Launched in 2021, the Lewis Latimer Fellowship selects six emerging innovators annually who embody Latimer’s bold spirit and relentless drive for invention. Fusing Y Combinator’s accelerator structure with MacArthur Genius Award’s recognition model, Fellows gain exclusive access to mentorship, capital, and Edison’s corporate innovation network. Individual success is only the spark—these changemakers go on to ignite innovation ecosystems that elevate entire communities.
The Intention of the Fellowship is to:
Celebrate: Honor the brilliance and impact of rising Black innovators.
Connect: Link bold thinkers with forward-looking companies and collaborators.
Commune: Build community through shared purpose, dialogue, and exchange.
For nearly four decades, the Edison Awards has set the global benchmark for market-ready solutions that redefine industries and shape the future.
Jonathan Cropper is the founder of Futurlogic Advanced Concepts, a highly confidential business development, design, and branding studio.
He has designed and implemented innovation strategies for many global brands, and sits on multiple startup boards as an angel investor and advisor.
Most recently, Jon was the Head of Global Real Estate, Aviation & Marine Partnerships for Aston Martin Lagonda.
As Executive Director for the Edison Awards™, Frank has been a leader in recognizing and promoting innovation across the world. Frank has a complete dedication to the growth of The Edison Awards and develops partnerships and networks to promote inclusivity in the field of innovation.
Originally established in 1987, the Edison Awards™ have recognized and honored some of the most innovative products and business leaders in the world and is among the most prestigious accolades honoring excellence in new product and service development, marketing, design and innovation.
Carmichael is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Material Impact, and bases the fund’s strategy on his successful career as an entrepreneur-investor in materials, blending a unique business model of licensing university technology and commercializing it through targeted partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. His current investments include Soft Robotics and Zero Mass Water.
Carmichael is also member of Breakthrough Energy, a mission-oriented group committed to changing the world by creating and building companies that address the threat of climate change and long-term sustainability of the planet. As part of their work, Breakthrough Energy will invest over $1B over the next 20 years to help scale products for energy, transportation, agriculture, and construction, with a focus on big concept projects that promise the largest possible benefit to the earth’s future.
Gordon Knox is a cultural innovator, institution builder, educator and arts-program designer.
Starting with the simple truth that humans are social beings, and that culture is the result of their interaction, Gordon has envisioned and established groups, residencies and institutions that support imaginative, exploratory artists and thinkers from across cultures and disciplines. The models for these organizations often emerge from familiar forms of human assembly: the home, shared meals, forums for the exchange of ideas, and institutions that encourage shared learning and collective efforts. His projects aim to make real an environment where thoughtful investigation, innovative thinking and shared values become a healthy matrix for cultural evolution.
Gordon’s work advances effective cultural institutions, public forums and community spaces, and he does this by assembling exceptional teams promoting shared values. His efforts have produced enduring institutions that encourage social transformation and cultural adaptation by engaging arts, architecture, community and our innate orientation towards cultural affinity.
Gordon Knox was president of the San Francisco Art Institute, director of the Arizona State University Art Museum, core collaborator at the Stanford Humanities Lab and founder of artist residencies at Civitella Ranieri in Italy, the Lucas Artists Programs in California, the Combine Artist Residency in Arizona, and the Woodman Artist Residency in Florence, Italy, as well as many short-term residencies, exhibitions and convenings globally.
Tish Futrell is the Director of Academic Engagement in the Office of Alumni Engagement and Development (AED). In this role, she plans, executes, and oversees academic programs for alumni and their families through Duke, both online and in person. Futrell came to Duke in 2013 and earned a Master of Arts from Duke’s Graduate Liberal Studies program. Tish has worked in higher education administration for nearly two decades. Before starting her role at Duke, she spent eight years at Clark Atlanta University, where she held several positions that helped shape her affinity for working in higher education. Her background includes strategic communications, public relations, event planning, and oversight. Tish is a lifelong learner and enjoys giving back to the community through stewardship and public service. She lives in Durham with her family and their dog and enjoys traveling, cooking, and attending live music shows.
Soton is an entrepreneur, science fiction writer, and artist.
Her company Centinel.ai, is patent-pending technology that provides claims-free coverage for hard-to-insure risks, like climate or event disruption.
Before founding Centinal, Soton worked at Allstate Insurance as senior manager of product innovation, defining strategy and orchestrating collaboration across Innovation, Product, Data Science, Pricing, and Marketing teams to develop new-to-industry risk assessment products.
