Ten Outstanding Young Americans
​Every day across our country, young ambitious individuals are creating positive change and making an impact locally, nationally, or globally. A time-honored tradition, JCI USA has been celebrating the action being taken by young people—aged 18 to 40—in the United States with our Ten Outstanding Young Americans program since 1934.
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Past winners have been selected from a wide range of fields including business, economics, entrepreneurship, political, legal, and government affairs, academia, cultural advancement, moral and environmental leadership, stewards of children and peace, humanitarians and volunteer leaders, the scientific and technological communities, and medicine.
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2025 Nominations Opening Soon!​​​​
Get To Know the 2024 TOYA Honorees
Megan Boudreaux Anderson • Erin Burneson • Jacob Dickey • Xeana Kamalani Dung
Jen Hamilton • Landria Johnson • Sharanique Lawrence • Whitney Sanger
J.J. Watt • Noni Williams​
Click a photo below to learn more
 Megan Boudreaux Anderson38 // Founder/Director, Respire Haiti // Lafayette, LA CONTRIBUTION TO CHILDREN, WORLD PEACE, AND/OR HUMAN RIGHTS |  Erin Burneson33 // Director / Humanitarian, Studio Rachana Litchfield, IL HUMANITARIAN / VOLUNTARY LEADERSHIP |  Jacob Dickey31 // Meteorologist, WCIA // Urbana, IL PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT AND/OR ACCOMPLISHMENT |
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 Xeana Kamalani Dung27 // Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Hawaii’s First Professional Softball Pitcher // Waipahu, HI CONTRIBUTION TO CHILDREN, WORLD PEACE, AND/OR HUMAN RIGHTS |  Jen Hamilton34 // RN, BSN, CEN, RNC-OB, Social Media Content Creator // Asheboro, NC HUMANITARIAN AND/OR VOLUNTARY LEADERSHIP |  Landria Johnson32 // Owner/Founder of The Sassy Olive // Allegan, MI BUSINESS, ECONOMIC, AND/OR ENTREPRENEURIAL ACCOMPLISHMENT |
 Sharanique Lawrence26 // Senior Airman // Whiteman AFB, MO MEDICAL INNOVATION |  Whitney Sanger34 // Community Advocate // Dubuque, IA HUMANITARIAN AND/OR VOLUNTARY LEADERSHIP |  J.J. Watt35 // NFL Player and President/Founder of the Justin J. Watt Foundation // Pewaukee, WI HUMANITARIAN AND/OR VOLUNTARY LEADERSHIP |
 Noni Williams31 // Senior Cloud Data Engineer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska // Omaha, NE ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP AND/OR ACCOMPLISHMENT |
TOYA Recipient, 1949
"The ultimate test of leadership is not the polls you take, but the risks you take. In the short run, some risks prove overwhelming... courage can be self-defeating. But the greatest defeat of all would be to live without courage, for that would hardly be living at all."
-Gerald Ford, 40th President of the United States
Sponsorship Opportunities
Nominations
Be a part of history by sponsoring the Ten Outstanding Young Americans program through one of the various sponsorship levels.
Nominate an outstanding young individual (18-40 years of age) in your area who is creating positive change and making our world a better place. Recipients will be honored at the 87th annual TOYA Gala on Saturday, September 27, 2025 in at the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina.