Meet our new class of Obama Foundation Leaders!

 


Meet the new class of Obama Foundation Leaders! Representing 70 nations and territories, the 205 changemakers in our Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and United States cohorts share a common drive to confront our world’s toughest challenges.

Over the next year, while taking part in the Foundation’s signature Hope to Action curriculum, Leaders will learn from new perspectives and harness their collective power to achieve even more than they ever could on their own.

Take a moment to celebrate our Leaders by learning more about them here!

Welcome 2025 Leaders

As President Obama put it, “Each year, I am struck by the passion, creativity, and determination these young people bring to the table. My hope is that through this program, they’ll build lasting connections, learn from one another, and continue driving the kind of change that shapes a more just, sustainable, and hopeful future.”

Get to know the newest Leaders and stay tuned for more in-depth profiles highlighting their work both during their Leaders program and in the future as they become a part of the Obama Leadership Network


Trending Political Issues.

CONSTITUTION OF the Black Independent Party (BIP)

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OUR PARTY PLATFORM: We believe everyone should be free, no matter race, color, creed, sex, gender and All Civilians should r eceive rights and respect in all phases of America and the World. "Victory at Home, Victory Overseas, Victory for All". CONSTITUTION OF THE Black Independent Party (BIP): All persons held as slaves mental and/or physical within any country or designated part of a country are free; Not held down or restricted from thinking and acting with the Free Will The Lord Almighty Blessed us with from birth; and the Executive Government of Black Independent Party (BIP), including the military and naval authority granted by the United States, will recognize and maintain the freedoms of the Constitution of The United States of America, and will not act or represent acts to repress the United States and/or Global Countries, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence,...
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Katie: We did it

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We did it, friend! Over the past nine months, we worked together to build our grassroots campaign from the ground up. Our volunteers pounded the pavement to talk to voters, our staff put in long hours and late nights, and we fought for every last vote. Our grassroots donors chipped in $5 here and $10 there to make sure we had the resources to compete. And your hard work paid off, big time. I'm proud to be Pennsylvania's Democratic nominee to take on -- and beat -- Pat Toomey this November. Pennsylvanians deserve a champion who will fight on behalf of families to make college more affordable, to raise the minimum wage, and to make sure that all Americans have access to affordable health care. Friend, we've got a long, hard road ahead -- but our victory today proves that this grassroots team has what it takes to pull together and win. I'll be calling on you for your support soon enough. But right now, I just want to say thank you. I mean it when I say I couldn't ...
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Michael: March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice on April 29

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Robert l., The March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice on April 29 is an opportunity for us to show solidarity with each other in the fight for a clean environment and fair economy.  Too often, those seeking to block our progress try to pit jobs against safe workplaces and a clean environment.  We know that’s a false choice.  We know we can have economic prosperity, environmental justice and equity for all people if we take the right actions now to address climate change, reduce income inequality, fight for racial justice, and safeguard the rights of all people. We’re going to the March for Climate, Jobs and Justice to show our support for taking action on climate and creating and sustaining good jobs by doing so.  Join us at the March for Climate, Jobs and Justice.  Union members, environmentalists, people of faith and community leaders will be there to show the solidarity that exists between all of us to have both a strong, fair ...
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Al: won't be easy

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Dear Robert, What if there was a magic button that could overturn  Citizens United , get the word “SuperPAC” out of our national vocabulary, and drive shady money out of our political system forever? Wouldn’t you push the heck out of that button? Me, too. But there’s no such button. All we can do is fight as hard as we can to limit the influence of big money -- and one important step we can take is passing the DISCLOSE Act, a bill that would force special interest groups to tell us who’s funding their political activities. There’s no button we can push to make the DISCLOSE Act law. But there is a link you can click:  Click here to join us in calling on Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act now! In the end, what we really need is a constitutional amendment to overturn  Citizens United  once and for all. But that’s an uphill battle. And the DISCLOSE Act would be an important first step up that hill. Requiring that special interest groups reveal where they get thei...
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Chuck: help us amplify Sheldon's 100th call for action

