NEST
LOCATION: NEW YORK
FOUNDER: REBECCA VAN BERGEN
INCEPTION: 2006
ABOUT NEST
Nest is a nonprofit organization that supports the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan & maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion.
Through programs that support the wellbeing of artisans both in the United States and globally, Nest is bringing radical transparency and opportunity to the informal handworker economy.
For centuries, craftspeople around the world have played critical roles in reviving and sustaining local creative economies, often working from informal settings like homes and small workshops. The scale of these informal workers is larger than many realize—the ILO estimates that upwards of 300 million people work from home, engaged primarily in handwork. Predominantly women, these workers are often unrecognized and the implementation of their social protections is the exception rather than the norm.
Nest believes that when artisan businesses, brands and philanthropists come together, we can unlock the power of craft to change our world — enabling millions of individuals and their surrounding communities to thrive.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Rebecca van Bergen, Founder and Executive Director of Nest graduated with her Masters Degree in Social Work the same year that Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Having grown up with a great-grandmother and grandmother who were quilters and sewers, Rebecca was drawn to craftsmanship as a means of self-expression and opportunity. Following her passion to turn craft, the second largest employer of women globally, into a means to correct the gender and income imbalance in our world, Rebecca founded Nest at age 24.
15 years later, Rebecca’s leadership, determination, and enthusiasm continue to propel Nest forward.
Rebecca is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Ashoka Fellow, Levi Strauss & Co. Collaboratory Fellow, Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, Cordes Fellow, and GLG Social Impact Fellow. When she is not traveling the world with Nest, she enjoys spending time enjoying the power of making with her husband and two children.
