Meet The Advocates: 10 Groundbreakers Fighting For Fairness And Equity

The Advocates honors women who champion communities and causes. They use their positions to fight for fairness and equity.

Advocacy takes many forms on this list. It includes civil rights leadership and community investment, and it reaches into classrooms and hospitals.

We created this category because Her Agenda believes success should benefit more than the person who earns it. These ten women direct their influence toward other people. 

President and CEO, New York Urban League

Arva leads the New York Urban League and has spent more than 25 years in nonprofit leadership. Her work is rooted in direct action, from micro-lending for New York City entrepreneurs to training the next generation of leaders. She has also served as Interim Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board and as Co-Chair of the NYC City Council Recharter Commission.

Her commitment to entrepreneurship is personal. “I am the child of an entrepreneur,” she says. “I know the power of entrepreneurship and the transformational impact it can have in just one generation.” Arva’s leadership motto is just as direct: “If it were easy, it would be done already.”

Founder and CEO, Harlem’s Fashion Row and ICON360

Brandice grew up in Memphis, where she fell in love with fashion while shopping for fabric with her mother. She studied fashion merchandising and built experience in buying and production.

In 2007, she founded Harlem’s Fashion Row to connect multicultural designers with an industry that can be hard for them to enter. The organization produces fashion shows and events where those designers can present their work. Brandice later started ICON360, a nonprofit that provides funding and professional development to designers of color and emerging talent from HBCUs. She built the access the fashion business had not provided.

Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer, Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Deanna leads a $4 billion capital raise at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, one of the nation’s largest community development financial institutions. That money goes toward affordable housing and small business growth in 34 urban markets and more than 2,400 rural communities.

She came to this work from corporate finance, where she managed profit-and-loss responsibilities of up to $2.4 billion at companies including Stellantis and General Electric. Deanna also chairs the boards of the Fearless Fund and the National Black Empowerment Council. She says her work is rooted in the conviction that “where capital flows determines what becomes possible.”

“For me, social impact means galvanizing capital, challenging systems, and expanding opportunity so individuals and communities can build lasting wealth, shape their futures, and create generational change,” Deanna says.

Founder and Executive Director, LiberatED

Dena started her career as a middle school teacher and went on to become Assistant Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She founded LiberatED to center healing and justice in social and emotional learning, with a focus on the mental health of educators and students.

She has taken that message to the White House and the United Nations, and she has given a TED talk on Broadway. Dena holds a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her honors include a Truman Scholarship and a Fulbright Fellowship.

“At a time when the work I do is under attack,” she says, “receiving this honor is yet another reminder why I unapologetically do the work I do to advance justice, liberation, and collective healing.”

Founder, Dreamers & Doers

Gesche spent 12 years building Dreamers & Doers on a simple premise: when women champion each other’s stories, opportunities multiply. The bootstrapped community grew into a PR engine supporting 35,000 women, who made introductions for one another and helped each other get media coverage.

In 2026, one of the community’s own long-time members acquired the company, which may be the best evidence of what she built. Gesche’s honors include Forbes Next 1000, and she has spoken at the United Nations.

“This honor belongs to every one of them,” she says of the women in her community.

Vice Chair of National Board of Directors, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Karen is Vice Chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors and chairs Women in NAACP, which advances women’s leadership and health equity. She also chairs the NAACP Image Awards Committee and spent seven years as president of the organization’s Brooklyn Branch.

She built a parallel career in business. Over 22 years at Pfizer, Karen became the company’s first Chief Diversity Officer and later Vice President of Corporate Affairs for its $34 billion Innovative Medicines business. She now runs Encore Strategies and advises FGS Global.

“I think about the women who opened doors for me,” she says, “and the responsibility I have to do the same.”

President & CEO of the T.D. Jakes Foundation

Kelley leads the T.D. Jakes Foundation, where her focus is workforce readiness and economic mobility for communities with limited access to opportunity. She arrived with nearly four decades of executive experience, including a role as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Wells Fargo.

She keeps breaking ground herself. In 2025, Kelley became the first woman in Wiley University’s 152-year history to serve as Vice Chair of its Board of Trustees. She also hosts the podcast Life + Leadership UNPLUGGED. For her, leadership is about “creating pathways for others to succeed.”

CEO, American Heart Association

Nancy has led the American Heart Association since 2008. Under her leadership, it has become a global authority on cardiovascular and brain health, with a presence in more than 100 countries and $1.2 billion in annual revenue.

Her advocacy works at the point where science meets public policy. Nancy leads a community of 35 million volunteers, supporters, and staff, and she builds partnerships that push for equitable health for all. The Association also sets the standard for heart disease and stroke care in the United States, so her decisions reach patients and their families across the country.

Actor, producer and entrepreneur

Tatyana has worked in entertainment for about 40 years and is best known for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” A Harvard graduate, she continues to take on new challenges, with a recurring role on “Abbott Elementary” and a turn on “Dancing with the Stars” this season.

Her advocacy centers on mothers. Tatyana is an advocate for Black maternal health and has testified before Congress on the issue. She also founded Baby Yams, a quilted goods company that donates part of its proceeds to grants for Black and Indigenous midwives and doulas. She has turned a famous name into steady support for the people who care for mothers.

Businesswoman and Author, Cecred, Parkwood, BeyGOOD, WACO Theater

Ms. Tina grew up in Galveston, Texas, and opened her own hair salon, Headliners, before the world knew her name. She rose to international prominence as the stylist and costume designer for Destiny’s Child, where her designs helped define the group’s image. Her memoir, Matriarch, spent five consecutive weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

Her philanthropy runs alongside all of it. Ms. Tina co-founded WACO (Where Art Can Occur) to bring mentorship and creativity to young people, and she has supported BeyGOOD‘s work in education and disaster relief. Through initiatives such as Tina’s Angels and Warriors, she continues to support people facing hardship.

Click here to meet all 50 inaugural Groundbreakers and learn more about the December 1 Gala.