Now that we’ve identified our 12 new OZY Genius Award winners for 2023, we’d like for you to get acquainted. The members of this year’s cohort were chosen for the originality, strength and potential of their projects, many of which are already underway. Over the next year, OZY will partner with each of these young leaders to help them bring to fruition, or further develop, their genius projects.

New Breed was a mere idea in 2017, a journaled thought in 2018, and a courageous launch in 2021. Now in 2022, I have the honor to elevate and execute my idea even further as an OZY Genius through funding and mentorship. Winning this award goes beyond a personal achievement. This is an open door to the promising future of Sierra Leone, West Africa, and all her people who dare to dream out loud.

“It takes drive, passion and perseverance to tackle these critical challenges," said Beverly Watson, OZY's Managing Editor.  "We believe in surrounding our OZY Geniuses with all the elements to promote their success, including active mentorship and fostering a vibrant community of other geniuses.” Over the course of the year, the 2023 cohort of OZY Geniuses will engage in community building, and personalized mentorship:

—December 2022: Our 12 geniuses — from ten universities in eight states — came together for a virtual meet and greet to begin establishing a community of like-minded young people as a foundational support in their yearlong journey.

—May 2023: Each OZY winner will be paired with a personal mentor chosen specifically to provide tailored and targeted support for each project. Mentors will work closely with each OGA recipient, as well as provide professional connections and networking.

—June to September 2023: Our geniuses will spend four months developing their projects, accompanied by their OZY community and individual mentors.

—Fall 2023: Recipients will present their work in a project showcase and describe what they learned and discovered in the process.

I created my organization, Project FRESH, back in 2015 as a labor of love for my home in Miami ... With the help of my newly acquired relationship with the team at the OZY Genius Awards, I can continue to equitably innovate access to education and funds across the U.S.

Optimizing Energy for a Sustainable World –Tyler seeks to alleviate climate change and encourage sustainability with his quantum operating system for energy management, designed to assist global efforts in meeting our growing energy demands and optimizing energy production and consumption.

Empowering Young People as Agents of Change –With her organization New Breed and her specially designed app, Darlingtina will empower the young people of Sierra Leone to become active change agents through community service and social engagement, and help young entrepreneurs harness new technologies to encourage entrepreneurship.

Paving the Way for Minorities in Health Care Professions – Morgan’s Daniel Williams Exposure to Health Care Program hopes to provide low-income students the opportunity to learn about the importance of diversity in medicine and take their proper place as leaders in U.S. health care.

Taking On the Youth Mental Health Crisis –With the involvement of scientists and health care professionals, Avery hopes to develop new diagnostic questionnaires to improve assessment validity, thus reducing incorrect diagnoses and limiting the consumption of unnecessary drugs.

Helping Disadvantaged Students Finance an Education –Youssef’s Your Success Scholarship program hopes to “change the face of access” by building a student-led higher education advocacy platform designed to assist low-income, first-generation students of color in reaching their educational dreams.

Leveling the Technological Playing Field – Avi’s nonprofit Avi I.T. Inc. provides people of all backgrounds and experiences the opportunity to gain computer science skills in order to help close the diversity gap in the computer science field and alleviate the digital divide.

Closing the Achievement Gap Through College Funding – Through her preventive and play-based platforms Project FRESH and Project FRESH+, Kenya assists kids with college funding to help close the achievement gap experienced by millions of racial minorities and stop the school-prison nexus. minorities and stop the school-prison nexus.

Advancing Technology for Better Access to Learning –Mubarak’s management platform is designed to give Nigerian schools a mobile infrastructure for SMS integration to make learning more accessible and engaging, and avoid disruptions in the learning process due to unreliable internet access.

Designing VR Software to Expand Access to Arts and Culture – Through her innovative virtual reality software, Aleah hopes to immerse underserved students in “an interactive virtual art museum” to expose them to art, culture and history in a safe and encouraging space.

Creating VR Software to Overcome Performance Stress –Myron aims to lower entry barriers to music performance by designing research-based performance anxiety-management techniques to help young musicians overcome the many stressors of performance and reach their full artistic potential.

Designing a Multilingual Chatbot to Broaden Access to Crucial Information on Reproductive Health –Nicte’s All Voices conversational chatbot integrates voice recognition to give people speaking various African languages, particularly in Amharic, who can’t yet read or write in their local language, crucial access to information, so they can make the best decisions for their reproductive health.

Encouraging Self-Expression and Well-Being Through Film –Through his short film Numb, David Anthony hopes to encourage access to mental health resources to help people express their true selves in all their vulnerability and emotion and bring people together who have shared conflict.

Over the coming year, we’ll be sharing updates on the momentum of our OZY Geniuses, their journeys and their discoveries. Please stay tuned — and drop us a line if you have questions, suggestions or collaboration ideas.

*OZY Genius Award winner and an AT&T Dream in Black honoree (from an HBCU)

What projects or themes among this year’s OGA winners most excite you and why?