Innovative Yale Students and Alumni Shine on Forbes' 30 Under 30 List 2025
This year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2025 includes a remarkable group of Yale innovators driving global impact. From clean energy to healthcare, these trailblazers embody Yale's commitment to creating solutions that improve the world today and for future generations. Many of these students and recent alumni harnessed Yale’s resources and innovation community—including Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY), Yale CBEY, Yale CBIT, the Yale SOM Program on Entrepreneurship, Yale Ventures, and ClimateHaven—to transform their ideas into tangible, impactful ventures.
Education
Ryan Liu BA ’18 JD ’22, is a nationally recognized advocate for higher education accessibility as a judicial clerk and elected official on the Pasadena City College board, paving the way for equitable opportunities in education.
Energy & Green Tech
Three Yale graduates, Perry Bakas MBA ’24, Harrison Meyer MBA/MEM ’24 and Conor Rooney MA ’21 PhD ’24, co-founded Oxylus Energy, a New Haven-based startup revolutionizing energy solutions. Their journey began at Yale and they are currently working out of ClimateHaven, a New Haven-based climate tech incubator in New Haven, CT.
Miles Braxton is a co-founder of Okovate Sustainable Energy, a company that supports profitable, sustainable farming practices while accelerating solar development. Braxton earned a Financing and Deploying Clean Energy certificate from the Yale Center of Business and the Environment in 2020.
Entertainment
Nat Wyatt BA ’18 is a trailblazing Yale alum, became the first openly transgender talent agent at WME, representing creatives behind hit shows like The Bear and Station Eleven.
Food and Drink
Jordan Weitz BA ’20 is the co-founder of Keychain, a comprehensive platform for consumer-packaged goods manufacturing, a company that connects brands, retailers, and chains using AI.
Healthcare
Raghav Sehgal MS ’22 PhD ’26 has developed a biomarker to assess aging in multiple organs. The technology has been licensed to TruDiagnostics.
Jenna DiRito BS ’17 is a postdoctoral associate at Yale and the co-founder of Revalia Bio, which pioneers infrastructure for human organ research.
Tanvee Varma MD ’23 was selected for Forbes' list for her work on advancing diversity in clinical trials for cancer treatments. An internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Varma helped create the Diversity Good Pharma ScoreCard.
Manufacturing & Industry
Abhinav Godavarthi BS ’22 partnered with fellow Yalie David Sozanksi BS ’23 to found General Biological, which creates bio-based alternatives to petrochemicals. Their innovations are setting new benchmarks for sustainable manufacturing.
Science
Yale PhD candidate Anis Barmada is a P.D. Soros Fellow in the Department of Immunobiology at the Yale University School of Medicine researching the early detection practices for chronic diseases and currently serves as the serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.
Social Impact
Yale graduates Bryce Bjork BA ’20 and Ting Gao BS ’20 co-created Lenny Learning, an AI platform designed to address mental health challenges in schools.
Joel Bervell BA ’17 uses his platform as the "Medical Mythbuster" to expose racial disparities in medicine, engaging over 1.2 million followers across social media.
Ikenna Nzewi BA ’17 is a co-founder of Releaf, a company that uses technology to scale Africa’s agricultural sector and making it more rewarding for all its stakeholders including farmers, food factories, and consumers.
Social Media
History graduate Kahlil Greene BA ’22 is widely known as the "Gen Z Historian," educates millions about overlooked historical narratives through his viral social media presence.
Sports
Former Yale hockey player Saroya Tinker BA ’20 continues to break barriers in the sports world as the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, while fostering community through her nonprofit, Black Girl Hockey Club Canada.
Carlin Hudson BA ’18 served as the National Women’s Soccer League’s first director of strategy in 2022, helping to craft reform policies in the wake of the Yates Report, which revealed years of systemic abuse in women's soccer. Hudson played for Yale women’s soccer team.