We believe when girls are given the chance to learn, lead, and create — they don’t just change their lives. They change the world.
As part of our series about young people who are making an important social impact, we had the pleasure of interviewing Cifei He, PinkGap.
Cifei is a senior at Tallwood High School and the founder of PinkGap, a youth-led nonprofit she launched in early 2024. Since its founding, PinkGap has grown to connect over 2,400 volunteers and 4,200 students globally. Driven by a passion for educational equity and gender equality, Cifei was named one of the 2025 Bank of America Student Leaders, an honor awarded to only 300 students out of more than 12,000 applicants nationwide. She also serves as the Virginia Beach City Chapter President of Cougar House, where she has dedicated over 1,200 service hours to expanding student access to volunteer opportunities and strengthening youth engagement with local organizations. When she’s not working on PinkGap, you’ll find her exploring her creative side through filmmaking and writing short stories.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit about you and the impactful organization you lead. Can you tell us about PinkGap and what you are trying to change in our world today?
PinkGap was built on the belief that youth voices and equitable education are essential foundations for closing the gender gap. We aim to empower students, especially young women and girls, by providing access to resources, mentorship, and leadership opportunities that can transform their futures. Our work began as a student-led nonprofit in Virginia Beach and has expanded into chapters worldwide, connecting thousands of volunteers and students. We support schools and communities by hosting conferences, workshops, and webinars on topics ranging from medicine and STEM to advocacy and public service. We also provide direct opportunities for youth to engage in service, such as tutoring, letter-writing campaigns, donations and community outreach. With each initiative, we strive to create a sustainable network of student leaders who advance equity while building their own skills and opportunities. Collectively, these efforts come together with the hope of breaking barriers, empowering the next generation of changemakers, and ensuring that gender does not limit potential.
Globally, 129 million girls are out of school. That’s 129 million voices, ideas, and dreams that the world is missing out on. We need their creativity, innovation, and brilliance to help solve the challenges we face today. At PinkGap, we believe that promoting gender equality in education isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s an investment in our future. According to UNESCO, every additional year of schooling for a girl increases her future earnings by up to 20%. And when girls complete secondary school, child marriage rates drop by two-thirds, and maternal mortality can decrease by nearly 70%. These aren’t just numbers. They’re proof that educating girls transforms families, communities, and entire economies. Creating access and opportunity has always been at the heart of our mission. Through PinkGap, we’ve worked to bridge the gap by offering free tutoring, hosting speaker events with inspiring women leaders, and helping girls and under-resourced students gain the confidence and tools they need to thrive in their schools and communities. We’re especially passionate about getting more girls into creative, empowering learning environments — spaces that encourage leadership, curiosity, and innovation. From organizing local chapter events to launching mentorship initiatives, we are building a network of young changemakers who uplift one another and believe in the power of their own voice. We believe when girls are given the chance to learn, lead, and create — they don’t just change their lives. They change the world.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
When I first moved to the U.S. from China in 2019, I didn’t speak much English. I remember sitting in class, trying to make sense of the words on the board while quietly writing them down in a notebook I carried everywhere. I often felt like I was always one step behind, but there was always one person who waited patiently for me to finish my sentences and never made me feel small for struggling. From the time of those little moments, they always made me feel that my ideas and actions were important enough to nurture. Years later, when I began tutoring students through my community, the experience I had teaching and forming connections with these children is what inspired me to officially establish PinkGap as a non-profit organization and expand our efforts. Around the world, girls and underserved students face barriers that limit their academic growth and confidence, but support systems are often missing or hard to reach. Students around the world spend much of their lives navigating barriers that limit their potential — barriers built by inequality, lack of access, and silence. These students show resilience that often goes unseen. Our youth deserve more. All girls deserve more. Though we cannot immediately erase the challenges that have long held students back, we can create pathways and build spaces where they are empowered to lead — and that’s exactly what PinkGap aims to do.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
I don’t think there was one big aha moment that pushed me to start PinkGap. It felt more like something built up slowly. I kept noticing some kids around me struggling to keep up in class or doubting their abilities because no one was there to support them. I remember thinking, what if something existed that made it easier for students like them to feel seen and supported? What if we built it ourselves? At first, it was just a rough idea. But once I started sharing it with others, people were surprisingly open and excited to help me start this intitiative. They listened. They offered to help. They encouraged me to keep going even when I had no clue what I was doing. That kind of support means everything. What made it real were the small moments. A student staying after a tutoring session just to say thank you. A message from a girl who said our speaker event made her feel less alone. Those are the things that grounded me and reminded me why I wanted to do this in the first place. So there was not really one single turning point. It was a collection of memories that added up and moved me to act. And those moments are still happening. They are what keep me going.
