Mackenzie Goldsteen, a 16-year-old from Bethesda, is a 2024 Prudential Emerging Visionary.
Together with her two sisters, the Sidwell Friends School student created Buildgirls, a nonprofit that works to empower young women in high school to look into careers in architecture, construction and engineering (ACE), which she noted are very male-oriented fields.
Goldsteen talked to MCM.
During the pandemic, when her family all worked and studied from home, Mackenzie noticed that her dad’s architecture career was male dominated, both with workers and managers.
She created an organization three years ago to bring more female perspectives and diversity into these careers. Buildgirls now boasts more than 1,200 members in 43 states and seven countries.
As one of 25 Prudential Emerging Visionary winners, she will receive $5,000, which she will use for Buildgirls. She also will attend a three-day summit next month for coaching, skills development and networking opportunities with Prudential employees and other young leaders.
Winners must be between 14 and 18 years old and have a vision to improve lives by solving financial or societal challenges.
