Dance Theatre of Harlem's vivacious Ingrid Silva is extending her efforts beyond the borders of the dance world. Last winter she founded EmpowHerNY, a platform that allows women from all over the world to connect and support one another by sharing their day-to-day lives. We touched base with Silva to learn all about her new initiative.

How did you come up with the idea for EmpowHerNY?

It started last December when I met my partner, Helya Mohammadian. She is the founder of Slick Chicks, a line of underwear for women with disabilities. We met while walking our Frenchies and we became very close friends. We both wanted to do something that would make an impact by giving voices to women and helping them achieve their goals. One day we were sitting at a beer garden with our dogs, and came up with the name and created the Instagram, and then all of these people found our account. As women, we haven't had space to have our voices heard for so long, and finally now everyone is breaking their shell and speaking out, so I'm very proud to be part of this movement, giving a voice to other women.