Ian Randall is Co-Founder, President & CEO of MagLev Aero Inc., an innovative aerospace technology startup in Boston developing a novel electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing(eVTOL) Air Vehicle Platform. He held leadership roles across projects and programs spanning eVTOL UAVs, NASA and Blue Origin sponsored Suborbital payloads, a Land Speed Record Electric Motorcycle program with Purdue University, Long Endurance UAVs, and Fault Tolerant Cloud Computing Workload Management.
With his cofounder, who happens to be his father and fellow tech entrepreneur, Rod Randall, Ian further developed the concept, and now has 10+ issued patents, has raised capital, and built a team of talented engineers and scientists to build MagLev Aero into a global electric propulsion and aircraft leader.
Ian graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering and a Minor in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in System Design, and Dynamics & Controls. He is also an avid music and film enthusiast, enjoys jamming on bass, guitar or ukelele, playing Table Tennis, and practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Shameik Moore an American actor, singer, and music artist.
He gained recognition with his portrayal of Malcolm in the 2015 film Dope, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Indiewire included Moore on its list of “The 12 Major Breakouts of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival” for his performance in the movie.
In 2018, he voiced Miles Morales / Spiderman in the film Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse, and its upcoming sequels.
In addition to his talents, as an artist and performer, 2023, Shameik is also launching a new innovation and e-commerce platform designed to build economic and cultural development in African-American communities.
Jacquelle is the founder and CEO of a new social platform & marketplace called Fave dedicated to recognizing and rewarding superfans.
Horton became Google’s first black Product Manager in Europe at age 26. She then lead a team of 150+ people working on the transformation of the Google Assistant. Before this role, Horton was a product lead at YouTube where she doubled the user base of the Creator app.
Her new venture recently won Startup of the Year in music tech and earned $2.2M in seed funding from major companies such as Sony, Warner, HYBE, and more.
Receiving her Master’s degree from USC at just 20 years old, Jacquelle has been named one of the “Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs in the World”, “Top 50 Women Product Managers in Europe”, and in 2020 made the esteemed “Forbes 30 Under 30” list.
D. Fox Harrell, Ph.D., is a Professor of Digital Media and Artificial Intelligence in the Comparative Media Studies Program and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT.
Prof. Harrell’s interdisciplinary research — based in computer science, cognitive science, and digital media arts — explores the relationship between imagination and computation and involves inventing new forms of digital media and computer-based art.
As the Director of the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality, Prof. Harrell aims to pioneer innovative experiences using computing technologies that paint a layer of imagination atop the physical world. In addition to virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality, he investigates other media forms, like synthetic media, that generate content using artificial intelligence-based techniques and other forms of interactive narrative technologies supported by AI.
Dr. Harrell holds a Ph.D in Computer and Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego, a master’s degree in interactive telecommunication from New York, University, and a BFA in Art (electronic and time-based media) and BS in Logic and Computation from Carnegie Mellon University, each with high honors.
Dr. Lisa Dyson is a mission-driven entrepreneur and founder of Air Protein, a remarkable, NASA- inspired technology that converts elements in the air into sustainable protein that eliminates compromise between taste, nutrition, and climate threat.
“Air meat” is crafted through a process similar to how beer and yogurt are made and can be produced exponentially faster than traditional meat production.
Lisa has a PhD in Physics from MIT, and is a Fulbright Scholar from the University of London where she received an MS in Physics. She is a researcher and scientist at heart, working on projects in Bioengineering and Physics at Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; Princeton University, the University of California, San Francisco, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories.
Her background paved the way for her to see through the devastation we are experiencing on the planet; and find a way to feed our planet sustainably.
Dr. Sian Proctor is a Geoscience Professor with the Maricopa Community Colleges, an Afrofuturism Space Artist, and an Astronaut. She is the Chief Inspiration Astronaut of Space2inspire and founder of The Proctor Foundation for Art and Science. She was the mission pilot for SpaceX Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital mission. She is the first female commercial astronaut spaceship pilot and the only African American woman to ever be a mission pilot. She is also the first African-American commercial astronaut, and the first African-American to paint in space. She is currently serving as a member of the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group representing the Maricopa Community Colleges. Her motto is Space2inspire where she encourages people to use their unique strengths and passion to inspire themselves and those within their reach. She uses her unique artistic style and poetry to share her love of human spaceflight and to bring her EarthLight experience down to Earth. She believes that we need to actively strive for a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive (J.E.D.I.) space both on Earth and beyond.
