BOSTON–When Shama Nannapaneni talks about education, she isn’t focused on test scores or rankings. She speaks about character, empathy, and resilience—the quiet human qualities that determine how well the next generation will navigate an increasingly complex world.
A purpose-driven entrepreneur and education innovator, Nannapaneni is the Co-Founder and CEO of Shiminly, a global education platform dedicated to building essential personal and interpersonal life skills for K–12 students. What began as a mission-driven idea has grown under her leadership into a trusted, multi-market education brand serving more than 48,000 learners, parents, and educators across the United States, India, the Middle East, and Asia, with an exceptional 99.4% satisfaction rate.
With offices in the U.S., UAE, and India, Shiminly balances consistent, research-backed program design with culturally adaptable implementation—an approach that reflects Nannapaneni’s own global perspective. Before founding Shiminly, she brought nearly three decades of executive leadership experience across professional services and enterprise operations, co-founding Sigma Systems and Sienna Technologies and serving in senior roles including President, CEO, and CFO.
An accomplished scholar and former national-level athlete, Nannapaneni holds an LL.M. from Fordham University and was a gold medalist in law in India. Through vision, discipline, and measurable impact, she is helping redefine what education must look like for the future.
In recognition of her work and leadership, Nannapaneni will be honored as one of the 10 Outstanding Women of 2026 at the 23rd Annual Women of the Year Awards Gala, to be held on March 14 at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. The evening is expected to bring together approximately 400 community leaders, professionals, and changemakers.
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Below, Nannapaneni reflects on purpose, resilience, leadership, and the values that guide her journey.
INDIA New England News: How would you describe the work you do, and what gives you the greatest sense of meaning?
Shama Nannapaneni: Shiminly exists because I believe we need to raise good humans first. Everything else is secondary. We deliver accredited life skills education to students from Grades 1 through 12, building critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and the ability to collaborate across cultures. “Shimin” means “citizen” in Japanese, and that is exactly what we are shaping: global citizens who are empathetic, resilient, and prepared to thrive in a world that looks nothing like the one we grew up in. In a world where AI is rapidly commoditizing knowledge, these deeply human skills are what will truly set the next generation apart. Seeing a child grow into someone who is confident, kind, and self-aware is my greatest source of meaning.
INE: Is there a cause, charity, or community initiative close to your heart?
SN: Education—and life skills education in particular—should not be a privilege. Every child deserves the opportunity to develop resilience, empathy, and self-belief, regardless of their circumstances. Through Shiminly, we partner with NGOs to deliver free workshops and programs to children in underserved communities, and our hope is to continue scaling that work so it reaches the children who need it most.
INE: Outside of your professional life, what activities help you recharge?
SN: I enjoy gardening and working with plants. There is something grounding about tending to a garden and watching things grow on their own timeline. I also love interior design, which gives me a very different kind of creative satisfaction. Both remind me that the best things take patience.
INE: Looking back, what impact are you most proud of making?
SN: Shiminly has delivered over 320,000 hours of life skills instruction to 20,000 students across 11 countries, and we have earned full accreditation from COGNIA and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC). What makes me most proud is not the numbers alone. It is the proof that life skills education can be rigorous, measurable, and taken seriously alongside traditional academics. That was never a given when we started.
INE: What is a skill or strength that has shaped your journey?
SN: A practical kind of resilience. I do not categorize things as hard or easy. If something needs to get done, I find a way to do it. That mindset carried me from studying law at Fordham, to founding Sigma Inc. with my husband, to founding Shiminly in an entirely new industry. I do not believe in waiting for conditions to be perfect. I just begin.
INE: Is there a book that has stayed with you or influenced you?
SN: I have always been drawn to autobiographies. I am fascinated by the real journey behind someone’s success—what shaped their decisions, what they sacrificed, and what they learned along the way. One book that has stayed with me is The Wit and Wisdom of Ratan Tata. He grew the Tata Group from a $1.5 billion company to over $100 billion without ever compromising his principles. He started on the shop floor, never sought the spotlight, and led with a quiet humility that is rare in business. His values of integrity, fairness, and putting people first were not just words. Through the Tata Trusts, he poured resources into education, healthcare, and community development because he believed business should serve society, not the other way around. His life is a constant reminder that true leadership is measured not by what you accumulate, but by the lives you improve.
INE: Are there words or quotes you return to during challenging moments?
SN: My motto is “Move on.” Evaluate the situation, extract the lesson, and look forward. Do not linger. In those moments, I think about Churchill’s words: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
INE: Who has inspired or influenced you most in your life?
SN: My family, without question. My father was well educated, but my mother did not have the same formal education. Despite that, both consistently instilled morals, ethics, and values into everything we did. That foundation gave me the motivation and support to come to the United States and study law. Today, my husband and my two children are my greatest advocates. They steady me, challenge me, and remind me why the work matters.
INE: What core value or principle do you consciously try to live by?
SN: Authenticity, and the discipline to practice it. It is easy to say you have values. It is harder to lead in a way where your actions consistently match your words—whether that is in how you run a business, how you treat people, or what you choose to build with your time. My legal training reinforced this: think in terms of principle, not convenience. When you are grounded in what you believe is right, the difficult decisions become simpler.
INE: If you could spend time in conversation with one person, who would it be?
SN: Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father and first Prime Minister of Singapore. I have always been fascinated by how he took a small, multiethnic nation with almost no natural resources and built it into a global powerhouse. What stands out most is how he unified diverse communities and understood that a country’s greatest asset is not its infrastructure or economy, but the quality of its people. He emphasized that good systems mean nothing without good people, and he dedicated himself to identifying and developing future leaders from an early age. I would want to learn how he scaled that vision to an entire nation, and how those principles might apply to the world we live in today.
INE: What advice would you offer to young women aspiring to make a difference in their own way?
SN: Do not wait for permission, and do not wait for conditions to be perfect. Trust your own judgment, especially when others hesitate. Learn from every setback, but do not dwell on it. Extract the lesson and move on. Above all, stay rooted in your values. Your character will carry you further than any credential. Your path does not need to be linear. It needs to be yours.
