Augustana College is a private Lutheran college in Rock Island, Illinois. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Its campus is adjacent to the Mississippi River and covers 115 acres (46.5 ha) of hilly, wooded land.
CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute is a television special created by CNN to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and make a difference in their communities. The program was started in 2007. Since 2016, the program was hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa. Honorees are introduced during the fall of each year and the audience is encouraged to vote online for the CNN Hero of the Year. Ten recipients are honored and each receive US$10,000. The top recipient is chosen as the CNN Hero of the Year and receives an additional US$100,000 to continue their work. During the broadcast celebrating their achievements, the honorees are introduced by celebrities who actively support their charity work. To celebrate the 10th anniversary, the 2016 edition had an additional segment where five previous Hero of the Year winners were chosen as candidates for the Superhero of the Year award, which was decided with an online poll.
Sama, formerly known as Samasource is a training-data company, focusing on annotating data for artificial intelligence algorithms. The company offers image, video and sensor data annotation and validation for machine learning algorithms in industries including automotive, navigation, augmented reality, virtual reality, biotechnology, agriculture, manufacturing, and e-commerce. Sama's mission is to expand opportunity for low-income individuals through the digital economy. One of the first organizations to engage in impact sourcing, Sama trains workers in basic computer skills and pays a local living wage for their labor.
Evans Wadongo is a Kenyan engineer, the co-founder of GreenWize Energy Ltd, the executive director and founder of SDFA-Kenya, and one of CNN's top ten heroes of 2010. He is a graduate in electronic and computer engineering from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya.
Leila Janah was an American businesswoman. She was the founder and CEO of Sama and LXMI. Sama's 11,000 employees have worked under contracts with companies including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Walmart, Getty Images, Glassdoor and Vulcan Capital.
Regina Honu, is a Ghanaian social Entrepreneur, software developer and founder of Soronko Solutions, a software development company in Ghana. She opened Soronko Academy, the first coding and Human-centered design school for children and young adults in West Africa. Honu has received multiple awards, including being named by CNN as one of the 12 inspirational women who rock STEM. She was also named as one of the six women making an impact in Tech in Africa and one of the ten female entrepreneurs to watch in emerging economies.
Rachel Sibande is a Malawian computer scientist and social entrepreneur. She is the Founder of mHub, a technology hub and incubator for innovators and emerging entrepreneurs.
Clarisse Iribagiza is a computer scientist in Rwanda. She is the CEO and co-founder of the mobile technology company HeHe Limited and she is one of the UNCTAD's seven "eTrade for Women Advocates from the developing world". She was previously the winner of the East African entrepreneur reality TV show Inspire Africa Season 1.
Susan Eve Oguya Kutalek, commonly known as Susan Oguya, is a businesswoman, designer and entrepreneur in Kenya. She is the co-founder and former chief operating officer of MFarm Kenya Limited, an internet-based company that facilitates farmers to find the best farm implements, seeds and access to weather reports and market information. Since August 2015, Susan Oguya works as a senior designer at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, based in New York City.
Umra Omar is a Kenyan humanitarian and community conservation strategist. She is the founder of Safari Doctors, an organization that delivers primary medical care and health education by boat, air, and land to Bajuni and Aweer communities in Lamu, Kenya. In 2016, Umra Omar was named a Top 10 CNN Hero, and in 2017, she was named the UN in Kenya Person of the Year along with the rest of the Safari Doctors team.
Betelhem Dessie is an Ethiopian web and mobile technologies developer. She is currently a Founder and CEO of iCog- Anyone Can Code (ACC). She owns four patented projects individually and an additional three in collaboration. Betelhem has been named "the youngest pioneer in Ethiopia's fast emerging tech scene" by CNN.
Topyster Namasaka Muga, is a Kenyan telecommunication and fintech specialist, who is currently serving as the chief executive and founder of Prosper App. Before launching her own venture in July 2020, her immediate former role was senior director of Financial Inclusion Africa, at Visa Inc., based in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Prior to that, she headed Airtel Money in Kenya.
Charity Wayua, is a Kenyan chemist and researcher, who serves as a Corporate Strategy Associate at International Business Machines (IBM), based in the Greater New York City area.
Kagure Wamunyu, is a Kenyan civil engineer, urban planner and the CEO and Co-Founder of Jumba, a construction tech start-up that is simplifying purchase and financing of construction materials in Africa. Previously, Kagure worked as the Global Head of Operations at Kobo360, an African freight logistics startup. She also served as the Senior Director of Strategy for Bridge International Academies in East Africa and as the Country Manager for Uber in Kenya.
Iddris Sandu was raised in Harbor City, Los Angeles, California. He is a Ghanaian digital architect born in Accra, Ghana, and lived in Compton, California. He is an entrepreneur and a public keynote speaker. He created the world’s first smart retail store experience along with Nipsey Hussle. The store is called "The Marathon Store". He codes and creates algorithms.
Shaundra Bryant Daily is an American professor and author known for her work in the field of human-centered computing and broadening participation in STEM. She is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Duke University.
Odunayo Eweniyi is a Nigerian business executive and activist. She is the Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer PiggyVest and co founder of Feminist Coalition.
Nah Eeto is a Kenyan rapper and videographer, currently releasing music on UK-based label Blah Records. She has collaborated with many English and African artists, and raps both in the Swahili and English language. She has worked with respected Afrobeat and jazz drummer Tony Allen and Blah founder Lee Scott, among others.
Abimbola Adebakin is a Nigerian business executive and pharmacist. She is the founder and CEO of Advantage Health Africa. Abimbola was previously the Chief Operations Officer for The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
