WIF first encountered Aaradhya Sunder when she was 11 years old.  At that time, she was preparing to participate in the 2025 edition of Art Capital Paris, where she would become one of the youngest participants in the 340-year history of the show.  We were pleased to post about her trajectory as an artist and showcase this marvelous opportunity.

This summer, Aaradhya achieved yet another outstanding milestone in her budding artistic career.

At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 2026, she received a Certificate of Exceptional Artistic Accomplishment recognizing her "as a winner of the 7th Arts Olympiad, the world's largest school art program, for making an outstanding artistic contribution to the 7th World Children's Festival on July 25-27, 2026, at the National Mall across from the U.S. Capitol."

The certificate is signed by International Child Art Foundation Founder and Chairman Dr. Ashfaq M. Ishaq.

Award Certificate

The work she presented, The Artist-Athlete, argues that a child should not have to choose between creativity and athletic discipline, or be defined by a single talent. The festival also served as the national children's celebration of America's 250th birthday.

In The Artist-Athlete (2025, acrylic on canvas, 61 x 46 cm), a pale palette fills the upper two-thirds of the canvas, its surface divided by a vertical gold line and horizontal bands. A hoop and backboard are drawn in thin red outline directly onto that surface, with a small figure shooting toward it, creating the effect of one field serving as both mixing surface and court.

Within the palette, a second figure raises a ball in one hand and holds a brush in the other, while an oversized brush cuts diagonally across the composition, its bristles breaking past the palette into the blue at the upper right.

"I did not want to show art and sport as separate," said Aaradhya, who participates in several sports as well as visual art.

During the festival, Ishaq viewed the painting and spoke with Aaradhya about it. He then issued two signed documents on ICAF letterhead: a recommendation and an Artistic and Developmental Appraisal of The Artist-Athlete, a critique of a single work rather than a general testimonial.

In the appraisal, Ishaq read the basketball as a symbol of movement, concentration, teamwork, perseverance and repeated practice. He wrote that the figure's pose, the placement of the ball and the visual rhythm of the composition communicate energy rather than a static portrait. Its underlying argument, he observed, is that children should not be confined to a single ability, label or expectation.

"What distinguishes Aaradhya is not merely her ability to make art, but her emerging capacity to use art as a means of thought," Ishaq wrote.

Calling The Artist-Athlete an integrated ideal founded on imagination, discipline, resilience and self-expression, Ishaq recommended that Aaradhya continue studying anatomy, gesture, proportion and the representation of movement, and extend the idea across other athletic forms, perspectives, emotional states and media.

Aaradhya has created more than 200 original works across painting, drawing, mixed media and claymation. Six of her claymation works were exhibited at the Gallery Children's Biennale at National Gallery Singapore; she was a laureate at an international children's art exhibition in Beijing in 2025; and her work has been presented at three TEDx-linked art exhibitions in Singapore.

Her development has included school learning at both German School and American School in Delhi, foundational mentorship with Dipti Karki in Delhi, sustained studio instruction at Little Artists Art Studio in Singapore under Shalini Kapoor, Junior Arts learning associated with NAFA, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and MoMA online children's programs.

Aaradhya's practice has moved from observation and environmental responsibility toward self-portraiture, identity and the body in motion. In his recommendation, Ishaq said she merits consideration for curated youth exhibitions, museum and arts-education programs, interdisciplinary initiatives, artistic mentorship and international platforms. He recommended her to curators, educators, cultural institutions and mentors committed not merely to displaying the work of young artists, but to helping them develop depth, independence and a sustained artistic voice.

Find Aaradhya's portfolio at www.DreamArtCove.com

WIF is pleased to welcome its 10th Anniversary Celebration intern!

Janjay Gardea is a curious and creative thinker passionate about innovation, storytelling, and purposeful design. As a senior undergraduate studying International Business and Business Management, with minors in Social Entrepreneurship and Community Leadership & Engagement, she is currently spending a semester in Paris exploring fashion design and brand management while preparing for an MBA.

Janjay serves as the Executive Director of her nonprofit, Future Change Foundation, and values growth, legacy, and the ability to build lasting impact. Her experiences span mentorship, marketing, organizational strategy, and storytelling—offering her a multidimensional perspective that blends structure with imagination.

Whether she’s guiding students, shaping brand concepts, or leading change, Janjay thrives where creativity meets purpose. She is deeply motivated by the belief that thoughtful design—of systems, ideas, or experiences—can uplift communities and reimagine what’s possible.

