10 Young Women Changing the World Right Now

1. Amika George, 25

Amika George was so passionate about equity that she started the Free Periods campaign from her bedroom at the age of 17, to end period poverty in the U.K.

2. Deja Foxx, 24

You might recognize Deja Foxx - the founder founder of GenZ Girl Gang - from her viral, impassioned testimony to former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake at a local town hall in 2017. Deja is a fierce advocate for accessible and affordable reproductive healthcare for all women, especially those impacted by poverty. At just 19, she worked for Kamala Harris as the Influencer and Surrogate Strategist and became one of the youngest presidential campaign staffers in history.

3. Haili Smith, 16 & Brooke Smith, 13

These sisters are devoted to their mission to give every student, classroom, and public library access to culturally relevant children’s books that their peers could see themselves represented in, to “progress diversity and inclusion through literature.” They founded the nonprofit Books Like Me, with the aim to champion literature that produces positive images of all people.

4. Mari Copeny, 16

16-year-old activist, philanthropist, and aspiring future president, Mari Copeny has been on the front lines of tackling America's water crisis since 2015, when the Flint Water Crisis began. Instead of feeling helpless, she decided to use her voice to help her community by crowdfunding donations and partnering with local organizations to deliver clean water, and dedicating her time to fight for the other children of Flint, and help them to embrace their own power to affect change.

5. Grace Phatteeya, 20

Grace is an advocate for youth empowerment and climate action. She was selected as a Thai Red Cross Youth representative in the Southeast Asia Youth Network and a Thai delegate to the United Nation’s Youth4Climate event. She advocates for climate action by taking up spaces and meeting with her country's ministers, ambassadors, Parliament, and the public.

6. X González, 25

X González is a survivor of the mass shooting that took the lives of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Parkland students like X sparked the largest youth-led gun violence prevention movement ever and traveled around the country encouraging young people to register to vote. Their powerful speech at the first annual March For Our Lives was Just the beginning of their work to becoming a force in, and face of the fight for gun control.

7. Sara Mora, 24

Sara Mora has become a sought-after voice in the work of social change on behalf of the migrant community. She has dedicated her youth and talents as an organizer, influencer, and digital media strategist to be a symbol of hope and courage in the face of adversity. As a fearless advocate for immigration rights, she joined with others to form part of a 2018 lawsuit against the then Trump administration for wanting to terminate the DACA policy, and won!

8. Avery Colvert, 14

As a Pasadena resident, Avery wanted to do something special and meaningful for the many teen girls who were impacted and upended by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles in January of 2025. With the support of her father, she launched the Altadena Girls recovery fund, to empower young women through community and care, and a safe space where they can grow, connect, and heal. She successfully gathered donations and distributed everything from beauty and hair products —

9. Khloe Thompson, 17

At the young age of eight, and with the help of her family, Khloe created the non-profit organization Khloe Kares, where she dedicates her time to spreading awareness about - and improving the lives of underserved homeless women and youth. It is her mission to provide those in need the tools to successfully transition from the streets into stable housing, including providing over 20,000 essential hygiene kits and supplies to vulnerable women.

10. Marley Dias, 20

In November 2015, Marley Dias was fed up with the lack of diversity in the books she was assigned to read at school. So she launched the campaign #1000BlackGirlBooks with one simple goal: to collect and donate books that feature black girls as main characters. Since then, Marley has collected over 13,000 books, and has spoken as a literary advocate at the White House’s United State of Women alongside Michelle Obama and Oprah, and The Forbes Women’s Summit.