A personal exploration of balancing caregiving responsibilities with self-discovery, examining how 63 million American caregivers navigate family obligations while reclaiming their own ambitions and creative pursuits.
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Influential Woman · Educational Technology (EdTech)
Toya Danielle Monroe
Co-Founder and CEO, NexGeneration Learning
Indianapolis, IN 46268
7Years experience
1Article published
5Awards received
Her Story
About Toya
Toya Monroe is the Co-Founder and CEO of NexGeneration Learning, a children’s book author, and an educator who believes children should see themselves as people who belong in STEM. Through books, school partnerships, and projects students can build with their own hands, she helps children connect reading with what they can design, test, and create.
Toya with her husband, Robert Monroe, created Mirrors Before Microscopes™ to put identity, belonging, and curiosity at the start of their STEM workshops and experiences. Their approach gives children room to bring their own ideas into the learning. Toya’s books include Mia’s Solar Eclipse Adventure, an Amazon #1 New Release, DJ Mate and the Sound Lab, and Ella and the Electric Vehicle. Together, the books and builds help kids dream big and build bigger.
Before founding NexGeneration Learning, Toya worked in sales and marketing for three Fortune 100 companies, including FedEx, Merck & Co., and Johnson & Johnson. She earned Johnson & Johnson’s President’s Club Award and numerous other sales and leadership honors. After leaving the corporate world, she launched a digital marketing agency and began teaching entrepreneurs how to use marketing and technology in ways that made sense for their businesses.
Toya and NexGeneration Learning have been featured on WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis. WILMA Magazine also profiled Toya as a “Marketing Maven.” She has delivered a keynote at a Minority Business Week conference at UNCW, presented on AI for the Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center, and served as a business coach at the 2018 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit.
Toya currently serves on the Enroll Indy board. She previously served on the advisory board for the Small Business and Technology Development Center in Wilmington and on the Brunswick Community College board. A graduate of Butler University and Indiana Wesleyan University, she brings her experience in business, education, and community leadership to the work she does today.
Through Caregiver CEO, Toya writes articles, shares practical tools, and speaks about how people can use everyday systems and AI while balancing caregiving with work or running a business. That work comes from her own experience of carrying those responsibilities at the same time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Toya
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to curiosity and to the people who encouraged it. My parents taught me to ask questions, explore new ideas, and try things even when I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. I carry that with me today, and I try to give my daughter and the students I work with the same freedom to discover what they’re capable of. Having people who believe in you and make room for you to grow can change everything.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received came from my grandfather. He told me that the best marketing is word of mouth. I used to think about that mainly in business, but I’ve learned it applies to every kind of work. People remember how you treated them, whether you listened, and whether you did what you said you would do. The relationships we build with students, families, and school partners mean as much to me as any campaign or presentation. When people trust your work enough to invite you back or tell someone else about it, that says a lot.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women to stay curious and give themselves permission to begin before they have everything figured out. In entrepreneurship, listen to the people you hope to serve, test your ideas, and learn from what works and what doesn’t. In education, listen to students just as closely. Their questions and ideas can show you what they need and what they’re capable of.
Find people who will encourage you and tell you the truth. Ask for help, build relationships, and remember that your experience brings something valuable to the room. You belong there, and you can help make room for someone coming after you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest opportunities and challenges in education and entrepreneurship is helping students and adults use AI thoughtfully. It can save time, support learning, and help people solve problems in the classroom, at work, and in everyday life. But we also need to ask questions about accuracy, privacy, and when to rely on our own judgment. We are still learning what AI can do. I want people to feel confident using it while staying in control of the decisions that matter.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Authenticity, honesty, and faith matter most to me. I want to be honest about the hard parts of life and work, including mistakes, grief, and the times things don't go as planned. My faith helps me pause, let go of what I cannot control, and trust God even when I cannot see the whole path ahead.
I try to bring those values into our classrooms, too. I want students to feel seen, to ask questions, and to know their ideas matter. And in my personal life, I want the people I love to know that being present for them matters more than any title or accomplishment.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Toya
More Than Who Needs Me
Rediscovering yourself while caring for those who depend on you.
Where did I go while I was taking care of everybody else?
That question is at the heart of a journal I'm creating called More Than Who Needs Me. I started thinking about it when I realized how often I described myself by the people and work depending on me.
I'm a daughter. A mother. Rob's wife and business partner. The CEO of NexGeneration Learning. I love those parts of my life. But somewhere along the way, I stopped asking what I wanted to create.
When life keeps adding to the list
In the fall of 2024, Rob and I started writing children's books and piloted a middle school classroom program for NexGeneration Learning. We've been in school buildings ever since. I love seeing students connect with our stories and discover what they can build.
Then my mother passed away in December 2025. After she died, my dad stayed with us, and Rob and I became his caregivers. This summer, I lost my uncle, too.
Grief doesn't wait for an open space on your calendar. Neither does caregiving. There are appointments to manage, decisions to make, and days when you're trying to figure out what someone you love needs next.
And the school year keeps moving. We prepare lessons, meet with partners, and show up for students. I love that work, too. But I know what it's like to reach the end of a full day and realize I've given my attention to everyone's plans except my own.
For a while, I thought writing about caregiving was something I'd do later. I had an idea for Caregiver CEO, a place where I could talk honestly about building a business while caring for family. The idea kept coming back, even when I couldn't see where it would fit.
I know I'm not alone
The 2025 Caregiving in the US report estimates that 63 million Americans—nearly one in four adults—provide ongoing care to a family member or someone close to them. Many are also working, raising children, or dealing with financial strain.
I think about the people behind that number. How much planning and worry can sit beneath an ordinary question like, "How's your week going?"
I also think about how quickly a caregiver's own interests become the first thing to move when the day gets crowded. You tell yourself you'll get back to them when things settle down. But what if they don't settle down anytime soon?
Finding a way back to my own work
Starting Caregiver CEO has been one way I've answered that question for myself. It gives me a place to share what I'm learning, including the parts I haven't figured out yet.
I didn't need a perfect schedule to begin. Sometimes I capture a thought between other responsibilities. I use AI to organize my notes or help me start a draft, and then I make sure the words sound like me. Rob and I share what we can at home and in the business. I'm also learning to ask for help with a specific task before I'm overwhelmed.
Some weeks, I make progress on a book or a post. Other weeks, my family needs more of me. I'm trying to be honest about both.
If you're caring for someone and an idea keeps coming back to you, write it down. Tell someone you trust. Give it a little time when you can. You don't have to know exactly what it'll become.
I'm still a daughter, a mother, a wife, and a CEO. Caregiver CEO is helping me remember that I'm also a woman with things of my own to say and make.
That's the woman I was looking for when I asked, "Where did I go?"
Source: Caregiving in the US 2025, National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP.
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