During the summer and autumn of 2025, Janjay will support the planning for WIF's 10th anniversary celebration events in Houston, TX and Paris, France as well as the ongoing celebration of the anniversary beginning in October 2025.  This will include supporting the needs of WIF’s founder & CEO.

WIF extends heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to Anisa Williams, the tenth university student to participate in our Paris Internship Program.

In May 2025, Anisa completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design degree at Parsons Paris | The New School. Her family flew in from Canada to attend her commencement ceremony and see the fashion collection she created as part of her graduation requirements.

Anisa named her collection "Something to Remember Me by."  It was inspired by the Greek myth "Orpheus and Eurydice" and the fashions worn by rock star Jimi Hendrix. The garments Anisa designed and constructed ranged from casual wear (jeans, vests, and shirts) to evening wear and a denim overcoat.

Anisa Williams and her fashion collection

After her Spring 2023 internship, Anisa continued to support WIF by attending the networking events we organized for Going Global with Barbara student cohorts.

So, WIF Founder & CEO Dr. Monique Y. Wells and Going Global with Barbara President Barbara Eubanks took great pleasure in visiting the fashion exhibition hall to congratulate her in person and admire her designs.

Barbara Eubanks, Anisa Williams, and Dr. Monique Y. Wells

Anisa's exhibition space was located on the ground floor near the upper level of the exhibition space, making it easy to find among the dozens of student collections on display.

Exhibition space for bachelor's and master's degree students

Images of Anisa's exhibition space

With graduation behind her, Anisa is now exploring career prospects in the fashion industry.  She is particularly interested in pursuing opportunities in costume design.

Click HERE to learn about Anisa's 2023 internship experience at WIF.

Find her on Instagram HERE.

During their six-week internship in August-September 2023, Dany Uyanik worked on an intellectual property project for WIF, researching trademarks for women’s empowerment and arts programs that we offer as fees for service.

Dany performed admirably and had the following to say about her internship experience:

I believe everything we do alongside our courses are at least as important as the degree we receive. At the end of my BSc Psychology with Legal Studies degree, I had acquired experience within psychological research, however, I was yet to gain legal experience.

 

As someone passionate about social change and education, especially for minoritized communities, working within Wells International Foundation, and gaining legal research experience was incredible. Knowing that my research would play a crucial part in strengthening key programmes such as Making Productivity Easy continuously motivated me to do well in my intellectual property research.

 

Dr Wells’ mentorship was an invaluable addition to my internship experience. Her guidance during, and after, the internship has enabled me to think about my personal and professional development.

 

My internship was such a unique opportunity that has allowed me to demonstrate my ability to learn quickly and adapt to new systems. As a result, despite my lack of political experience on the national scale, I was recently hired as a Parliamentary Assistant.  I will research and inform the MP about key issues, write speeches, and assist with casework.

Thank you for your service, Dany!

WIF is pleased to welcome its first intern from a non-US university!

Gurur Deniz (Dany) Uyanık is a recent BSc Psychology (with a professional placement year) with Legal Studies graduate from the University of Sussex. They have lived and studied in Turkey, Canada, and the UK. They are passionate about social change. Their expertise lies in disability consulting, social and political psychology, research, and communications.

During Autumn 2023, Dany will work on an intellectual property project for WIF, researching trademarks for women's empowerment and arts programs that we offer as fees for service.  This activity will serve to strengthen our ability to effectively market these services.

Anisa is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design at Parsons Paris | The New School. During her internship, she curated content for our African Diaspora Cultural Impact in Paris (ADCI Paris) Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter platforms to continue our outreach to teens in North America with the intent to inspire them to consider studying abroad.

She also tracked the expansion of our network through graphic analysis of the demographics of those who follow us and engage with us on these channels.

Anisa is passionate about sustainable fashion. During her freshman year at The New School, she ran a fundraiser for the school and had the chance to interview an array of emerging local and sustainable designers to spotlight environmentalism in the fashion industry. The content she curated for ADCI Paris focused on fashion and multiple topics relevant to everyday life as a college student in the City of Light.

Here's what Anisa had to say about her internship experience, which ended in May 2023:

In my Spring semester, I had the opportunity and pleasure to volunteer at the Wells International Foundation as a PR and social media intern. There I learned the inner workings of how a business/organization reaches out to worldwide crowds with a target demographic.

