Being the Change… Anna Klein’s Life@GWN

Anna Klein didn’t come to be the Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs at The Estée Lauder Companies overnight–nor was she able to get to her position alone. With a background in theater, and education, it was the perfect match of creativity and tenacity that landed Anna to where she is today. That same combination brought her straight to Girls Write Now when it was time to find partners for The Estée Lauder Companies ’s Writing Change Initiative. 

Poet, activist, and Estée Lauder Global Changemaker, Amanda Gorman and Anna Klein started to get acquainted during the pandemic in 2020. In their first meeting, a 30 minute zoom call became an hour and forty-five minute conversation about the opportunities that abound when companies invest in organizations that advance literacy. The basic theory developed there boiled down to the idea that if you put together a collective addressing the systems, representation in literature and the next generation of artists then change can happen. 

Over the last three years of the Writing Change initiative, Anna, Amanda and ELC  have been the change they wanted to see. We got the chance to catch up with Anna at the Girls Write Now 2024 Awards to learn a bit more about the changes she embodies in her Life@GWN. 

What about Life@ Girls Write Now inspires you? 

I’ve loved this organization for years. They have a big thumping heart, but what really stuck out to me from the very beginning of Writing Change, was that Girls Write Now has such a deep care, understanding and passion for the talent that you were bringing into programs. It’s not just a ‘nonprofit,’ it’s a mission to cultivate the next generation of talent and to be invested in a way that I really haven’t seen before. 

What is a book that you loved growing up? 

The book that had the most impact on me was a series called Anne of Green Gables. For many reasons, but because I was adopted, that was the first book that spoke to me in a way that others didn’t. 

Who has been a mentor to you? 

I haven’t had just one mentor. I’ve had a series of mentors, and each of them have been in my life a certain amount of time and set me on a different path or pushed me in a way that I needed to be pushed. I remember when I worked in the theater I had an amazing mentor who pushed me to learn everything–he pushed me to write, he pushed me to direct, he pushed me to produce–and now, later in my career I have a mentor who is helping me figure out how I continue to push myself. I’ve had four or five pretty amazing mentors throughout my life. 

Why is writing important to you? 

As a former writing teacher, I believe that writing changes the person. The act of putting pen to paper and exercising your mind helps you discover more about yourself. Some of us are brave enough to take it a step further and let those words and actions help change the world. But just the action of changing yourself, sometimes can be enough.