Growing up impoverished in the Ivory Coast, Evelyne Keomian was deprived of education and slipped into schools in a culture where only boys were educated. Determined to break the cycle of poverty through education, she founded the Karat School Project (KSP) in the Ivory Coast to empower the next generation of leaders.

After immigrating to the US, she noticed families living in vehicles around Silicon Valley who faced barriers she once endured. Refusing to be a bystander, Evelyne expanded the KSP to educate and empower families to become financially independent.

Challenging the education system to help kids without a permanent address to register for school, Evelyne prioritized addressing poverty and barriers to education in her home country, and in her new community.