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Robert, How many times have you stood up for a single issue you believed in? Would you tell your colleagues about it 10, 20, or even 50 times? Would you make it the one of the central causes of your life's work? Well --  Senator Sheldon Whitehouse just gave his 100th speech on climate change on the floor of the Senate. In recognition of Sheldon's accomplishment, I'm joining with my colleagues, Senators Barbara Boxer, Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Al Franken, and Tammy Baldwin, as well as leading environmental groups, to commend Sheldon and recognize his remarkable dedication to our future and our environment -- but also to call for real, meaningful Senate action on climate change on the occasion of his 100th speech. Join me, my Senate colleagues, and a coalition of environmental groups as we stand with Sheldon today and join his call for the Senate to wake up to climate change and take swift action to curb carbon pollution now. I've watched Sheldon...
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The Revolution of Reason is on. Nothing will stop us.

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Friend -- February was the best month ever for our campaign—we received donations from 34,025 different people for a total of $570,954.82!  The average donation was $16.78.  That’s incredible.  THANK YOU for making it happen.  We raised as much as many other major candidates for the month.   Aside from the raw numbers, which are staggering, here’s another reason I am excited.  I received this message hundreds of times via social media:  “You are the first political candidate I have ever donated to.”   This message is important.  It’s become a constant drumbeat.  And it means that we are poised to do great things. I had a meeting last week with a social psychology professor named Jonathan Haidt.  He wrote a book called  The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion .  He also worked on a report called Hidden Tribes that came out recently. ...
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Rand: I have returned unspent money

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Dear Patriot, Our country is running a deficit, a very serious deficit. We are fiscally broke and there is no end in sight to curb the limitless spending in Washington. I am outraged by the waste that pollutes our government. It makes my blood boil to see money that should be spent defending our country instead being wasted. And that's why I need your help to make sure I am reelected to continute my fight against this fiscal insanity . I have argued for years that we must not borrow money from China to give to Pakistan. Just this month I led the fight on the Senate floor to stop the United States from spending 300 million dollars of your taxpayer money to fund F16 fighter planes, which were being subsidized for Pakistan. Why are we funding planes for Pakistan when our own nation is starving for so many improvements? Make no mistake, Patriot, egregious government waste exists at every spending level. Recently, I discovered that the U.S. State Department is spending $...
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Al: Senator Whitehouse is making his voice heard.

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“The Rhode Island Democrat gave his 100th ‘Time to Wake Up’ speech Monday.” -  AP , 5/18/15 Dear robert, Despite scientific evidence, there are quite a few members in the U.S. Senate who deny climate change is even happening, let alone that it’s a problem. How do we wake these deniers up to the need for action to combat climate change? I’ve considered pouring a five-gallon bucket filled with cold water over their heads. But on further consideration, that seems both impractical and unwise. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a much better idea. He’s given a “Time to Wake Up” speech about climate change on the Senate floor nearly every week.  He gave his 100th speech on Monday. We’re going to take this opportunity to let Senator Whitehouse know we’re fighting with him. Add your name to mine today. Scientists widely agree climate change is happening. And there are plenty of things we can do -- like instituting a renewable energy standard -- to reduce carbon emissions and slow t...
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government is not some distant concept,

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Hi there, There's an often unspoken belief behind everything we do here at the Foundation. It's the idea that change starts within each one of us—that the actions of every single individual can make a powerful difference. We recently received an email from one of our community members that perfectly illustrated that belief.  When I read it, I knew I wanted to share it with you. Mary Stonor Saunders is a member of the Obama Foundation community based right here in Chicago. As the executive director of Strides for Peace, an organization that works to end gun violence, her track record of creating positive change in her community speaks for itself. We were honored to have her attend the 2018 Obama Foundation Summit—and grateful to receive the email below. It's people like you who make this work possible. Thank you for your support and for being a part of this community. Sincerely, David David Simas CEO, The Obama Foundation PS — If you are looking for an easy way to make...
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