About Me

Zaniya Lewis is the Founder/CEO and Executive Director of YesSheCanCampaign, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that inspires young people to be extraordinary and change the world. YesSheCanCampaign has reached 3,000+ students, volunteered 20,000+ hours, won six national awards, and one international award. YesSheCanCampaign has helped students win over $700,000 in funding for their education. In 2019, the YesSheCanCampaign™ started a national campaign to dismantle scholarship award displacement. In 2021, YesSheCanCampaign™ launched DISSCHOLARED™, an award-winning ed-technology platform, and program that spreads awareness about scholarship award displacement.

In May 2020, Zaniya received her B.A in Political Science from The George Washington University. Zaniya was named 25 under 25 Social Entrepreneurs by Culture Media Co and Impaction. In 2015, Zaniya traveled with the NBPA, NBPA Foundation, and NBA on an amazing community service trip to South Africa. In 2016, Zaniya appeared on the cover of the May 2016 Issue of Seventeen with Former First Lady Michelle Obama. Zaniya has worked with national and local non-profit organizations across the nation.

In 2019, Zaniya became a victim of scholarship displacement. Zaniya has used her story to spread awareness about scholarship award displacement through her nonprofit YesSheCanCampaign. New Jersey was inspired by her story and created S985 legislation to restrict scholarship award displacement in New Jersey. In September 2021, Governor Murphy signed S985 into law, making New Jersey the second state in the nation to outlaw this brutal practice. Her advocacy inspired The Helping Students Plan for College Act 2021, the first-ever federal bill to address scholarship award displacement nationwide.

Zaniya has received many accolades for her work, including the Diana Award and Taco Bell Foundation Live Mas Scholarship. Zaniya has been featured in a wide range of media outlets, including Seventeen, Forbes, Fortune, BET, CBS News, and ESSENCE Girls United. Zaniya’s mission in life is to inspire others to keep climbing and to use their passions to make a difference in the world.