Her Story
About Monet
Monet Smith is an entrepreneur and law student with a focus on social impact technology, technology policy, and nonprofit philanthropy. She has been active in the field for 5-6 years, beginning right after COVID as chief of staff for the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislators, Inc., where she organized events connecting constituents with elected representatives and hosted networking gatherings. She founded American Justice Innovations, a nonprofit philanthropy initiative supporting at-risk youth facing potential incarceration, and has expanded into developing software and engaging with the Agentic AI movement to create tools that benefit humanity. Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Criminology and Sociology from Penn State, which informed her understanding of public safety and policy, an MPA in Social Impact, Innovation, and Investment from NYU Wagner, and current studies at GW Law specializing in technology and data privacy. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and remains involved with her previous legislative association. Monet attributes her success to spiritual principles, emphasizing the importance of treating others with care, being the change one wishes to see, and leading with heart and passion in her work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Monet
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would really attribute it to relying on my spiritual principles a lot. I value teaching with Jesus and what He would do. Very big believer of the Good Samaritan rule of treating others like the kings and queens of the world. Also the principle of be the change you want to see in the world, realizing that we as individuals have the power to create the future we want and putting the well-being of others in the front of that future.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Lead with your heart and your passion, and the money will follow. I'm a big believer in that. A lot of people choose careers they are not truly passionate or interested in for the money, and then they get burned out fast because it's not sustaining who they are as a person. So it's important to love what you do, it doesn't feel like work that way.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The biggest thing is not letting others influence you. In the field of law, policy, nonprofit startups, you'll have a lot of people tell you that's not realistic, that won't happen, you should do it this way. But at the end of the day, if you have a calling in life, you feel drawn towards a certain impact, you have that in your heart for a reason, so just go with it. Don't let too much of the external world influence what you have going on internally.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest one, especially as a young person, is social media, tech, and AI. Social media is like a lotus theory where people get sucked into the algorithm and lose sight of their purpose. AI is a convenient tool helpful for smaller startups but important to learn hard skills and not always rely on it, allowing humans and employees to fill with those skills as well.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I'm very religious, so keeping God first and center. It's important to stay rooted in some sort of spiritual center. As a Baptist Christian, keeping God center in everything I do allows me to not get distracted by worldly things, titles, notability, notoriety, and money. When you do that, you also have a habit of putting people first, putting others' well-being above yours or near yours.
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