FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21 Georgia High School Students to Be Honored at Signature Be the Inspiration Gala

(February 5, 2025) Atlanta, GA – 21st Century Leaders, Georgia’s premier youth leadership and workforce readiness program for high school students from diverse backgrounds across the state, announces the top 21 youth leaders selected for its annual Georgia Youth Leadership Awards (GYLA). The honorees will be recognized at the nonprofit’s annual fundraising event, the Be the Inspiration Gala, presented by Warner Bros. Discovery, to be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga. 

21st Century Leaders (21CL), in partnership with the event’s corporate sponsors and partners, brings together business and civic leaders to raise support for 21st Century Leaders’ year-round leadership programs while also recognizing 21 of their own outstanding high school students throughout Georgia who have made a significant impact on their schools, communities and beyond.

21CL serves over 2,500 students annually and this year’s 21 awardees – all in high school and all members of 21st Century Leaders – include nonprofit founders, entrepreneurs, content creators, advocates, and volunteers who truly represent the diversity of Georgia with students from DeKalb to Muscogee to Richmond counties. The honorees exhibit 21CL’s leadership values of being resilient, service-oriented, forward-thinking, resourceful, and inclusive. The 21 awardees were carefully chosen by a 27-member selection committee of business professionals, 21CL Board of Directors, 21CL corporate volunteers and community leaders, and 21CL alumni and student peers. The full selection committee is listed below and on 21CL’s website.

21st Century Leaders is proud to announce the following 21 outstanding youth leaders for its 2025 Georgia Youth Leadership Awards:

1. Moatapari Agbere, Chattahoochee County High School, from Muscogee County
2. Ashley Nelson, Chamblee Charter High School, from DeKalb County
3. Michelle Wang, Fulton Science Academy, from Fulton County
4. Pranav Yellapragada, Chattahoochee High School, from Fulton County
5. Wendell Rogers, Dunwoody High School, from DeKalb County
6. Sreepadha Daram, Innovation Academy, from Fulton County
7. Hadil Adam, Clarkston High School, from DeKalb County
8. Ibraheem Hassan, Lakeside High School (Evans), from Columbia County
9. Tessa Hayes, Jefferson County High School, from Jefferson County
10. Daniella Taiwo, Lovejoy High School, from Fayette County
11. Christopher Boyd, Landmark Christian School, from Clayton County
12. Kenia Gonzalez-Chavez, Cedar Shoals High School, from Athens-Clarke County
13. Laurin McCoy, Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, from Richmond County
14. Ca’Leia Nelson, Milton High School, from Gwinnett County
15. Jace Williams, Westlake High School, from Fulton County
16. Ethan Barlay, Rockdale Magnet School, from Rockdale County
17. Sheona Diwakar, Campbell High School (Smyrna), from Cobb County
18. Micah Newton, Pickens County High School, from Pickens County
19. Yasmin Rios, Swainsboro High School, from Emanuel County
20. Sauyer Stewart, Arabia Mountain High School, from DeKalb County
21. Ronak Vyas, Alpharetta High School, from Fulton County

Through corporate sponsors’ support, each youth leader will be presented with a $500 grant at the Be the Inspiration Gala, with one student awarded the Warner Bros. Discovery Student Leadership Award, the event’s top award which includes a $1,000 grant from the presenting sponsor, Warner Bros. Discovery. Students are also paired with coaches who mentor the students throughout the event season. Our Georgia Youth Leadership Award Coaches are recognized and accomplished community leaders and/or members of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 alumni, maintaining a partnership established with the group in 2008 when 21st Century Leaders first launched this event. The student winners and coaches met at a private Meet + Greet luncheon on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, a sponsor and supporter.

This year’s Be the Inspiration Gala is being led by Co-Chairs and 21CL Board of Directors members Mari Sifo of Host Hotels and Resorts and Chi Nguyen of Insight Global. For more information about the Be the Inspiration Gala or to purchase a ticket to the event, please visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org. All proceeds from the event will support 21CL’s ongoing efforts to provide youth leadership and talent development programs for high school students across Georgia at little to no cost to students.

