About — Solena Collective

Our Story

Born from urgency, built on trust — Solena Collective is a global women-led movement connecting communities across cultures and continents to create lasting, collective change.

Why We Exist

The World Women Navigate

Traditional systems are failing women. Across every continent, the structures that should protect and uplift are instead entrenching inequality.

✦ Rising inequality — The gap between those with power and those without continues to widen, leaving women on the margins.
✦ Economic instability — Women are disproportionately affected by financial crises, lacking access to credit, land, and opportunity.
✦ Caregiving burdens — Women perform 3x more unpaid care work than men, limiting their freedom and growth.
✦ Attacks on gender rights — Hard-won protections are being rolled back, threatening bodily autonomy, safety, and dignity.

Solena was born from the conviction that women shouldn't have to face these challenges alone — and that the solution lies in collective power.

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736M

Women in extreme poverty

1 in 3

Experience gender violence

More unpaid care work

130M

Girls out of school

Our Mission

Connecting Women Across
Cultures & Continents

Solena Collective exists to build a global network where women take collective action — locally, on their own terms. We believe that when women come together in trusted, self-organized groups, they can transform their communities from the inside out.

We don't prescribe solutions. We provide the framework, the tools, and the global sisterhood — then step back and let Circles lead. From Bungoma to Paris to the United States, every Circle is rooted in local realities, connected by shared purpose.

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Community-Led

Circles are designed and driven by the women who form them.

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Globally Connected

Local action, global solidarity — Circles share knowledge across borders.

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Action-Oriented

Every Circle takes concrete, measurable steps toward change.

Our Values

What Guides Us

These four values are the foundation of everything we build — from how we organize Circles to how we lead as an organization.

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Collective Power

We believe transformation happens when women organize together. Individual resilience is not enough — we need collective structures that amplify every voice.

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Radical Care

Care is not a soft skill — it's a radical act. We center well-being, emotional safety, and mutual support in everything we do, refusing to sacrifice women's health for productivity.

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Cultural Rootedness

We honor the wisdom, traditions, and contexts of every community. Solena doesn't export a single model — we grow from the soil of each place, respecting local knowledge.

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Accountable Leadership

Leadership in Solena is transparent, distributed, and accountable to the women we serve. We lead by listening, and we measure success by the impact felt on the ground.

Our Journey

From Vision to Movement

Every great movement starts with a single step. Here's how Solena is growing.

November 2025

Solena Collective Founded

Janice Levenhagen and Ruth Ibrahim officially launch Solena Collective, driven by a shared conviction that women need new infrastructure for collective action — not another top-down program.

Early 2026

First Circles Launched in Kenya

The first Solena Circles form in Bungoma County, Kenya — bringing women together around community safety and economic strength in rural communities with the highest need.

2026

Expanding to France & USA

Building on the Kenya model, Solena begins seeding Circles in Paris and the United States — addressing caregiving, migration, leadership development, and cross-cultural solidarity.

The Founders

Built by Women, for Women

Solena Collective was born from the shared conviction that women everywhere deserve infrastructure for collective action — not charity, but power.

Janice Levenhagen

Co-Founder & Strategy Lead

With decades of experience in women's empowerment and organizational strategy, Janice brings a vision of scalable, sustainable change through community-rooted action. Her leadership ensures Solena grows with purpose, accountability, and a relentless focus on impact.

Ruth Ibrahim

Co-Founder & Kenya Lead

As the Kenya Lead, Ruth ensures the Circle model is deeply grounded in the lived realities of women in low-resource contexts. Her work in Bungoma County is the heart of Solena's mission — proving that locally-led action can create lasting, transformative change.

Ready to Rise With Us?

Whether you want to start a Circle, volunteer your skills, or simply stay connected — there is a place for you in Solena. Join a movement that centers women, builds power, and creates change.

Join Solena → Contact Us