Overview
The 21 students selected each year for our Georgia Youth Leadership Awards will be recognized at our annual fundraising event, Be The Inspiration Gala, receive a monetary grant, and be paired with a business professional who will coach and mentor them throughout the awards season.
Nominations
Nominations for the Georgia Youth Leadership Awards are open October - November. Only high school students who are members of 21st Century Leaders are eligible for this exclusive award.
Honor a Young Leader
To be considered for the award, a student must either be nominated by a non-relative or they may nominate themself. Students can even nominate a fellow 21st Century Leaders’ peer they are inspired by!
To learn about the nomination criteria, selection process, and winner experience, watch the recording of our GYLA Information Session from October 2025.
Nomination Requirements
To be eligible:
- Nominee must be a current 21st Century Leaders student in high school
- Nominee cannot be a former GYLA winner
- Nominee must be able to attend the gala
- Nominee can self-nominate and provide a reference for verification OR be nominated by a teacher, counselor, mentor, friend, etc. (nominator can NOT be a relative)
- Nominee must complete Level 1 in Leadership Connect by the nomination deadline, but can be nominated before this deadline
Nomination Process
Nominations are accepted October-November and are reviewed by a volunteer Selection Committee. Nominees selected for the award will be notified via email in early January.
- To nominate, click on the nomination form button and complete the form in its entirety
- Be prepared to provide detailed information about the student’s achievement(s)
- Additional items can be uploaded to the nomination form; i.e. resume, websites, videos, pictures, or articles
- Nominators may be notified by email or phone with additional questions. Please be responsive.
- The top 21 students will be selected by our GYLA Selection Committee, a group of business professionals, Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 under 40 members, 21CL Board of Directors, and 21CL alumni and student peers
- Nominators will also be notified in January if your student is selected for the award
Selection Committee
Nominations are reviewed each year by our GYLA Selection Committee, comprised of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 under 40 members, recognized community leaders, 21CL Board of Directors, 21CL corporate volunteers, 21CL alumni and previous student awardees. Awardees are also paired with a coach – an inspiring business professional – who serves as a mentor to them during the award season.
2025 Georgia Youth Leadership Awards Coaches:
The Georgia Youth Leadership Award coaches for the 2025 student winners are Maranie Brown, BlackRock, 21CL Board of Directors*; Greg Clay, City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office, 21CL Alumni*; Whitney Deal Marshall, Whitney Marshall Coaching*; Naceo Denney, Georgia Power*; Chandra Farley, City of Atlanta, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability & Resilience*; David Felfoldi, SHERPA Global*; Marty Fleischmann, The Masters Team*; Tania Garcia, Senior Marketing Executive, 21CL Board of Directors; Brian Goebel, Goizueta Business School, Business & Society Institute, 21CL Board of Directors*; Taylor Green, Amazon Web Services, 21CL Alumni*; Poojan Karnik, Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center; Ashley Lee, The Coca-Cola Company*; DJ Lewis, Technology Consulting Executive; Lanita Lucas, Aflac*; Dr. Brandon Morgan, Iconic Orthodontics, 21CL Alumni*; Taunia Nkromo-Stevenson, Warner Bros. Discovery*; Michael Quigley, QVH Media*; Martha Revelo, DeKalb County; Ed Roche, Cox Enterprises; Assi Van Bastelaar, Spotfire
2025 Georgia Youth Leadership Awards Selection Committee:
All nominations were reviewed by our 27-member GYLA Selection Committee, comprised of 21CL corporate volunteers, 21CL Board of Directors, and 21CL alumni and student peers. Committee members included the coaches indicated above, along with Curtis Bennett, MarketSource; Erik Bryant, Truist Wealth, 21CL Board of Directors; Neha Chaparala, Mercer, 21CL Alumni Board; Susannah Darrow, Purpose Possible; Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, Morehouse School of Medicine; Jeff Kupor, Invesco, 21CL Board of Directors; Clarke LeGrande, Wellstar; Jason Wallace, Capital Group, 21CL Board of Directors; Thurman Williams, Community Volunteer, Coca-Cola (retired); Anqi Zou, Truist, 21CL Board of Directors; and Hannah Lang, 21CL Youth Ambassador and 2024 GYLA Student Recipient.
2025 Georgia Youth Leadership Award Winners
Moatapari Agbere, Chattahoochee County High School, from Muscogee County
Ashley Nelson, Chamblee Charter High School, from DeKalb County
Michelle Wang, Fulton Science Academy, from Fulton County
Pranav Yellapragada, Chattahoochee High School, from Fulton County
Wendell Rogers, Dunwoody High School, from DeKalb County
Sreepadha Daram, Innovation Academy, from Fulton County
Hadil Adam, Clarkston High School, from DeKalb County
Ibraheem Hassan, Lakeside High School (Evans), from Columbia County
Tessa Hayes, Jefferson County High School, from Jefferson County
Daniella Taiwo, Lovejoy High School, from Fayette County
Christopher Boyd, Landmark Christian School, from Clayton County
Kenia Gonzalez-Chavez, Cedar Shoals High School, from Athens-Clarke County
Laurin McCoy, Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, from Richmond County
Ca’Leia Nelson, Milton High School, from Gwinnett County
Jace Williams, Westlake High School, from Fulton County
Ethan Barlay, Rockdale Magnet School, from Rockdale County
Sheona Diwakar, Campbell High School (Smyrna), from Cobb County
Micah Newton, Pickens County High School, from Pickens County
Yasmin Rios, Swainsboro High School, from Emanuel County
Sauyer Stewart, Arabia Mountain High School, from DeKalb County
Ronak Vyas, Alpharetta High School, from Fulton County
Get Inspired by Past Winners
What Our Awardees Say
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