Skip to main content

Our Founder

Meet Chanel Power,Founder and CEO

Building a world where mastery counts.

Portrait of Chanel Power

A journey that continues to bloom.

Growth, purpose, and alignment guide my journey. Like a seed taking root, each experience has shaped who I am and what I’m here to build. As a mathematician at heart, I naturally look for the connections between the pieces. Follow the story as it unfolds, or begin wherever your curiosity leads you.

  1. The SeedThe faith and purpose behind my desire to serve.
  2. The RootsEight strengths that ground how I live and lead.
  3. The GrowthThe experiences that challenged me and helped those strengths take root.
  4. The BloomWhat grows from that journey: products, communities, and opportunities for others.

With every new season, I keep growing.

The Seed

The heart behind the mission.

I’m Chanel, a New Yorker, first-generation technologist, and founder of Mentor Me Collective.

I grew up in a single-parent household, with a future I could not yet fully imagine. My journey has taken me from mathematics and chemistry to accessibility, software engineering, and AI. Through every chapter, my faith in Jesus Christ has shaped how I understand my purpose and the responsibility that comes with opportunity.

I keep returning to the same calling: to advocate for people. To notice who is being overlooked, understand what stands in their way, and build something that helps them move forward. Sometimes that means a product. Sometimes it means a community, an honest conversation, or a door held open.

The Seed

Faith and purpose

I see my life as a work of art still taking shape in God’s hands. There are parts of my story I could not have planned and possibilities I once struggled to see for myself. They remind me that what feels impossible to us is still possible with Him.

My hope is that something in my story helps you see more possibility in yours. You were created on purpose, with gifts this world needs. You do not have to have every answer to begin putting them to work.

That belief is the seed from which the Collective grew.

I am a servant leader because I am a bondservant to Jesus Christ. My faith calls me to lead with love, steward what I’ve been given, and use it in service of others.

The Roots

Eight strengths. The values that guide me.

Through courage, uncertainty, and discovery, these strengths have become the values I live by. They are my compass, guiding how I learn, build, lead, and care for others. Explore the experiences that shaped them, and meet the person behind the mission.

  • Curiosity

    I give myself permission to begin again.

  • Faith

    Faith guides my steps.

  • Creativity

    I build around the person.

  • Fairness

    Where you begin should leave room for where you can go.

  • Leadership

    I want others to discover what they can carry.

  • Kindness

    People need room to breathe.

  • Perseverance

    I am learning to keep going with care.

  • Hope

    I believe a new chapter is possible.

Each strength opens into a chapter below. Follow them in order, or start with the one that speaks to you.

Strength names are inspired by the VIA character strengths. This is an editorial reflection on my story, not an assessment result.

The Growth

Becoming, one chapter at a time.

My journey has unfolded through new questions, unexpected turns, and a growing responsibility to make opportunity more accessible.

These chapters overlap. They show where each strength became most visible, not a strict order of events.

Chapter 01 of 08CuriosityLearning to explore

Giving myself permission to begin again.

I studied mathematics and chemistry, imagining a future in medicine. Working in labs, as an ER scribe, and as a pharmacy technician gave me ways to learn while caring for others. When my path turned toward technology, I carried that curiosity into accessibility research, software engineering, and AI. Each transition required me to ask questions and become a beginner again. It taught me to stay open to possibilities I had not yet considered. Today, I recognize that same uncertainty in people exploring a new direction, and I want them to feel welcome to begin.

Chapter 02 of 08FaithTrusting a new direction

Following a direction I could not yet see.

While preparing for a future in medicine, prayer and a dream led me to consider technology. Six weeks later, I received an offer from one of the largest tech titans in Silicon Valley. I still return to that experience as a reminder that God can open a path beyond the one I have planned. My relationship with Jesus Christ grounds how I make decisions, lead, and serve. It calls me to steward the opportunities entrusted to me with care. When a door opens in my life, I ask how I can help make room for someone else.

Chapter 03 of 08CreativityBuilding with people in mind

Seeing the person behind the problem.

My work in accessibility taught me to look closely at how people experience technology. At one of the largest tech titans in Silicon Valley, I helped people understand and use tools that could make everyday tasks more accessible. That work shaped the questions I bring to everything I build: Who needs this, what stands in their way, and how could this help? Today, those questions guide my work across AI products, developer experiences, and the Collective’s systems. Whether I am designing a learning workflow or improving mentorship matching, I want the person using it to feel considered. Creativity gives me a way to turn that care into something useful.

Chapter 04 of 08FairnessFounding the Collective2020

Making room for talent to be seen.

Growing up in a single-parent household in New York City shaped how I understood opportunity. Becoming a first-generation technologist made access and visibility deeply personal to me. In 2020, I founded the Collective with the conviction that capable people deserve a chance to develop and demonstrate what they can do. We bring learning, mentorship, applied projects, and connections with industry together to make that possible. Fairness guides me to look beyond familiar credentials and recognize ability wherever it grows. I want someone’s starting point to leave room for how far they can go.

Chapter 05 of 08LeadershipGrowing beyond myself

Helping others discover what they can contribute.

