What sets the members of the 2026 Power 100 cohort apart isn’t just there exceptional careers, but the investment they’ve offered to the community. So many honorees have either founded an organization to uplift others or are deeply invested in the continuance of others. Here’s an in-depth look at what each pour into outside of their success.
Organizations founded, co-founded, or led by Power 100 honorees
Youth Development & Education
Artist in Residence: Common – Founder
Mission & Impact: The Common Ground Foundation invests in young people from underserved communities through mentorship, leadership development, and educational opportunities. The Foundation has served over 500 students through its programs, achieving a 100% high school graduation rate, an 89% college enrollment rate, and awarding over $1 million in scholarships.
Music Innovator: Jay-Z- Founder
Mission & Impact: The Shawn Carter Foundation increases college access for underserved youth by offering scholarships, educational mentorship, and financial resources to students facing socioeconomic barriers. Since its founding, the organization has distributed over $17 million to support tuition, study-abroad programs, and college-prep initiatives across the United States.
Leader in Sports: Jordan Walker – Co-Founder
Mission & Impact: Walker’s Winners empowers K–12 students through academic support, mentorship, and character development. Founded by Jordan Walker and educator Katrina M. Walker, the organization partners with schools and families to strengthen literacy, build confidence, and help young people pursue successful futures regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds.
Arts, Culture & Creative Opportunity
Influential Creator: Mike Gauyo — Founder & CEO
Mission & Impact: Black Boy Writes Media amplifies underrepresented voices of all genders in television and film while addressing barriers to entry within the entertainment industry. Its mentorship programming supports emerging Black writers through professional guidance, industry connections, and resources designed to increase representation both on-screen and behind the scenes.
Artist in Residence: Debbie Allen — Founder
Mission & Impact: The Debbie Allen Dance Academy provides world-class dance training and performing arts education, with a particular commitment to underserved Black and Latino communities. Through instruction, mentorship, and performance opportunities, the academy nurtures artistic excellence, discipline, creativity, and self-confidence among young dancers.
Community Crusader: Heather Lowery — Founder & CEO
Mission & Impact: Femme It Forward champions women in music and entertainment through cultural programming, mentorship, and professional development opportunities. Its work elevates women’s voices and creates pathways for emerging female creatives and industry professionals to build sustainable careers and expand their influence.
Saving Our Daughters — Saving Our Cinderellas
Entertainment Powerhouse: Keke Palmer — Co-Founder, Saving Our Cinderellas
Mission & Impact: Saving Our Daughters empowers adolescent girls of color by addressing bullying, mental health challenges, low self-esteem, and other barriers to personal development. Its Saving Our Cinderellas initiative connects girls with influential mentors and creative experiences that build confidence, leadership skills, and a stronger sense of self-worth.
Health, Wellness & Family Support
Community Crusader: Charles Johnson – Founder
Mission & Impact: 4Kira4Moms works to eliminate preventable maternal deaths and improve maternal health outcomes through education, family advocacy, and legislative reform. Founded after the death of Kira Johnson, the organization provides 24-hour crisis support to over 100 families and elevates the Black maternal health crisis to the legislative level.
Community Crusader: Eva Maria Lewis – Founder & Executive Director
Mission & Impact: Free Root Operation works in Chicago to interrupt cycles of violence through healing-centered services, economic empowerment, and community-based education. Centering women caregivers and families affected by violence, particularly in Chicago’s underserved communities, the organization advances a vision of generational healing, family stability, and community safety.
STEAM Trailblazer: Jasmine Crowe Houston – Founder
Mission & Impact: Goodr leverages technology and logistics to track surplus food and divert edible items from landfills directly to food-insecure populations. Its impact includes providing over 30 million meals to communities in need, preventing more than 4 million pounds of food from entering landfills, and generating millions in tax deductions for their food-donor partners.
Artist in Residence: Alicia Keys – Co-Founder
Mission & Impact: Keep a Child Alive supports vulnerable children and families around the world by partnering with community organizations to expand access to essential care, resources, and opportunity. Founded in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, the organization works toward a future in which children can overcome hardship and thrive regardless of their circumstances.
Music Innovator: Megan Thee Stallion – Founder
Mission & Impact:Founded in honor of Megan Thee Stallion’s parents, the Pete and Thomas Foundation supports women, children, older adults, and underserved communities, primarily in Houston, Texas, through four core pillars. Since its founding four years ago, they have supported over 400,000 individuals with stabilization and support.
Leader in Sports: Renee Montgomery – Founder & CEO
Mission & Impact: The Renee Montgomery Foundation creates opportunities for underserved communities through youth empowerment, education, athletics, and community investment. Guided by its philosophy that meaningful moments create momentum, the foundation helps young people access resources, build confidence, and pursue successful futures.