 

As a fashion designer, learning how to market a product, your work, or even yourself as a brand is a very valuable skill that this internship helped me grow. Despite the program being independent online, I met Dr. Wells several times and was able to network with like-minded creatives and be introduced to places, exhibitions, small businesses and parts of Paris that I never would have learnt about on my own.

 

I think for others interested in nonprofit work, this internship is a great opportunity to grow on an independent level, as this job is really about self-initiative.  But it was also a mentorship program for me that I really appreciated as well.

 

I have lots of admiration for the WIF team, and I thank you, Monique, for allowing me to help, even if just a little, contribute to such an important cause.

Featured image: Shirley Monestier at l'Atelier 65 -- Bordeaux, France
© Jean-Marie Monestier

As we wound down the COVID-19 PAGES exhibition in September 2021, we contacted our professional artists to ask about the impact the show had for them.

In reply, Shirley Monestier sent me the following message via email:

“As a result of my artwork inclusion in the Covid-19 Pages exposition, I have received more than 100 positive reactions to a congratulations!!

"The exposure was significant and put me on the map as a Black Female Artist in France.  Since the Phase 1 Covid-19 Pages expo, I have had numerous request for podcasts and interviews.  Thank you so much for the opportunity to shine a light on me and my art!”

Because of her exposure in our show, Monestier has mounted her first solo exhibition.  It is being held in Bordeaux, France, the city she now calls home.

Monestier came to art late in life.  She was inspired to learn to paint when she and her husband, Jean-Marie moved into a new home in the Paris suburb of Taverny in the early 1990s.  She begin visiting galleries and artist studios in Paris with the intent to purchase works to decorate their home, but found that the price tags for the pieces she wanted to purchase exceeded the couple's budget.

That prompted her to take art lessons so she could create her own paintings.

For two years, she took classes at the Municipal Centre d’Arts and Plastiques in Taverny (no longer in existence).

And she's been painting and showing her work ever since!

Shirley Monestier with The Masks We Wear, her COVID-19 PAGES artwork
Image courtesy of the artist

Monestier's one-woman show is called Multicultural Women in Vibrant Colors.  It is on display at L'Atelier 65, a Bordeaux café/gallery located in an up and coming trendy area of the city called Chartrons. The gallery hosts a different artist each month, and when the owner reviewed Monestier's portfolio, she immediately offered to organize the exhibition.

I asked Monestier why she created this show.

She replied,

"During the pandemic and confinement, I started painting a series of women. I wanted to complete a series of artworks because I knew opportunities would come my way after Covid-19 confinement was over. I just put it out in the universe and knew that an opportunity to showcase my artworks would come.

"I always wanted a solo exhibition...it was on my bucket list. We must always ask for what we want."

The vernissage (opening) for Multicultural Women in Vibrant Colors was held on December 1, 2022.  Monestier considered it a success because:

"I spoke with each of attendees who asked questions ... the engagement was wonderful, so personal. The atmosphere at the event was warm and fuzzy-friendly. What was amazing is that all those attending stayed for the entire 2 hours - they did not want to leave! I had one sale and the possibility of more."

Vernissage attendees
© Jean-Marie Monestier

Shirley Monestier (seated) and vernissage attendees
© Jean-Marie Monestier

Prior to Multicultural Women, Monestier had shown her work locally in France (Taverny and Paris) as well as in international exhibitions in the U.S. (Washington, D.C.) and Mexico (Puerto Vallarta). Shows include the month-long Fight Cancer fundraising exhibition at the Mona Bismarck American Center in Paris in 2007, Cherie Sibley Artists’ Exposition, Artist Without Borders, and Viva Mexico in Puerto Vallarta (2010, 2014, and 2015, respectively), and Viet Nam Orchids in Washington. D.C. in 2016.

Monestier has the following advice for professional women artists who want to establish themselves in France:

"Join art associations -- you will receive information, encouragement, critiques, art exhibit exposure and a support group. Continue to promote yourself, have business cards, and always make art your first love!"

Once Multicultural Women in Vibrant Colors closes, Monestier plans to open a private home art gallery, where her works will be viewed by appointment only.

Her target date for opening is May 6, 2023.

To contact Shirley Monestier about her art, send email to shirley.monestier@neuf.fr.

During Fall Semester 2022, WIF hosted its first Autumn intern!

