Twenty "Fearless" Changemakers

As part of its Be Fearless initiative, the Case Foundation has chosen the 20 winners of Finding Fearless —a nationwide campaign to recognize, reward and inspire fearless changemakers.

In addition to winning grants and prizes, the winners will compete for additional awards, which will be decided in a “Fan Favorite” public vote, so vote away!

You can check out the work of the winners (in alphabetical order) below.  Are there any who you'd like to hear interviewed on the Big Vision Podcast? 



1. Aashika Damodar | Breaking Heels | Washington, DC
Breaking Heels ™ is a social enterprise transforming the collective power of consumers into a force against human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. (Twitter: @BreakingHeels)

2. Darius Graham | Social Innovation Project | Washington, DC
The Social Innovation Project tackles pressing social issues by providing seed funding and resources to help transform ideas into sustainable programs. (Twitter: @dcsocialinnov)

3. Erin Healy | Youth L.E.A.D. | Miami, FL
Youth L.E.A.D. provides a 12-week afterschool program and 4-month paid apprenticeship wellness program for low-income high school students. (Twitter: @youthleadmiami)

4. Gary Oppenheimer | AmpleHarvest.org | Newfoundland, NJ
AmpleHarvest.org, moves information instead of food to diminish hunger, and to educate, encourage and empower growers to share their excess food. (Twitter: @AmpleHarvest)

5. Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara | WE DO Campaign: Stage 4 | Asheville, NC
The WE DO Campaign mobilizes LGBT couples requesting – and being denied – marriage licenses in their hometowns across the Southern United States. (Twitter: @CSElive)

6. Jen Fu Cheng | Peak Potential Climbing | Fairfield, NJ
Peak Potential is an organization running a 12-week introduction to rock climbing for children with physical disabilities. (Twitter: @PeakClimb)

7. Jessica Ladd | So They Can Know | Baltimore, MD
So They Can Know aims to get more partners notified of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). (Twitter: @JessicaHLadd)

8. Jordyn Schara | WI P2D2 (Wisconsin Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal) |
Reedsburg, WI
Wisconsin Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal (WI P2D2) has collected over 900,000 pounds of un-used prescription drugs curtailing over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse.

9. Karen Knudsen | Taking the Bull by the Horns | Missoula, MT
Through their 2,300-acre cattle ranch, complete with 300 cows, Taking the Bull by the Horns tests first-hand how ranches can fix degraded creeks and preserve stream water. (Twitter: @clarkfork)

10. Leslie Neal | ArtSpring | Arts for Incarcerated Women | Homestead, FL
ArtSpring uses educational arts programming for developing self-growth and effective life skills for incarcerated women, men and youth.

11. Lori Markowitz | Introduction to Teaching (Youth Ambassadors) | Seattle, WA
The “Introduction to Teaching” course provides a problem-based learning experience for high school students to introduce them to the profession of teaching. (Twitter: @youthambassador)

12. Madhura Bhat | Health for America | Washington, DC
Health for America uses America’s entrepreneurship to combat health challenges through sustainable health solutions. (@health4america)

13. Marquis Landon Cabrera | Foster Skills | Boston, MA
Foster Skills provides emotional development and practical, transferable life skills programs for children and youth in foster care. (@MarquisCabrera)

14. Michael Bitz | Youth Music Exchange | Forest Hills, NY
Youth Music Exchange launches record labels inside schools, organized and managed by youth, enabling students to write, record, and distribute original music.

15. Meghana Rao | Portland Junior Scientists | Portland, OR
Portland Junior Scientists unites high school students with underprivileged elementary school students to explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. (Twitter: @PDXJrScientists)

16. Mike Rocco | City Hall Fellows | San Francisco, CA
City Hall Fellows creates the next generation of enlightened leaders for local government empowering them to be effective change agents. (Twitter: @cityhallfellows)

17. Rachel Durchslag | Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation | Chicago IL
CAASE works with high school age men to help them understand the harms of the sex trade, and what they can do to be part of the solution to end human trafficking. (Twitter: @thecaase)

18. Rajesh Karmani | Zero Percent | Urbana, IL
Zero Percent provides first-of-its-kind cloud and mobile services to help businesses move surplus food via donations through last-minute deals. (Twitter: @ZeroChampaign)

19. Sayu Bhojwani | The New American Leaders Project | New York, NY
The New American Leaders Project prepares immigrants for civic leadership using a curriculum to train new community leaders seeking appointed office. (Twitter: @americasvoice)

20. Thach Nguyen | Swipes for the Homeless | San Francisco, CA
"Swipes for the Homeless" is a grassroots, student-run movement where students work with universities to collect leftover meal swipes for homeless communities. (Twitter: @SwipesHQ)

Full disclosure: Much of the text of this post comes from a press release I received from the Case Foundation.

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