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards Coaches: 

The Georgia Youth Leadership Award coaches for the 2025 student winners are Maranie Brown, BlackRock, 21CL Board of Directors*; Greg Clay, City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office, 21CL Alumni*; Whitney Deal Marshall, Whitney Marshall Coaching*; Naceo Denney, Georgia Power*; Chandra Farley, City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability & Resilience*; David Felfoldi, SHERPA Global*; Marty Fleischmann, The Masters Team*, Former 21CL  Board of Directors; Tania Garcia, Senior Marketing Executive, 21CL Board of Directors; Brian Goebel, Goizueta Business School, Business & Society Institute, 21CL Board of Directors*; Taylor Green, Amazon Web Services, 21CL Alumni*; Poojan Karnik, Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center; Ashley Lee, The Coca-Cola Company*; DJ Lewis, Technology Consulting Executive; Lanita Lucas, Aflac*; Dr. Brandon Morgan, Iconic Orthodontics, 21CL Alumni*; Taunia Nkromo-Stevenson, Warner Bros. Discovery*; Michael Quigley, OVH Media*; Martha Revelo, DeKalb County; Ed Roche, Cox Enterprises, Former 21CL  Board of Directors; Assi Van Bastelaar, Spotfire

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards Selection Committee
All nominations were reviewed by our 27-member GYLA Selection Committee, comprised of 21CL corporate volunteers, 21CL Board of Directors, and 21CL alumni and student peers. Committee members included the coaches indicated above, along with Curtis Bennett, MarketSource; Erik Bryant, Truist Wealth, 21CL Board of Directors; Neha Chaparala, Mercer, 21CL Alumni Board; Susannah Darrow, Purpose Possible; Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, Morehouse School of Medicine; Jeff Kupor, Invesco, 21CL Board of Directors; Clarke LeGrande, Wellstar; Jason Wallace, Capital Group, 21CL Board of Directors; Thurman Williams, Community Volunteer, Coca-Cola (retired); Anqi Zou, Truist, 21CL Board of Directors; and Hannah Lang, 21CL Youth Ambassador and 2024 GYLA Student Recipient.

About 21st Century Leaders
Since 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 20,000 diverse high school students from 95% of Georgia’s counties. 21st Century Leaders’ mission is to connect, transform, and inspire high school students from diverse backgrounds across the state of Georgia to leverage diversity, explore career opportunities, and become leaders in their school, community, and ultimately the workforce. 

21st Century Leaders is currently accepting student applications (until March 1st) into their leadership and development program and for their summer leadership institutes for the 2025 summer. The summer leadership institutes are residential one-week programs hosted on a college campus with our corporate partners and business professionals. 21CL accepts rising sophomores, juniors and seniors for the institutes. High school students of any grade can enroll in Leadership Connect, 21CL’s online learning platform, at any time and join the organization. For more information about 21st Century Leaders, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org. 

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Nicole Smith
Director of Programs & Communications, 21st Century Leaders
nicole@21stcenturyleaders.org | 404.373.7441

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21ST CENTURY LEADERS CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF EMPOWERING STUDENTS WITH A $1 MILLION SUSTAINABILITY FUND CAMPAIGN

Atlanta, GA (June 4, 2024)—21st Century Leaders, Georgia’s premier youth leadership development program, announced its Empowering Our Future: Sustainability Campaign, which aims to raise $1 million to endow its transformative leadership programs with long-term sustainability and impact. This campaign, coinciding with the organization’s 35th anniversary, will not only provide scalable and accessible programs for all high school students across Georgia but also change the trajectory of their lives, empowering them to become the leaders of tomorrow. 

“As we celebrate this milestone year for the organization and how we’re impacting today’s youth, we’re also thinking about the next 35 years and how we will inspire and support those students,” says DeRetta Rhodes, Ph.D., Chairperson, 21CL Board of Directors and EVP Chief Culture Officer, Atlanta Braves. “Ensuring our future schools, communities, and places of work are filled with diverse, empathetic, and talented leaders is a cause we should all want to support.”

In 1989, a group of Georgia-based executives observed a growing and critical need to prepare their employees for leadership and promote collaboration across class and racial barriers. To address this, they founded 21st Century Leaders, aiming to build the next generation of leaders by providing young people with training, guidance, and encouragement to enter college and the workforce with highly developed leadership skills.

“For over three and half decades, 21st Century Leaders has empowered and inspired over 18,000 high school students to reach their full potential,” said Kate Hewitt, Executive Director, 21st Century Leaders. “This campaign will ensure we continue to provide accessible programming for all while strategically scaling our leadership development programs for more youth across Georgia to meet the demand of our growing student body.”

