Forbes has recently released its annual 30 Under 30 list for North America, which features young leaders and entrepreneurs across the continent that have founded creative companies to target issues like global warming, reproductive health, student debt, financial freedom, and more. A variety of categories exist, each highlighting 30 individuals. Some of these categories include Art & Style, Entertainment, Healthcare, Consumer Technology, Science, Media, Manufacturing & Industry, Social Impact, and Education. Across all the categories this year, countless inspiring women were featured; here are the amazing stories of some of them.
Cambre Kelly: While researching her doctoral thesis in biomedical engineering at Duke University, Cambre Kelly cofounded restor3d, a startup that creates personalized orthopedic devices using 3D printing, biomaterials, biomechanics, and AI.
Amira Barkal: Creator of Pheast Therapeutics, a cancer immunotherapy company that uses activated immune cells to kill cancer, Amira Barkal seeks to tackle ovarian and breast cancer, the two leading causes of death in women. The vast majority of its scientists at 73% identify as female.
Leila Mashouf and Neeka Mashouf: In August 2020, twin sisters Neeka and Leila Mashouf founded Rubi Laboratories, a sustainable clothing company. For example, a pair of jeans made with fabric from Rubi consumes no water or land, actively removes CO2 from the atmosphere, and is biodegradable.
Giovanna Abramo: The co-founder of Plenna, Giovanna Abramo is revolutionizing women's health across Latin America by creating a technology platform that aims to reduce the barriers keeping women from accessing sexual and reproductive health treatment. Women are connected directly to doctors for in-person and online consultations.
Briana Chen: Briana Chen’s research at Columbia University focuses on gender disparities in the mental health field. Based on her discoveries of differences in depression symptoms between men and women, she is in the process of creating the first female-specific antidepressants.
Youhong Guo: New polymer materials used for practical, sustainable purposes are being developed by Youhong Guo. For instance, she has created nanostructured hydrogel tablets that can rapidly disinfect water or turn salt water fresh, without requiring any energy input.
Rana Abdelhamid: Rana Abdelhamid’s non-profit organization, Malikah, has trained thousands of women globally in self-defense, anti-hate crime advocacy, and emotional healing work. She is in the process of building the first ever women's center in Astoria, Queens, which would serve survivors of domestic violence and provide affordable housing for immigrant women survivors.
Edna Martinson: Creator of Boddle Learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, Edna Martinson has helped 3 million elementary-age students across the U.S. tackle learning gaps and improve math proficiency using her AI-enabled gamified education platform.
Jamie Norwood: Jamie Norwood and her cofounder Cynthia Plotch created Stix, a vaginal and reproductive health brand that provides discreet direct-to-consumer products. The company has over 70,000 ecommerce customers for their products, including pregnancy, ovulation and UTI tests, vitamins, and supplements. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Stix launched an over-the-counter emergency contraception product, Restart, as well as a donation bank to provide free doses to anyone who requests.
Contributors: Suzanne Li