Welcome!

Welcome! My name is Diondraya and I’m glad you’re here. I’m an education Ph.D. student, a researcher, an entrepreneurship teacher, and an entrepreneur myself. I combine all this in order to help create a world where women and people of color, from different places and perspectives, can build solutions that work for more people.

As an academic, I got my B.S. in psychobiology and entrepreneurship purely out of interest in how we as humans think and how we can use that to push innovation.

During my program, I began my research journey and realized just how important education was to creating space and opportunity for women and POC to find a path in fields that we have been locked out of, especially women of color. 

So I decided to ask more questions and that led me to pursue my Ph.D. in education to do exactly that. I’ve earned my M.A. in Higher Education and Organizational Change, but don’t worry the Ph.D. is still in the works! 

Entrepreneurship education is a big part of how I live out my passion, and it really came from a simple problem: almost everywhere we look where there is money and power involved, there are too few women. 

One of my favorite Ted Talks of all time, by the founder of Girls Who Code, discusses how we teach girls to be perfect, and we teach boys to be brave. That kind of teaching can follow girls well beyond childhood, and it has some serious ramifications for what we believe is possible. 

So I use entrepreneurial education for girls as a tool to undo some of the things we’ve been taught about who we can be. I worked for startups, took courses, launched my own ideas, and have interviewed, spoken with, and learned from over 100 entrepreneurs who believe it taught them difficult but life-changing lessons.

Entrepreneurship did the same for me so I know just how powerful it is. I encourage innovation, goal setting, and boldness in girls so that if we can’t sit at the old tables, we can build new tables. 

That’s why I started Mindset & Milestones. I quickly realized that girls didn’t just need more things to read or listen to, they also needed a safe space, supported by trusted mentors, where they could experience mindset shifts, develop true agency, and understand just how capable they are.  s for reading and learning a bit about me!