Innovators: Courage to Imagine

More than a dozen young women, with more than a dozen different project ideas. Their one common denominator: courage to imagine.

Over the last year, 15 young leaders, age 16 to 24, imagined what could be, exploring entrepreneurialism in all its facets. What does rest for BIPOC women look like? What community revelations unfold at the intersection of art, poetry, and technology? How can evidence-based information help young women understand and love their bodies? Innovators don’t just ask questions, they put answers into action. And in the process, grow community, build confidence, and take a host of brilliant projects from concept to reality.

With each Innovator supported with a $3,000 microgrant, and with guidance of Youth Leadership Institute, and facilitation from Floreo Labs, WFM’s Innovator leadership development program, now in its eighth year, is bringing about change as a featured part of the Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota. Meet the 2025-26 Innovators.

Since its inception a decade ago, the Young Women’s Initiative has shown how early investments in young leaders lead to lasting change.

That’s why we invest in the leadership of young people who are leading today.

Here‘s how the Innovator program works: throughout the year, Floreo Labs facilitators hold both 1:1 mentor sessions and group convenings with each Innovator cohort, nurturing the next generation of innovative leaders and giving young women an opportunity to support, develop, and scale their leadership and ideas through skills-based workshops, while at the same time building a strong and enduring community.

Naomi Arroyo, managing partner of Floreo, praised the Innovators’ bravery in being vulnerable, in a challenging year to learn, grow, and turn their lived experiences and leadership into action. The projects they developed shared a unifying force – a vision for change, an embrace of their identities, and a power for building community, each from their own strengths and passions.

Naomi Gbor began with a short film centering Black women and the quest for rest and peace against the backdrop of nature and memory. A future mental health professional, Naomi’s project, Dear Anxious Black Girl, is rooted in the importance of wellness for Black women. See a clip from her film:

Bukunmi Ola, a mechanical engineering student, created a workshop that builds confidence, sparks curiosity, and encourages students to envision a future rooted in STEM, leadership, and higher education. One session with a group of fourth graders was called “Engineers Look Like Me,” where students transitioned their idea of what an engineer looked like to seeing themselves as engineers.

“As a Black woman in STEM, I know how powerful it is to see someone who looks like you succeeding in spaces where you may not always feel represented,” she said. “This is why this work is so important to me. I want young students to know that their dreams are possible, and they belong in STEM, higher education, and any career that they choose to pursue.”

Emi Gacaj, a sex educator, birth doula, biomedical scientist, and student saw a gap between where young people seek information and where evidence-based information is available. To answer this need, Emi developed a free digital library of printable, teen-centered health education resources called The Download. She thinks of the resource as a “peer in your pocket” to address common health education needs: What are the resources we need to enable young people to live happy and healthy lives? How can I make a better product for more people?

A high school senior, Amina Nor has a passion for business, and began developing an online platform for women overlooked by mainstream fashion. Her project is creating a modest fashion platform to help women source modest clothing from a variety of vendors through one site. In her year as an Innovator, Amina won third in a state pitch competition for her product idea, and she received a scholarship for a 10-week business program. She expanded her network with other entrepreneurs and small business owners, and she plans to pursue an MBA.

Lucero Idrovo-Cuesta is a pre-nursing student at St. Paul College and a licensed esthetician who developed new products for her small business, Luces Esthetics, including research, testing products, using feedback to improve formulas, and educating clients on skincare and healthy habits. Lucero’s goal is to empower women with knowledge and resources to make informed decisions about their skin health and to feel supported in their self-care journey.

Dana Chiueh is a poet and technologist who works in computational journalism. Her project is a collaborative poetry installation where visitors can share poetry and incorporate language from their community using small technologies. Visitors will enter the exhibit and use tablets to respond to poetic prompts like, “What is a memory that you want to bring into this space?” As they write, they’ll be prompted to consider suggested language from other visitors to the exhibit – words and phrases from your community you may have never considered. You’re invited to see Dana’s exhibition Counter-Algorithmic Poets at Resource (512 E. 24th St., Minneapolis) August 9-10, 2026.

Rashaunea Ambers-Winston set out to empower young Black girls in North Minneapolis by creating a Cheer for Success camp that combined cheer, mentorship, and leadership development to support youth growth and well-being. In planning her project, she saw “too many girls of color grow up without safe spaces that truly see them. They deserve places where they can build confidence, explore their creativity, move their bodies freely, and develop leadership skills.” She engaged with community members, identified the needs of local youth, and gained valuable experience transforming an idea into a community-driven solution.

”Young Black girls deserve more safe spaces to just grow and be you,” she said. Following her presentation to the group, Rashaunea reflected on her own journey through an original poem.

Innovators Build Confidence Through the Process

Development towards a final project is almost never a straight line. Throughout their presentations, Innovators shared how their journeys included real life struggles, valuable development, competing pressures, challenges, and ultimately growth. Bukunmi credited Naomi Arroyo with her project’s success: “Every conversation with her left me feeling more confident and capable. The support she gave me is the same support I hope to give to the students I work with.”

“Being an Innovator to me means to create the change you want to see within your community. It means to listen to the input of those around you to create a solution that benefits everybody. And it means to use your skills, resources, and network to contribute to a better world,” said Amina Nor.

Janett Jimenez, WFM’s Dr. Reatha Clark King Fellow and YWI Program Manager, has supported the Innovator and Cabinet cohorts for three years. “The world needs the WFM Innovators,” she says. “Their unique perspectives, imagination, and commitment to making a difference are inspiring. The Women’s Foundation is committed to building the power of young leaders who are already changing the world for the better—with creativity, innovation, and energy.”

Since the Innovators began as a Young Women’s Initiative program in 2019, 148 grants totaling to $422,000 have invested in 128 young women and gender-expansive youth. After their cohort concludes, Innovators go on to do amazing things as entrepreneurs, educators, and community leaders. Innovators like Hilal Ibrahim build their own businesses, they run for office on city councils – and win! – like Cheniqua Johnon, Nelsie Yang, and Aurin Chowdhury, and Nadia Mohamed became the first Somali American mayor in the United States.

We look forward to sharing the eighth cohort of Innovators with you soon – including two who are returning for their second year with the program.