Chenxi Ouyang

2024-2025 Columbia University Scholar

Headshot of Chenxi Ouyang, 2024-2025 Columbia University Scholar

China

Founder, Bright and Beautiful

Supporting the psychological well-being of adolescent girls through embodied arts and rites of passage programs.

Chenxi Ouyang is the founder of Bright and Beautiful, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering adolescent girls in under-resourced areas of China. Since 2013, they have served over 9,000 girls from 151 rural schools across 19 provinces, pioneering innovative approaches to enhance their physical and psychological well-being through in-person embodied arts programs, workshops on the science of their changing bodies, and rites of passage programming. In response to institutional challenges, they have successfully empowered and engaged public school teachers to implement their programs in rural classrooms, supplementing the traditional academically-focused curriculum with holistic, development-oriented activities. Their efforts to promote a positive narrative surrounding adolescent girls in China include extensive advocacy campaigns in partnership with the Alibaba Philanthropy Foundation, reaching an audience of 700,000 people nationwide. Chenxi seeks to explore avenues for sustained growth through the Scholars program, aiming to further expand her mission's reach and effectiveness.

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The Obama Foundation Scholars program gives rising leaders from around the world who are already making a difference in their communities the opportunity to take their work to the next level.

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