As the Founder & CEO of Latimer.ai, John founded and launched the inclusive large language model (“LLM”) Latimer.ai. Latimer is building the premier online Artificial Intelligence resource for accurate historical information and bias-free interaction for Black and Brown audiences.
Unlike other LLMs, Latimer builds its training platform using licensed content from esteemed sources, such as the recently announced exclusive partnership with New York Amsterdam News. Using licensed content improves data accuracy and the fairness of economic sharing between content creators, owners, and data deliverers. Latimer’s construction is a Retrieval Augmented Generation model (“RAG” Model), which has several key advantages.
John served as co-founder and CEO of the venture-backed, video-based travel platform VoyageTV which raised $10 million in an A-Round led by Syncom Venture Partners. It was sold to Next 1 Interactive in 2013.
He recently served as a partner at the Family Office, TRS Capital, and at Movita Organics, an organic supplement company led by filmmaker Spike Lee’s wife, Tonya Lewis Lee. John sits on the Board of Directors of Outward Bound USA. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York and a B.A. in Computer Science from Columbia University.
Sidney McLaurin is the CEO of Fleet Robotics. Sidney and his co-founders started fleet as a simple, automated mobile robot platform to help industrial companies proactively maintain large industrial structures. Starting with the maritime industry, their collaborative robots live permanently on commercial ships and help simplify inspection, maintenance, and cargo operations. The robots are best known for their novel walking ability on vertical surfaces in harsh conditions — even underwater while the ship is in motion.
Sidney incubated the concept for Fleet while he was a Partner at Material Impact, a
Boston-based venture fund. Before the fund, he worked at Lime where he joined as its first GM in 2017 and helped scale the company from a single market to the global presence it is today.
McLaurin credits his interest in climate to growing up around the outdoors in Mississippi. He is a mentor and advisor for a variety of folks within the climate startup ecosystem, including the formation of a new start-up incubator in London. Sidney is an engineer by training — he started his career at Siemens in Industrial Automation and holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Florida. He transitioned into climate entrepreneurship with an MBA and an Environmental Management degree from Duke University.
Tiffany M. Griffin is the CEO, Co-Founder, and Co-Owner of Bright Black, a North
Carolina-based social enterprise that pioneered the art of using scent to share positive
stories about the beauty and brilliance of Blackness. Since launching in 2019, Bright Black has gained national and international notoriety, attracting the attention of Beyonce, Zendaya, Jordan Peele, Nike, and others.
Uniquely, Bright Black synthesizes cooperative economics theory with revenue-sharing
practices to amplify their social and economic impact through strategic partnerships. These collaborations have included partners such as the NBA and WNBA, Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote, and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and have resulted in over $30,000 in donations to social organizations working to improve the lives of Black people around the world.
Before founding Bright Black, Tiffany was a Strategic Advisor in the Center for Resilience at the US Agency for International Aid (USAID), where she helped to spearhead the Agency’s first resilience policy and corresponding programming and evaluation frameworks. Before her work at USAID, Tiffany was a health and safety nets policy staffer for Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. Tiffany has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she focused on decision-making as a conduit of racial discrimination. She also has dual BAs in Psychology and Communications from Boston College.
When not running Bright Black, you can find her developing recipes, dreaming about new vacation destinations, or going on solo nature walks to decompress.
Adrian Burrell is a third-generation Oakland artist utilizing photography, installation, and experimental media. His work examines issues of race, class, and intergenerational dynamics, inviting moments where collective storytelling could be a site for remembering.
Burrell has lived and worked on four continents. He is a US Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA) and Stanford University (MFA). At Stanford, he lectured, served as Black Graduate student community outreach chair, and was a visiting Artist with Stanford’s Institute for Diversity in Arts.
He was in residence at the Black Freedom fellowship in Salvador, Brazil, in 2023, was a resident at SF FILM, was a YBCA creative cohort fellow between 2021 and 2022, and was awarded the renowned Black Rock residency in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022. His solo exhibition, “Venus Blues,” opened at the Minnesota Street Foundation 20,000 square feet space in October 2023. His first solo exhibition was on view at the ICA San Jose, California, from September 2022 through February 2, 2023.
Burrell’s work has been featured in the New Yorker, Black Star Film Festival, PopUp Magazine, Photo Ville, the Pingyao International Photography Festival China, and SXSW, among others. In 2021, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art acquired “It’s After the End of the World Don’t You Know That Yet.” This collective self-portrait examines normalized violence inflicted on black lives.
