About

Our mission

Camp Ascendela exists to prove something to every girl who walks through our doors: you can build something real, and you can build it to help other people.

We're a business accelerator with social impact at its core. A place where bilingual girls learn to think like founders, solve problems that matter, and stand up and say I made this. We teach the skills. But what we're really building is the belief that she can.

Why. How. What.

Every great organization starts from the inside out with why it exists, before what it sells. Here's ours.

We believe the world gets better when girls are the ones solving its problems. Too many girls are taught to wait to be picked, to keep their ideas small, to help quietly. We believe the opposite: that a girl who learns she can build a real solution to a real problem becomes unstoppable, and that her confidence changes not just her life, but everyone her idea touches.

We're here so that every girl knows, deep down, that she can build something that matters.

Why we exist

We put doing good first every girl starts by choosing a problem worth solving, so everything she builds has heart behind it. We teach like a camp, with guides who've walked the trail, a community that believes in her, and the confidence that comes from never climbing alone. We reach every kind of learner, through video, podcast, reading, and hands-on challenges. And we build for her, specifically, for bilingual girls in Massachusetts, because being made for someone is different from being made for everyone.

How we do it

We run a business accelerator for girls. Each founder chooses a social impact problem, learns the full founder's toolkit — creativity, market research, branding, sales, public speaking, money, and more — and builds her own real solution, presenting it live at Pitch Fest.

But the what is just the proof. The why is the point.

What we do

Why we start with doing good

Girls light up when the work means something. So we don't ask them to chase a business idea and hope it matters. We ask them to start with what matters and build the business around it.

We give each girl a curated list of real problems to choose from. She picks the one that speaks to her, then tells us her own why, why it matters to her and her own what, the solution she wants to build. Everything she learns after that, creativity, marketing, sales, leadership, she learns in service of her cause. By the time she reaches Pitch Fest, she isn't presenting a school project. She's presenting her solution to her problem, in front of a room that's rooting for her.

Why bilingual, and why Massachusetts

We made a deliberate choice not to be for everyone.

Camp Ascendela is for bilingual girls in Massachusetts AND for girls willing to learn another language along the way. Being bilingual isn't a limitation to work around here; it's a founder's superpower. It means she can reach more people, understand more communities, and build for a bigger world. We built this place for her, on purpose.

Apply Here!

Meet the Founder and Camp Director

Hi! I'm Jimena, Founder and Camp Director of Camp Ascendela, a business accelerator built on mentorship, community, and momentum. My path here wasn't a straight line, and honestly, that's the whole point. Over the past twelve years I've seen the startup world from every seat in the house: as a founder myself (two dog-treat brands and a 3D-printing venture!), as someone who's both worked inside accelerators and gone through them, and as a mentor cheering on the founders coming up behind me. These days I co-own Touchvida, where I help build tools for kids with disabilities, work that keeps me close to why I started building in the first place.

I earned my bachelor's in administration from Universidad Metropolitana in Venezuela, and that's really where the Camp Ascendela story begins. I dove headfirst into student government, made friends who still feel like family, and caught the entrepreneurship bug after reading Tina Seelig's What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20;  a spark so meaningful that the very first talk of Camp Ascendela's week zero is all about creativity. Later I added a master's in marketing from Emerson College and a master's in education and ESL from Cambridge College.

But my biggest inspiration? That one's not on any diploma. I've been going to camp since I was six, and at sixteen I became a counselor myself,  learning early that the right guide, the right community, and someone who truly believes in you can change your entire journey. Camp Ascendela is where all of it comes together: a place where founders get the counselors, the community, and the confidence every great camp provides,  so they never have to climb alone.

Jimena Arnal

Founder and Camp Director of Camp Ascendela

The Crew

Erica Pollock - Camp Director

The right hand who keeps the whole camp moving.
Hi, I’m Erica Pollock! I am a volunteer camp director for Camp Ascendela and have been working with youth in various locations since I was in high school. I received my Master’s in Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2018. When I’m not at camp, I work as a public school teacher in the Worcester School District. I have had the opportunity to teach students from Kindergarten through sixth grade.
One fun fact about me is that I use sign language at home with my family, as my partner is Deaf. When I have some free time, I enjoy watching movies, visiting Disney, and getting lost in a good book. I am excited to start working with Camp Ascendela’s campers and watch them create wonderful memories, discover solutions and build life-long friendships
Sharanya

Sharanya Gowda is a program and strategy professional with a multidisciplinary background spanning technology, engineering, business, and project management. She holds an MBA and MS in Digital Technology from Boston University, as well as a master’s degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. Across her career and education, Sharanya has worked with diverse teams, industries, and cultures, helping transform ideas into actionable plans, navigate complex challenges, and bring people together around shared goals.
Sharanya is especially passionate about mentorship because she believes confidence, curiosity, and ambition should be nurtured from an early age. She wants young girls to know that their ideas are worth exploring, their voices deserve to be heard, and they do not have to wait until adulthood to start thinking of themselves as leaders, innovators, or entrepreneurs. Having experienced firsthand the impact that encouragement and mentorship can have on someone’s path, Sharanya is excited to pay that forward by creating a space where girls feel empowered to ask bold questions, take chances, learn from setbacks, and turn the ideas in their heads into something real.
Franerys Ventura

Hello! My name is Franerys Ventura, and I am the founder and educator at Little Rock Childcare.
I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) in 2018. After moving to the United States, my journey took me in a new direction. I discovered my passion for early childhood education and completed Early Childhood Education certificates through Urban College of Boston.
I am currently continuing my education and working toward earning my Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, which I hope to complete next year.
In May 2026, I became a certified CPR, First Aid, and AED Instructor through the American Red Cross, allowing me to continue learning and also help others develop important life-saving skills.
I am also a proud mom of two, and being a mother has taught me so much about patience, leadership, love, responsibility, and the importance of believing in yourself.
I believe strongly in entrepreneurship, personal growth, education, and creating opportunities. Starting Little Rock Childcare has taught me that you can build something meaningful when you are willing to learn, work hard, believe in your vision, and keep going even when things are challenging.
I am excited to be a mentor because I want girls to know that their dreams are important, their voices matter, and they do not have to have their whole future figured out right now. My hope is to encourage them to believe in themselves, explore their talents, dream boldly, and understand that success can look different for everyone.
I am looking forward to getting to know each of you, learning from you, and sharing my experiences with you! 💕
Martin Betancourt - Keeper of the Campfire

Hi, I'm Martín Betancourt, a volunteer at Camp Ascendela. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and I'm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have the honor of working on the visual identity and branding for this business accelerator program for girls aged 8 to 13.
In my free time I love watching sports, going for walks, taking photos of the city and landscapes, and discovering the street art that brings places to life.