A’Dorian Murray-Thomas

A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, at 23, was the youngest person ever elected to the Newark Board of Education. She is the Founder and CEO of SHE Wins, a leadership and social action organization for middle and high school girls in Newark, with a focus on girls affected by violence. At an early age, A’Dorian lost her father after he was fatally shot. She created SHE Wins to empower young women like herself who have experienced the tragedy of violence by implementing a system of support that encourages community leadership and college and career readiness. Since its founding, the SHE Wins organization has helped more than 200 girls between the ages of 10 and 15 through summer, after-school, workshop, and conference programming. The She Wins curriculum combines social justice, mentorship, and leadership development programming to provide young girls with the skills to advance themselves academically, but also the tools to discover solutions to the issues that affect their communities. She was recognized as White House Champion of Change by President Obama, a College Woman of the Year by Glamour Magazine, a Young Futurist by The Root Magazine, and was featured in the Black Girl Magic docuseries by ESSENCE Magazine.