Many young people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
There are probably many ways to start an organization, but for me, it began with a simple idea and a willingness to try. I did not have a perfect blueprint or a clear end goal in mind. I just knew I wanted to create something that could help students who were often overlooked. I started by writing down what I hoped to offer and what I wished I had myself. Then I made a basic tutoring service website, created a Google Form, and reached out to a few people I trusted to help test it out. Things moved faster than I expected. More students started signing up, and volunteers began offering their time and ideas. That was when I realized this could become something bigger. I spent hours learning about nonprofit structure, organizing workflows, and researching what it meant to lead something that was starting to grow beyond me. I asked for advice, read guides, and kept documents of every question I needed answered. There was a lot I did not know. I had never planned an event before or onboarded volunteers at this scale or built partnerships with other organizations. But I asked questions. I paid attention to what worked and what did not. I talked to other youth leaders and took notes on how they managed things. Little by little, I turned what started as an idea into something that could stand on its own. It is still growing and evolving. There is no perfect path, but the process itself has taught me so much. Every new step brings new people, new challenges, and new reminders of why I started in the first place. I think that is the best part. You do not have to know everything when you begin. You just have to begin.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One of the funniest mistakes I made when first starting PinkGap happened during one of our earliest volunteer calls. I had spent hours making a super detailed agenda as I wanted to sound confident so I practiced the entire thing like a script. When the call started, I shared my screen to go through the slides, and about five minutes in, I realized I had accidentally shared the wrong tab. Instead of the slides, everyone was staring at a Google Doc titled “How not to mess up your first meeting.” I froze for a second. Then someone un-muted and said, “Honestly, this is kind of helpful.” We all laughed, and that broke the ice more than anything I had actually planned. That moment reminded me that people show up for connection and for something real. I spent so much time in the beginning trying to seem polished, but the truth is, the most meaningful part of this work has always come from the messy moments. What I have learned is that starting something meaningful does not require perfection. It requires patience, humility, and the ability to laugh at yourself a little. Now when things go wrong — and they still do — I try to see them as part of the process. Because if everything went perfectly, we probably would not be learning as much as we are.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
I’ve been so lucky to learn that sometimes phenomenal people come out of the blue and change the way you see the world. Keeli Garcia, the head of the school where we started our first tutoring program, who liked the idea of the Study Buddy Program, let it go forward, fought for it, and never failed to take time out of her busy schedule to guide me in coding a certain part of the tutoring service or filing tax-exempt forms. She also inspired my interest in web design and teaching. I hope to be a leader like her one day — with empathy, vision, and phenomenal skill. Talbot Park PreSchool was the very first educational center PinkGap collaborated with, and the volunteer coordinator there was the first person I ever contacted about my nonprofit. She was sweet and gave me so much hope for my organization. We still keep in contact about our future projects to this day! I also have to mention all my friends, especially Alice, Anthony and Emma; from sending me encouraging messages to actively helping out with PinkGap, they were my biggest cheerleaders, and I couldn’t have built this organization without them.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
One of the students who will always stay with me is a girl named Aisha. She was a 14-year-old student from a small town in Kenya who joined one of our tutoring programs early on. At the time, she was struggling with math and lacked access to regular school resources due to COVID-related closures in her area. Her application stood out because, even though she had fallen behind in school, she wrote with so much energy and curiosity. She said she wanted to be an engineer someday, and she joined PinkGap’s sessions hoping we could help her build back her confidence. We matched her with a volunteer tutor from the U.S. and they ended up meeting regularly over several months. What started as basic algebra lessons slowly turned into something deeper. They would stay after sessions to talk about new things happening in her life, her pets, and her family. Aisha once told us that she had never had someone outside her family believe in her ability to succeed in school before. A few months later, Aisha emailed us a photo of her holding a certificate from a local math competition — something she said she would never have dared to sign up for before. Her message said, “Thank you for showing me I could do hard things.” That moment reminded me exactly why we do this work. There are so many students like Aisha, full of potential but waiting for someone to open a door. Being able to be part of that journey, even in a small way, is one of the greatest privileges of leading PinkGap.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
I think three things educators, communities, and government policy can align on are:
- Recognizing that girls face structural barriers to education — barriers that limit not only their own potential, but the potential of their families, communities, and future generations. This recognition has to serve as a foundation for comprehensive action.
- Achieving 100% participation of girls in secondary education. This clear, measurable target can help unite efforts to identify and eliminate the systemic and social obstacles that prevent girls from continuing their education.
- Building mentorship pipelines and leadership opportunities for girls. Representation and support matter. When girls are connected to mentors, role models, and meaningful leadership experiences, they are more empowered to envision and pursue futures beyond traditional limitations. These connections help foster confidence and a sense of belonging.
The most important first step is simple: recognize and celebrate the talents and ideas of girls. It is our leaders’ responsibility to support and champion young women’s ideas in every way possible. And from there is to work to make it possible for their dreams to be fulfilled. I urge policymakers to prioritize equity in education — not just in access, but how inspiring spaces can contribute to the solution, help close the gender gap and unlock the boundless creativity the world needs now more than ever.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
It’s incredibly exciting and reassuring to know that every generation is on their own unique expedition. These journeys are rarely easy. They can feel lonely at times, filled with both incredible victories and unexpected setbacks. But those setbacks often become the stepping stones to real success and to solving the meaningful, complex problems we care about. This is what it means to live a design thinking life — an expedition without a clear map or a known destination, guided by the belief that you’ll end up somewhere truly worthwhile. Every journey begins with a single, courageous step. So embrace your ideals. Follow them boldly. They are your strength and your gift to the world. You’ve got this. The world doesn’t just want you — it needs you. And once you begin engaging with what truly inspires you, you’ll see just how much you’re capable of.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I’d love to have lunch with Sheryl Sandberg. Her book Lean In was one of the first pieces of writing that made me feel seen as a young woman who wanted to speak up and build something meaningful. I remember underlining entire paragraphs and thinking, so it is not just me. Her honesty about self-doubt, ambition, and the way gender plays a role in leadership gave me permission to take myself seriously — even before anyone else did. I admire how she used her platform not just to succeed in her own career, but to open up space for other women. If I ever get the chance to have lunch with her, I would want to talk about what she has learned since writing Lean In and how she sees the next generation of changemakers.
How can our readers follow you online?
If you’re passionate about making a difference in the lives of under-resourced students and girls globally, be sure to follow @pinkgapoffical, on Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Thank you so much for your time!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Young Social Impact Heroes: Cifei He of PinkGap was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.