Meet the Founding Goddesses
We are Olivia and Jenna, the co-founders of Goddess Night Out!
And this is our story:
We never intended to become business partners. In fact, we never could have seen Goddess Night Out coming!
We have actually known each other since we were 7 years old. Jenna's family moved from the Bay Area to Sacramento and we met in the second grade (shout out to Jenna's mom, Carol for introducing us! haha)
As children, we bonded most over our love of singing and dancing. We still have vivid memories of putting on our favorite CDs (Cher, Madonna, Savage Garden, and the A Walk to Remember soundtrack) and singing into our hairbrushes. It always felt so natural to fully express ourselves together.
Our lives went in different directions after high school- Olivia moved away to college to pursue a career as a journalist, while Jenna became a certified yoga teacher and studied a wide variety of spiritual and holistic practices. But we never lost touch and always picked back up like no time had passed when we got to see each other.
Fast forward to 2021. We were both living back in Sacramento and regularly hanging out for the first time in 10 years. We made our way up to Lake Tahoe the first weekend in December to see @clozee- Jenna's favorite DJ.
We were dancing, fully immersed in the music, and a man approached Olivia. Annoyed by the all-too-familiar experience of rejecting unwanted advances, she turned away, looked at Jenna, and said "we should start a women-only dance night!"
That was it. Goddess Night Out was born in that moment.
The idea wouldn't leave Olivia's mind. She began sharing it with other women in the community- they all seemed just as excited as she and Jenna were.
With the help of so many other incredible women saying "yes" to this dream of ours, we have seen Goddess Night Out take on a life of its own.
We've been blown away by all the feedback we've received over the past two years, but one of the best compliments we've gotten were from some first-time attendees to a recent Goddess Night Out: These three young women told us coming to our event felt reminiscent of going to a sleepover as a little girl- a space to dance, sing, laugh, and play.
Through this process, we've realized one of the greatest gifts of our friendship is that, because we have known each other since childhood, it feels easy to let our inner children out to play when we're together. And let us tell you- they are on a MISSION to help other women experience the same joy.
Everything in our lives has led us to this. And we are so grateful you're on this journey alongside us!
Olivia DeGennaro
I’ve loved to dance as long as I can remember. In fact, my favorite memories throughout my life have happened on dance floors. Growing up, my dance studio was my refuge. My safe space. My therapy.
But as an adult, I lost touch with my connection to dancing. And that’s when I decided I needed a monthly ladies dance night in my life! But it wasn’t enough to go out to a club with my girlfriends. I wanted to be in a space made for women.
So I dreamt up the idea of Goddess Night Out and found local sisters in Sacramento to help me make it happen! I can’t wait to bring this event to life each month with you!
By day, I’m a journalist and astrologer. I host astrology livestreams and conversations about spirituality on my show, The Spiritual Journalist. So excited to connect with you!
Jenna Ecklein
Dance was one of the first loves of my life. As a child I would spend HOURS dancing and singing to music. As I grew up, little by little my passion for dance began to diminish. Between pubescent body-image issues and militant dance teachers, my inner child slowly began to shut down and eventually I stopped dancing all together.
At 16 I began practicing vinyasa yoga, which became an incubator for the reawakening of my love for dance. Something about the combination of sweat, loud music and flowing sequences acted as a safe container for me to explore my body. It took many years of practicing yoga before I ever stepped back into the world of dance.
Dance allows me to go beyond my conscious waking mind and connect with a deeper part of myself. I love getting out of my head and getting lost in the music. For me, dance is a form of embodied prayer.
Off the dance floor I love practicing vocal embodiment work, geeking out on all things health-related and creating abstract art.