Meet Vanessa I. (she/her), a New Face of Tech winner who is studying economics and education studies at Harvard University.

What is your dream?

My dream is to create a world where finance and technology are designed to build community and expand opportunity—not merely to generate profit.

Please share how you feel about the win and what impact it will have on your career.

I feel incredibly grateful and excited to receive this award! It will allow me to invest in my ideas, further nurture them, and explore the learnings that will come with that.

What advice do you have for other women reaching for their dreams?

First, you must embrace the courage to dream and envision a reality that seems beyond your reach. Then, you constantly nurture that dream by taking mini-steps that move you towards it. On your journey, you should always consider asking for help from people who inspire you and are living your dream. But most of all, you must constantly breathe life into your dreams, even as they naturally evolve.