Every year, the Memphis Flyer asks our readers to nominate outstanding young people in Memphis who are making a difference in their community. We chose the top 20 from an outstanding field of more than 50 nominations. Memphis, meet your future leaders, the 20<30 Class of 2025.
Austin Brown
Director of Development and Communications, Community Legal Center (CLC)
A native Memphian, Brown decided to stay in the city and attend Christian Brothers University. There, he became the philanthropy chair for Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Brown says the experience changed his life. “We did a bunch of volunteering opportunities. Just getting a chance to see up close and personal the disparities in the city showed me a lot of the things I wanted to address in my professional career, and in any way I could.
“What makes Community Legal Center unique is, unlike some other legal aid organizations you may be familiar with, CLC offers services at a low cost, and on a sliding scale, depending on household income and household size,” says Brown. “We’re about filling in that justice gap and helping the people in the forgotten middle. So, people who probably make too much money to qualify for free legal services, but they don’t make enough to afford a private attorney. I’m here to make a just Memphis. Simple as that.”
Liv Cohen
Membership and Community Engagement Coordinator, WYXR
“I grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. Memphis was the cool city to come to on a weekend, and I just kind of fell in love with it,” says Cohen.
She found her niche at the community radio station, WYXR. “I interned my senior year of college, and then just convinced Robby [Grant, WYXR founder,] to keep me around. … I manage all of our individual giving and memberships, so if you’ve ever gotten an email asking to donate to WYXR, it’s probably from me.
“I’ve found myself deeply rooted in the music community here, and it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced or witnessed. People really care about each other here. The music is just unbeatable, and yeah, I’ve really found my people here and I love it. … I would love to see a city that really invests in creative types and puts them in positions of leadership as well.”
Leon Cunningham III
Agent, New York Life Insurance
“I think Memphis is, right now, a land of opportunity,” says Cunningham. He’s got a lot of irons in the fire. In addition to his work in the insurance field, he is also dedicated to volunteerism. “I think I’m making an impact here from a financial place, but a philanthropy piece is something that I could hang my hat on at the end of the day.”
One of his passions is mentoring. “Embracing Brotherhood [Foundation] is a social group I kind of started through networking in Memphis. It’s centered around youth, but also minority males, helping them get connections throughout general areas and regions, supporting them in business and life.”
As if that’s not enough, he’s also a professional model, working on national accounts through the Tribe Talent Management. “I was definitely shy. It opened me up. It helped me be comfortable in my skin.”
Hugh Ferguson
Biomathematics Research Student, Rhodes College
“I’ve always been interested in being a doctor, since I was probably 11 or 12,” says Ferguson. “I have a heart condition and other health conditions, and the care that I’ve received from other doctors has inspired me to make sure other people have that same access.” He volunteers for Remote Area Medical. “We go into rural areas, mostly in Tennessee, that lack proper healthcare. We set up remote clinics and get doctors around the region to help. We usually treat about a thousand people at each clinic.”
This inspired his research into AI-assisted ultrasound devices. “We’re working on, not replacing [X-ray machines], but offering an alternative to help underserved communities. You can’t learn how to care about someone from just reading about science. You have to go into field work, and experience humanity, what it needs, and realize that you’re more than just a person. There’s a whole story behind you.”
Antonella Reyes Flores
Case Manager, Endeavors
When unaccompanied immigrant children arrive in Memphis, Flores takes care of them. “It can be anything from helping them enroll in a school, or connecting them to something like Church Health and getting them their updated vaccinations, or getting them a PCP. If they’re struggling with mental health, connecting with mental health services. Or just connecting them to a local food bank. Maybe they are trying to get onto a local soccer team, or they want to get involved with the church. I’m there to have a feel for what they need, and fill those gaps.
“I want to build an inclusive Memphis. Everyone has their niche in Memphis, whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or you’re a nonprofit or higher education, there are so many overlaps. We need to keep working together to help the next generation of Memphis. We have to put so much back into our youth. These are future doctors, teachers, engineers. We’re doing our part to guide them into helping build such a great Memphis.”