TS Madison Starter House (IG link in lieu of a business link)
Entertainment Powerhouse: TS Madison – Founder
Mission & Impact: The TS Madison Starter House provides transitional housing and reentry support for formerly incarcerated Black transgender women and those rebuilding their lives after experiencing significant hardship. Through housing, employment assistance, health services, and life-skills training, the organization helps residents achieve independence, stability, and long-term economic security.
Civil Rights, Justice & Community Empowerment
Community Crusader: Common – Founder
Mission & Impact: Imagine Justice advances criminal justice reform by amplifying the voices and lived experiences of people affected by mass incarceration. Through storytelling, advocacy, and community partnerships, the organization challenges punitive systems and promotes rehabilitation, human dignity, and more equitable approaches to justice.
Organizations with Power 100 honorees serving in leadership, boards, or other affiliated roles
Alfred Street Baptist Church Foundation
Community Crusader: Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley – Board Member
Mission & Impact: The Alfred Street Baptist Church Foundation expands access to higher education by providing scholarships to academically accomplished students with demonstrated financial need. Serving students primarily in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the foundation invests in educational opportunity and helps emerging leaders pursue college degrees.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Community Crusader: Artis Stevens
Mission & Impact: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America empowers young people through meaningful, one-to-one mentoring relationships that build confidence, strengthen communities, and expand opportunities. The organization’s mentoring increases a young person’s likelihood of enrolling in college by 20%, raises lifetime earnings by 15%, and significantly reduces risks like drug use and school absenteeism.
STEM Trailblazer: Gelyn Watkins – CEO
Mission & Impact: Black in AI shifts the power dynamics, broadens inclusivity, and ensures an equitable future by increasing the presence and influence of Black professionals in the field. Since its founding, the organization has built a global community of over 6,500 members, helping over 1,200 students bypass structural barriers through academic mentorship, research travel grants, and active tech policy advocacy.
Artist in Residence: Robert Garland & Anna Glass
Mission & Impact: Dance Theatre of Harlem expands access to classical ballet while celebrating the artistic excellence and cultural contributions of Black dancers. Through professional performances, arts education, and community engagement, the organization challenges historical barriers in ballet and creates opportunities for new generations of artists.
Entertainment Powerhouse: Questlove
Mission & Impact: Food Education Fund creates educational and career opportunities for public school students through culinary arts, hospitality, and food-related programming. By connecting young people with industry professionals and hands-on experiences, the organization helps students develop professional skills and access pathways into food and hospitality careers.
Junior Bridgeman Business Vanguard: Ime Archibong
Mission & Impact: Grace Science Foundation supports scientific research and therapeutic development focused on NGLY1 deficiency, a rare genetic disorder. The foundation advances research, scientific collaboration, and potential treatments to improve the lives of affected children and families while contributing to broader discoveries in rare disease medicine.
National Council of Negro Women
Community Crusader: Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley, Prescient & CEO
Mission & Impact: The National Council of Negro Women advocates for women of African descent, their families, and communities through education, economic empowerment, health equity, and social justice initiatives. Building upon the legacy of founder Mary McLeod Bethune, the organization mobilizes women and community partners to advance equitable policies, expand opportunities, and strengthen Black communities.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Community Crusader: Brent Leggs
Mission & Impact: The National Trust for Historic Preservation protects historic places and cultural landmarks that tell the diverse stories of American communities. Through preservation advocacy, funding, and its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the organization works to safeguard Black history, strengthen community identity, and ensure historically marginalized voices remain part of the nation’s collective memory.
More Than a Vote (IG link in lieu of a business link)
Leader in Sports: Nneka Ogwumike — Initiative Leader
Mission & Impact: More Than a Vote mobilizes athletes and communities to promote civic participation, voter education, and equitable access to democracy. Under Nneka Ogwumike’s leadership, its 2024 initiative centered women’s reproductive rights and empowered voters to use their voices to shape public policy and protect their communities.
STEM Trailblazers: Dr. Judith Joseph– Board Member
Mission & Impact: Let’s Talk Menopause is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the conversation around menopause so women can access essential information and the healthcare they deserve. Through public education, media partnerships, and targeted advocacy, the organization works to destigmatize the menopausal transition, connect women with supportive communities, and push for standardized, comprehensive medical care.
Community Crusader: Greg Weatherford II – Director
Mission & Impact: The Allstate Foundation advances community well-being through initiatives focused on youth empowerment, relationship abuse prevention, and nonprofit capacity building. Its philanthropic investments help young people lead community change, support survivors, and equip nonprofits to create lasting social impact.
White House Correspondents’ Association
Media Maven: Eugene Daniels – Former President & Treasurer
Mission & Impact: White House Correspondents’ Association is dedicated to protecting the First Amendment, advocating for press access to the presidency, and supporting independent journalism. The institution represents nearly 900 journalists across roughly 300 news organizations.