Art & Style
“Yale MFA Self uses painting. printmaking and textiles stitched to canvas to explore ideas of the black female body. She has had solo shows in L.A., New York, Naples and Berlin and her work was in a group exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
“I like the complex sexiness of her work,” L.A. collector Dean Valentine has said. “It’s kind of an anti-Picasso.”
Law & Policy
“Most recently, Burley served as National Deputy Millennial Vote Director on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. By the age of 15, Burley had witnessed the incarceration of all 10 of her older brothers as well as both of her parents
“Elzie and Samuel Sinyangwe are cofounders (along with Deray Mckesson and Brittany Packnett) of Campaign Zero, a comprehensive policy platform that addresses police violence, as part of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.”
Retail & Commerce
“Eltigani decided to forego law school to work full-time with cofounder Sam Roberts on their startup NaturAll Club, a subscription e-commerce company with hair products geared towards women of color or those with curlier hair types. “
Food & Drink
“Martin and her older brother Jeff started Pipsnacks in 2012 with $3,000 in the bank, first handing out their product in hand-stamped brown bags. Along the way, the pair received funding on an episode of Shark Tank from Barbara Corcoran.”
Science
“Reid uses big data technologies to scale predictive modeling and machine learning on billions of healthcare records, reaching over 160 million people. Named one of McKesson’s 2016 Distinguished Technologists, she also mentors youth in STEM skills.”
Education
“On the cutting edge of placing yoga programs in public schools. Training and curriculum is provided free to teachers at Title I schools; to date 20,000 students in 800 classrooms in 39 states have benefited.”
Cofounded with Jacob Allen, 28, “PilotED teaches students of color from Chicago to “develop strong identities as black and brown scholars.” Launched in 2013 as an after-school program, pilotED reports excellent results: a 93% high school graduation rate, 88% reduction in suspensions and 28% increase in attendance. “
“Wilkerson is out to change the ratio of public school instruction: nationally, just 7% of teachers are black. This University of Virginia graduate and current EdD candidate is a former fellow at AATF, the VA-centric teaching pipeline for African Americans, before taking the reins last year.”
Games
“A student in the MFA program at the University of Southern California, her projects include: On the Safe Side, a game designed to help new students explore the USC campus; Ascension, a turn-based tabletop strategy game; and The Locker, a puzzle game involving a smartphone camera and a physical locker.”
“Lawrence works with an engineering team at Microsoft to create social experiences for gamers, including the new Clubs feature on Xbox Live. At the age of 13 she founded EDEN BodyWorks, a company that makes natural hair and skin care products sold at stores including Target and Wal-Mart.”
Energy
“As a finalist in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search, Uwamanzu discovered that adding a nanoclay ingredient called attapulgite to cement slurries improves the undersea cement seals that keep offshore oil wells from leaking.”
Media
“Byng is founder and CEO of Her Agenda, a digital media platform for millennial women. Byng won an Emmy award as part of team breaking news coverage for while she was a field producer with NBC New York, and has also received awards from the Associated Press and other organizations.”
“Ford’s impact is felt far beyond her development efforts at Matter Studios, the longform site that spun off from Medium under Ev Williams in March. Ford’s work has been in Elle, The Guardian, Lenny Letter and more. She hosts Audible.com’s interview series, Authorized, and is co-editing a book of stories from rape survivors with Roxane Gay.”
“When her novel “Homegoing” was just a draft, it earned Gyasi, who was born in Ghana and raised in Alabama, a seven-figure advance. “
Sports
“Biles is a four-time Olympic gold medal winner and a 10-time world championship gold medal winner, making her one of the most decorated U.S. women’s gymnasts ever and an instant sensation. She has endorsement deals with Nike, Kellogg’s, Hershey’s and even has her own line of gymnastic equipment.”
“Leroux won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and is a 2015 Women’s World Cup champion. She has partnerships with Nike, Nestle, EA Sports and Body Armor.”
Hollywood & Entertainment
“Following a lead role in “The Book of Mormon” on the West End and its U.S. national tour, Benton stars opposite Josh Groban in Broadway’s “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.”
“The writer, director and actor got her start–how else–with a viral Instagram series about “The Girl Who’s Never Been on a Nice Date.” The clip helped earn her a gig at Buzzfeed in 2014, where she went on to become a development partner. Last year, she created three shows and sold two, including “Broke,” to YouTube Red.”
“Following a small role in “Transparent,” Clemons hit the big screen in 2015’s critically-acclaimed “Dope” as sidekick Diggy. She is now graduating to blockbusters with Sony’s “Flatliners” and has been cast as Iris West in forthcoming “The Flash” and “Justice League.”
“In her role as romantic convict Poussey in “Orange Is the New Black,” Wiley won over viewers–and devastated them with her violent death in the season four finale. The actress can now be seen on the small screen in FX’s “You’re the Worst” and will appear in Hulu’s forthcoming “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Music
“A songwriter for stars including Rihanna–she penned “Bitch Better Have My Money” and two tracks on 2016’s chart-topping “Anti,” which went double platinum–German-born Bourrelly is also a vocalist in her own right. Signed to Def Jam, her 2015 single “Ego” topped the Spotify charts; a debut album is on the way.”
“After catching the music industry’s ear at a BMI panel Q&A session during which she performed an a capella rendition of Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold,” the New York-born singer hit airwaves with 2014’s “Collide,” a track produced by 30 Under 30 alum DJ Mustard. She has since signed with Roc Nation; her full-length debut album is in the works.”
Read the full list at FORBES.com.
