Tiffany Terrell, Albany, Georgia, A Better Way Grocers

Tiffany Terrell created the Mobile Grocery Store concept for A Better Way Grocers in 2017 after recognizing the deep need of local residents in surrounding food deserts. The mission of A Better Way Grocers is to drive nutritious food into communities struggling with food access issues across southwest Georgia. Using a retro-fitted school bus as a one-aisle grocery store, Terrell and her team offer reasonably priced, healthy and nutritious food to local communities, along with health education to address chronic food-related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Read more about Tiffany Terrell and A Better Way Grocers here.

Dr. Kit Evans-Ford, Davenport, Iowa, Argrow’s House

Dr. Kit Evans-Ford is a certified spiritual director, professor, and the founder of Argrow’s House of Healing and Hope in Davenport, Iowa. Argrow’s House is a safe space where free services are offered daily for women healing from violence in the greater Quad Cities area. Named after Dr. Evans-Ford's mother who was a survivor of domestic violence, this successful social enterprise provides women the opportunity to earn a living wage by creating bath and body products in a safe space that celebrates who they are. Read more about Dr. Kit Evans-Ford here.

Drew Nagy, Richmond, Virginia, Living Water Community Center

Drew Nagy is the executive director of Living Water Community Center in Richmond, Virginia. Living Water is an attempt to reimagine what a faith community looks like and how it engages with the local ecosystem. The goal is to create a community committed to the flourishing of all of life on earth. To accomplish this, Living Water focuses on creating space for contemplative practices that support the physical and spiritual well-being of individuals, community and the earth. Living Water is a community center, bee sanctuary, and monastery. Through contemplative practices such as yoga, meditation, mindful beekeeping and urban farming, the hope of Living Water is to create a more sustainable and healthy community, both for the individual and the entire earth community. Read more about Drew Nagy and Living Water here.

Naz Georgas, New York, New York: Cordoba House Sunday School.

Naz Ahmed Georgas pioneered the establishment of the Cordoba House Sunday School, an award winning weekend education program in NYC. The program was launched to meet the needs of growing American Muslim families seeking a Sunday school education that is both authentically Islamic and relevant to contemporary American life. The program’s mission is to build a uniquely inclusive and nurturing learning environment that promotes the notion that our children can be both proudly Muslim and proudly American. Founded in 2017 in collaboration with educators from Muslim and interfaith institutions, including the Brick Presbyterian Church in NYC, the Cordoba House Sunday School has already received awards for community empowerment and service to the education of children and youth. Read more about Naz Georges here.

Biff Chaplow, Denver, CO: EEqual

Biff Chaplow is a parent, artist, and activist for economic justice. They currently serve as the Executive Director for EEqual, a youth-led nonprofit working to ensure homeless youth have equal access to higher education. EEqual believes housing is a human right, education is a human right, and intergenerational leadership is key to addressing these issues. EEqual takes a two-pronged approach to meeting the needs of students, providing direct resources to students experiencing homelessness as well as breaking the stigma surrounding student homelessness by opening chapters across the country and developing curriculum and education materials to meet the challenge of youth homelessness. Read more about Biff Chaplow here.

Heather McDuffee and Pryncess Favors, Colorado Springs, CO: Co-Owners, Creations @ The Edge.

Creations @ The Edge is a makers boutique that features handmade products by women. This boutique helps fund women who have a passion for their craft and want to turn a side hustle into a small business. Founded during the pandemic to empower women who left or were forced out of the workforce, often due to child care or elder care issues, Creations @ The Edge is helping women close the wage gap and gain greater purpose and financial freedom. Read more about Heather and Pryncess.

Eugene Kim, Burlington, Massachusetts: New Wine Collective

Rev. Eugene Kim is the founder and director of New Wine Collective, a non-profit organization with a mission to help heal the world through love and connection by making spiritual community accessible to all. New Wine is creating an innovative online tool that helps facilitate face-to-face spiritual conversations and community. This app/online platform would empower people to co-create their own spiritual community wherever they are, on their own terms and It would support a fundamentally different approach to "church" that lowers barriers, flattens hierarchies, and allows every voice to be heard. Read more about Eugene Kim here.

Andre G. Brown, Los Angeles, CA: A Soul Cleansing Documentary In a full-length documentary, filmmaker Andre Brown interviews lgbtq folk who have navigated the intersection of faith, sex, and sexuality after finding themselves on the margins of church.

A Soul Cleansing Documentary highlights the sins of hypocrisy that have had a long-standing reputation in some African American denominational churches, subsequently creating painful experiences for a large fraction of the Black queer and trans community. The documentary features interviews from lgbtq folk who have either left or remained in the church. A Soul Cleansing endeavors to bring justice, healing and reconciliation to the black church and all its members. Read more about Andre here.

Managerrie Winston, Houston, TX: The KIT Project Teacher Managerrie Winston, founder of the KIT Project, noticed a lack of diversity and cultural relevance in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum offered to students. The KIT (Keep It Together) Project offers SEL curriculum centered on Black and Brown experiences along with training and professional development for educators. 

The vision of the KIT Project is to foster and ensure that underprivileged youth develop social emotional wellness while providing communities and schools with a diverse curriculum centered on Black and Brown experiences and resources. The "Be YourSELf" Program offers culturally relevant yoga, meditation and mindfulness events for teens. Read more about Managerrie Winston here.

Dorian Hollingsworth, Jr, Virginia Beach, VA: The Teen Care Network Dorian Hollingsworth Jr. is the CEO/Founder and Creative Director of the Teen Care Network whose goal is to support teens by connecting them with free mental health resources while working to break the stigma around mental health treatment. The Teen Care Network bridges the gap between care and community by providing the most necessary and most current programming efforts to Teens and the community in the hope of connecting communities to bring mental health center stage. Read more about Dorian Hollingsworth here.

Lizzy Case, San Diego, CA: Arrayed. Lizzy Case is the founder of Arrayed, a liberative people-first, planet-focused Christian apparel brand that aims to align the call for justice and wholistic flourishing found in Jesus’ life with the messages on and production of Christian t-shirts.

Partnered with TELAstory Collective, a Manila-based, worker-led community of designers, artisans, and seamstresses, Arrayed invests in its own supply chain to work towards equitable and sustainable long-term partnerships. The vision of Arrayed is to produce socially and environmentally conscious apparel while investing in organizations that further liberation of women and marginalized communities. Read more about Case here.

Safronia Perry, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Black Economic Growth Alliance. Safronia Perry established the Black Economic Growth Alliance (BEGA) to meet the needs of Black business owners in Carlisle and central Pennsylvania. BEGA will offer networking and a variety of supports to Black-owned businesses to help these businesses become autonomous, self-sustaining, and economically successful. Read more about Safronia Perry here.