Miranda Williamson

I work for an organization called Seed Spot, where I support underrepresented founders of businesses by getting them access to free education programs, mentorship from experts in the field, and other resources they need to be successful. As a nonprofit funded through grants, we work to break down barriers - for example, getting retail founders access to buyers so they can enter the mass retail space. My role involves finding and identifying the founders we work with, and building recruiting and admissions infrastructure that reflects our organization's values, missions, and DEI principles. I'm now moving into a higher-level position focused on communication and overall strategy for the organization, while my marketing manager takes over the founder identification work. What inspired me to do this work was my time in higher education, where I was asking master's students to pay $100,000 for degrees in peace and justice and social innovation, yet they could only make about $45,000 a year starting out - not even enough to make minimum student loan payments and still live well. This debt was hindering their ability to do the work I taught them to do, preventing them from taking positions that would help their communities in the ways they wanted. I met an entrepreneur building a school for street children in Rwanda who needed education but couldn't afford it, and he inspired me to seek nonprofit organizations that provide free pathways to education.