Zavier Hayes
Owner, Zavier Hayes Shelter Insurance
During the pandemic, Hayes got a job offer to work in insurance. “I’m thinking, ‘Nobody’s going to take a chance on me. I’m 23 years old! I’ve barely got a year of experience.’ … They took the chance, gave me my own office in Mumford.”
Now, he’s his own boss. “You’re an independent contractor; you’re being your own entrepreneur. There’s some days where it’s harder than others, and there’s some days where it’s like, man, I just wish I could copy and paste this day, and have this be every day. It’s a journey, and I truly enjoy it.”
In his off hours, he coaches basketball at Northpoint Christian School. “I love working with kids. It’s a chance to give back. I tell my players, ‘I was just in y’all’s shoes 10 years ago.’ And this is my chance to say, ‘Hey, if this was younger me, this is exactly what I would teach you guys to do.’”
Raneem Imam
Musician
Originally from the Bay Area, Imam’s family is Palestinian- and Lebanese-American. “I call myself an Arabic cocktail, so I’m really mixed with a lot of great things to make a juicy cocktail,” she says. “I’ve always been singing. My mom says I was getting on top of tables and singing to guests, and convincing her to come to my room for short musicals that I would perform for her and my grandmother.”
At Rhodes College, “I ended up majoring in music and falling in love with Memphis music and all the opportunities that I could seize while I was there. I didn’t know where the road was going to lead, obviously, but I feel like it’s just a part of my life motto to start where you are.”
Her plan to hit the ground performing after graduation was stymied by the pandemic, but she found an audience through virtual gigs. Now she’s pursuing music full-time and working on a full-length album. “I’m kind of exploring this line between funk, R&B, and pop, while also toying around with some Arabic influence because I haven’t seen that yet.”
RaSean Jenkins
Board Office Advisor, Memphis-Shelby County Schools
“I got a scholarship to University of Memphis when I was studying Japanese history and language,” Jenkins says. “I was going through my neighborhood one day, and I had so many questions about why are we so separated as a city. What led Memphis to be this way? It ended up becoming my major, and I ended up becoming an urban historian.”
Jenkins is currently on track to finish his Ph.D. at the University of Memphis. “I’m writing my dissertation on A.W. Willis and his family’s work to integrate segregated spaces in the Mid-South.”
Teaching is in his blood. “I’ve been a mentor for Memphis-Shelby County Schools since I was 18, and also I do mentoring with the city. I want to be a professor one day, but I am very dedicated to our district here in Memphis and Shelby County. I would not like to leave the district. I would love to stay and just continue to grow here, but I really see myself being a college professor one day for sure, teaching history.”
Alexxas Johnson
Associate Attorney, Spence Partners
“I do general litigation, so the easiest way to describe that is, everything except criminal [law] — except when I have to do criminal [law],” says Johnson. “So really, just a smorgasbord of things, which I love, because I’m somebody that is creative by nature. I thought when I decided to become a lawyer, I was a little bummed because I feel like lawyers are in this gray area, with not a lot of time to create and be innovative. There are so many rules and procedures, and of course it’s a very old career field, governed by things that happened in 1935. But thankfully, in the way that I write and craft my arguments, I’ve learned to become creative in this career field.”
A native Memphian, Johnson returned home after attending college at Alabama and a stint in Miami to attend law school. “Who doesn’t want to be a part of Memphis? I mean, everyone steals our swag anyways, so you might as well come here.”
Noah Miller
Multidisciplinary Artist
Filmmaker, photographer, printmaker, and painter, Miller does it all. His most recent exhibit, “Days,” ran for seven months at Crosstown Arts. “I’m interested in so many different things. The world is abundant! But most of the time, I have an idea that feels like it could be better represented in a different medium, whether that’s painting, sculpture, music, or film. Film is the greatest medium of all because it’s everything packed into one thing. It scratches every itch for me. But I’m someone who wants to do it all: write the script, build the set, shoot the whole thing myself, edit, and even record the soundtrack. … This is why I’ve gravitated toward painting. I can realistically have something finished by the end of the week.
“Memphis feels like the biggest ‘punk’ city to me in the sense that everyone just does exactly what they want here (or they should be), and you can get away with it! It’s a very genuine place.”
