Prudential Emerging Visionaries - All Winners | Changemakers

MEET THE 2024 PRUDENTIAL
EMERGING VISIONARIES

We are proud to celebrate these 25 young people from across the country for their inspiring commitment to improving the lives of others. These exceptional awardees are being recognized for leading innovative projects to address financial or societal challenges in their communities.

FINANCIAL
SOLUTIONS

Michael Brode
Winterville, North Carolina, 17

Michael Brode, 17, of Winterville, North Carolina, is the founder of “Crypto Debunked,” an immersive learning platform that teaches young people about financial topics such as cryptocurrency and blockchain to bridge the financial education gap facing young people in underserved communities.

Jonathan De Caro
Moodus, Connecticut, 16

Jonathan De Caro, 16, of Moodus, Connecticut, founded “One Loan Fund,” a financial platform that provides microloans to unbanked rural women in Latin America with the goal of fostering economic mobility, inclusion and sustainable financial health.

Caden Harris
Stonecrest, Georgia, 14

Caden Harris, 14, of Stonecrest, Georgia, is the founder of “Financial Literacy for All,” a program on wheels that aims to create a world in which financial literacy is integrated into the curriculum of every school and is accessible to all young people.

Sebastian Tan
Sewickley, Pennsylvania, 16

Sebastian Tan, 16, of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, is the founder of “OutsideConnection,” an online job site that drives economic opportunity for previously incarcerated individuals by allowing them to search for open positions at businesses and make meaningful contributions to their local communities.

Remy Tsukahira
Los Angeles, California, 16

Remy Tsukahira, 16, of Los Angeles, California, is the founder of “Artemis Girls Business Academy,” a network connecting teen girls to professional women mentors that expands access to the information, connections and skills needed to pursue careers in business and entrepreneurship.

SOCIETAL
SOLUTIONS

Sunya Afrasiabi
Buffalo, New York, 17

Sunya Afrasiabi, 17, of Buffalo, New York, is the founder of the “#MyStory Program,” a storytelling project that amplifies the experiences of immigrants and refugees through a combination of oral history, narrative therapy and photography.

Sreenidi Bala
Farmington, Connecticut, 16

Sreenidi Bala, 16, of Farmington, Connecticut, is the founder of “Code For All Minds,” a computer science program for neurodivergent students that provides educators and families with a curriculum to make STEM career paths a possibility for young people with learning disabilities.

William Charouhis
Miami, Florida, 18

William Charouhis, 18, of Miami, Florida, is the founder of “A Million Mangroves,” a youth-led network in Miami mobilizing to plant one million mangroves by 2030, addressing climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon and protecting coastlines.

Yaduraj Choudhary
Downington, Pennsylvania, 17

Yaduraj Choudhary, 17, of Downington, Pennsylvania, is the founder of “3 Tiny Bones,” an initiative working with policymakers to advance hearing health legislation and create safe spaces within schools to destigmatize hearing loss.

Marie Dillard
Englewood, New Jersey, 18

Marie Dillard, 18, of Englewood, New Jersey, is the founder of “The Crescendo Lab,” a classical music mentoring program that works with youth of color to expand access to music education and create an inclusive future for classical musicians of color in American orchestras.

Angelina DiPaola
Cincinnati, Ohio, 18

Angelina DiPaola, 18, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is the co-founder of “Compai,” a smart home composting system that uses digital sensors and a mobile app to increase the number of people and community groups composting, connect them with experts in the practice and help them build a community with fellow composters in their neighborhoods.

Anika Dugal
Matawan, New Jersey, 17

Anika Dugal, 17, of Matawan, New Jersey, is the founder of “Girls for Algorithmic Justice,” a global grassroots coalition of young women acting through political action and advocacy to address the gender and racial disparities in artificial intelligence technologies.

Saawan Duvvuri
Nashville, Tennessee, 16

Saawan Duvvuri, 16, of Nashville, Tennessee, is the founder of “LiteratureDiversified,” a youth-led nonprofit advocating for equity by diversifying educational curriculum and working to solve America's racial disparities in education.

Mackenzie Goldsteen
Bethesda, Maryland, 16

Mackenzie Goldsteen, 16, of Bethesda, Maryland, created “Buildgirls,” a nonprofit that works to empower young women in high school to pursue careers in the fields of architecture, construction, and engineering (ACE), cornerstones of the economy with dramatic gender disparities.

Donte Jennings
Nolanville, Texas, 17

Donte Jennings, 17, of Nolanville, Texas, is the founder of “EmpowerME,” a youth literacy project for Black boys struggling with mental health challenges that cultivates a love of reading, encourages self-expression and shared storytelling, and helps to build a supportive community that advocates for mental health awareness.

Anuj Kakkad
Plymouth, Minnesota, 17

Anuj Kakkad, 17, of Plymouth, Minnesota, is the co-founder of “Vigilance Safety,” a student-led nonprofit organization developing technical solutions to improve school safety and reduce casualties from school shootings.

Preston Lieu
Falls Church, Virginia, 17

Preston Lieu, 17, of Falls Church, Virginia, is the founder of “Youthward,” an incubator that connects young activists with community organizers to share resources, amplify efforts, and ensure lasting impact on the issues they care about.

OlaRose Ndubuisi
Pittsford, New York, 16

OlaRose Ndubuisi, 16, of Pittsford, New York, is the founder of “The Finding Scoliosis Kindly Project,” an initiative that works to increase global awareness of scoliosis, support young people in coping with the challenging mental and physical effects of the condition, and advocate for the early management and treatment of scoliosis in children.

Saheb Nibber
Houston, Texas, 17

Saheb Nibber, 17, of Houston, Texas, leads “Smart City Houston,” an initiative that hosts non-coding hackathons for young people to design solutions that address urgent community issues, introducing a new generation to civic engagement.

Genshu Price
Hauula, Hawaii, 16

Genshu Price, 16, of Hauula, Hawaii, founded “Bottles4College,” a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting recyclable cans and bottles for buyback programs, helping to both safeguard the environment and generate college scholarships for Hawaii's youth.

Maegha Ramanathan
Dublin, California, 16

Maegha Ramanathan, 16, of Dublin, California, is the co-founder of “Girls4Sports,” a youth-led organization dedicated to expanding sport opportunities for girls in underserved communities so that the benefits of athletics can be accessible to all.

Anjani Sharma
Rockledge, Florida, 17

Anjani Sharma, 17, of Rockledge, Florida, created “Minds Without Borders,” a youth-led initiative that works to reduce stigma and normalize conversations around mental health, mobilizing students to engage stakeholders and advocate for policies that increase mental health support systems.

Prisha Shroff
Chandler, Arizona, 17

Prisha Shroff, 17, of Chandler, Arizona, is the founder of “Sustainability Stars,” an initiative that empowers young people to be changemakers by taking action to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and increase awareness and advocacy.

Adeline Smith
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 17

Adeline Smith, 17 of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, co-founded “Growing the STEM,” an organization that develops and runs math and science programs for students in underserved rural Idaho schools, with the mission to inspire young people to pursue STEM education and careers.

Ethan Zhang
Portland, Oregon, 16

Ethan Zhang, 16, of Portland, Oregon, co-founded “Youth Secure Initiative,” a project that equips young people with cyberliteracy skills that can be deployed to help small businesses in enhancing the security of their websites, preventing financial losses, business interruption, and non-compliance.