Videos
TED Talk
Only 4% of construction workers are female. That's unacceptable, but it's also a huge opportunity both for women and the trades. Emily makes the case for putting power (and power tools) into the hands of young women, dreaming of inclusive construction sites.
December 2, 2021
TODAY Show
The 3rd hour of TODAY spotlights Girls Garage, a shop class in Berkeley, California, run by Emily Pilloton. Its mission is to empower young girls by teaching them construction basics. TODAY Show correspondent Meena Duerson joins a Girls Garage workshop.
October 22, 2019
Infosys #WhyIMake
Emily is the founder of the non-profit organization Project H Design. After observing the gender dynamics within her Studio H classroom, Emily launched Girls Garage, a dedicated program and workspace for girls ages 9-13 to become fearless builders.
June 11, 2018
ABC7News
Emily Pilloton imagines a world where young women grow into powerful changemakers who are unafraid to speak up, stand out, and shape the world. In a quest to empower future leaders, she merged her passion for architecture with education to found Girls Garage.
March 5, 2021
Good Morning America
Emily announces the June 2020 release of the Girls Garage book on Good Morning America, invites girls and women everywhere to join a movement of fearless builder girls, and demonstrates how to build a DIY birdhouse.
June 3, 2020
Mission Unstoppable
Fear Less. Build More: that's the motto for Emily Pilloton's Girls Garage, a design program that helps girls build confidence and real-world skills. Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove celebrates women who have become superstars in STEM-related careers.
October 5, 2019
CNN Represented
Emily Pilloton-Lam wanted to see more women "building the world" so she's teaching young girls about design and construction at a school called Girls Garage. Take a peek into the program and vision behind the nonprofit’s work.
August 25, 2021
TIME & Melinda Gates
When it comes to women paving the way for future generations of girls, Melinda Gates is among the best. But the 2017 TIME 100 honoree says that you don't need to be a billionaire investor and advocate to make a difference.
May 21, 2019
If You Build It Documentary
If You Build It follows designer-activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller to rural Bertie County, the poorest in North Carolina, where they work with local high school students to help transform both their community and their lives.
Press Clippings (Selected)
The nonprofit that lets girls build the world they want to see, MIT Technology Review, October 2023 (READ)
The trades need more gender diversity. One woman is training the next generation, TED Radio Hour on NPR, May 2023 (LISTEN)
Building Confidence one Power Tool at a Time at Berkeley’s Girls Garage, Rightnowish (KQED), July 2021 (LISTEN)
Power Tools Empower Girls at Nonprofit Girls Garage, Forbes Women, October 2020 (READ)
Agents of Change, Diablo Magazine, September 2020 (READ)
Why You Should Build Literally Anything, Nerdette Podcast (WBEZ Chicago), June 2020 (LISTEN)
Make/Believe. O Magazine, March 2020 (READ)
Melinda Gates Wants More Girls And Women in STEM. Here’s How She’s Working Towards That. TIME, 2019 (READ)
Fear Less. Build More. Podcast Interview: National Endowment for The Arts Magazine: Women In The Arts, 2018 (LISTEN)
If She Builds It. Habitat Magazine for the San Francisco Chronicle, October 2, 2016
Berkeley’s Girls Garage: A Place for Girls to Build Their Dreams. East Bay Times, September 28, 2016 (READ)
Learning Through Tinkering. The New York Times, 2015 (READ)
Oakland’s Emily Pilloton Re-Tools Shop Class with Conscience. San Francisco Chronicle, 2014 (READ)
Audacious By Design: Project H Reinvents Hands-On Learning. MAKE Magazine, 2014 (READ)
9 Women Using Architecture to Change The World. Architizer, 2014 (READ)
Today A Chicken Coop, Tomorrow The World. The New York Times, 2014 (READ)
Windsor Super Market. Architectural Record, 2012 (READ)
Humanitarian Design Project Aims To Build A Sense of Community. The New York Times, 2011 (READ)
Classroom Power Tools. Podcast: The Story by American Public Media, 2011 (LISTEN)
Recasting Teachers and Students as Designers. KQED, 2012 (READ)
High School Students Build a Farmer’s Market in a Food Desert. FastCompany, 2011 (READ)
One Idea for Better K-12: The School as Workshop. Forbes, 2011 (READ)
Blueprint for a Better World. The Huffington Post, 2010 (READ)