Champions for Change

CNN Anchor Boris Sanchez and Adam San Miguel share a common bond: they are Cuban-Americans who take pride in their roots. San Miguel owns Cortaditos Coffee, a café and eatery in New Jersey that fuses social impact and Cuban culture. His business supports migrants through job opportunities and aims to create an environment where customers can connect. Hoping to inspire the next generation of Cuban-American leaders, San Miguel also started an organization that provides college scholarships, cultural education, and a leadership development program for students.  

Melissa Walker is on a mission to provide music education to all students regardless of skill level or economic status. Her JAZZ HOUSE KiDS organization empowers young people to develop life skills, foster creativity, cultivate community, and become global citizens through the power of jazz. For more than 20 years, nearly 60,000 students have been swinging to the beat of the program. CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst Laura Coates knows firsthand how music education can benefit youth: she has seen her own children gain confidence and persistence, as well as sharpen their social and academic skills.

Kara Hartigan Whelan is pushing the boundaries of what it means to preserve the land. As President of the Westchester Land Trust, she not only protects farms and forests, but she also teaches kids to grow what they eat, links local farmers to families who need nutritious food options and improves access to clean water. Whelan's work hits home for CNN Anchor Erin Burnett, whose father spent decades protecting farmland in Maryland so it could feed future generations.

15 years ago, a priest read 25-year-old David Fajgenbaum his last rites, as his family said their goodbyes. The third-year medical student had Castleman disease, a rare and often fatal immune disorder. Experimental chemotherapy worked initially, but there was no approved treatment for the disease. Dr. Fajgenbaum took fate into his own hands and repurposed an existing drug to save his life. Now, more than 11 years in remission, he is using the same approach to save others through his biotech organization, Every Cure, highlighted by CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.