Microgrants Resource the Vision & Ideas of Young Leaders

Ubah Abdullahi (Riiyo)
(she/her)
Minneapolis, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#3 Reframe Harmful Narratives 
#9 Develop Young Women Leaders 
#13 Ensure Community Spaces and Conversations   

Riiyo (pronounced “rio”) is a world builder, somatic healer, speculative fiction writer, and embodied movement artist. Her work is centered around a desire to return to the Garden of Eden, a place of fruitful and innocent abundance. Its locality resides in everyone; it is freedom uncontained, our earliest memories, unrequited by artificial ceilings of what is possible for us. Riiyo has been disillusioned and inspired by the growing pains of being a young Somali Muslim woman. She creatively interrogates conventions and norms we hold as standards in our families, cultural practices, and the larger community. She believes the most immediate change we can experience is through transforming ourselves, our families and our communities, in that order.  

Odunola Adewale
(she/her)
Saint Paul, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#16: Increase Mental Health Support

With her project, The Body Tells the Tale, Odunola hopes to empower young women about the association between mental health and dimensions of wellness. In her spare time, she enjoys being active. Outside of this, she’s learning how to sew and speak French.  

Heritage Aluko
(she/her)
Blaine, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#9 Develop Young Women Leaders  

Heritage is a junior at Visitation School and is dedicated to embracing diversity and empowering young women. She leads efforts to support women of color. Her organization, Impact Future foundation, aims to create a dynamic and supportive group that fosters leadership, resilience, and personal growth among young women. Heritage is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of young leaders and building a more inclusive and empowered community. 

Jamie Berntson
(she/her)
Elko New Market, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#5 Enhance Career Pathways   

Jamie is a junior at Lakeville South High School. She is extremely passionate about social justice, and increasing the access that women have to predominantly male spaces. She is involved in debate at a national level alongside speech and other politically involved activities. She would like to go to college for environmental engineering and has an internship at the U of M working with Sustainable Food Systems. Her Innovator project will be to increase access and opportunities for women and LGBTQ+ people in STEM. 

  

Gursimrat Dahry
(she/her)
Woodbury, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#9 Develop Young Women Leaders    

Gursimrat is a junior at the University of Minnesota serving as president of the speech team and national representative for the circuit. As a competitor in speech programs for seven years, she advocates for the importance of improving gender equity in the activity and encouraging young girls to join. She is excited to join the WFM family and grow her organization and podcast, Women in Forensics.   

Anjali Donthi
(she/her)
Rochester, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#16 Increase Mental Health Support    

A senior at the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management, Anjali is pursuing a BS degree in finance and MIS with minors in computer science and business in healthcare. She is the founder of Operation Serenity, a company focused on helping pediatric surgery patients through an Android app that provides in-app surgery simulations and access to community resources. Anjali will invest her returning Innovator microgrant in the app, which aids medical professionals in supporting pediatric patients with anxiety before surgery. The app includes educational resources to relieve stress so that patients feel welcomed and informed before medical procedures. 

Amiyah Hunter
(she/her)
Saint Paul, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#5 Enhance Career Pathways  

Amiyah is the CTO of DYGI, a company dedicated to empowering underrepresented youth by providing pathways into the tech industry. With her leadership, DYGI focuses on creating innovative programs and opportunities that foster diversity and inclusion in the tech space. 

  

Ella Khan
(she/her)
Eagan, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#16 Increase Mental Health Support  

Ella is a senior in high school studying at Concordia University in St Paul. Ella struggled to read until she was in 6th grade, when she attended a school designed for kids with learning differences. Once Ella understood her learning differences, she skipped 8th grade, and later started college at 16. Learning about the science behind neurodiversity changed Ella’s life, and now it’s her dream to build a community organization that teaches the science and strengths of neurodiversity to children. Ella plans to use her Innovator grant to speak at the 2024 Neurodiversity Summit at Stanford, and to continue building the dream community organization.  

