Meet Rhonesha Byng, founder and CEO of Her Agenda, the award‑winning digital media company redefining how ambitious millennial women access opportunity. Through their partnership with the Ad Council, Her Agenda has helped extend the reach and impact of our “Saving for Retirement” campaign—equipping adults with the knowledge and confidence to start planning for their financial futures. We spoke with Rhonesha about building pathways to empowerment, why social impact is core to her mission, and the piece of advice that continues to guide her work.
Annaya English: Can you talk a bit about your background and what led to the creation of Her Agenda?
Rhonesha Byng: Someone once asked me when I was a kid, “Do you want to make a dollar or make a difference?” Without hesitation, I said both! I felt from a young age that I was put on this earth to fulfill a purpose greater than I could articulate at the time.
In high school, I discovered journalism. It was not immediate that I recognized the career path as a calling, but due to the persistence of my journalism teacher, I eventually had the “aha” moment that made me say, “This is it, journalism is the way to fulfill why I was put here on this earth.” I did not wait to get started and began practicing journalism professionally (yes, as a teen).
Her Agenda started in my dorm room at DePauw University back in 2008. I was a sophomore taking a women's studies class, and I was shocked to learn that gender bias still existed and its existence was responsible for the lack of women’s presence in positions of power, the gender pay gap, and many other barriers. Since I’d been working in and studying media for some time, I understood the media's power to dismantle systemic barriers. This intersection encouraged me to take action in the way I knew how, using the power of media to change the ratio of women in positions of power.
The name comes from my personal motto, N.E.S.H.A., “No One Ever Slows Her Agenda.” I created that acronym when I was 16, and it became my North Star. The message is simple: women and girls shouldn't let anyone or anything stand in the way of their goals. The resources are out there—find them and make your agenda a priority.
I'm an Emmy award-winning journalist, so storytelling has always been at the core of what I do. But I also knew from early on that I wanted to build something, not just report on what others were building. Her Agenda became that vehicle—a digital media platform bridging the gap between ambition and achievement for millennial women. We provide the content, community and resources women need to get started or move to the next level in their careers.
What started as selling T-shirts with "No One Ever Slows Her Agenda" printed on them to raise money for a web designer has grown into a platform that's been recognized by Forbes as a top website for women, earned me a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and landed me on stages from The White House to Cannes Lions talking about the importance of investing in diverse voices.
AE: What drew you to partner with the Ad Council on our “Saving for Retirement” campaign?
RB: The partnership made sense on multiple levels. Her Agenda's mission has always been about giving women the information and resources they need to build the lives they want—and financial security is a huge part of that equation. We can't talk about ambition and achievement without talking about money, retirement planning, and long-term wealth building.
What drew me to the “Saving for Retirement” campaign specifically is that it addresses a real gap. A lot of the women in our community are hustling, grinding, building their careers, but retirement feels like this far-off thing that doesn't require immediate attention. The reality is, the earlier you start, the better positioned you are. And for women, who statistically earn less over their lifetimes and take career breaks for caregiving, starting early is critical.
The Ad Council's approach to public service campaigns aligns with how we operate at Her Agenda. It's not about talking down to people or overwhelming them with jargon. It's about making information accessible and actionable. Retirement planning can feel complicated and intimidating, especially when you're early in your career or just trying to make ends meet. But by breaking it down into digestible steps and showing real-world impact, we can make retirement feel more achievable.
AE: Her Agenda has been involved in a variety of projects centered around empowering women and social good. Could you talk about why these issues are important to you?
RB: I truly believe in fairness and equity. When I see something that is not right, and it’s in my power to do something about it, I jump into action.
That's really what drives the work we do at Her Agenda. I've seen firsthand what happens when people don't have access to the right information at the right time. My work as a journalist showed me that media shapes what's possible. The stories we tell, the voices we amplify, the resources we make accessible, all of that determines who gets a seat at the table and who gets left out.
Growing up, I watched my mom live a life of sacrifice. Like most mothers, she did what she had to do to make sure I had opportunities she didn't. Her sacrifice gave me the ability to make choices instead of just reacting to circumstances. But not everyone has that foundation, and that's where platforms like Her Agenda come in.
Women face specific barriers that don't get talked about enough in practical terms. We're told to hustle harder, to be ambitious, but we're not always given the roadmap. We're not always connected to the networks. We're not always seeing examples of people who look like us succeeding in the spaces we're trying to enter. Her Agenda exists to close that gap. We spotlight successful women across industries through our "Peek Inside Her Agenda" series. We create content that's actually useful, not just inspirational quotes on pretty backgrounds. We build community so women know they're not figuring this out alone.