The $1 million Sustainability Fund will directly support the annual expansion and enhancement of 21st Century Leaders’ programs. These include:

• Fully Funding a Summer Leadership Institute: Providing a transformative week-long residential experience for 75-100 students, free of charge.
• Enrolling an Additional 500 Students in Leadership Connect: Expanding access to this cutting-edge, gamified online platform that equips students with essential leadership skills, badging, and certifications.
• Launching 10 New School and Community-Based Clubs: Reaching 30% more students with peer-to-peer learning and leadership development opportunities across the state.

Investing in the Future Leaders of Georgia

21st Century Leaders is committed to fostering the next generation of Georgia’s leaders. The ​​Empowering Our Future: Sustainability campaign will ensure long-term stability by investing in staff, programs, and partnerships. It also awards scholarships to graduating seniors. This campaign provides an opportunity for individuals, corporations, and foundations to invest in the future of our state.

How to Get Involved

To learn more about the 21st Century Leaders Sustainability Fund and how individuals, corporations, and foundations can contribute to empowering Georgia’s future leaders, please visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org/endowment or contact Kate Hewitt, Executive Director at kate@21stcenturyleaders.org. 

About 21st Century Leaders

21st Century Leaders is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect, transform, and inspire high school students from across the state of Georgia to leverage and promote diversity and inclusion, explore career opportunities, and become leaders across their schools, communities, and, ultimately, the workforce. Through innovative programs and experiences, we cultivate the skills and knowledge necessary for students to thrive in a globalized world. Visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org to learn more about our transformational programs for high school students across Georgia. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

21 Inspiring Georgia High School Students to Be Recognized at the Be the Inspiration Gala

(February 15, 2024) Atlanta, GA – 21st Century Leaders, a Georgia-based nonprofit youth leadership and workforce readiness program for high school students from diverse backgrounds across the state, announces the top 21 youth leaders selected for its annual Georgia Youth Leadership Awards (GYLA). The honorees will be recognized at the nonprofit’s annual fundraising event, the newly renamed Be the Inspiration Gala, presented by Warner Bros. Discovery, to be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga. 

21st Century Leaders (21CL), in partnership with the event’s corporate sponsors and partners, brings together business and civic leaders to raise support for 21st Century Leaders’ year-round leadership programs while also recognizing 21 of their outstanding high school students throughout Georgia who have made a significant impact on their schools, communities and beyond. The 2024 event also marks the special occasion of 21CL’s 35th Anniversary and shared community impact since 1989.

21CL serves over 1,700 students annually and this year’s 21 awardees – all in high school and all members of 21st Century Leaders – include nonprofit founders, entrepreneurs, content creators, advocates, and volunteers who truly represent the diversity of Georgia with students from DeKalb to Emanuel to Columbia counties. The nominated students exhibit 21CL’s leadership qualities of being service-oriented, forward-thinking, resourceful, passionate and inclusive. The 21 awardees were carefully chosen by a 22-member selection committee of business professionals, 21CL Board of Directors, 21CL corporate volunteers and community leaders, and 21CL alumni and student peers. The full selection committee is listed below and on 21CL’s website.

21st Century Leaders is proud to announce the following 21 outstanding youth leaders for the 2024 Georgia Youth Leadership Awards:

1. Jordan Adeyemi, Phillips Exeter Academy, Gwinnett County
2. Aditi Ashok, South Forsyth High School, Forsyth County
3. Prateek Doddla, Chattahoochee High School, Fulton County
4. Shiv Garg, Innovation Academy, Fulton County
5. Joshua Girgis, Montessori School of Rome, Floyd County
6. Melanie Harper, Marist School, Fulton County
7. Christian Hooks, Grayson High School, Gwinnett County
8. Humza Iqbal, Parkview High School, Gwinnett County
9. Diana Jachman, Midtown High School, Fulton County
10. Hannah-Lisa Jones, Johnson Ferry Christian Academy, Fulton County
11. Anshuman Khadanga, Lakeside High School (Evans), Columbia County
12. Hannah Lang, Georgia Cyber Academy, Walton County
13. Akanksha Manna, Campbell High School, Cobb County
14. Maya Matthews, Westlake High School, Fulton County
15. Olaoluwa Oguneye, Decatur High School, DeKalb County
16. Abigail Rong, Denmark High School, Forsyth County 
17. Dhahami Salgado, Emanuel County Institute, Emanuel County
18. Rhea Shah, Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science & Technology, Gwinnett County
19. Ishita Sukul, Johns Creek High School, Fulton County
20. Zarina Wang, Lambert High School, Forsyth County
21. Ivy Yang, Alpharetta High School, Fulton County

