

Awards Ceremony 2022

The 2022 PowerOn Awards Ceremony took place on October, 28th at Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC.
The
Awards
ROLE MODEL
The Role Model award honors a youth who sets the bar for themselves and their peers while participating in the PowerOn Program.
"My name is Aaliyah Roberson-Jenkins. I am 17 years old, and attend Wyandotte High School as a junior. I enjoy reading, writing, and helping others. I am president of the Pep Club at my school, and I am also a photographer."

AALiyah Roberson-jenkins
Trailblazer

Amari Leach
The Trailblazer award honors an adult who has taken full advantage of the opportunities provided by access to technology.
Mr. Amari Leach is the owner and founder of Tea With T ©LLC where he is a trans youth advocate and educator. Through his service/products (tea mugs, notebooks, etc.) he creates a way for trans youth to have a voice. He helps create a safe way/space to come out and have real necessary conversations with family members, friends and allies in a world that wants to silence them. He has created a platform to bring awareness to important conversations and tips to help encourage our trans youth. He created Tea With T ©LLC in 2019 wanting to share his life experiences to serve as a testimony to help those who are just like him. His main goal is to be what he needed when he was younger. He has a podcast titled Tea With T© Talks With Amari Leach.
Superstar Center

We Are Family
Charleston, SC
The Superstar Center award honors a PowerOn partner center/organization that has made outstanding contributions to the program and to the community the organization serves.
We Are Family's mission as a Southern Grassroots non-profit organization is to provide affirming spaces for LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, etc.) and ally youth up to the age of 24 through direct support, leadership development, and community engagement. Their vision is that LGBTQI+ and ally youth feel empowered to find their places in the world, in their families, and in their communities.

Justin Hilton
Founder, Safe PlaCe International
Change Agent
The Change Agent award honors an individual in public service or social justice whose significant contributions to connectivity have helped support underserved populations, including the LGBTQ+ community.
An entrepreneur, writer, passionate activist, personal growth, and spiritual leader who is deeply committed to social change. Justin had a successful career in Real Estate that was always punctuated by Social Action and the support of underrepresented communities. He also worked in India, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Mexico on LGBTQIA+ transformational work focused on combating oppression and advocating for inclusion. The founding of Safe Place International represented the coming together of his experience as a philanthropist, human potential leader, and passionate defender of marginalized communities.
Visionary
The Visionary award honors an individual or company whose work has empowered LGBTQ+ individuals to achieve success through technology and the internet.

T-Mobile

Sponsors
Gold





Silver

Bronze


supporters
