30 on the rise: talented young adults find success and fulfillment in uplifting their communities

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SOME MAY THINK THAT YOUTH, experience and leadership do not necessarily come in the same package. But EBONY's 2008 Young Leaders of the Future are examples of young people with vision and experience. While some featured here have political connections--as elected officials themselves or as up-and-coming leaders in the field--others are scholars, engineers, medical professionals, ministers, and educators. Still others are making their mark in Wall Street's financial business and as entrepreneurs elsewhere.

To find exceptional men and women age 30 and younger that are making a difference in their communities, EBONY canvassed the country and asked established leaders to make recommendations. We also considered readers' suggestions.

While EBONY's young leaders are excelling in their careers, they also are making an effort to uplift their communities as mentors, motivational speakers, business professionals and board members of community organizations.

We present EBONY's 2008 Young Leaders of the Future. People of any age can be inspired by their examples of service.

LEAD SHOT: (left to right)

[1] Jaylaan Llewellyn, 29, New York, founder and president, bluhammock music, an alternative-music label that is distributed by MRI/ Sony RED distribution. Llewellyn also is board member of Peace Games and Black Girls Rock! Inc. An equestrian since she was age 5, she currently competes in adult professional hunters and jumpers events.

[2] Robert Reffkin, 28, New York City, vice present, Principal Investment Area, Goldman Sachs, is former associate in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group for Lazard Freres. Reffkin founded Lazard's Sponsors for Educational Opportunity professional internship program for underrepresented minorities and the firm's first comprehensive investment banking tax training program. While in high school, he founded Rude Boy Productions (disc jockey company) and Care Packages for the Homeless. He now serves as a board member of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Summer Search Foundation. As a 2005-2006 White House Fellow, Reffkin worked as senior adviser to the secretary of the Treasury and he has run 50 marathons in different states to raise $1 million for youth education and enrichment programs.

[3] Terrance L. Bankston, 25, Newark, N.J., is director of constituent services in the mayor's office, where he advocates for numerous environmental and social issues. He also is community coordinator for Tri-City Peoples Corporation and is recipient of the 2007 Exceptional People Impacting Communities Award from the Institute for Nursing. In addition, Grace Reform Baptist Church presented him with its Rising Star Award and he received the 2006 Links for Life Community Support Award. Bankston was a 2007 Principal for a Day for Newark Public Schools.

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[4] Eddie L. Armstrong III, 29, of North Little Rock, Ark., is a partner with Armstrong & Davis Consulting and was featured in Denzel Washington's book about leadership and mentoring, A Hand to Guide Me. He serves as a board member of the Washington Regional Hospital Foundation and the Arkansas Governor's Mansion Association. Armstrong established a scholarship foundation to assist students from single-parent households at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas, and is recipient of the 2007 President's Volunteer Service Award.

[5] Ninon Marapachi, 30, New York, is director of structured and alternative solutions for Merrill Lynch Financial Products. She also is co-founder and board member of the Lyons Network, which is dedicated to advancing opportunities for women, and a member of the advisory board of Womensphere, a global media company "designed to inspire and connect women who are leading, creating, innovating and making a difference around the world." A recipient of the 2007 Women's Bond Club Rising Star Award, Marapachi is a mentor through Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Career Program and Merrill Lynch's Women Exchange Program.

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[6] Kafui Dzirasa, Ph.D., 29, Durham, N.C., is a fourth-year medical student and postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center. He is recipient of the Somjen Award for Outstanding Dissertation Thesis; Ruth K. Broad Biomedical Fellowship; UNCF-Merck Graduate Science Research Fellowship; and Wakeman Fellowship. At the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, he was a Meyerhoff scholar, conference champion in long jump, an Academic All-American and student body president. Active in the Student National Medical Association, he has served as board member, chapter president and National Internal Affairs Committee chairman.

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[7] Dedra A. Mitchell, 29, Tallahassee, Ra., a pharmaceutical sales representative for Eli Lilly and Co., is a co-founder and former vice president of the Baker-Brickler Society, a pharmaceutical sales representative association. Also a Realtor, Mitchell has purchased and rehabilitated several properties. She is a founder of the Coleman Memorial Library Fundraising Showcase for her alma mater, Florida A&M University, and a member of Tallahasee's Minority Business Enterprise Advisory Committee.