Becca R.
🌎 Moving outside the US
I’m a nomad (I’ve lived in 3 countries and 4 states), career transitioner (former neuroscientist now working in tech), and lifelong learner (3 degrees and counting). For the last 5 years I’ve been working in educational technology, and I've spent my free time doing community outreach related to career transitions, largely focused on early career researchers—my former cohort.
This program excites me because it's something that I wish I'd had in my 20s. My experience as a twenty-something was nothing like my parents—my dad was a solider in Vietnam and my mom got married at 21—they both worked in stable office jobs that they each held for 20+ years. I, on the other hand, went to college to study science, which led to a pretty unstable, nomadic lifestyle. I didn't have any adults in my life growing up who had an experience even close to this, so I received very little (or relevant) guidance from anyone. This has led me to take the "long-way" round (several times) only to find out later that there was a better way.
While making mistakes and learning from failure is a staple of life, I would like to use my learning experiences to help younger individuals know about as many of the choices available to them as possible. I recently heard the phrase "lift as you climb", and I think that being a mentor at Twenty will help me lift others—even if only one step at a time.
Outside of work and mentoring, I’m going to school (again!) for an executive MBA to shore up my business skills. My free time is mostly spent hanging out with my two cats (Mick and Oscar), enjoying the performing arts (I love theater and standup), and learning to be a better artist (I’m taking a linocut class soon that I’m really excited about).
Sonya S.
🙏 First-gen
I’m a first-generation Indian American with a mashup of Southern manners (born and partially raised in Tennessee) and West coast values (moved to the Bay Area, CA for middle and high school). After high school, I went to Boston for undergrad and stayed for a couple years after before coming back to the Bay. And soon, I’ll be moving Seattle!
Like many undergrads, I started college wanting to be a doctor. I stuck with it all the way through taking the MCAT, nose to the grindstone, before realizing that I wasn’t actually interested in 7+ more years of training. After some reflection, I landed in management consulting for biotech, where I worked for a few years before transitioning to my current role in public health. The thread of science/healthcare has remained throughout my career, but I’ve had the privilege of being exposed to many different roles by working as or working with VC, hedge funds, research/academia, pharma and biotech, and private and public industry.
When I’m not working, I…
I always found that some of the best advice I received was from people who were my peers or only a few years ahead of me. It felt like a low-stakes way to get advice and ask "dumb" questions of people who understood where I was coming from. I’ve sought advice from all avenues—colleagues, family members, friends, strangers on the internet, and even DMs to cool people on LinkedIn. It’s time for me to pass on some of what I’ve learned 🙂
Jenny M.
📈 Marketing, sales, & business
The adventure keeps going.
I’m excited to help you find your voice, your platform for beliefs and self-confidence in a shifting and challenging world.
Ari G.
⚡️ Program management
Hannah S.
🌎 Social impact
I’m originally from Tampa, Florida, where I grew up surrounded by family (I have an identical twin and two other siblings). I went to school at UNC Chapel Hill, which I absolutely loved, where I majored in Business and minored in Journalism. The desire to explore the intersection of business, creativity and technology led me to a career in marketing. I also love photography as a creative outlet, so you can check out my work here: https://www.hannah-smith-photography.com/
Georgina C.
🔥 MBA
Yumi L.
🧦 Fashion & retail
Hi, I’m Yumi! I’m a Chinese American born in Venezuela, attended schools there and in China, and finally moving to the U.S. during my teenage year. Having been exposed to 3 different continents at a young age, I’ve taken an interest in learning about how different things work in different cultures. I’ve worked at various industries — art, import/export, non-profit, real estate, retail and tech - mainly in the operations and business development space.
Throughout my 20s, I’ve been very fortunate to have mentors from all walks of life that have pushed me to do better, expanded my worldview, and helped shaped the person I am today. I want to pay it forward and be the mentor that I wished I had when I was 20. Reach out and let me know how I could help!
Dee T.
Hi, my name is Dee and I am excited to be a mentor on Twenty! I am currently a student a Harvard Business School and excited at the opportunity to mentor the next generation. Let’s connect!
John N.
I come from a low-income first-generation household and spent 8 years as an officer in the U.S. Navy before pivoting into a PM role at Meta. I then became a Project Manager supporting eLearning efforts at Google before transitioning into my current role as a Senior Project Manager at Boeing. I understand both sides of the coin when it comes to military/civilian life and the challenges that come with each. I'm currently a mentor for transitioning veterans through Veterati and have been in the mentorship space for over 10 years. A big passion of mine is sharing the knowledge I've learned in order to set folks up on a trajectory towards success. Twenty is a program I see big potential in because of the capability to create huge impact for such a small personal investment on my part. I'm excited to have the chance to not only help you navigate your professional career but also be a resource for life in general.
