New Generation of MAKERS Revealed; AOL and Simple® Facial Skincare Announce Results of Nationwide Search for Trailblazing Women Who Make a Difference

Six Community Activists and Leaders Honored with $10,000 Grant from Simple® and the Opportunity to Tell Their Story on MAKERS.com

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AOL in partnership with Simple® facial skincare brand by Unilever, today announced the winners of a nationwide search for extraordinary women driving positive change in their communities. The search is an extension of MAKERS, an unprecedented multiplatform video experience that honors trailblazing women including Sandra Day O’Connor, Hillary Clinton and Diane Von Furstenberg, among others.

“Simple® is proud to support the MAKERS initiative that celebrates women whose authenticity, ideals and pioneering spirit inspire others every day.”

Recognized as Next MAKERS for their leadership, vision, courage and ingenuity, Colonel Jill Chambers, Olivia Joy Stinson, Anna Rodriguez, Reshma Saujani, Emily May and Lydia Cincore-Templeton will join a prestigious group of groundbreakers that includes Supreme Court Justices, Secretaries of State, CEOs, athletes, activists and entertainers. Next MAKERS will have the opportunity to tell their stories in short videos on MAKERS.com. In addition, Simple® will award each woman with a $10,000 grant so she can continue to pursue her dreams and do great work in her community.

“Simple^® facial skincare brand congratulates the Next MAKERS whose commitment, creativity and hard work are positively impacting our country, opening doors in their communities and inspiring change now and in the future,” said Alison Clark, Director, Unilever U.S., Skincare. “Simple® is proud to support the MAKERS initiative that celebrates women whose authenticity, ideals and pioneering spirit inspire others every day.”

MAKERS Founder and Executive Producer Dyllan McGee along with her award-winning filmmaking team will meet with each Next MAKER to capture her personal story. These inspiring videos will debut on MAKERS.com beginning December 17, 2012.

“The opportunity to meet the Next MAKERS and hear their stories has been humbling and inspiring,” said Dyllan McGee, the founder of MAKERS. “MAKERS was built to serve as a living library of incredible stories of groundbreaking women and the Next MAKERS joining not only embody what a MAKER is; they are a testament of the importance of everyday heroes, far and wide, who make a difference in both their local communities and the nation at large.”

“The hundreds of inspiring stories from women I admire on MAKERS.com have moved and motivated me,” said Reshma Saujani, Next MAKER and Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code. “I am honored to have my name next to theirs, and with the $10,000 from Simple^® I will continue educating, empowering and equipping teenage girls with the skills and resources to pursue opportunities in technology and engineering.”

Next MAKERS is one piece of the evolving collection of women’s stories on MAKERS.com, which currently features more than 160 groundbreaking women. MAKERS will continue to grow, adding new stories to the site on a weekly basis.

“The MAKERS community is inspired by the remarkable and heartfelt nominations that poured in recognizing exceptional women across the country,” said Maureen Sullivan, SVP and General Manager, Women's Content and Lifestyle Brands, AOL. “We’re honored to bring to life through MAKERS.com their previously untold stories that demand to be heard and will inspire the next generation of trailblazers.”

As MAKERS.com grows and expands its content and community throughout 2012, PBS will premiere a three-hour special that will extend that audience even further. The documentary, “MAKERS: Women Who Make America,” will tell the story of the Women’s Movement over the last half century in February 2013.

About the Next MAKERS

• Colonel Jill Chambers, Washington DC: Leading advocate for the military’s new nationwide strategy to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Olivia Joy Stinson, North Carolina: Founder of PEN Pals Book Club and Support Group for Children of Incarcerated Parents, a non-profit organization that she created at the age of 14
• Anna Rodriguez, Florida: Founder of the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking
• Reshma Saujani, New York: Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a non-profit that empowers students from low-income communities to use technology to become entrepreneurs
• Emily May, New York: Founder and CEO of Hollaback, a non-profit that harnesses the power of information technology to combat street harassment
• Lydia Cincore-Templeton, California: CEO of Children Youth and Family Collaborative in Los Angeles, an organization devoted to improving the academic performance of foster youth

About MAKERS

Produced by award-winning documentary filmmakers, MAKERS is an unprecedented multi-platform video experience that aims to capture the extraordinary impact women have made in America over the past 50 years, through a vast and ongoing collection of original interviews with trailblazing women of all walks of life. MAKERS is founded by filmmaker Dyllan McGee. Executive Producers are Dyllan McGee, Betsy West and Peter Kunhardt. The digital platform is developed by AOL. The 3–hour documentary, “MAKERS: Women Who Make America,” which will tell the story of the modern American Women’s Movement, is scheduled to debut on PBS in February 2013 and is produced by Kunhardt McGee Productions, Storyville Films and WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Ark Media. MAKERS.com has grown since its launch and now features stories from more than 160 remarkable women, including Christiane Amanpour, Marissa Mayer, Madeleine Albright, Diane Von Furstenberg, Danica Patrick, Nichelle Nichols, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Katie Couric, Ellen DeGeneres, Geraldine Ferraro, Theresa Kane, Bethany Hamilton, Billie Jean King, Lauren Bush Lauren, Nancy Pelosi, Shelly Lazarus, Alice Walker, Meg Whitman, Vivian Stringer, Gabrielle Hamilton, Diane Nash, Sara Ziff, and Eve Ensler.

For more, visit MAKERS.com/press and follow @MAKERSwomen on Twitter and visit Facebook.com/makerswomen on Facebook.

About AOL Inc.

Having helped millions of Americans to get online, AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is on a mission to inform, entertain and connect the world. The home of a world-class collection of premium brands, AOL creates original content that engages audiences on a local and global scale. We help marketers connect with these audiences through effective and engaging digital advertising solutions.

About Simple® Skincare

Simple®, a Unilever brand, is the first and only line of mass facial skincare products that is perfect even for sensitive skin. Suitable for all skin types, Simple has no dyes, artificial perfumes or harsh irritants that can upset your skin, just our purest possible skin-loving ingredients with added vitamins, for natural healthy-looking skin. Simple, the UK’s No. 1 Facial Skincare brand,* launched in the U.S. in February 2012 with 13 products - cleansers, moisturizers, eye care products and wipes – that are hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, pH balanced and gently yet effectively address the needs of the 58% of women with sensitive skin**. Simple is sold at Walmart, Target, drug stores and online. To learn more about Simple® skincare products visit simpleskincare.com.

*SymphonyIRI Group UK Non Medicated Facial Skincare Units 52 w/e 10th September 2011

**Lieberman Research Worldwide, December 2010

For more information on MAKERS please contact [e-mail]; 212.402.4680