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Wilson, who graduated from UVA in 2018 with a degree in women, gender and sexuality studies and sociology, has been recognized on Forbes magazine’s 2026 “30 Under 30” list. 

During her time at UVA, she went on several study abroad programs that she said opened her eyes to the widespread systemic barriers she faced.

“Whether it was in Brazil, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa or Morocco, I was seeing the same narrative of marginalized communities living in poverty,” she said. “That is where I started to connect the dots and gain language for my own experience, and that language made me realize that this is a macro issue that could also have a macro solution.”

Through �鶹�ƽ�� McIntire School of Commerce, she traveled to Ghana, where her family is from, for the first time since she was a child. That’s where she had an “aha moment,” envisioning the role she could play in changing those trends.

Visiting the offices of Google, PwC and several tech startups in Accra, Ghana’s capital, reminded her of a proverb she grew up with: “What is lost to the sea, the waves will return.”

Wilson and fellow McIntire students explore Accra, Ghana’s technology sector with �鶹�ƽ�� McIntire School of Commerce. (Contributed photo)

“I understood how human beings throughout history have been able to serve as waves to restore dignity, opportunity, understanding and power to marginalized parts of the world,” she said. “I returned to UVA charged to research the issues that hinder Black women’s socioeconomic mobility … and started the nonprofit immediately after graduating.”

Members of the organization are offered mentorship and skills training to reduce the rates of Black women disproportionately dropping out of STEM majors , plus support to find professional opportunities and portfolio-building, Wilson said.

Upon graduating, she had a job offer from Google and convinced the company to allow her a six-month gap before starting so she could get her nonprofit running. Within that timeframe, she was able to set up the first cohort that has since grown to a network of thousands across 33 countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, the U.K., France, China and South Korea.

“Attending UVA fundamentally changed the trajectory of my life and my family’s socioeconomic status,” she said. “I left with a first-time job at Google, earning more than my mom has ever made in her almost 40-year career as a nurse.”

She worked for Google for four years before leaving in 2023 to focus her full attention on her nonprofit, which serves women in more than 200 schools with a 100% STEM degree attainment rate, Wilson said. Members have secured $4.3 million in scholarships and earned more than 3,500 certifications.

Wilson herself has excelled where few others have. “Being able to raise over a million dollars also puts me in the less than 1% of Black women who’ve been able to do so,” she said.