The social good work is an extension of that same commitment to fairness. Whether it's partnering with the Ad Council on retirement savings or creating resources for first-time homebuyers, it comes back to the same principle: people deserve access to information that can change their trajectory. When you empower women, you're changing families, communities and entire industries.
These systems weren't built with us in mind. They weren't built for us to succeed. So when there's another Black woman excelling, we have to champion them. And if you're that person succeeding, you have to keep going and bring others along.
AE: I really enjoyed partnering together on our "Stacked: Saving, Planning and Playing with Intention" panel, which brought together more than 200 women in person and virtually to talk about saving for retirement. As you prepared for the panel, can you share what saving for retirement means to you personally, and what you learned as you spent more time with the topic?
RB: Saving for retirement means security and freedom. It means having options later in life instead of being stuck. It means not having to rely on others or work past the point where you want to because you have to.
But honestly, what it really means to me is breaking a cycle. A lot of us come from families where retirement wasn't even on the table. Our parents, our grandparents, they worked until they physically couldn't anymore. There was no nest egg, no 401k, no financial cushion. So for our generation to prioritize retirement savings, we're literally changing the trajectory for our families.
So for me, the panel was a call to action. Preparing for the panel reinforced the urgency around this, specifically for women. As we age, we get even more marginalized and can find ourselves financially vulnerable by life events such as health or divorce. I’ve seen it firsthand with the women in my family and then reading the stats behind it made me even more passionate about getting this message out there.
But so many young women think they need to wait until they're making more money or until they have everything else figured out to start. The reality is, starting now with whatever you can afford beats waiting for the perfect moment that may never come.
I also learned that a lot of the barriers to retirement savings aren't actually about financial literacy. People understand they should save. The issue is access and systemic gaps. If your employer doesn't offer a 401k, or you're freelancing, or you're in a job that doesn't provide benefits, suddenly retirement savings becomes this thing you have to figure out entirely on your own. That's where education and resources make a difference. We need to make it easier for people to understand their options beyond traditional employer-sponsored plans.
The other thing that stood out is how retirement planning intersects with all the other financial decisions women are making. We have to find ways to make it work alongside everything else, not after everything else is handled.
AE: You were incredible at bridging the conversations between the panelists and participants during the event. How do you navigate and guide these conversations, particularly between peers of different financial backgrounds and starting points in their savings journey?
RB: Well, it helped that all the panelists were experts in their own right, and were willing to share their personal experiences to humanize the conversation as much as possible. But even before we get to the conversation, it starts with the research. I go deep in the research phase to review past thought leadership the panelists have written, past interviews, and anything else I can find. Then, when I am forming the question, I am usually asking them to go deeper on something they are very passionate about.
For this panel, it was important to make everyone feel comfortable because money is such a loaded topic, especially for women. We also did not have much time, so I wanted to be sure to get to the heart of the matter quickly and pull out the most useful and actionable insights from the expert panel. So I try to set the tone early that we're having a real conversation, not a performance.
When I'm moderating, I listen for the moments where someone says something that might resonate across different experiences. Maybe it's a mindset shift, or a practical tip, or even just vulnerability about a mistake they made. I pull on those threads and bring other voices into the conversation to build on it. That way it's not just one person's story, it becomes a collective exchange where everyone can see themselves somewhere in the discussion.
I also don't shy away from the uncomfortable stuff. If someone asks about how to save for retirement when they can barely cover rent, I don't gloss over that with generic advice. I bring in voices who've been there, who can speak to the real trade-offs and decisions you have to make. People don't need another aspirational conversation about financial freedom. They need practical strategies and permission to start small.
At the end of the day, the best conversations happen when people feel seen and when the information shared actually applies to their life. That's what I'm aiming for every time.
AE: What is the best advice you’ve ever received, and how has it shaped who you are today?
RB: The best advice I ever received came early in my career, when I was 16, working as a news anchor on a student journalism show. One of my mentors grabbed me by both shoulders, looked me directly in my eyes and said, "You are equipped."
She could feel the energy and potential I had, but she could also sense the weight of everything I wanted to achieve. And she gave me permission to trust that I already had what I needed to start.
Those three words have taken on different meanings as I've grown. Back then, it was about believing I could pursue journalism and build something. But over the years, as I've navigated building Her Agenda, co-founding BOMESI, pitching to Fortune 500 companies, and speaking on major stages, I've had to relearn that lesson at every new level.
Being equipped doesn't mean you have all the answers. It means you trust yourself to find them.
She's still my mentor to this day. And what started as encouragement for a teen with big dreams has become the foundation for how I approach everything I do. I don't wait to feel ready. I trust that I'm equipped for whatever's in front of me, and I go.