David Oppong
Project Engineer, Allworld Project Management
Inspired by his scientist father, Oppong decided to pursue engineering. “I realized that whatever I wanted to do in life, I wanted to have a direct impact on people and help make people’s lives better. I’ve seen that through civil engineering because people are the most direct result of all the infrastructure that we have in this world. I knew that if I could be around to affect the change and have a positive impact on people’s lives, then I would feel fulfilled in my purpose to be an engineer.
“We work with MATA on a number of capital projects, and the very first project that I had a chance to be a part of — and eventually got a chance to lead — was their electric bus program, which was for the procurement and implementation of up to 50 electric buses within their fleet.
“I grew up in the city, and I stayed because I knew that I wanted to be part of the change to make this a better place.”
Phoenix Powell
Community Advocate/Health and Wellness Specialist, OUTMemphis
Powell’s work for OUTMemphis includes cooking weekly community meals. “I found that I really have a passion for advocacy and made a decision to do it as my work last year. I feel like advocacy and cooking go hand-in-hand because any civil rights movement that you look at, things like food and music have always been a part of it. I’m able to use food as a way to give back. … Now the stakes feel a little bit higher than they have been.
“The work we do here is really needed. Every day, people come in and tell their stories. The common denominator is, they don’t really have a support system. They don’t have a group of people that they can feel like, ‘This is like my family.’ And when I’m cooking, I never like to shortcut things. These folks come to us when they don’t have anything. I’m not going to give them the bare minimum.”
Juan Sanchez
Project Engineer, Turner Construction Company
A native of Memphis with “proud Mexican origins,” Sanchez was the first person in his family to graduate from college. “I was born here, raised here, went to school here, went to university here, currently working here. I’m currently building Memphis and building the communities that I’ve been a part of. So it’s all been full circle.”
Among the projects Sanchez has been the “boots on the ground” for are the Memphis Sports and Events Complex, the Shelby County Health Department, and the soon-to-be-opened Alliance Health Services’ Crisis Center. Project engineer, he says, is “a two-word title, but it has many different responsibilities. … A lot of what I do is coordination and problem-solving among our contractors, design team, and clients to assure construction advances safely, within budget, and on schedule.”
Sanchez takes time to recruit other Hispanic and minority kids into the science and engineering fields. He was the first-ever guest speaker for the University of Memphis’ Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. “There’s much more for Memphis in the future, much more building, and I’m just excited to be a part of that.”
Josh Shaw
Musician, Blvck Hippie
“I started playing piano when I was 11,” says Shaw. “Music was just my own way of spreading my wings.”
Shaw’s band Blvck Hippie had a great year in 2024, touring extensively, and playing a huge gig at the Overton Park Shell. “Getting to play the Shell was just crazy! I found this little goal list I wrote out when I was a junior in college — my musical bucket list, basically. The top three were, one, tour. The second one was, do a European tour, and the third one was, play the Shell.”
Shaw completed all three items on their list last year and won the Indie Memphis music video competition for the second year in a row. Even sweeter, they got to bring their young daughter to the Shell show. “She got to see me play for the first time! That was just kind of a dream come true.”
Ciara Swearingen
Family Inn Advocate, Room in the Inn
Swearingen was already a volunteer for Planned Parenthood when she became pregnant at 22 years old, while a student at the University of Memphis. “Going through my pregnancy, I didn’t get a lot of support from my OB-GYN,” she says.
After having to advocate for herself while enduring a high-risk pregnancy, she became an advocate for others in the same position. “There are things that, growing up, especially in the Black community, nobody prepares you for when becoming a mother. … There are so many women, especially in the city of Memphis, that are struggling to let their doctors know, ‘Hey, I’m feeling this type of way. Is this normal?’
“Once baby gets here, and you’re in the hospital, that’s the most important time for moms to command and demand in their pregnancy. Luckily, I had my mom there with me when I had my son, but there are a lot of Black women in the city of Memphis who don’t have this support.”
JoElle Thompson
Entrepreneur, The Four Way, Center for Transforming Communities
In 2002, Thompson’s grandfather decided to reopen the shuttered Four Way restaurant after seeing it on a Travel Channel list of the best soul food restaurants in America. “It was the only one that was closed,” Thompson says.
