Somalia Knight

When I started modeling, I was turned down from every agency in NYC because I wasn’t the cookie cutter beauty and also had large ears. Instead of giving up I decided to work on my skills to become the best model I could be. Being a model has given me the ability to achieve a lot. I am a proud activist, I speak to kids and teens about bullying, protest for People of color, Women&#39;s Rights and LBGTQ+ rights and immigrations laws

Yassa 

Yassa is a Syrian/Armenian illustrator, model, and activist born in the USSR and residing in NY. They are currently working with multiple sustainable businesses and nonprofits to promote ethical protesting and support BIPOC communities. Yassa is also a teaching artist that has spent years working with the youth, including helping kids develop and create plays in the Los Angeles School District. Their work, and social media influence with over 20k followers on Instagram, challenges conventional gender and sexuality norms as well as cultural systems. In their free time, they volunteer with an animal foster and rescue in Mexico. Their current projects include tarot card design, making furniture, home goods, and centering their mental health.&nbsp;

Jjanga Horne

Jjanga has been pushing, representing, and advocating for change in the fashion/beauty industry for the last three years. Discovered by her Instagram, she’s quickly gained a community online that are excited to watch her journey and root for the representation she is bringing. Jjanga has captured the attention of many companies and moguls, walking and opening for Miami Swim Week, NYFW, and many more. She’s modeled for iconic brands like Tanner Fletcher, Savage x Fenty, Fenty Beauty, Marcella NYC, Hampden Clothing, Tyler McGillivary, and many more to come as she works her way to the top. Her goals are ambitious and high to many but to her their reality and works tenaciously to reach that goal. Jjanga is going to be the movement that shows being different and the odd one out of all the supermodels is just what the industry needed and is inspiring many others to accept themselves just the way they are.&nbsp;

Jessica Hoppe

Jessica Hoppe is a Honduran/Ecuadorian author, model, and creator of @NuevaYorka, a social media blog with 40k followers inspired by the vibrant Latinx culture and community on the streets of New York. She began her career on social media, and has since been featured on ABC News and HBOMax. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Paper, Refinery29 and more. She is a frequent and popularly sought out speaker for podcasts and panels, both instructional and motivational, on issues related to identity, addiction, and recovery. Jessica is a board member of Time of Butterflies, non-profit supporting families through domestic abuse recovery. She is currently writing her debut memoir, First In the Family, which is forthcoming in 2024 from Flatiron. It was her lifelong dream to become an author, and she shares her journey via social media, hoping to pull the curtain back on what it takes to land a book deal outside the so-called “traditional” pathways. Through her work, she advocates for underrepresented voices, and supports aspiring writers.