Mandela has quite an impressive resume in supporting entrepreneurship. In this talk, she reminds us all that formal education is a social construct and that it’s about time we hone in on our power to construct it differently.

During her time as a middle school teacher in South Central Los Angeles and Pacoima, CA, Mandela earned a Master's Degree in Education Administration and Policy, and was admitted into a top six Ph.D. education program. Thereafter, she co-founded the edtech startup, Tioki, which became dubbed “The LinkedIn for Educators.” In 2013, Mandela was appointed the Global Director of Education Entrepreneurs at UP Global (now Techstars). Within the first year, her team scaled the organization from three to six continents, solidifying it as the largest initiative in the world dedicated to teaching people how to use entrepreneurship to improve education. In 2014, Mandela was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30 in Education” list, a distinction recognizing her influential accomplishments at the intersection of education, technology, and entrepreneurship.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx