, own who they are, and embrace their power to change the world, using their unique gifts. 

 

Laura’s story

Originally from the Dominican Republic, she moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design in New York City with a full scholarship. Questions about her identity, gender, and access to opportunities, started forming in her head when in an interview for a local newspaper Laura was asked about how did she felt, a girl from the Dominican Republic going for a profession reserved mostly to men. Laura didn’t know what to say, this was the first time she consciously thought about what it meant to be a woman in tech.

In 2014 she founded JelloMonsters, a creative motion design Lab in New York City. She has worked with leading brands, including Facebook, Samsung, and Mastercard, to create motion graphics and video content for live events and online content. Her work has been featured in magazines, newspapers, and books globally. She also works for the film industry, most recently being part of the team for the HBO documentary series The Lady and the Dale, produced by Emmy-winning Mark and Jay Duplass.

In 2018 Laura was granted Extraordinary status in the US when she became the recipient of an EB1 Visa (called also the Einstein visa as it was granted to Albert Einstein) reserved for individuals with Extraordinary Abilities, who are at the top of their field of endeavor.

After a successful 15+ years in the creative industry, she found herself on a fork in the road moment with the question, is this it? Is this all there is in life? More questions followed, like “what could I do if I could do anything” and “if I leave this world today, what would I regret the most”. These led her on an adventure of a lifetime. She combined her passion for travel, storytelling, and girls' empowerment to create She is the Universe. 

After traveling to 5 continents and talking to 100+ girls for her youtube docu-series, Laura started to form an idea to a question that was in her heart: What do girls today need from all of us to get to where they want to get in life?

A question that came from her frustration of meeting so many extraordinary women and seeing them not pursuing their dreams. Laura wondered…

Where in life do we stop believing in ourselves and in our Power?

And why are there not more women leaders around the world?

Laura has been a digital nomad for more than 8 years. Currently she spends most of her time in the beach town of Cabarete, Dominican Republic, keeping the nomad lifestyle alive while building her dreams and supporting the dreams of others.