The metaverse is still in development, and leading innovators are heavily involved in shaping the future of how we interact with technology. Similar to the early days of the World Wide Web, when it was still abstract and not yet widely used, some individuals foresaw the digital age long before it arrived. This is precisely what is happening now.

In 2022, Web 3, crypto, and the metaverse experienced significant growth. Many innovators were already immersed in the metaverse, working on various technological advancements. People are investing in Web 3.0 and expecting it to become our new reality.

This time, women are actively participating to ensure inclusivity and accessibility to job opportunities in the metaverse, and to ensure that the metaverse reflects all people, especially those from underrepresented groups who are only beginning to see themselves represented and celebrated in our culture.

This week, we'll reintroduce you to trailblazing women featured in a recent edition of Women of Color magazine. These women are making significant contributions to the metaverse and are equally passionate about creating opportunities for girls and women preparing for a career change.

These female visionaries come from diverse backgrounds, demonstrating that one does not have to start in technology to become a significant player.

Nancy Beaton is the vice president of strategy at Together Labs, the parent company behind IMVU and VCOIN, an ERC-20 token built on Ethereum. She is leading efforts to transform the economy of IMVU into the next generation of market exchange through blockchain technology and VCOIN. Beaton has experience in building, developing, and growing startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Formerly, as chief revenue officer at Amplifire, a SaaS-based learning platform, she led all go-to-market offers, revenue generation, and sales teams across multiple verticals, including healthcare, education, and corporate performance. Beaton is also an active Tech Stars mentor.

Loredana Crisan is the vice president of messaging experience for Facebook Messenger and Instagram at Meta. She leads her team to create innovative experiences for Messenger's more than 1 billion users and is responsible for driving how messaging will work in the metaverse. This includes considering the metaverse's role in real-time communication, social presence and intimate experiences, work, business, and entertainment across various hardware, including PCs, mobile, game consoles, wearables, and AR/VR devices.

Previously, Crisan was on Messenger's design, brand, and research team. She led the launch of a new Messenger experience on Instagram, including cross-app communication between the two apps and Messenger's redesign and rebranding in 2018 and 2020. Before Messenger, Crisan led brand and mobile design at Indiegogo, where she spearheaded the release of native apps and the launch of Indiegogo's charitable fundraising site, Generosity.