Forbes recently released its 30 Under 30 List, an annual celebration of young folks with good publicists accomplished people under 30 years of age across a wide range of industries. The list raises many important questions, such as is my short life already a failure? and why is it 30 under 30 when there are hundreds of names? and how come so many people named to this list end up behind bars?
But enough with those nettlesome thoughts. Maybe you’d just like to know who on the 2023 list has ties to the DC area. If so, we have you covered:
Megan Coyne (Media)
Megan Coyne is the director of platforms at the White House. Named the “Voice of New Jersey” by her hometown newspaper, Coyne maintains The White House’s social media. Coyne earned her rights to being a Washingtonian when she trolled Republicans from the White House Twitter account.
Tiana Symone Harris (Media)
Tiana Symone Harris is the Vice President of Strategy at Issa Rae’s media company, HOORAE Media. She has a background in digital media and production, working with the likes of BET, Netflix, and Lionsgate. She also attended Howard University.
Travis Lyles (Media)
Travis Lyles is the Deputy Social Director of the Washington Post. As the Post’s youngest-ever senior editor, Lyles has helped grow the publication’s social media following from thousands to millions. He is based in Arlington.
Erin Logan (Media)
A reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Erin Logan has helped diversify the newsroom by founding the L.A. Times Guild Black Caucus, a caucus within the union that represents black people in the newsroom. Since founding the caucus, the number of black staff at the paper has doubled. Logan has a degree from American University and is based in DC.
Anfernee Robinson (Media)
Anfernee Robinson designed AKAI, a manga book with diverse characters, that held the number one most read book title on Amazon for three months. Today, Robinson, who is based in DC, owns AnimeBae studios which designs anime featuring people of color.
Shenarri Freeman (Food and Drink)
Before finding her footing as a Vogue-approved chef, Shenarri Freeman grew up in Richmond, Virginia and attended Howard University. She now cooks vegan soul food for New York restaurant, Cadence.
Téa Ivanovic (Food and Drink)
Téa Ivanovic has several accolades that earned her a spot on the 30 Under 30 food and drink list. She left her hometown in Belgium to play tennis at Texas Tech. Then, she was the youngest in her master’s class at John Hopkins University. Now, she’s the co-founder and CEO of Immigrant Food Group, a fast casual restaurant inspired by immigrants in DC.
Vincent Lopez (Healthcare)
DC resident Vincent Lopez founded biotech company Parker Health. Lopez also created ParkerSuite, a cloud platform for healthcare providers. He grew up in Arlington.
Tré Seals (Art & Style)
PG County native Tré Seals is the founder of Vocal Type, a font foundry and design studio that curates fonts with historical references and minority experiences in mind. Seals has designed for some pretty big names, including Spike Lee and Apple.
Chelsey Antony (Sports)
Chelsea Antony works as Corporate Counsel for Business and Legal Affairs at the DC-based NFL Players Association, providing legal support and business advice for 2,000 players in the league.
Leonardo Arango (Venture Capital)
An investor and principal at One Way Ventures, Leonardo Arango is from Arlington by way of Columbia. His work is centered around uplifting immigrant businesspeople in technology.
Analynn Dang (Games)
Analynn Dang is the former general manager of the Washington Justice, DC’s official gaming team in the Overwatch League. Dang now manages brand partnerships and philanthropy for the top female Twitch streamer, Pokimane, and is also the general manager of the gold-winning USA Overwatch World Cup team.
Daniel Luu (Games)
Daniel Luu is the mastermind behind Akrew, a trading platform for gaming titles like “Roblox,” “Animal Crossing,” and “Pokemon.” Luu studied Biomedical and Bioengineering at the University of Maryland and worked as an engineer around the DMV area before founding Akrew, which has also expanded into esports.
Aidan Kohn-Murphy (Social Media)
Aidan Kohn-Murphy is a 19-year-old Harvard University student behind Gen-Z For Change, a nonprofit organization that uses social media as a tool for social action. With almost 80,000 followers, the nonprofit has placed itself at the forefront of progressive change, helping Gen-Z navigate everything from midterm elections to abortion laws. Kohn-Murphy was born and raised in DC.
Kiera O’Brien (Energy)
TotalEnergies Public Policy Representative Kiera O’Brien was working on energy policy in the Senate and advocating for climate solutions through nonprofit organizations before she went to TotalEnergies to work on federal offshore wind and solar policy. Since joining the team, she’s helped the company secure hundred million-dollar offshore wind leases, which control wind farms used to create electricity.
John Lee (Energy)
John Lee is the Legislative Director for Congresswoman Nikki Budzinsk of Illinois. A seasoned Hill worker, Lee is the former senior policy advisor for Congressman Sean Casten of Illinois and worked on the climate crisis and energy.
