Meet Alexis Edmonds | Community Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexis Edmonds and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Girls Rock! Phoenix is a nonprofit organization that empowers girls and gender nonconforming kids through music education, creation, and performance. Through a summer music camp and other events throughout the year, Girls Rock! Phoenix aims to develop musical knowledge & ability in girls, foster lifelong connections with peers & mentors, foster leadership and communication skills; as well as challenge gender norms/stereotypes and inspire intersectional feminism.

This is accomplished at our week long day camp, where campers get to select an instrument, form a band with their peers, and work together to write a song while being supported by camp volunteers. In addition to instrument instruction and band practice, campers also attend a variety of workshops throughout the week on topics ranging from song writing, to zine making to self defense. They also get to be exposed to local artists that align with the Girls Rock! Phoenix mission, who put on lunchtime performances for the campers. This is a great way for campers to be exposed to new types of music, experience representation in real time, and ask the artists & musicians about their creative process and their experience as a musician.

It is a beautifully creative, action packed week!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The creativity that is present throughout camp is truly something to witness! Our goal is to create a space to let the campers learn how to express themselves creatively and work with a group, and support bringing their vision to life. Once the campers band is formed, they not only spend the week writing one song, but they also decide on a band name and design a logo which they get to screenprint onto t-shirts to keep. We have even had campers in the past create their own genres to describe the sound their band is going for. All of this hard work is culminated in a showcase for the community, where each band gets to perform their song at a real rock show for their family, friends, and community members!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A few places that come to mind are some of our amazing community partners. Walter Studios is a restaurant and venue in Phoenix where we hosted our 2023 showcase. They regularly have events, as well as a great food and drinks. Another great coffee spot is Brick Road Coffee in Tempe! We have been able to host all ages open mic nights at Brick Road, which have been a great way to connect with our community outside of camp, and Brick Road regularly has a variety of community events, as well as great coffee and pastries!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think all of our volunteers deserve a huge shoutout! This organization is almost entirely volunteer run an dependent on the generousity of people in our community who are so generous with their time and energy to make camp happen. There are so many different pieces that all come together to make camp happen and each role is so important.

Website: https://girlsrockphoenix.org

Instagram: @girlsrockphx

Facebook: facebook.com/girlsrockphx

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9KcipQ1LyiiT_EkX4CVX-Q

Image Credits
Tom Cheswick, Liz McDonald, Natalie Scott