WAYMAKER TOP 50
Leaders whose everyday service, courage, and compassion strengthen neighborhoods, protect dignity, and build real change from the ground up.
Cleaning with Compassion
Davina Furbert’s journey started when she helped a neighbor get ready for a challenging city inspection. She recognized that behind the clutter were people facing mental health struggles, housing insecurity, and the stress of living in overwhelming conditions. Drawing on her background in psychology and her own experiences in New York City’s shelter system and public housing, Furbert founded Compassionate Cleaning LLC. Her goal was to offer cleaning and decluttering services that prioritize dignity, empathy, and meaningful support.
Since 2018, Furbert has worked out of Queens to transform more than 100 homes. Her work goes beyond cleaning, working to reduce stress, support stability, and help restore a sense of self-worth for her clients. She focuses on each person’s needs and circumstances, rather than just addressing the visible mess. Many of the people her team assists are managing executive function challenges, depression, or difficult life events that make it hard to keep up with their homes. By approaching each situation without judgment, Furbert has built trust and helped reduce the stigma around asking for help.
The effects of Furbert’s work reach beyond just having a clean home. For some families, an organized space can help prevent separation, ease anxiety, and build confidence. Her approach combines compassion with practical solutions, showing how emotional wellbeing and living environment are closely connected. Furbert also trains her team to meet clients where they are and encourages affordable, rental-friendly changes that support lasting stability and comfort.
Furbert shares her work on social media and in community settings, building a following that spreads empathy and awareness. Through Compassionate Cleaning, she demonstrates that service can be a step toward healing, and that everyone deserves a home that reflects dignity and care.
Leading the Fight for Equity
It’s hard to fully capture the scope of Derrick Johnson’s work and cultural impact.
As president of the NAACP—a position he has held since 2017—Johnson’s work is nonstop, defined by long days spent advocating for the Black community and all those affected by systemic oppression and racial injustice across healthcare, education, housing, the consumer industry, and beyond.
Long before assuming the NAACP’s top role, Johnson was committed to community empowerment. Following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, he founded One Voice, a Mississippi-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing civic engagement, leadership development, and voting rights advocacy.
As NAACP president, financial empowerment for Black Americans and closing the racial wealth gap rank are high on Johnson’s list of priorities. He has consistently put in the work by supporting Black entrepreneurs, hosting educational seminars, and advocating for policies that promote economic stability and generational wealth.
His efforts extend beyond economics, as he regularly holds corporate leaders and elected officials accountable for equitable practices and outcomes.
Johnson is also a prominent national voice, frequently appearing on major news networks to speak out against injustice, challenge harmful legislation, and ensure that Black communities remain central to the national conversation.
Johnson is on a mission to build the most comprehensive Black voter mobilization effort to date, using data-driven research, technology, and modern organizing strategies to transform how communities across the country are engaged, informed, and empowered—ensuring that Black voices are both heard and impossible to ignore.
Manhood Without Armor
Jason Wilson stands out as a leader redefining what it means to be a man, especially in terms of emotional health and leadership. As the founder of the Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy, Wilson has made it his mission to support boys and men—especially young Black men—who are often told to hide their feelings rather than understand them. Through his work as an author and speaker, he brings attention to the importance of emotional honesty and growth.
Wilson gained recognition through viral videos from his dojo, where he guides young boys through anger, frustration, and grief with patience and care. He pairs discipline with compassion, showing that true strength comes from recognizing emotions and choosing responsibility. These moments resonate because they reflect what communities need: men unafraid to express feelings and boys allowed to feel without shame.
At the Cave of Adullam, Wilson has mentored thousands of young men by combining martial arts, counseling, character development, and emotional education. The impact is clear: better grades, less violence, and stronger family and community connections.
Through his books, such as “Cry Like a Man” and “Battle Cry,” Wilson reaches a broader audience. He gives men the words and tools they need to face pain, take responsibility, and grow. His writing pushes back against narrow ideas of masculinity and offers real, practical steps for change.
