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On March 18, 2026, the Henry Crown Fellowship introduced the 2026 Class of Fellows. Each year, the Henry Crown Fellowship mobilizes a new cohort of values-based leaders, all between the ages of 30-46, committed to tackling the world’s most intractable problems. All Fellows are proven entrepreneurial leaders, mostly from the private sector, who have reached a point in their lives where, having achieved success, they are ready to apply their creative talents and skill sets to building a better society.

Henry Crown Fellows spend four weeks over the course of two years in structured retreat – exploring their leadership, their core values, their vision for a “Good Society,” and their desired legacies. But the Fellowship is not just about reflection. It is also about action: each Fellow launches a leadership venture that will stretch them and have a positive impact on their communities, their country, or the world.

“The greatest challenges of our time require solutions from innovative, effective, and thoughtful leaders,” said Tonya Hinch, Executive Director of the Henry Crown Fellowship. “This class embodies those ideals: they are a force for good, poised to channel their talents and energies into tackling these challenges. Through this Fellowship, they embark on a transformative journey among a class mosaic of like-hearted but not like-minded leaders, creating lasting change for themselves and the world — a journey from success to significance to impact.”

The 2026 Henry Crown Fellows are: 

Wemimo Abbey, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Esusu, Sherman Oaks, CA.

Enrique Arbelaez, Founder, Culture+ Group, Miami, FL.

LeGrand Crewse, Co-Founder & CEO, Corvus Industries Inc., Mesa, AZ.

Morgan DeBaun, Founder & CEO, Blavity, Nashville, TN.

Avani Desai, CEO, Schellman, Tampa, FL.

Alexandra Ford English, Member, Board of Directors, Ford Motor Company, Detroit, MI.

Natalie Gordon, Founder & CEO, Babylist, Berkeley, CA.

Yasmin Green, CEO, Jigsaw, Brooklyn, NY.

Laura Hines-Pierce, Co-CEO, Hines, Houston, TX.

Chris Layden, CEO, Kelly, Detroit, MI.

Gavin Mathieu, Founder & Creative Director, Supervsn, Los Angeles, CA.

Sean McBurney, Chief Commercial Officer & Regional President, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV.

Laura Modi, Founder & CEO, Bobbie, Washington, DC.

Ohemaa Nyanin, General Manager, Golden State Valkyries, San Francisco, CA.

Donald Park, Co-Founder, Ionic Partners, Austin, TX.

JD Parkes, Founder & CEO, Parry Labs, Alexandria, VA.

Cesar Piña, SVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer, North America, McDonald’s USA, Chicago, IL.

Bijal Shah, CEO & Board Director, Guild, Denver, CO.

Dave Sisk, Co-Founder & CEO, Streamline Innovations, Inc., San Antonio, TX.

Christina Tosi, Founder, Chef, & Chairman, Milk Bar, Nashville, TN.

Zack Weiner, Co-Founder, Overtime, New York, NY.

Brian Whorley, Founder & CEO, Paytient, Columbia, MO.

Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder, President, & Co-Chair, Cloudflare, San Francisco, CA.

Read their full bios here.

The Henry Crown Fellowship seeks to develop the next generation of community-spirited leaders, providing them with the tools to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was established in 1997 to honor the life and career of Chicago industrialist Henry Crown (1896-1990) and was initially funded by the Henry and Gladys Crown Charitable Trust Fund. The program is the flagship Fellowship of the Aspen Institute and the founding Fellowship of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. For more information, visit https://www.aspeninstitute.org/crown.

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