Through corporate sponsors’ support, each youth leader will be presented with a $500 grant at the Be the Inspiration Gala, with one student awarded the Warner Bros. Discovery Student Leadership Award – the event’s top award which includes a $1,000 grant from the presenting sponsor, Warner Bros. Discovery. Students are also paired with coaches who mentor the students throughout the event season. Our Georgia Youth Leadership Award Coaches are recognized and accomplished community leaders and/or members of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 alumni, maintaining a partnership established with the group in 2008 when 21st Century Leaders first launched this event. The student  winners and coaches met at a private Meet + Greet luncheon on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, a sponsor and supporter.

This year’s Be the Inspiration Gala is being led by Co-Chairs and 21CL Board of Directors members Mari Sifo of Host Hotels and Resorts and Chi Nguyen of Insight Global. For more information about the Be the Inspiration Gala or to purchase a ticket to the event, please visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org. All proceeds from the event will support 21CL’s ongoing efforts to provide youth leadership and talent development programs for high school students across Georgia at little to no cost to students.

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards Coaches: 

The Georgia Youth Leadership Award coaches for the 2024 student winners are Sam Aguilar, Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America*; Monique Bell, Bobby Dodd Institute*; Maranie Brown, BlackRock, 21CL Board of Directors*; Greg Clay, City of Atlanta, 21CL Alumnus*; Whitney Deal Marshall, Whitney Marshall Coaching*; Alex Ebanks, Essence; Chandra Farley, City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience*; David Felfoldi, SHERPA Global*; Marty Fleischmann, All Electric Racing Organization (AERO), 21CL Board of Directors*; TreVorski Garrett, Cox; Taylor Green, IBM, 21CL Alumna; JP James, Libreum International, 21CL Board of Directors; Kelly Lee, Atlanta DREAM*; Clarke LeGrande, Cobb Medical Center, Wellstar; Dr. Brandon Morgan, Iconic Orthodontics, 21CL Alumnus*; Christian Murphy, Wellspring Living*; Michael Quigley, QVH Media*; Taunia Nkromo-Stevenson, CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery; Angela Williams, AMBSE*; Thurman Williams, Community Volunteer, Coca-Cola Alumni*; Anqi Zou, Truist, 21CL Board of Directors*

*Coaches who also served on the Selection Committee

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards Selection Committee
All nominations were reviewed by our 22-member GYLA Selection Committee, comprised of  21CL corporate volunteers, 21CL Board of Directors, and 21CL alumni and student peers. Committee members included the coaches indicated above, along with Arjun Chowdri, Hagerty, 21CL Board of Directors; Cam Henson, Citibank, 21CL Alumni Board; Asher Jones, MarketSource, 21CL Alumni Board; Felicia McDade, Engie; Patrick Solomon, The Collective 180, 21CL Advisory Council; Kristopher Williams, Warner Bros. Discovery; and Raveena Ali, 21CL member, Youth Ambassador and 2023 GYLA Student Recipient. 

About 21st Century Leaders
Since 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 17,000 diverse high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools. 21st Century Leaders’ mission is to connect, transform, and inspire high school students from diverse backgrounds across the state of Georgia to leverage diversity, explore career opportunities, and become leaders in their school, community, and ultimately the workforce. 

21st Century Leaders is celebrating 35 years of inspiring youth to lead in 2024, with an updated website, a refreshed annual fundraising gala, and content throughout the year highlighting success stories of 35 alumni from the past 3.5 decades along with 21CL’s leadership values and competencies, and fundraising campaigns to sustain and expand its ongoing impact.

21st Century Leaders is currently accepting student applications (until March 1st) into their leadership and development program and for their summer leadership institutes for the 2024 summer. The summer leadership institutes are residential one-week programs hosted on a college campus with our corporate partners and business professionals. 21CL accepts rising sophomores, juniors and seniors. For more information about 21st Century Leaders, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org. 

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Nicole Meadows
Director of Programs & Communications, 21st Century Leaders
nicole@21stcenturyleaders.org | 404.373.7441