Asha Owens
BestFit, Inc.

Personal Bio

Asha Owens is the Co-Founder & CEO of BestFit, an online platform addressing basic needs insecurity among college students. Asha is an award-winning product designer and software engineer committed to building equitable, community-centered technology. Throughout her career, she has utilized her interdisciplinary background in Neuroscience (B.S., Brown University) and Instructional Technology & Media (M.A., Columbia University) to build innovative products and lead fast-paced, high-impact teams.

Asha is a recipient of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund (Cohort II), a 2021 Civic Innovation Fellow, a former Columbia University Design Leader, a former 4.0 Schools Fellow, and alum of Techstars Social Impact (Atlanta ‘20).

Project Description

BestFit addresses basic needs like housing and food insecurity for students who cannot afford to stay in college, even with financial aid. BestFit’s platform brings dignity to students’ search for help by reducing the time, cognitive burden and stigma related to applying for benefits.

BestFit’s mission is to dismantle health and economic inequities faced by low-income, underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students. BestFit achieves this by connecting these students to programs and services that directly address the social determinants of health—non-academic factors that have a large impact on wellbeing, educational attainment, and generational wealth.