Using Life Experiences to Empower the Next Generation with Nina Echevarria
After 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder, Nina Echevarria has turned around and built a ladder for everyone coming up behind her.
This week on The Chaotic Middle, I sat down with Nina Echevarria, founder and CEO of Meli Micah Design Studio LLC, a Bronx-based creative education studio teaching teens and young adults ages 12 to 21 the full life cycle of fashion design — from concept to completion. Nina brings with her 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, a deep love for her community, and a story that is equal parts inspiring, honest, and deeply human.
From the Bronx to the Runway (And Back Again)
Nina's love of the arts started at age five. Her parents saw it early and kept feeding it — art classes, an art and design high school in New York City, and eventually fashion college at Toby Coburn. From there, she spent 25 years working her way through the fashion industry as a graphic artist, graphic designer, associate designer, and eventually a creative designer.
But it wasn't always glamorous. And it definitely wasn't always easy.
"When I first started out, I didn't realize there were so many moving parts. Everybody had a different function. You're dealing with overseas factories, vendors, mills, buyers, retailers. No one teaches you this when you're in school. No one tells you what the real world is going to be like."
That gap between what school prepares you for and what industry actually looks like is exactly what Nina is trying to close with Meli Micah Design Studio LLC. In 2024, after a quarter century in fashion, she made the pivot — not away from her passion, but deeper into it.
"I realized I had a higher purpose. And that was to give back to my community."
Meli Micah Design Studio LLC: Not Your Average After-School Art Class
At the Meli Micah Design Studio LLC, young people learn the full life cycle of fashion design — everything from sketching and illustration to understanding how a real design business operates. But beyond the technical skills, she's also teaching something that most schools completely skip over: how to exist in a professional world.
That means learning to work within teams, communicate across cultures and language barriers, understand business structures, develop a business mindset, and navigate an industry where not everyone will cheer for you.
"When you're in school, you only know that life. You don't know what it is to be in the business world. So I wanted to teach them the foundation, the structure, what it is to have a business mindset, how to work well with others. Not only learn design, but learn how to be a businesswoman or man."
The studio currently serves teens and young adults in the New York City region, with Nina actively building partnerships with NYC public schools and pursuing contract work with the city. She also has her sights set on eventually expanding into Connecticut, New Jersey, and beyond.
And Nina is very intentional about staying relevant to the students she serves. She attends workshops hosted by young people in her community, keeps up with what's trending, and isn't afraid to ask what words mean when her students use language she doesn't recognize.
"You have to constantly stay current. Like when my son talks to me, I'm like — what does that mean?"
That humility says everything about why Nina's approach actually works. It’s not every day that you’ll see a woman with 25 years of industry experience willingly sitting in the front row of a poetry workshop run by a woman in her early 20s. Rather than simply talking at her students, she’s talking with them. She’s learning how they lead, function, and learn so she can develop opportunities for true collaboration.
Being a Woman, a Minority, and an Outsider in a Competitive Industry
Nina was refreshingly candid about what it felt like to walk into the fashion industry carrying what she describes as "a few strikes" against her.
"One of the strikes was that I was a woman. B, I was a minority woman. And C, I came from a different community. How I was raised was totally different from what I saw in the industry."
She talked about the impossible standard women are held to in male-dominated spaces — strong enough to command respect, but not so strong that it makes the men around you uncomfortable. The way emotion is weaponized against women. The way shedding a single tear in the wrong moment can become someone's entire narrative about who you are.
"God forbid you're having a rough day and you shed a tear — it's a wrap. Now you're sensitive, you're emotional, you wear your heart on your sleeve, you can't take criticism. But you're like — that's not true. I'm just a human. Maybe I was having a bad day. We're all humans."
She was grateful for the women who mentored her along the way and showed her how to navigate the system. But looking back, she also wishes she'd pushed back harder.
"A lot of things were probably not acceptable. But I allowed it to happen. And I think that's something women need to work on: set boundaries. Use your voice. Don't be afraid to use your voice."
It's that exact lesson she's now passing down to her students, particularly the young women, so they don't have to learn it the hard way, twenty years in.
Young, Working, and Figuring Out Motherhood All at Once
Nina had her son at 21, turning 22 just a month after giving birth. She was fresh out of school, brand new to the industry, and suddenly responsible for an entire human being — all at the same time.
What followed was years of late nights, missed school plays, and a commute that sometimes didn't end until midnight. Her sister stepped in as primary caregiver, so much so that Nina's son used to call her "mommy."
"That affects not only you as a mother. It makes you feel empathy for your child. I really wish I had the time to spend with him. But I needed security. I needed to make sure he had food, shelter, and clothing. It was a huge sacrifice."
She was honest about the grief that came later, the realization that she had missed some of her son's most formative years and the therapy she sought to process it. And she's equally honest about the advice she now gives to younger moms navigating the same impossible math:
"Your children come before anything else and everything else will fall in line after."
Not from a place of judgment. From a place of someone who learned it the hard way and doesn't want anyone else to have to.
Leading by Example — Whether You Know It or Not
One of the most moving parts of this conversation came at the very end, when Nina reflected on what she hoped her son would carry with him from his childhood.
"I hope he remembers that even though his dad and I worked so hard, we spent our weekends doing fun activities with him. He never lacked for anything. And I feel like he sees that we were hard workers, and he puts those ethics into himself as well. That shows he was really watching. He was paying attention."
And that, ultimately, is what ties every thread of Nina's story together. The mentors who shaped her. The students she's shaping now. The son who watched his mom grind for 25 years and absorbed something powerful from it. The idea that who we are and how we show up — in our careers, in our communities, in our homes — leaves a mark whether we intend it to or not.
"You have to lead by example. And your kids will follow."
Answering the Chaotic Questions
At the end of every episode, I ask each guest the same three questions. Here's how Nina answered:
If you could go back and talk to your 2005 self, what would you tell her?
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're human. You make mistakes. Love yourself. Embrace who you are. Continue to be authentic. Don't change for anyone. And keep yourself empowered."
A new mom comes to you for advice — what's the first thing you tell her?
"Your children come before anything else, and everything else will fall in line after."
What do you hope your son remembers about you as his mom?
"That even though we worked so hard, we were present on the weekends. That he never lacked for anything. And that watching his dad and I work hard gave him his own work ethic. He was watching. He was paying attention."
Where to Find Nina & Meli Micah Design Studio LLC
You can connect with Nina and learn more about Meli Micah Design Studio LLC on their website and Instagram at @meli_micah.
If you're in the New York City area and know a young person between the ages of 12 and 21 who has a passion for fashion, art, or design — or honestly just needs a community that believes in them — this is exactly the kind of place that can change the trajectory of their life.
Ready to Hear More Stories Like This?
Wasn’t Nina just incredible? It’s so cliché to say that the children are our future, but it’s also incredibly true! I hope that every young adult has a mentor like Nina guiding them through real-life situations and encouraging them to tap into their talents, develop their gifts, and get a little creative every once in a while. It really makes all the difference!
If this conversation inspired you, you're going to love The Chaotic Middle podcast, where we feature real stories from real people navigating the beautiful mess of work, life, motherhood, and everything in between.
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Because the world needs more voices. More stories. More humanity. And maybe yours is next.
