DeJuana Golden: The Healing Garden Project, Lakewood, CA

DeJuana Golden is a faith-rooted social entrepreneur transforming neglected land into spaces of healing, nourishment, and hope. As founder of The Healing Garden Project , she partners with churches, schools, and community centers to design and install therapeutic gardens in under-resourced neighborhoods—places where access to fresh food and restorative green space has too often been denied. Through a model grounded in co-stewardship, training, and long-term support, DeJuana is cultivating more than gardens; she is cultivating dignity, wellness, and community transformation.

Ebonie Farlow-Edwards: Compassion Design, Baton Rouge, LA

Compassion Design is a faith-centered digital infrastructure and creative strategy firm that helps purpose-driven organizations and entrepreneurs clarify their message and build sustainable digital infrastructure. Grounded in the belief that creativity is stewardship, the company integrates branding, digital strategy, and systems thinking to help underestimated leaders communicate with clarity and confidence. Founder Ebonie Farlow-Edwards developed the Ebb Effect Methodology to bridge vision and execution—turning purpose into practical, repeatable strategy and strengthening brand positioning for greater impact. She is developing an eight-week program to introduce Black and Brown teens to social entrepreneurship.

Kaitlin D’Antignac, Life of Abundance, Augusta, Georgia

LIfe of Abundance (SWP—Success, Wealth, Prosperity) is a faith-rooted financial empowerment business led by credit specialist Kaitlin D’Antignac. The project supports individuals and families who have been excluded from or harmed by the financial system by combining practical credit-building support with financial literacy education and mindset coaching. Kaitlin’s work centers on helping people understand how credit functions (including consumer laws and credit profiles—not just scores), reduce harmful debt patterns, and use credit strategically to access opportunities like housing, transportation, and business growth.

Cristin Cooper: Coop’s Soups, Oliney, Maryland

Coop’s Soups, founded by Cristin Cooper, is a community-centered social enterprise that addresses loneliness and food insecurity through shared food and relationship building. What began in 2018 as a dinner church in Cristin’s Maryland apartment has grown into a farmer’s-market–based soup business rooted in ministry, hospitality, and mutual care. Coop’s Soups offers vegan, gluten-free soups made with locally sourced vegetables, using a “soup to share” model in which every batch is intentionally prepared with donation in mind—so that sales sustain the enterprise and soup is specifically made to be donated. Through intentional labeling, monthly communal cooking gatherings, and the revival of a neighborhood garden, the project uses food as a catalyst for connection, dignity, and community resilience.

Debbie Almontaser: Bridging Cultures Group, Brooklyn, NY

Through Bridging Cultures Group (BCG), Dr. Almontaser advances equity and inclusion by designing training programs and initiatives that build understanding across communities and workplaces. BCG’s offerings include customized Train-the-Trainer programs, the Courageous Conversations series for educators, and culturally responsive food access programs. Her approach blends restorative practices, cultural competency, and hands-on learning to help people and communities see themselves a part of a diverse interdependent world across racial, ethnic, and religious lines.