Bee Nguyen (pronounced WIN) is one of five daughters, born to a resourceful mother and a father working as an orderly at a mental institution. He made minimum wage — $3.35 an hour in 1981. At night, he studied in their basement apartment and used a cardboard box as his desk. He believed education was the only way to escape poverty.

She grew up in Augusta, Georgia and graduated from a Georgia public high school. After she moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia State University, she started a local nonprofit to educate and empower young women. She spent a decade in Georgia public high schools, where she learned how to organize with her community and demand change for her students.