Kitchener: Are there any mentors who helped you along your career path?

Saujani: Hillary Clinton was a hugely important mentor for me. I don’t talk to her everyday, but sometimes mentorship means being able to watch somebody’s leadership from afar. That person might pop into your life at a critical moment to give you some important piece of advice or word of encouragement.

Kitchener: How did your relationship start?

Saujani: I’ve known her since I was 18. She probably doesn’t remember this, but I met her for the first time when I was an intern at the White House. After that, I introduced her at a fundraiser for John Kerry in 2004. And then I started working on her senate campaign, and got to know her. I worked on both of her presidential races. She came to Girls Who Code events and spoke to our girls. She’s always been there, elevating my work. She has always been invested in my growth as a leader.

Kitchener: What’s the biggest thing you learned from her?

Saujani: She taught me the power of resilience. She always gets up to fight another day.

Kitchener: Who do you mentor?

Saujani: I have a series of different people who I mentor. Some are people who work for me, some are Girls Who Code alumni. I give my email out all the time—my team doesn’t love that! People e-mail me or tweet at me or LinkedIn me. I’ve learned that oftentimes people just need five minutes. People just need to touch somebody real, and have a connection for a moment.

Kitchener: And you respond to all these people?

Saujani: I try to, yes.

Kitchener: I’ve heard a lot of mentors say that if they’re going to take on a mentee, that mentee really has to prove herself. But that’s not how you see it.

Saujani: No, it’s not. If you took the effort to write me an email, I am going to respond. Though I will say this—if I get an email from someone asking to talk, I’ll ask them to be more specific. People often don’t have time for a chat, but they do have time to answer a question.

Kitchener: Do you also have people you’ve mentored over a long period of time?

Saujani: One sticks out. Charlotte Stone was an intern on my first campaign. She had just started working in communications, right out of Brown. I loved her spunk and her spirit. I thought she had a brilliant mind and a lot of potential. Next she joined my second public advocacy campaign, and then I brought her on at Girls Who Code. Now she works in the private sector, but we still have dinner once a month.

Kitchener: Why do you think you two have stayed so close?

Saujani: I think a good mentoring relationship is mutual. She will be like, “I saw you wrote that op-ed. I thought it sucked.” Or she’ll say, “Your hair is looking crazy today.” Mentorship is a two-way street.

In my journey there has sometimes been so much pain. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have anyone to help me. When I’m able to impart a shortcut or a hack—to say, “I learned this, you should do that”—that’s joyful.