For more than a decade, Junior Achievement has shaped my mission and professional life. What began as a high school entrepreneurship competition has evolved into a lifelong commitment to expanding entrepreneurship and financial literacy for young people worldwide. My journey has taken me from student entrepreneur, to volunteer, mentor, strategic advisor, and now the youngest-ever Global Board Member of Junior Achievement Worldwide.

1) Student Entrepreneur: My journey began through JA's Company Program in London, where I co-founded VenturePad, a company producing durable waterproof notebooks for outdoor exploration. Our team went on to win JA Europe's Most Innovative Company award, beating more than 38,000 students across Europe. That experience showed me how entrepreneurship could create ripple employment, like the printers who manufactured VenturePad notebooks.

2) Volunteer & Mentor: After university, I returned to JA to give back to the organization that had shaped me. I have volunteered for three years at JA Finance Park New York, teaching financial literacy to students from underserved communities, and have mentored student entrepreneurs through JA Greater Boston's Company Program, helping teams develop businesses from idea generation through product launch and go-to-market.

3) CX-level Strategist: Through my employer, McKinsey & Company, I partnered directly with JA Worldwide's CEO and leadership team to help shape the organization's global strategy through to 2050. This included evaluating expansion into new countries, strengthening rural reach across India and China through partnerships, improving global board onboarding, and supporting JA's ambition to grow from serving 20 million to 100 million young people annually. On another initiative, I developed a best-in-class board member onboarding strategy to ensure that Junior Achievement’s more than 6,000 board members globally are brought up to speed on what being a JA board member entails.

4) Global Board Member: Today, I serve as the youngest-ever Global Board Member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, joining 30 global leaders responsible for guiding the strategy and governance of an organization operating in more than 100 countries. I am proud to be specifically selected to represent the youth perspective while helping shape the future of entrepreneurship and financial literacy education for the next generation.