Ingrid Gayle
INGRID GAYLE is our Chess Educator for the month of May! Ingrid is the co-founder of STEM the Gap Academy and breathes, walks and lives the message of empowerment she teaches her students! Her chess journey started only seven or eight years ago, but seeing its benefits, she rapidly latched onto it and has made it her heartfelt mission to bring this largely male-dominated sport to young girls worldwide, so that they can benefit from the plethora of advantages chess offers.
Check out the full Chess Chat with Ingrid Gayle! Find out what she loves about chess, the struggles that propelled her to empower girls through chess and what kind of an impact she’s hoping to have with the STEM the Gap Acadmey Movement.
Before founding STEM the Gap Academy (formally Girl Boss Chess), what did your life look like?
I was surviving the pandemic before Girl Boss Chess came to be…and then ultimately, Girl Boss Chess was born during the pandemic. In the past, I had another business called Helina Baby, which is a baby carrier company. I manufactured an eco-conscious baby carrier and educated parents on supportive babywearing; in addition, I was teaching chess for another company. However, because of the pandemic, production of the baby carrier stopped…everything stopped. My partner and I were also uniting our families, so I was just busy with the craziness that comes with life.
How did you discover your love for chess?
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I don't particularly love the game itself. I like it very much, but what I LOVE about chess is the connection that is present in the chess community.
I've had other businesses. I’ve been in the baby business and the personal training business, which were great experiences, but the chess community is beautiful, because it brings all sorts of people together…children and adults… people from different backgrounds. I especially love to hear the stories of how people were introduced to chess.
What was it about chess that you found so empowering? How did that tie in your decision to found Girl Boss Chess?
Well, I didn't start to learn chess until about seven or eight years ago and I learned with my daughter. What I absolutely loved was the fact that she developed a lot of confidence through learning chess. I remember when we went to Union Square in New York City one summer and she sat down with adults and played with them. I thought that was incredible! I didn’t really get the power of the game before; it was never part of the culture that I grew up in, so when I saw how chess impacted my daughter, I was quite blown away. Then, when there was an opportunity to teach chess to kids, I jumped on it and when I started teaching kids chess and seeing the positive effects it had on more and more children…how they were gaining confidence, I knew I had found something that I wanted to be a part of for a very long time.
What qualities make a Boss in your opinion?
Boss has spirit!. She lifts others up. She is more than a chess player; she is a person who has gone through her own issues, has learned from them and wants to share those hard-earned lessons with other people. A Girl Boss is somebody who knows what she wants and develops the knowledge to attain it. She is a good person and teacher.
Who are some of the Bosses in your own life that have inspired your journey?
It's funny because I didn't really grow up with role models, so I don’t think I had any Girl Bosses to look up to when I was younger. However, now I am surrounded by so many Girl Bosses that I really respect and admire!
One Boss being Jen Shahade! She is such an awesome person, who has done so well in chess and encourages more and more girls into chess, so hat’s off to her…I love what she's doing!
Another Boss I'm inspired by is Kerry Ramsay. She is a powerhouse and she leads a program that supports women and women entrepreneurs. She’s incredible at everything she does…. podcasting, marketing, helping women… I'm so incredibly impressed by who she is; I’m so happy to know her.
Judith Pineault is another unbelievable Girl Boss. She has been my mentor since the launch of my business. We meet weekly and she is very good at creating a space that makes me feel incredibly supported. She has been a successful C-Suite Executive and I am so grateful to have her by my side, giving me guidance on some big decisions. She is one of the great things to happen to Girl Boss Chess.
I also just recently met tSally Sampson whose motto operando is to empower girls. I'm so thankful for her, because she is now a huge part of the business as the Director of Communications. She has been nothing but supportive…. she has incredible ideas, is an incredible writer, an incredible person, an incredible actress and I sincerely look up to her.
And finally, the last Girl Boss I will name is Nadia Saud, who is Account Director at STEM the Gap Academy. She's the backbone of the company and she just works diligently and balances motherhood and her other business and STEM the Gap Academy…she is just like the Queen! A true powerhouse. Nadia is an amazing, amazing woman and I am so happy to know her.
What has been the greatest obstacle so far in your career/life?
The biggest obstacle in my career/ life has been confidence. With a lack of confidence, I didn't feel I deserved anyone or anything good. But through personal work and putting myself into positive spaces, I am happy to say that I am growing. This feeling, a lack of self-worth, is far too common in girls; this is why this is my work! I want to help girls develop their critical thinking skills and recognize and celebrate their inherent strengths so that can move through life with absolute confidence.
Other than chess, what brings you joy?
My new family! I now have two girls and an incredible partner. Our girls, who were once only children, have each other now and when I hear them late at night chatting in their room or when I watch them play or even get into their sisterly spats, it makes me smile, because I found the loves of my life.
I also love to travel and consider myself a citizen of the world! My favourite place so far is India; I am looking forward to our African Safari, marriage in Portugal, and hanging out with friends in Korea, France, and England. My goal is to grow Girl Boss Chess significantly, so that I can continue exploring the world with my family.
What do you have to say to those who still use sexism to keep women out of traditionally male-dominated spaces like chess?
It’s sad that anyone could think they're better than anyone else. We are all here, we're all trying, we're all human. To have those attitudes is to have a fixed mindset. I feel bad for people bound by sexist ideas and notions, and I don't really have anything to say to them, because it won’t change their minds. What I have to say to people who have a growth mindset is to keep fighting, look for the lessons in your failures and to keep doing an awesome job taking up space in every domain.
What advice do you have for young girls or parents who are not sure if they should sign up for courses with STEM the Gap Academy?
It's really important to ask girls if they want to play this incredible game because often boys and girls are raised differently. Boys are often raised problem-solving through building and constructing things, while girls are often raised without that. What happens is, down the line, when they grow up and enter STEM fields, boys already have some of the skills they need as a foundation for those careers, because they’ve been developing those skills growing up, while girls haven't, which makes it more challenging for girls to enter those same fields. But, by bringing chess into your girl’s life early…around seven years old or even earlier… that’s perfect because there is still so much potential for growth and for instilling confidence in them. We offer a 30-minute introductory classes, so your girl can sample what we do and you can see the fun, engaging and educational way that we teach.
What impact do you envision STEM the Gap Academy having in the future?
I am so proud of the impact we have already had, bringing so many more girls into chess, but the impact that I want to continue to have is to ensure that every girl that comes to the STEM the Gap Academy discovers feels inspired and excited about attending her classes, discover her inherent strengths, and learns to not be afraid to try and fail. I want every girl that takes a class STEM the Gap Academy to feel better about herself, so when she goes out into the world, there will always be that little piece of STEM the Gap Academy that helped push her to achieve her goals.
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