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Elleanor Jean Hendley

Why I Founded Teenshop

“When I was growing up, my dreams were limited.  There were no women in television news that I saw who looked like me, so I could never have imagined that one day I would become an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist.

You have to see it to believe that you can achieve it.

 

When I founded Teenshop, I wanted to use my platform to help ensure that girls of color would see and meet positive representations of themselves in diverse careers, and that this exposure would encourage them to dream big and without limitations.”

Champion for Girls    Educator    Author    Journalist     Mentor

Elleanor Jean Hendley is a pioneer among African American women broadcast journalists in Philadelphia.  She was the only woman of color to produce and host a weekly primetime magazine show, City Lights, which was broadcast for ten years, and was often the number one rated program in its Saturday night time period.

 

For twenty-five years Ms. Hendley worked at CBS 3 TV in Philadelphia, PA. and held several positions including Eyewitness News education reporter, producer/host of City Lights and Director of Public Affairs. Previously she was a New Jersey middle school teacher who created an award-winning afterschool dance and charm club for girls.

 

In 1985 while working full-time in television news, Ms. Hendley founded Teenshop, Inc.® a nationally-recognized college preparatory and life skills nonprofit weekend program that prepares ‘girls with goals®’ for college and careers.  Teenshop has three chapters in three states – California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania – 3000+ alumnae, and 100% college acceptance.

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The success of Teenshop was the catalyst for Girls Achieve®, an in-school workshop series Ms. Hendley created in 2005 after her broadcast career. Girls Achieve offers curriculum-support, enrichment programs, and includes the Girls Achieve® Activity Book.

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A graduate of Ohio’s Central State University, Ms. Hendley studied French at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

Her hobbies and interests include studying jazz piano, doll collecting, crafting, and world traveling.

Visit elleanorjeanhendley.com for more information. 

Selected Recognition

  • Emmy Award, CBS 3 TV Philadelphia, PA

  • Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Dominion Theological Seminary

  • Woman of Distinction Award, Philadelphia Business Journal

  • Take the Lead Award, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania

  • Community Service Award, Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists

  • Woman of the Year, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

  • Most Influential African Americans, The Philadelphia Tribune

  • African American Woman Achiever, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Alumni Chapter, Burlington County, NJ

  • Resolutions, Philadelphia City Council

  • Citations, Commonwealth of  Pennsylvania

  • Philadelphia NAACP 100 Most Influential Black Women

  • Mary McCloud Bethune Award, National Council of Negro Women

  • Professional Achievement Award, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Memberships & Affiliations

  • The Links, Inc.

  • Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

  • Executive Board Member, Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts

  • Commissioner, Delaware County Women’s Commission

  • Charter Member, National Coalition of 100 Black Women PA Chapter

  • Charter Member, National Association of University Women Suburban Philadelphia

  • Forum of Executive Women

  • Delaware County Black Caucus

  • Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA

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