Cortney Woodruff is a distinguished American tech investor and entrepreneur, renowned for his leadership as the CEO of Assemble.FYI and his role as Co-Founder of Assemble, BGreatTogether.org, and Docucourse.org. A proud graduate of Alabama A&M in 2010, Woodruff’s academic journey took an impressive turn when he attended the prestigious IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, at the tender age of 22. This early exposure to global business practices infused him with a rich perspective that has guided his multifaceted career.
As a former Division 1 athlete, Woodruff has masterfully leveraged his discipline and team-oriented mindset into his entrepreneurial endeavors, focusing on finance, tech, and entertainment to nurture and empower the next generation. His ventures are united by a common goal: to bridge diverse worlds and create opportunities by integrating thought leaders from various industries into a vibrant, global learning community.
Woodruff’s personal and professional journey has been marked by his time living in more than 10 cities across the United States, Europe, and Asia. This global residency has not only enriched his worldview but has also deepened his commitment to advancing diversity and inclusivity. Through his work, he strives to normalize success within the Black community, blending his international experiences with a robust professional network to inspire and drive change.
Now calling Los Angeles, California, his home, Woodruff continues to lead with conviction and innovation. His work stands as a testament to his unwavering dedication to progress, resilience, and the transformative power of education and community engagement, making him a beacon of inspiration for many.
Jason Teeters is a visionary innovator, emergent strategist, and founder of Jet Set State (JSS), a company at the forefront of reshaping leadership and organizational design for the modern world. With a deep focus on breaking silos, navigating uncertainty, and driving performance through people-fi rst innovation, Jason helps organizations bridge bold ideas with real-world impact.
Through JSS, Jason has partnered with global institutions like The Rockefeller Foundation, the United Nations, Movember, and the Centers for Disease Control, guiding them in turning strategic vision into scalable, actionable solutions. His immersive leadership experiences challenge outdated structures, equipping leaders with the tools to foster agility, drive sustainable innovation, and build resilient cultures.
Having worked across 100+ countries, Jason brings a global perspective to the future of work, leadership, and organizational transformation. His expertise in emergent strategy and regenerative leadership makes him a sought-after advisor for executives, founders, and global enterprises looking to lead their industries, create lasting impact, and future-proof their organizations in an era of rapid change.
In a world where uncertainty is the only constant, Jason Teeters empowers leaders to not just adapt—but to redefi ne the way we work, connect, and innovate.
Lauren Ruffin (she/her) is Director and Lead Strategist of the Art Program at Michigan Central, a 32 acre innovation campus in the heart of Detroit. She is also a co-founder of CRUX and an Associate Professor of Worldbuilding and Visualizing Futures at Arizona State University. Over the course of her career, she has become a “Jane-of-all-trades” for small and mid-sized enterprises in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. The hallmark of her work is a willingness to take calculated risks, an interest in scaling businesses using innovative organizational mechanisms, and her ability to secure capital for projects from non-traditional sources.
Her work at ASU explores the unprecedented and rapid political and social changes taking place in every facet of our lives, largely due to advances in technology. Her research centers on the best practices organizations and companies should embed to ensure that their platforms are safe, equitable, profitable, and joyful for all users, and particularly users from Black and Indigenous, disabled, and queer communities.
Founded in 2017, CRUX was the only cooperative focusing solely on bringing XR artistic content from Black creators to mainstream users and audiences. As co-founder, Lauren focused on creating an organization with core principles that are rooted in liberation movements, as well as anti-racism and anti-oppression, and worked closely with partners as they create original content and immersive experiences to delight audiences and expand their digital footprint. Partners included the International Documentary Association, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, New York Live Arts, Urban Bush Women, and Black Public Media. She was the 2022 National Field Leader in Residence at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University.
From 2021-2022 Lauren served as Interim Chief Marketing Officer & Head of the Office of Movement Building at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), where she focused on amplifying the stories and activism of the YBCA community. Prior to joining YBCA, Lauren was co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. She frequently speaks on a diverse range of topics including ethics in technology, the digital divide, organizational development and culture, racial bias, and economic justice.
Her career began after law school as a lobbyist for a boutique government relations firm where she represented a variety of technology companies, including Comcast and Sirius/XM, providing strategies relating Black and Brown communities nationally. Her work included efforts involving video franchising, net neutrality and regulatory and utility policy, and international trade policy representing several sovereign governments. She also oversaw large public/private partnerships and approximately $30 million in appropriations funding.
After leaving the government affairs sector, Lauren transitioned into fundraising, securing nearly $70m for DC-based organizations Martha’s Table and the National Center for Children and Families. She was also fortunate to serve in various roles at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Children’s Defense Fund, New Leaders, and AAUW.
