Courtney Lalotra Inducted as an Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance Member
Recognizing One Life to Love’s commitment to creating pathways to education and opportunity for girls in India
In 2025, One Life to Love Founder and Director Courtney Lalotra was inducted as a member of the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, an international community dedicated to supporting adolescent girls around the world and expanding their access to education and opportunity.
For Courtney and the One Life to Love team, the recognition represents an important milestone in the organization’s work to ensure that girls—particularly those growing up in vulnerable and underserved communities—have the opportunity to remain in school, pursue higher education, develop leadership skills, and build independent futures.
A Recognition of the Work
One Life to Love’s Girls Education Program (GEP) was created in response to the barriers that prevent many girls in India from continuing their education.
For girls growing up in poverty, the path to education can be disrupted by financial hardship, lack of access to resources, pressure to marry young, unsafe environments, family responsibilities, and limited access to information about higher education and careers.
OL2L works to address those barriers by providing girls with educational support and opportunities that extend beyond the classroom—including tuition and educational assistance, leadership development, digital literacy, skills development, financial literacy, spoken English, career guidance, and other resources designed to help girls move toward higher education and employment.
Being welcomed into the Girls Opportunity Alliance is a meaningful recognition of this work and of the importance of investing in girls as leaders and changemakers.
Learning From a Global Community
Membership in the Girls Opportunity Alliance is not simply a recognition for Courtney—it is an opportunity to continue learning.
As a member, Courtney participates in workshops, learning sessions, and opportunities for connection with other members working to advance girls’ education and empowerment around the world.
These experiences allow her to broaden her understanding of the issues affecting girls globally, learn from organizations operating in different cultural and economic environments, explore industry practices, and exchange ideas with fellow nonprofit leaders.
For a grassroots organization like One Life to Love, access to this kind of global learning community is particularly valuable.
The knowledge Courtney gains is brought back to OL2L and used to continually evaluate and strengthen the organization’s programs.
Building a Stronger Girls Education Program
One of the most important aspects of the Girls Opportunity Alliance community is the opportunity to learn from organizations that are approaching similar challenges in different ways.
Through workshops, conversations, and networking, Courtney has been able to explore new ideas around leadership development, educational access, organizational growth, program design, and creating sustainable pathways for girls.
These connections are helping inform the continued evolution of One Life to Love’s Girls Education Program.
The vision is not simply to help girls stay in school, but to help them build the knowledge, confidence, skills, and support systems they need to determine their own futures.
From Local Work to Global Community
Courtney’s membership also connects One Life to Love to a broader international movement focused on expanding opportunities for girls.
For Courtney, that global connection is deeply meaningful.
One Life to Love began with a very local response to children in need in India. Today, its work is part of a much larger conversation about what happens when girls are given access to education, resources, mentorship, and the freedom to imagine possibilities beyond the circumstances into which they were born.
“Being part of the Girls Opportunity Alliance is an incredible honor, but it is also a responsibility. It gives us an opportunity to learn from organizations around the world and bring those lessons back to the girls we serve in India.”
Investing in Girls, Investing in the Future
The Girls Opportunity Alliance membership represents both a recognition of how far One Life to Love has come and an opportunity to continue growing.
For Courtney, the most meaningful part of the experience is knowing that the organization does not have to navigate the challenges of this work alone.
There is a global community of people and organizations asking the same fundamental question:
What becomes possible when every girl has the opportunity to learn, lead, and build the future she chooses?
Through One Life to Love’s Girls Education Program, Courtney hopes to help answer that question—one girl at a time.
Her induction into the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance is not only an honor for Courtney. It is a recognition of the work of One Life to Love, the dedication of its team and supporters, and the potential of every girl the organization serves.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Every girl deserves the opportunity to choose her own future.
One Life to Love’s Girls Education Program works to remove the barriers that can prevent girls from continuing their education and pursuing higher education and careers.
12,400+
Books distributed to girls this year
700+
Girls currently enrolled in college
278
Girls who have graduated from high school
201
Girls who have graduated from college
31,000+
Girls protected from child marriage through our broader work
Through education, mentorship, skills development, leadership training, and financial and career support, OL2L is working to ensure that girls have more than access to education—they have the resources and support to build independent futures.
A global recognition. A local mission. A lifelong impact.
One Life to Love’s participation in the Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance gives our organization an opportunity to learn alongside organizations from around the world, bring new ideas and practices to our programs in India, and strengthen the support we provide to the girls we serve.