As the Collective grew, I learned how much leadership depends on creating room for other people to lead. Our scholars and interns bring ideas, take ownership, and build work that strengthens the whole community. Through our partnership with LaGuardia Community College, I have watched emerging talent contribute brilliance, adaptability, and fresh perspectives to our teams. I care about giving people meaningful responsibility alongside the guidance to grow into it. There is something special about watching someone become more confident explaining their work or making a decision. Those moments remind me why developing people matters as much as delivering a project.

Chapter 06 of 08KindnessMaking room for belonging

Making room to simply be.

During New York Tech Week, we hosted Board Games and Chill for people who wanted a gentler way to connect. Some were introverts, while others needed a break from the pace of networking and formal conversations. Around Uno, Jenga, Monopoly, and familiar childhood games, strangers began to relax, laugh, and enjoy one another’s company. It reminded me that belonging can begin with a simple invitation to have fun. I want people to feel welcome before they explain what they do or what they have accomplished. Kindness shapes the spaces I create and the way I hope people feel within them.

Chapter 07 of 08PerseveranceContinuing through uncertainty

Learning how to keep going with care.

My journey has included grief, career uncertainty, and seasons when the next step felt difficult to see. I have continued building the Collective while working through questions about my own future. Along the way, I have learned to make more room for rest, boundaries, and support. I am still learning when to press forward and when to pause long enough to listen. Perseverance has become a practice of returning to what matters with the care and energy I can offer. It helps me meet others navigating change with greater patience and understanding.

Chapter 08 of 08HopeBuilding what comes next

Helping people imagine a fuller future.

When I ask scholars and interns about their experience, I want to know how they see their future now. That question matters to me because my own life took a direction I once could not have imagined. Today, the Collective brings together people across countries, backgrounds, and stages of life. Through learning, projects, and mentorship, they discover abilities and possibilities that may have felt distant before. My hope is that they leave better equipped to move forward and more confident in what they can contribute. Helping someone see a future worth working toward keeps me hopeful about what we can build together.

These experiences shaped my values. Those values guide the work I do today.

The Bloom

Where my values become meaningful work.

The values that guide my life also shape how I build: with curiosity about what is possible, care for the people involved, and a commitment to helping others grow.

  • Build AI products

    I build AI-native products and systems that turn complex technology into practical tools. I help organizations create experiences people can understand, adopt, and use with confidence.

  • Develop leaders

    I help founders and technical leaders navigate growth, career transitions, and the responsibility of leading others. I create space for honest reflection, clearer decisions, and leadership grounded in purpose.

  • Scale ecosystems

    I bring technical education, mentorship, applied work, and industry connections together. These experiences help emerging technologists develop their capabilities, demonstrate their work, and find opportunities to move forward.

Outcomes across the Collective

members
40,000+
countries
120+
annual applications
25,000+
in verified Scholar career outcomes
$100M+
Read my full bio

I’m a technology executive, founder, and institution-builder specializing in AI products, developer ecosystems, and leadership development. My work centers on building the products, communities, and leaders that help technology scale.

I’m the Founder and CEO of the Collective, a global technical institute transforming how emerging technologists are identified, developed, and positioned to lead.

Founded in 2020, the Collective has grown from a personal mentorship effort into a global institution serving more than 40,000 members across 120+ countries, receiving over 25,000 annual applications and generating more than $100 million in verified career outcomes for its Scholars.

I founded the Collective around a simple belief: talent exists everywhere, but visibility does not. Through technical education, mentorship, real-world project execution, and industry validation, I’ve built a model that develops ambitious individuals into professionals whose technical mastery, execution, and leadership are demonstrated before they enter the workforce.

I bring an engineering foundation to my work in AI product development and developer experience. I build AI-native products and systems, develop technical communities around emerging technologies, and help organizations translate complex technology into experiences people can understand, adopt, and scale.

Beyond the Collective, I serve as an AI/ML Advisory Board Member for DevNetwork and advise AI startups and emerging technology companies on developer ecosystems, technical strategy, product adoption, and scalable enablement.

As an executive leadership coach, advisor, and speaker, I also work with founders and technical leaders navigating leadership, organizational growth, career transitions, and the responsibility that comes with building and leading at scale.

I’m a 2026 L’Oréal Paris Woman of Worth Honoree and a 2025 Woman of Impact honoree by Women Impact Tech, and I’ve been featured on the Nasdaq Tower for my work expanding access to technology careers. I continue to advocate for a future where mastery is the credential that matters most.

My work is grounded in my Christian faith and a conviction that the next generation of technical leaders should be recognized not for whom they know, but for what they can do.

Recognition and Service

Grateful for the recognition. Committed to the work.

These honors mark meaningful moments in my journey. My service reflects the commitment behind them: to help people recognize their gifts, develop their abilities, and create opportunities for others.

Recognition

2026

L’Oréal Paris Woman of Worth

Honored for my work through the Collective.

Service and Advisory

DevNetwork

AI/ML Advisory Board Member

Contributing industry perspective on AI developer tools and technologies.

Let’s build what comes next.

For conversations about AI products, developer ecosystems, leadership, or expanding access to opportunity, I’d love to hear what you’re building.

Invite Me to SpeakExplore a Partnership