How Martial Arts Taught Me to Lead a Global Organization at 16 | Genevieve Tran | TEDxSFUHS Youth

Genevieve Tran, founder and executive director of the Women's Youth Writing Association (WYWA), shares how the discipline, failure, and persistence she learned through martial arts shaped her work building and leading a global, student-led organization as a teenager. WYWA empowers young women through storytelling, leadership, and publication, with more than 80 members across multiple high school chapters worldwide. The talk was given at an independently organized TEDx event.

• Martial arts lessons on discipline, failure, and persistence
• Founding and leading WYWA, a multi-chapter, student-led organization
• WYWA programs: 13-week author mentorship, podcast, and the book Unfiltered: A Sisterhood of Stories
• Building leadership systems for young women's voices

Genevieve founded the Women’s Youth Writing Association as a teenager. She shares how the discipline, failure, and persistence she learned in martial arts became the foundation for building and leading a global organization. Genevieve Tran is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Youth Writing Association (WYWA), a multi-chapter, student-led organization dedicated to empowering young women through storytelling, leadership, and publication. Under her leadership, WYWA has grown to 80+ members worldwide across multiple high school chapters and has raised over $21,000 through grants, publications, apparel, and community initiatives. The organization has launched a 13-week author mentorship program, a podcast, and published Unfiltered: A Sisterhood of Stories. WYWA made history at SFMOMA as one of the first youth-led organizations to host a booth in the museum’s White Box space. Through her work, Genevieve focuses on building strong leadership systems and creating spaces where young women can share their voices and make lasting impact. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx