Latest News

Women + Girls Research Alliance Announces 2023-2024 Seed Grant Recipients

Tuesday, November 28, 2023
The Women + Girls Research Alliance (W+GRA) is excited to announce their 2023-2024 Seed Grants recipients. Each of the grants emphasize community partnerships and community-engaged research activities that address the critical areas of mental health and wellness, economic security/mobility, and equity in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The W+GRA has awarded each grantee, or team $5000, each toward their research project.  The 2023-2024 W+GRA Seed Grant awardees are: Sharon Watson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Jennifer Langhrinrichsen-Rohling...

W+GRA Leadership Café Facilitates Strategic Community Conversations in Support of Women and Girls Across Charlotte

Friday, September 29, 2023
The Women + Girls Research Alliance, a unit of UNC Charlotte's urbanCORE, in partnership with the Women's Intercultural Exchange (https://www.wi-ce.net), will host its second "Taking Space Without Apology: A Women and Girls Leadership Café" from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Oct. 16, at UNC Charlotte's Popp Martin Student Union. This year's themes will center on supporting women's mental health and wellness, economic security and mobility through the lens of equity. The café facilitates partnerships with researchers, community leaders and civic investors that produce data-based transformative...

W+GRA on Kiss 95.1 FM

Saturday, September 23, 2023
Dr. Michelle Meggs sat down with Fran Marie from  95.1 Kiss FM to discuss how to attend the 2023 Women + Girls Leadership Alliance on October 16 to be held at the Popp Martin Student Union at UNC Charlotte. 

Women + Girls Research Alliance elevates the standard of what research should look like

Sunday, September 10, 2023
Established in 2006, the Women + Girls Research Alliance (W+GRA) provides the UNC Charlotte community a space to focus on crucial research and education on women's issues. Their work focuses on civic and political engagement, economic security and violence against women.  The alliance is a unit of Charlotte's urbanCORE, which focuses on the challenges preventing women from success. They host events that extend their work and create conversations about the challenges of womanhood in the greater Charlotte area.  "We focus on the challenges here in the Charlotte...

Meet Michelle Meggs: Winner of the 2023 UNC Charlotte Staff Employee of The Year for Community & Public Service

Thursday, May 4, 2023
Michelle Meggs is the executive director of the Women + Girls Research Alliance, an affiliate of urbanCORE at UNC Charlotte. The more you learn about Meggs, the more you understand why this award was well-deserved. Her work with women and girls stretches across the Charlotte area, reaching numerous nonprofit organizations that help women make their way in a world full of obstacles and challenges.  Read the Full Article

Executive Director of W + GRA at UNC Charlotte Appointed to the NC Council for Women

Monday, November 7, 2022
Dr. Meggs, Executive Director of the Women + Girls Research Alliance (W + GRA) a division of urbanCORE at UNC Charlotte, will be one of 20 women appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to serve as an at-large member of the North Carolina Council for Women. As part of a cohort of 20 Council members, Dr. Meggs will advise the Governor, the principal state departments and the state legislature concerning education and employment of women in North Carolina. Part of her role will also encompass advising the Secretary of Administration on any matters referred to the Council by the Secretary.   The North...

New Advisory Board Members

Tuesday, September 27, 2022
The Women + Girls Research Alliance (W + GRA), a division of urbanCORE at UNC Charlotte, is pleased to announce new members of its Advisory Board. Bringing diverse and extensive experience in government and business, the new Board members share in W + GRA's mission to make a difference in the community by providing fair and unbiased data and analyses that can be used to improve the lives of women and girls in the greater Charlotte region.  Click here for more information

Women + Girls Research Alliance awarded funding for 2021 Summit

Friday, December 18, 2020
  The Women + Girls Research Alliance is partnering with Ally Financial to present a research summit in March 2021, focused on education, employment, health, the impact of COVID-19, and dialogue centered around the economic mobility of women and girls in our community.  Ally has awarded W+GRA a $10,000 grant to support the summit, a biennial event that brings together researchers, students, and community partners to focus on national, state and local issues affecting women and children. The 2021 event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10  from 8 am - 4 pm.  “The summit’...

Dr. Michelle Meggs joins W+GRA as new Executive Director

Wednesday, February 26, 2020
The UNC Charlotte Women + Girls Research Alliance welcomes our new Executive Director, Dr. Michelle Meggs.  Dr. Meggs, whose diverse background includes work in academia, the nonprofit sector and ministry, envisions the W+GRA becoming the place for scholars across the state and nation to come together to advance gender equity and social mobility.  Dr. Meggs seeks to connect community organizations doing work on the ground with university researchers whose research relates to women’s health, economic security, employment, civic and political engagement and violence against women....