Wilson’s steady commitment sets him apart. He works directly with boys and men to help them heal and grow, building a stronger future for families and communities, one relationship at a time.
Compassion in Motion
Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Romeo Bartley Jr. has dedicated himself to supporting people experiencing homelessness and those who are in need through direct, hands-on action. Traveling to cities across the country, Bartley provides meals, clothes, or financial support; offers genuine kindness; and demonstrates that meaningful change can come from individuals one action at a time. It is because of this he founded Become the Change Inc. Bartley believes that one small act can be the change someone needs.
Bartley’s efforts are straightforward but impactful. Rather than seeking attention, he focuses on steady, meaningful support that makes a difference in people’s daily lives. His approach is rooted in respect, listening, and responding authentically to the needs of others.
A former NYC League basketball player, Bartley has redirected the discipline and drive he learned on the court into philanthropy and purpose-driven entrepreneurship.
Bartley shares his work on social media to give a voice to the overlooked, raise awareness, and inspire others to act with empathy. By showing what one person can do, he invites the community and organizations to collaborate to make a difference. His example encourages others to take action in their own communities.
Through his ongoing efforts, the advocate shows that consistent compassion can create real change and lasting impact.
From the Booth
to the Public Square
Born Michael Santiago Render, Killer Mike has spent decades in the music industry as a beacon of social justice, often addressing issues such as police brutality, mass incarceration, systemic racism, and social inequality in his lyrics.
Beyond rap, Killer Mike has emerged as a powerful political voice. In 2014, he appeared on CNN to discuss the shooting of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, and the civil unrest that followed, calling for police accountability.
In 2015, he became a surrogate for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, traveling the country to speak at rallies and encourage Black people to vote—work that continued even after Sanders lost the 2016 primary.
His activism and outspokenness landed him his own Netflix series, “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike,” which premiered in 2019 and challenged viewers to think critically about race, power, and self-determination.
He continued this work on his 2020 track “Walking in the Snow,” featuring El-P and Gangsta Boo, in which Killer Mike directly referenced the killing of George Floyd.
In the verse, Killer Mike reflects on how Black boys experience their earliest sense of freedom in childhood, before systems of education, surveillance, punishment, and the news media start to shape outcomes mirroring poverty, incarceration, and state violence. He directly references George Floyd’s final words, “I can’t breathe,” noting how such moments are consumed on television, met with outrage online, and ultimately followed by little meaningful police accountability, reduced instead to social media rants and labels of tragedy.
Also in 2020, Killer Mike was honored with the first-ever Billboard Change Maker Award for his extensive work as a social justice advocate. The Grammy Award–winning rapper, actor, and business owner bridges the line between art and activism, proving that music, storytelling, and standing up for one’s beliefs can go hand in hand for the greater good.
Joy, Access, and
the Power of Books
For Mychal Threets, books have always been a source of comfort and hope. Growing up in Fairfield, California, he spent hours at the Solano County Library, first as a quiet child and later as a librarian giving back. His journey from shy kid to community leader shows his commitment to making libraries welcoming for all.
Threets’s genuine love for reading and his belief in the power of books to uplift others found a new stage on social media. Through heartfelt videos about books, self-confidence, and mental health, he has inspired millions, using his own story to encourage others to find joy and belonging in reading. His advocacy has not gone unnoticed, earning him honors such as TIME magazine’s Next Generation Leaders, a spot on TIME’s 100 Creators list, the American Library Association’s I Love My Librarian Award, and a Webby Award for social impact.
In 2025, Threets’s journey came full circle when PBS selected him as the new host of the rebooted “Reading Rainbow.” Decades after the original series first inspired generations of young readers, Threets now brings his inclusive spirit and passion for literacy to a new audience. As host, he continues the show’s legacy of making reading not only accessible, but also joyful and meaningful for children everywhere.
Beyond television and social media, Threets serves as PBS’s resident librarian, creating content that celebrates the joy of reading for children and families. Through outreach, storytelling, and community engagement, he champions libraries as vital spaces for learning, connection, and well-being. Every day, Threets demonstrates that books can open doors, foster community, and change lives for the better.