  

Disha Mishra
(she/her)
Shoreview, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#3 Reframing Harmful Narratives   
#9 Developing Young Women Leaders   

Disha is a recent graduate from Johns Hopkins University with a BS and MS in biomedical engineering. She currently works as a scientist in Phase 0 research in the medical device industry. As a South Asian woman in a STEM field, she is passionate about uplifting other women and encouraging them to fight for the opportunities they deserve. Her focus will be hosting a seminar series discussing difficult topics for early-career women to develop confidence in the workplace.  

  

Aaliyah Murray
(she/her)
Minneapolis, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#9 Develop Young Women Leaders  
#13 Ensure Community Spaces and Conversations     

Aaliyah is a 19-year-old, first-generation student based in Minneapolis with a profound passion for youth and educational justice. She has been actively involved in the community since the age of 14, after founding Global Teen Activists, a youth-led organization dedicated to addressing systemic injustices in schools and communities. Her vision is a world where young people don’t have to wait for a seat at the table, but create their own. Her project will focus on promoting leadership and student engagement across Minnesota. Aaliyah believes that a commitment to empowering young people and driving change is vital for creating a more just and equitable world.  

  

Sydney Oundo
(she/her)
Minneapolis, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#15 Increase Access to Women’s Health Care    

Sydney is a youth activist, political organizer, and movement maker passionate about advocating for Black youth and underserved communities. As co-president of the Black Student Union at her high school, she works to create an environment where Black youth feel empowered and activated to build community. Through her presidency, she has founded a statewide coalition of Black student groups called the Black Student Leadership Alliance that works to unify Black youth and create social change, one of her key passions. Sydney is drawn to supporting and guiding young women, which she does through a girls’ mentorship program to facilitate interpersonal skills and uplift agency. She is committed to fostering intergenerational relationships and closing the gap between young people and elders to create a more fulfilling society. 

  

Taylor Tidwell-Bennett
(she/her)
Minneapolis, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#3 Reframing Harmful Narratives   
#9 Developing Young Women Leaders  
#13 Ensure Community Spaces and Conversations     

Taylor is an advocate for young women’s leadership and empowerment, leading the GirlGrow initiative to reframe harmful narratives and foster intentional conversations among young women. She serves as the Faith-Based Political Constituency Associate for the MN Harris/Walz campaign and is a recipient of the Women’s Foundation Youth Innovators Program grant. Nearing the completion of her degree in Political Science at Spelman College, Taylor is passionate about education and advocacy. Through her work with Black Girl Advocate, she is committed to increasing the number of Black women college graduates and business owners and promoting mental health wellness. 

  

Arianna Vang
(she/her)
Hanover, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#4 Building Gender and Community-Oriented Financial Literacy and Life Skills  
#5 Enhance Career Pathways 
#9 Develop Young Women Leaders   
#14 Ensure Community Spaces and Conversations 
#16 Increase Mental Health Support  

Arianna, a first-generation Hmong American student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, is pursuing a degree in business and marketing education with a minor in management. Driven by a deep commitment to her community, she aims to inspire and empower young Hmong American girls through leadership and community building. Arianna plans to continue her mentorship with the Southeast Asian Women’s Virtue (SAWV) program, where she hopes to make a lasting impact by fostering both personal and professional growth. 

  

Sierra Verdin
(she/her)
Austin, MN
Blueprint recommendations:
#3 Reframe Harmful Narratives  
#13 Ensure Community Spaces and Conversations 
#16 Increase Mental Health Support  
#17 Prevent Violence through Healthy Relationships  

As a young nonprofit professional, Sierra is passionate about the power of storytelling to change harmful narratives. She has completed several photographic oral histories around cultural identity, belonging, and the lived impacts of Covid-19. Her project, Daughters Breaking Generational Cycles, will explore and document the impacts of systemic barriers on interpersonal relationships. Through this project, she hopes to connect people to resources, inspire others to strengthen and celebrate their support systems, and destigmatize conversations on the intersection of systems and people.