Stories written by MY HERO Story Director & General Editor Shannon Luders-Manuel
Amanda Gorman: The Poet Who Healed a Nation
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Amanda Gorman, America's first Youth Poet Laureate, recited the original poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Dr. Joan Wicks: Scholar, Teacher, Parent and Athlete
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Dr. Joan Wicks is an educator, athlete, and the mother of Amanda and Gabrielle Gorman.
Margot Lee Shetterly: Shining a Light on Hidden Figures
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Margot Lee Shetterly is the author of "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race."
Ariel Tweto: Flying High on Life
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Ariel Tweto is an Inuit Eskimo TV personality and producer who founded the nonprofit suicide prevention program Popping Bubbles.
Sandi Bachom
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Sandi Bachom is a 75-year-old videographer and MY HERO Film Festival winner who lives in New York City.
Yasmine Sherif: Winner of the 2020 Global Educator Award
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Yasmine Sherif, who leads Education Cannot Wait, is the winner of MY HERO's 2020 Global Educator Award.
Deepak Ramola
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Deepak Ramola is the founder of Project FUEL, an organization that gathers life lessons from people around the world.
Farm2People: Eric Holdener and Anna Hopkins
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Farm2People is a nonprofit that works to deliver produce to food insecure areas of Los Angeles County in the wake of COVID-19.
Ajit (AJ) Rekhy: View From My Window
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
AJ Rekhy created the Facebook page and group "View From My Window" to connect people from all over the world during the coronavirus pandemic through their personal views.
Bianca Valenti
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Bianca Valenti is a professional surfer and a co-founder of the Committee for Equity in Women's Surfing.
Fauzia Minallah
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Fauzia Minallah is a Pakistani "artivist" with a passion for peacebuilding and protecting the environment.
Joanne Tawfilis
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Joanne Tawfilis is the co-founder of the Art Miles Mural Project, an organization that brings people together through collective murals.
Sonia Smith-Kang: Mixed Up Clothing
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Sonia Smith-Kang is the founder of Mixed Up Clothing, a boutique children's clothing line. During the coronavirus, she is using her fabric to make masks for customers and medical workers.
Dr. John F. Murray
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Dr. John F. Murray, a pioneer in pulmonary medicine, passed away from respiratory failure caused by the coronavirus in March 2020.
Lena Horne
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Lena Horne, a singer, dancer, and actress, was one of the top African American performers of her time.
Ryan Coogler
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Ryan Coogler is a MY HERO IFF Alumni and director of Black Panther, Creed and Fruitvale Station.
Teresa Taylor
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Teresa Taylor's Global Dance Initiative celebrates two programs, Free 2 Be Me and Danza Down, that teach ballet to those with Down Syndrome.
Tsering Wangmo
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Tsering Wangmo is a Tibetan filmmaker who won the Emerging Artist award at the 2019 MY HERO International Film Festival for "Conversations With My Mother."
Jane Fonda—Activism at Eighty
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Jane Fonda is a Hollywood actress whose lifelong activism focuses on anti-war, feminism, women's reproductive health, and environmentalism.
ChangeChitra: Made in Madras
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Melissa Blake
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Melissa Blake is a freelance journalist with Freeman Sheldon Syndrome whose tweet about body positivity went viral.
Anna and Victoria Mendez
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
After the death of Daniel Mendez, his mother, Anna, and his sister, Victoria, created 2 Cool To Be Kind, an anti-bullying nonprofit for teens.
Scooter the Cat
By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Scooter was born with deformed back legs but never gives up and is said to be a human whisperer.
Organizer created on 10/16/2020 2:48:57 AM by Shannon Luders-Manuel
Last edited 6/2/2021 12:56:18 AM by Shannon Luders-Manuel
