Female founders change lives in the data center capital

Nearly a third of the founders scaling and shaping U.S. businesses and nonprofits are women. In Loudoun County, Virginia – the data center capital of the world – two intrepid female executives are working hard to set an example for other aspiring women while also changing lives in their communities.

In honor of International Women’s Day this week, we’re highlighting these two special leaders and their accomplishments, providing a glimpse into the lives they’ve touched with their vision and tenacity.

Enid Machayo is a Ugandan immigrant whose own experiences with sexism and bigotry inspired her to launch Global Inheritance, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing young women to educational and career opportunities in STEM.

“It’s hard for a girl to become what they’ve never seen,” says Machayo, whose Leading Ladies program has placed interns at dozens of top-tier companies, including Google.

Donna Fortier is a champion for the under-resourced, who are not always visible in Loudoun County, a wealthy and well-educated suburb of Washington, D.C.. Through Mobile Hope, Fortier and her team have served more than 200,000 families in need since the start of the COVID pandemic and recently launched their Google-sponsored trade school.

Watch Enid and Donna in action in this inspiring new video as they serve their communities and create new opportunities in Northern Virginia. Google is proud to partner with organizations like Global Inheritance and Mobile Hope in data center communities worldwide – from Nebraska to The Netherlands – that are committed to the life-changing work that makes us all better.