Lauren has served on the governing boards of Black Innovation Alliance, Black Girls Code, and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative, and on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.
A dynamic force in international affairs, Alexandria J. Maloney is redefining leadership, access, and influence for foreign affairs professionals worldwide. As President of Black Professionals in International Affairs (BPIA), Director at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, a visiting lecturer at Cornell University Brooks Policy School, and a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, she is leading the charge in shaping global conversations on diplomacy, security, and inclusive leadership.
As an avid “do-er”, Alexandria believes that the collective agency of humanity should be used to contribute to building the world that we desire. A trained systems thinker, her approach to cultural and organizational change has included inspiration from the arts, sciences, literature, and philosophy. By the age of 32, Alexandria had already been recognized among the “Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent” and named a “Forbes 50 Champion” for Black and Brown communities, marking her as a transformative leader building high-impact ecosystems that educate, empower, and elevate professionals in foreign affairs.
Starting as an intern over a decade ago, Alexandria has transformed BPIA into a powerhouse of influence, innovation, and excellence. Since becoming President in 2021, she has expanded the organization’s reach, securing high-profile donors, global partnerships, and achieving an annual fundraising milestone of over $50,000. Under her leadership, BPIA has launched cutting-edge initiatives, including:
Colin Powell Leadership Institute – Shaping the next generation of Black foreign affairs professionals.
Madam Ambassador Program – Preparing women for diplomatic leadership.
Advisory Councils & High-Level Briefings – Elevating Black voices in global policy.
Opportunity Board & Resume Bank – Connecting talent with international career pathways.
First Fridays, Taskforces & Tribes – Cultivating a community of changemakers.
Her career spans service at the U.S. Department of Defense, the White House Initiative for HBCUs, and membership in prestigious networks such as the Truman National Security Project, Foreign Policy for America, European Leadership Network, CFR Young Professional Briefing Series, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Alexandria earned her B.A. in
International Affairs from John Cabot University (Rome, Italy), M.A. from Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD), and MPA from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). She is a prolific speaker, being featured at international conferences including the G20 civil society summit, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Harvard University on inclusive governance and leadership practices. She sits on numerous boards including the United Nations Association-National Captial Area, John Cabot University Board of Trustees, Cornell Brooks School Alumni Advisory Council, and the 2026 U.S. Semiquincentennial National American Bell Committee. She is a member of the Washington Spinoza Philosophy Society.
Alexandria’s vision of building a future rooted in inclusivity and harmony is deeply rooted in the values of Lewis Latimer—innovation, access, and trailblazing excellence. She is committed to democratizing international affairs, ensuring that future leaders are prepared, inspired, and positioned to lead at the highest levels of diplomacy, national security, and global policy. Through her work, Alexandria continues to illuminate pathways for the next generation, ensuring that rising professionals not only enter the room but lead the conversation on the world stage. Her ultimate goal is to scale her current work to the highest levels of impact in pursuit of a more peaceful and harmonious world.
Her expertise and interests spans defense, diplomacy, conflict resolution, arts & culture, youth and women’s engagement, and diversity & inclusion. For more, visit www.alexandriamaloney.com.
Demetrius D. Harris is a visionary aviation professional and the dynamic President and Co-Founder of Fly Compton Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives by introducing underserved youth to the boundless opportunities of the aviation industry.
A seasoned contract pilot commanding luxurious private jets such as the Gulfstream GIV and Hawker 800XP, Harris’s journey into the skies was sparked by a pivotal middle-aged moment—witnessing two Black pilots in the cockpit of a commercial flight. This powerful encounter ignited his ambition, propelling him from a career as a political consultant into the cockpit, where he now inspires the next generation of aviators.
With an unwavering commitment to underserved communities, Harris established Fly Compton Foundation to break down barriers that have historically excluded Black and Brown youth from aviation careers. Under his leadership, the organization has become a beacon of hope in Compton, California, offering hands-on flight training, mentorship, and a comprehensive curriculum to students as young as eight. His innovative approach ensures that participants not only learn to fly but also gain the confidence and skills to soar in an industry where people of color represent less than 3% of pilots and flight engineers.
Harris’s impact extends beyond the tarmac, earning recognition from figures like U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and media outlets such as Black Enterprise and The Christian Science Monitor.
A proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he embodies the spirit of empowerment and service, channeling his personal success into a mission that uplifts communities and redefines the future of aviation. Through his passion, perseverance, and pioneering spirit, Demetrius D. Harris is not just flying high—he’s lifting others to new heights alongside him.
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