Rebecca Van Bergan

Rebecca van Bergen is Founder and Executive Director of Nest. Nest, is a non-profit organization which supports the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion.

REBECCA VAN BERGAN

Rebecca van Bergen graduated with her Master’s 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.

More than 11 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.

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NEST

As a leading advocate for artisan handworkers worldwide, they have been amplifying craft for more than 17 years. Handcraft is a primary form of employment for many of the world’s most vulnerable people, particularly women, and there is significant overlap between handworking communities and the areas most prone to social and economic disparity, political unrest, and climate-related disasters. Nest is resolute in their commitment to provide artisan business leaders and creative entrepreneurs with the training, tools, and resources they need to grow and strengthen their businesses so they can be a steady source of employment in their communities, even in trying times.

With the generous support of their partners, Nest continues to provide artisans and makers in the United States and worldwide with expertly developed resources at no cost to them through our Artisan Guild and Makers United programs. Beyond this, their Artisan Accelerator and Ethical Handcraft programs are opportunities for more advanced enterprises to deepen their roots and develop their operations, often leading to sourcing connections with our brand and retail partners.

NEST STANDS FOR

Advancing Gender Equity by Celebrating Women’s Work

• Craft-based work is a fundamental source of employment for women globally - providing a source of livelihood to hundreds of millions of women who work from home. Nest works to make female handworkers visible as a crucial part of global supply chains, all while advancing their access to social and economic opportunity.

Driving Diversity & Inclusion in the Makers Movement

• Nest is committed to building a more vibrant and inclusive makers movement by providing maker entrepreneurs who often face barriers to accessing the support they need with the resources and market access opportunities they need to thrive.

Expanding Economic Opportunity through Craft

• Handworkers contribute over $718BN in value to our global GDP. Yet the implementation of their social economic protections can often be the exception rather than the norm. We believe that when brands, philanthropy and artisan businesses come together, we can harness the massive potential of craft to drive economic opportunity for workers everywhere.