Marteena Mendelssohn is a junior at the American University of Paris who is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Film. Her twelve-week internship focused on managing our social media presence with the intent to improve public awareness of our achievements and attract financial and in-kind support for our projects and programs.

Additionally, Marteena was charged with curating content for our African Diaspora Cultural Impact in Paris (ADCI Paris) Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter social media platforms with the intent to develop a community of university students who aspire to study abroad in Paris and around the world. She created a clean new logo for the platforms and markedly improved our numbers regarding reach, engagements, and followers over the course of the semester.

Marteena considered her work with WIF as "an opportunity to assist in creative marketing and storytelling for a foundation that supports students like me as an African-American university student hoping to make connections and give back to my community."  She contributed the 50th piece of writing to the scholarly articles, restaurant reviews, creative writing, and other posts for the online publications WIF supports.

Marteena's internship ended on January 6, 2023. Here's what she had to say about her experience:

After my internship with Wells International Foundation, I have found myself feeling stronger and more confident in my skills as a writer, marketer, and artist. As social media manager, I was able to develop my skills in brand management and creative storytelling; I will continue to take these lessons with me as I further my career.

 

WIF's mission is all about empowerment, and this mission remains true as an intern. I am so grateful to have been guided and supported by such an amazing team of collaborators. My internship has been an extremely rewarding experience and I’m so excited to continue working with WIF as a volunteer!

We're looking forward to continuing to work with Marteena as well!

Featured image: Books by the Startup Squad

WIF is pleased to celebrate the recent successes of one of our most valued collaborative partners, The Startup Squad.

Founded by Brian Weisfeld, this organization’s mission is to inspire girls aged 6-16 years to open their first businesses and to empower them with an entrepreneurial mindset so they can realize their potential, whatever their passions may be.

Weisfeld and co-author Nicole C. Kear have written three novels that depict a multi-racial group of girls who run their own business. The series is recommended by the American Library Association as "a diverse and inclusive read to teach young people about money."

Weisfeld has made a point of reaching underserved girls with his books. He has raised money to donate 14,000 copies of his books to girls in New York City and kids in Appalachia. He also collaborates with existing girls’ charities such as the Girls Scouts of the USA to help them make their programs more effective. He is working on more books, charitable efforts, and other ways to reach and inspire girls as well.

Thanks to our relationship with the Startup Squad, we have collaborated with two of the organization's Girl CEOs - Rosemary Nwaosuagwu and Ava Dorsey.  Both these young ladies are achieving great things and we're pleased to highlight them here.

Rosemary Nwaosuagwu

We met Rosemary during the first year of the pandemic and were pleased to record a video with her for the pilot of a virtual story time program.  On October 9, 2020, she, Weisfeld, and Nazia Frank, Match Events Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters Greater Houston, joined WIF founder and CEO, Dr. Monique Y. Wells for an “Ask the Entrepreneur” encounter on Zoom.

Rosemary was only six years old when she wrote her first book - Lily's Favorite Color.  She was seven years old when she wrote her second book - Come Along and Count with Lily.

Now, at the age of ten, she is a three-time author!

Find Rosemary's books here: https://www.booksbyrossy.com/books

Ava Dorsey

We met Ava when she was thirteen years old. At that time, she had already been running Ava's Pet Palace, her organic pet treat business for five years.  Because she was exploring the possibility of becoming a veterinarian, we invited her to present her business via a Zoom conference organized in collaboration with Pawsibilities, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and the Startup Squad on November 16, 2020. 

The Philanthropy Alliance Foundation, another treasured partner, organized a second Zoom conference on December 5, 2020 in collaboration with all the organizations that came together for the November conference.

Ava's business is growing rapidly, and she and Ava's Pet Palace are gaining nationwide recognition:

• In 2020, she won the Young Entrepreneurship Award.
• In 2021, she revamped her brand, achieved USDA Organic certification for her pet treats, and began selling her treats at all 75 PetPeople stores and at 17 other retailers across the U.S.
• In 2022, she has already participated in the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, FL, retailed Ava's Pet Palace treats in over 1,000 PetSmart stores across the country for a limited time, and donated several hundred dollars in cash and pet treats to multiple animal-focused charities.

Not even the sky is the limit for this brilliant young entrepreneur!

Find organic pet treats made by Ava's Pet Palace here: https://avaspetpalace.com/collections