Her family devoted themselves to “keeping the legacy alive because so many people from Stax and just around the neighborhood of LeMoyne-Owen College, … even Martin Luther King and notable people around the country, knew about the Four Way when they came to Memphis because it was a community staple. We’ve tried to continue that legacy.”
While working at the restaurant, she also earned a master’s degree in public health and was recruited as a community organizer at the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC). “My project that I’m doing right now with CTC is a community cookbook, specifically based in South Memphis, to honor people like me and some of my friends who are third, fourth, and fifth generation South Memphians because there’s such a rich legacy in our community. I’m trying to capture the history and voices of our community.”
Katelyn Thompson
Policy Director, Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus
“I love Memphis because it’s in my DNA,” says Thompson. “It runs through my veins.”
Thompson is passionate about politics and wants to spread the word about participating in our democracy. “When I went to Tennessee State University, I had started the bus to the polls, and a lot of students didn’t even know that they could vote. … My wish to every school and university is that we could do better with that in educating our students so they can be involved because our students are the future. They’re going to be the ones to keep us moving forward. And if they don’t know what they’re supposed to do, then we’re going backwards.”
She’s already made a splash in Tennessee political circles. “It is such an honor to serve as the youngest policy director for the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus, and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with both Mayor Paul Young and Senator London Lamar. Their leadership and trust in me have been instrumental in my journey, and I truly admire their commitment to serving our community.”
Margaret Tong
Entrepreneur, Mochi & Mi, Bao Toan Kitchen & Bar
Tong was born and raised in Memphis, but “growing up, my classmates were predominantly white and Black. It was very rare for me see Asian people. Once I got myself into the Asian community, I felt more sense of belonging, with people that understand you, understand the culture.”
Tong helped put on the first Asian Night Market, which has seen explosive growth over only two years. “We didn’t expect to have such a big turnout because we were like, ‘Oh, the community is small.’ … And then I saw that crowd! I was glad I was behind the table. There was more room behind the table than there was in that crowd!”
Growing up, her mother had a nail business, but the pair decided to go into the food business together. Now, they’re the force behind Bao Toan Kitchen, the newest restaurant in Crosstown Concourse. “I’d like to see a Memphis that helps each other,” she says. “I love the people, the sense of community here, the Memphis pride here.”
Connor Webber
Staff Attorney, Tennessee Innocence Project
Why did Webber become an attorney? “I get asked that a lot, and the answer is that I like to argue.”
An internship at the Davidson County district attorney’s office led him to the Tennessee Innocence Project. “We investigate and litigate cases of wrongful conviction in the state of Tennessee. … We received more applications from Shelby County than any other county in Tennessee. This was clearly where the need was, and they asked me to move here and open the office with them. I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
One of the first cases they tackled was Ricky Webb, who had been convicted of a “heinous crime” in 1976. “We started looking into his case almost 50 years later, and there was a lot of evidence that was covered up that really proved that he was in fact innocent. His conviction was overturned in October [2024]. It became formal on Halloween, and he became the fourth-longest serving exoneree in United States history. He served just shy of 47 years in custody.”
Haley Wilson
Actor, Choreographer
Wilson first came to Memphis for the annual United Professional Theater Auditions at Playhouse on the Square in 2019. She made her debut as the lead in A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline. “I played one of my dream roles, a country artist that I had always listened to growing up, and also started my company member position at the same time.”
Since then, she has performed in more than 30 shows, earning an Ostrander Award for Best Supporting Actress in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, as well as three other BroadwayWorld Awards nominations. She’s taught and choreographed at Houston High School, St. George’s Independent School, and Memphis University School. “I like to live other people’s stories to the best of my ability,” she says. “Sometimes being yourself is hard, and so getting away and getting to be someone else for a little bit is what I strive for. Today was a hard day for Haley, but I’m going to go be someone else for a little bit and just get away from that.”
The Memphis Flyer extends special thanks to Sondra Pham Khammavong, 20<30 Class of 2024, for serving on this year’s selection committee.