The Future 25
The Future 25
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Simone Manuel
Call her “Swimone,” if you’d like. At 20 years old, Simone Manuel became the first black woman to win Olympic gold in an individual swimming event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, setting an Olympic record. She also won a gold medal in the 4-x-100 meter medley and silver medals in the 50-meter…
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Nicodemus Madehdou
Nicodemus Madehdou isn’t just a lover of video games. He’s obsessed with creating them, too. He co-founded Jumpbutton Studio in 2009—when he was still in middle school, no less—and brought on developers and designers from all over the world to create video games. Currently, his team is hoping to launch a mobile app called ME.mory,…
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Maya Penn
At just 16, Maya Penn has already shown the world just a bit of her awesomeness. In 2016, she released her debut book, You Got This! Unleash Your Awesomeness, Find Your Path, and Change Your World. She is the CEO of Maya’s Ideas—and an animated filmmaker, philanthropist, environmental activist, author, computer programmer, fashion designer and…
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Haile Thomas
There aren’t many kids who can say they’ve met first lady Michelle Obama once—let alone multiple times. For teen chef Haile Thomas, meeting Obama has only empowered her quest to inspire kids to live healthy lifestyles. “Getting to interact with her several times over the years sometimes still feels unreal, and I am eternally grateful…
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Victoria Pannell
Victoria Pannell has been fighting against child sex trafficking since she was 12 years old. Then, she portrayed “Monica,” a 13-year-old who had been sold into sex slavery by her father, in a public service announcement. That was the moment she realized she needed to speak out. “I knew that when the director said, ‘That’s…
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Chris Suggs
Chris Suggs set himself on a path to change the world very early. When he was 14, his hometown, Kinston, N.C., experienced a spate of gun violence—and Chris quickly grew tired of hearing about young people getting caught in the crossfire. So, in 2014, he founded Kinston Teens to amplify voices of young people so…
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Dejah Powell
Dejah Powell is doing everything she can to green up the South Side of Chicago. As a kid, Dejah didn’t know the meaning of “environmental justice.” So, now, with her nonprofit organization Get Them to the Green, she’s helping young people build community gardens and educating them on the importance of the environment. CATEGORY: Green…
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Clifton Kinnie
Clifton Kinnie wasn’t planning to be an activist. It wasn’t until he saw a picture of slain teen Michael Brown on his Twitter timeline that he decided he had to make a change in his St. Louis community—and beyond. “It was a time in which it truly radicalized me in a way in which I…
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Shemar Coombs
Shemar Coombs wants to add a few minutes to your day. After getting tired of untangling his headphones, he decided to figure out how to solve the problem. Enter Rap-It-Up, Shemar’s solution to making sure you never have to wrestle with another knot in your earbuds. Rap-It-Up is a 3D-printed phone case that keeps your…
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Grace Dolan-Sandrino
At 16, Grace Dolan-Sandrino is already leading the charge among young people in resisting Donald Trump’s agenda. In November, she and thousands of other students in Washington, D.C., walked out of their classrooms to protest the then-president elect. “We are trying to get our voices heard,” she said. “We were not able to vote. We…