Village Aunties
A small circle.
A bigger world.
New York City
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Girls Ages 11-16
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New York City • Girls Ages 11-16 •
Village Aunties brings girls together with an Auntie they choose for monthly adventures around NYC. At a time when more and more of adolescence happens through a screen, girls need somewhere to go, people to go with, and a bigger world to grow into.
Why
In the space of a generation, the experience of being a teenager has changed completely.
The places where teenagers gather have emptied out. Screens started out as an escape; now they’ve become the place where life happens. In-person time with friends among 15-to-24-year-olds has fallen by roughly 70% since 2003.¹ Jonathan Haidt calls the phone “an experience blocker” that displaces the real-world experiences through which teenagers grow up.²
And the kids are not alright.
53% of high-school girls reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2023 and 27% seriously contemplated suicide.³ Gen Z, the first generation to grow up behind screens, is anxious, lonely, risk averse, and so slow to take on adult responsibilities that some say 28 is the new 18.
When teenage girls are asked what they want, the answer is heartbreakingly simple: new friends, time with the friends they have, and the chance to try something new.⁴
Village Aunties is building the real-world experiences, relationships, freedom, and belonging that phone-based childhood has displaced.
1 - U.S. Surgeon General, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, 2023.
2 - Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation, 2024.
3 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023.
4 - Girl Scouts of the USA, State of the Girl 2026.
What is Village Aunties?
Choose an Auntie.
Village Aunties is a nonprofit in New York City that seeks to bring back the kinds of experiences and relationships that teenage girls need the most.
At its heart is a community of incredible women in their 20s and 30s who are ready to step up as Aunties for their own small group of girls. Some Aunties lead groups for ages 11-13; others lead groups for ages 14-16.
Girls choose an Auntie and join her group for one unforgettable experience every month. These experiences usually last about 3 hours and are shaped by the Auntie’s passions, personality and way of seeing the world.
Join Experiences.
No two Saturdays will look alike. They might explore a hidden corner of the city, visit a film set, cook a meal, paint, help a community partner, go thrift store shopping, or simply see a movie and talk about it.
Some experiences invite wonder or courage. Others make room for play, generosity, honest conversation, or trying hard things. It’s about giving girls more of the world—and people to experience it with.
Be Part of the Village.
Girls can also join experiences led by other Aunties and take part in seasonal gatherings that bring everyone together.
Village Aunties is a membership community that is offered on a sliding scale.
The Aunties
June Schreiner
You can find me: Drenched in fake blood in the indie horror flick Dark Hollow
First Experience I want to Lead: I’ll organize a photoshoot with a professional photographer and show how girls that beauty is about embracing all the parts of you that are unique
Random fact about me: I lead meditation and mindfulness workshops; learning how to stay calm and breathe has helped me so much on film shoots
I think you’ll love my group if: You love performing and getting weird
Actress and Producer
Kamey Gomez
Favorite Place in NYC: I’ve had the same favorite restaurant since I was a kid - Dominick’s in the Bronx
One thing I’m proud of: I started the Kamey Gomez Foundation to support the neighborhood I grew up in with annual community drives
First experience I want to lead: I’ll teach girls the history of makeup, including its meaning in Ancient Egypt, and help them experiment with their own makeup style
I think you’ll love my group if: you’re looking for someone who understands how hard it is to grow up with less than the people around you
Multimedia host & event producer
Student at Baruch & Co-Founder of Spadea SkincareLuna Spadea
You can find me: singing, dancing, and picking wildflowers at our farm upstate
Favorite spot in NYC: open mic night at The Bitter End
First Experience I want to Lead: I’ll teach girls how to celebrate the new moon with a ceremony in Central Park that weaves together plants, crafts, movements, singing, and nature rituals.
I think you’ll love my group if: You appreciate nature, making art, and singing. Girls who secretly feel like fairies or witches - I’ve got you!
You can find me: picnic hopping at McCarren Park, dancing late into the night, hosting a Shabbat dinner, or scheming on how to build vibrant communities
First Experience I want to Lead: I’ll introduce girls to my dear friend, an artist named Emma Spear. Emma overcame an eating disorder and now performs a weekly show in Brooklyn called Hungry Girls that is both powerful and hilarious. It’ll be a night for food, laughter and deep vulnerability. Let’s have healthy relationships with our bodies!
I think you’ll love my group if: You appreciate both dance parties and deep conversations
LinkedIn
Ecosystem building & Spiritual innovationBecca Goldstein
Marissa Polansky
One thing I’m proud of: I started a speechwriting company and love helping people find their voices
First Experience I want to Lead: I’ll invite girls over to my apartment in Chelsea and show how to make pasta from scratch. We’ll share a dinner together and have a real conversation - simple!
I think you’ll love my group if: if you enjoy exploring cultural spots around the city
Creative strategist & Product Leader
Amika Glassford
Operations & Strategy Lead at Rockefeller First Experience I want to Lead: helping girls reclaim their periods by creating period packs to celebrate the next time they need to stop and rest
You can find me: writing poetry, hosting a podcast, dancing, watching Love is Blind, going to protests, therapy and navigating the realities of family and health
Join Us
You were never meant to do this alone. For most of human history, children grew up inside a village, with many caring adults around them. Today parents carry almost all of it themselves and are really struggling. 47% of parents say their stress on most days is completely overwhelming and 41% say most days they are so stressed they cannot function.
We want to help build back the missing layer that all families need - more caring adults and more transformative experiences to help your daughter grow and thrive.
We have our pilot group of Aunties and are now searching for our pilot group of families. If you would like your daughter to be involved, please fill out this form. We hope to launch our first experiences soon - as soon as we have enough girls! Please fill out this form if you are interested and spread the word. Let’s get this going!
About Us
Village Aunties is started by Milena Kellner and Kanya Balakrishna who met in 2012 when Kanya co-founded The Future Project, a non-profit that reached over 50,000 teenagers in 11 states. At The Future Project, they saw how impactful it is to connect teenagers with charismatic adults who believe in their dreams and potential.
Today, Milena is a mom with two kids. She often finds herself feeling nostalgic for the kind of wild, spontaneous childhood that feels harder and harder to find - especially in NYC. With adolescence looming for her ten year old daughter, Milena came up with the idea for Village Aunties as a way to lure kids out of their bedrooms and back into the real world. Naturally, the first person she called was her former boss.
Kanya has been working at the intersection of youth empowerment and coaching for fifteen years. What drew her to this project is recognition that parents shouldn’t have to do so much alone. Isn’t it obvious that we all need a village? She also draws enormous joy and meaning from her role as an Auntie for her nieces and for the daughters of her close friends, and believes that many women would love to play this role for young girls.
We have an amazing pool of potential Aunties - our next big challenge is finding families ready to sign their daughters up for this experiment. We would love to start piloting projects as soon as we find our first girls.
Thoughts? We’d love to hear from you at milena@villageaunties.com.