“This year’s young heroes are caring for other people and protecting our environment with such courage, compassion, and commitment,” says T. A. Barron. “They remind us of the power we each hold to make a difference – and they offer us great hope.”
Since 2001, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes has honored 650 young heroes from across the U.S. and Canada. These young leaders represent diverse backgrounds while sharing heroic character qualities such as integrity, ingenuity, and perseverance. This year’s winners are combatting climate change, educating underserved kids, developing medical technologies, and much more. They are:
Alexander Du, age 17, of Pennsylvania, who invented IRIS (Intelligent Responsive Imaging System), a low-cost wearable AI navigation assistant for the blind and visually impaired. His $170 system is built into discreet, lightweight glasses that act as a virtual guide dog, steering users around obstacles and relaying cues through physical vibrations.
Ameya Kharade, age 17, of New Hampshire, who invented HALO-Vox, a brain-reading system that translates brain activity into speech as fast as million-dollar surgical implants — for $1,800, and without surgery. He developed his brain-computer interface for the nearly five million people living with severe stroke, ALS, and locked-in syndrome who have lost the ability to speak.
Apollin Lu, age 17, of British Columbia, who founded Food Recovery Alliance to rescue surplus produce from local farms and redistribute it to shelters and community organizations. Over the past three years, she has mobilized more than 140 youth volunteers to harvest nearly 9,000 pounds of locally grown crops from twelve partner farms across Greater Victoria and Vancouver.
Caymus Maxson, age 16, of California, who created Trash Turtles to fight plastic pollution, promote sustainable living, and turn environmental awareness into action. Since 2020, her nonprofit has hosted over 50 beach cleanups, collected over six tons of trash, and recycled 52,000 cigarette butts. Her signature initiative, #LeaveWith3, challenges everyone to pick up three extra pieces of trash wherever they go.
Emily Herra, age 17, of New York, who co-founded Veggie Nuggets, a climate activism group in Jackson Heights and greater Queens that empowers youth voices and strengthens environmental stewardship in her neighborhood and across New York City. Emily and her team organize park cleanups, create pollinator-friendly gardens, lead environmental workshops, and advocate for sustainable practices.
Everett Leigh, age 16, of California, who founded EverEverest, a nonprofit that supports foster children through educational programming, mentorship, and needed supplies. One of the country’s top young concert pianists, he has organized more than 50 benefit concerts to raise $70,000 to support foster youth. He has helped raise an additional $2 million for Foster Love, the nation’s largest nonprofit supporting foster children, as the lead performer at the group’s annual fundraising gala.
Isaac Nelson, age 13, of Florida, who is restoring the coastal ecosystem surrounding the historic Jupiter Lighthouse in Florida. After years of heavy boat traffic and shoreline erosion, the area’s native mangroves and living shoreline habitat had to be removed and replaced with a retaining wall. Isaac resolved to help rebuild the natural systems.
Kaitlyn Tran, age 17, of Texas, who founded Rain Barrels for Runoff to create upcycled, hand-painted rain barrels to reduce stormwater runoff in the Texas Hill Country, where sloping terrain concentrates contaminants into local waters. Her group has sold the barrels to residents, raising over $2,500 for local environmental programs and preventing 45,000 gallons of runoff.
Katelyn Liu, age 17, of California, who founded WOW! That’s STEM to provide free hands-on science to underserved students who lack access to quality science programming. She has built partnerships with 48 community organizations to provide STEM workshopsat YMCAs, libraries, Title 1 elementary classrooms, and other youth organizations.
Lidia Rak, age 18, of Florida, who has combined scientific research with public policy advocacy to improve outcomes for children facing cancer. She conducted an independent environmental epidemiology study examining the relationship between naturally occurring radium in drinking water and pediatric brain tumor incidence in Florida. She has used her research to advocate for increased pediatric cancer research funding.
Lucas Rojas, age 16, of Florida, who created LINKball: Kickball for ALL, an inclusive kickball league that allows the special needs community to experience the joy of playing sports. During fall and spring seasons, his free league brings together 48 individuals with special needs and approximately 60 teen volunteers to play side-by-side on inclusive teams that are designed to be educational.
Natalie Flaherty, age 12, of Minnesota, who founded I Stand with Anne, a global initiative that aims to transform Holocaust remembrance into daily action. She created bracelets that read “I stand with Anne, put a stop to hate,” a token of Anne Frank’s courage and compassion that people can wear every day. She has distributed over 100,000 across the U.S. and in more than 50 countries. Natalie also collaborates with museums, educators, and bipartisan leaders to support Holocaust education.
Nathan Tan, age 17, of Texas, who founded Shared Skies Initiative, a nonprofit addressing environmental injustice in Dallas, where low-income and minority families are disproportionately burdened with air pollution, and neighborhoods most at risk are lacking local air quality data. He built a machine-learning model that accurately predicts particulate matter and has created bilingual booklets and a youth ambassador program to educate families about protecting their health.
Sophie Kim, age 18, of California, who founded The Clean & Green Initiative (TCAGI) as an online community for young people struggling with eco-anxiety during the Covid pandemic. Her nonprofit now includes more than 700 members and works to convert climate anxiety into local action. Sophie also founded the Bipartisan Bridges program to bring high school students together for structured debates on social issues.
Srihith Chennareddy age 16, of Washington, who created MConAI, a low-cost, multilingual AI system for early Alzheimer’s screening. His system analyzes speech transcripts to identify subtle cognitive-linguistic biomarkers and classifies individuals as cognitively healthy, mildly impaired, or developing Alzheimer’s. MConAI achieved 87% accuracy in English and 83% across other languages – results that are consistent with the accuracy of expensive clinical methods such as MRIs.
The Barron Prize annual application deadline is March 15th, and winners are announced each September. For more information visit www.barronprize.org
About the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes The Barron Prize is a national award that annually honors 25 inspiring young heroes who are making a difference to people and the environment. Through the years, the Prize has earned the support of Girl Scouts of the USA, The Wilderness Society, Youth Service America, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, among other organizations. For information about the Barron Prize, visit www.barronprize.org
About T. A. Barron T. A. Barron grew up in Colorado ranch country and traveled widely as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the winner of the de Grummond Medallion for “lifetime contribution to the field of children’s and young adult literature.” His highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling books include The Lost Years of Merlin (now being developed into a film), The Great Tree of Avalon (a New York Times bestseller), The Ancient One, and The Hero’s Trail, which profiles heroic young people from diverse backgrounds and inspires young people to think of how they can make a positive difference in the world. He loves to write and hike in Colorado. For more information visit www.TABarron.com
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