Jara M.
I’m an educational strategist, program designer, and illustrator. With a background in art and education technology, the bulk of my work aims to mitigate the education and equity gap using design. Currently, I work at Webflow where I scale education programming for the larger design community and students. Prior to Webflow I worked at Coursera as a Program Manager and Salesforce as an Instructional Designer.I’ve worked as a mentor since 2016, specifically looking to increase access to tech for underrepresented communities (Black, Latinx, disabled). I've mentored with SMASH, BuiltByGirls, and Young Data Scientists League (YDSL). Related, I am currently the Outreach and Education lead for Techsgiving, where I teach UX design & prototyping to students.I grew up in Palo Alto, but currently live in Brooklyn!
Rachel L.
I’m a product marketer at Intuit on the QuickBooks team. Recently, I graduated from UCLA Anderson School of Management with my MBA, where I focused on Marketing Analytics and Technology Management. It’s great to meet you 😊
Nicole C.
I’ve been a mentor and coach before for both W&M undergrads and Darden first-year MBA candidates. I’ve also been on the other side of the table and have had incredible mentors to learn from in my own circle. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been supported in taking some non-traditional leaps in my career and personal life and am excited to pay it forward in support of others!
Some fun facts:
Kevin K.
Hello! I've just completed my MBA and am currently based in LA. I've mostly lived in California (10+ years, including 4 as an undergrad at USC) and grew up in East & Southeast Asia (I'm also not a US citizen!) Professionally, I've worked as a management consultant in SF and also as a strategic planner / business operations generalist at an LA-based public charter school district (a nonprofit). I recently began working at Beyond Meat and the learning curve’s pretty steep and humbling, so if you're in the same boat then I know your struggle! Outside of work, I love watching and playing tennis, listening to podcasts while I'm out and about, cooking new dishes, and going to the movies. I'm on Twenty because I'm a lifelong learner and I wish I had access to this platform as a resource when I was adulting in my twenties. Ultimately, I'm here to be a resource; whether that's being a whiteboard to discuss career directions, whether to apply to an MBA, adapting to the nebulous nature of life post-college, or something else from what I've written above. Happy to schedule regular conversations or to have one-off chats for more specific questions!
Megan R.
My name is Megan - I'm excited to meet with you as a Twenty mentor! By way of background, I majored in Economics and French Cultural Studies at Wellesley, and then I worked in investment banking and private equity. I’ve also volunteered at a nonprofit organization developing a curriculum to teach personal finance skills to underserved communities in NYC. Happy to talk about all things related to managing your career, finance, managing personal finances and more!
Kali R.
I am a brand and product marketer, writer, and content enthusiast deeply interested in how media intersects with technology. I’m a recent Columbia Business School grad where I focused on media and product strategy in my coursework. During school, I worked with Spotify helping launch their new audiobooks vertical. I also worked at seed-stage venture firm: Overton VC as their Content Development Intern, where I represented both the firm and its portfolio company’s initiatives from a strategic communications perspective. I spent my years prior to business school working in brand and product marketing for Google – running global campaigns for brand moments, kids and family products, and Google Cloud events. My previous professional experiences include BlackRock and Goldman Sachs. Personally, I’m a yoga fanatic, big reader, podcast listener, and write my own Substack newsletter providing content recs called Sorry to Stare.
The phrase: your 20s are a mismarketed decade resonates with me greatly. twenty, its mission, and business is something I wish I had started myself as I think there is SUCH a need and market for this type of community support! They are a time of great joy, challenge, freedom, and at times, disquiet. I enjoy mentoring greatly, as a junior board member at Girls Inc. of NYC, I've worked with a committee of teammates to plan events, fundraisers, and auctions on behalf of local teen girls in need. I have identified my superpower in and outside of work in mentorship. I find immense value in helping my community in career and personal development. During my MBA program, I worked as a Career Management Center fellow, where I was professionally trained to offer industry exploration and education guidance, networking best practices, résumé and cover letter reviews, pitch preparations, and mock interviews. Thus, I know how to quickly shift my perspective when it comes to diversity of thought in order to give informed advice.
Pedro R.
I am a first-generation immigrant who was born in Peru and raised in the suburbs of Massachusetts. I began my academic journey in community college, and continue it at MIT Sloan this fall. My professional path has been equally diverse. I began my career as a bartender. Over time, I have worked in Finance, Consulting, and EdTech, all in a variety of roles. Career navigation is very important to me - I see it as a critical step in forming your adult identity. Having only recently exited my twenties, I am excited to provide guidance and clarity as I am to learn from you and your perspectives. Mentors have helped me tremendously over the years, and I look forward to passing on what know (and what I don’t know) to future generations.