When people see the milestones we’ve reached with NEST4US, they often assume the path has been smooth. But behind every achievement are challenges we’ve had to confront head-on—challenges shaped by age, gender, and race.
As young women of color, we have often been underestimated in professional spaces. We’ve been told we were “too young” to lead, questioned about our ability to manage large-scale programs, and even dismissed in rooms where our male peers were taken seriously. Sometimes the assumptions were unspoken, but heavy—people glancing past us in meetings, or addressing questions to older colleagues instead of us.
Reflecting on these experiences, Shreyaa often shares, “Discrimination doesn’t always show up as outright rejection. Sometimes it’s subtle—a seat not offered at the table, a voice interrupted, an idea overlooked until someone else repeats it.” Those moments sting, but they have also sharpened our awareness of how systemic bias plays out in everyday interactions.
Instead of allowing these barriers to discourage us, we’ve chosen to let them fuel us. Each instance of being underestimated has reinforced our determination to lead with confidence and compassion. We’ve learned to claim our voices even when others try to silence them, and to lift up the voices of others who are too often left unheard.
Through NEST4US, we strive to create the very spaces we once wished for—spaces where youth, women, and people of color are not just included, but centered. To us, representation should not just serve as a token gesture; it is a necessity for building just and inclusive systems. And when younger girls come up to us after events, saying, “I didn’t know someone who looks like me could do this,” we’re reminded why this work matters.
We hope our journey inspires other young women to know that leadership does not require permission. As Esha often says, “The world may try to put you in a box. Don’t just step out of it—make sure no one else gets boxed in again.” And together, we can keep redefining what leadership looks like—until every girl, everywhere, knows she belongs at the table.
—Shreyaa & Esha Venkat, NEST4US Founders, 2025
