2016 was a year of change, and with change comes leaders. Here are the leaders whose stories made the most impressions on our readers in the year 2016.

This is M-Lifestyle’s most influential list of 2016.

Why leave the best for last?

Black Excellence Crew

Terrence and Terry Everett along with Jonathan Brooks are an unstoppable team. After the brothers met Brooks at their freshmen orientation and realized all three lived in the same dorm and studied within the same field, a bond was formed that lead to the infamous video “Black Excellence at VCU.” The three have sparked a revolution that has inspired many to be proud of who they are. To not be afraid and chase your dreams.

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Sabastine Arthur

Student Sabastine Arthur and professor Kirsten Gibson working together in the Food Science lab.

When a man from Ghana wanted an American education, he pursued it. Sabastine Arthur arrived on American soil ready to find a cure for Norovirus, which kills about 800 people in the US a year. Arthur earned his degree in cell molecular biology from the University of Arkansas, and was then accepted at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom for his graduate studies, based on a selective scholarship. Arthur is proof that nothing should stop you from pursuing your dreams; not where you were born, your own self-doubt or who you are.

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Meagan Ward

Talk about a Powerful Woman…

Meagan Ward is a driven, hardworking entrepreneur that is only focused on succeeding. Even when working two jobs, going to college full time and helping out her family, Ward never backed down. Ward would say “I would kind of say to myself, damn I’m powerful.” Creatively Flawless was created by Ward in 2013, “which holds business owners accountable towards branding their businesses towards excellence, while helping to determine who their target market is, who they are as a brand, and helping them identify themselves as to what their business should be all about.” A year later Ward started “The Powerful Women” which is simply to serve womankind. Ward is not letting anything slow her down, and is an example for women to never let anything; including gender, hold them back.

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Ezi Emela

Ezi Emela is taking the Afrobeats world by storm. The artist is originally from Nigeria but was raised in England, and later moved to London to pursue a dream she had since childhood. As a child, Emela sang in a gospel group, as her father was a pastor. As she grew older, her song writing abilities did too and she drew from her experiences to write music. Emela grew up with a lack of self-confidence, and had to break out of that shell. One thing that lead to that was how there are barriers for females in the Afrobeats scene. “It’s harder to take women seriously in Afrobeats, and I don’t know why.” she says. Emela has not slowed down though, and will not slow down.  She has been breaking down barriers in the Afrobeats industry by making hit songs and collaborating with the very best Afrobeats artists.

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Eric Thomas and Marcus Burrell

 Michigan natives, Eric Thomas and Marcus Burrell are not what you would expect when you think power couple. But that is what they are. The two are complete opposites when it comes to their ideas of what is cool, but that has not stopped them from becoming successful. When the two came across each other at the Black Expo in 2015, they established “Saga”. Saga is a marketing agency with a twist; the intent is to tell stories, like Detroit 67. Saga looks for solutions, not to sell things. The goal in a few years is to have Saga Marketing carry experiments assessing peoples’ behavior and thought. The duo want to change the world and how it operates, inspiring anyone who wants to bring about change.

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