State: Maryland
Years on RSYC: 2026
Naomi uses her leadership skills and life experience to uplift and support Black girls through education and mentoring.
With her initiative, The Embold Project, Naomi teaches Black girls affirming natural hair care and self-love to address chronic school absenteeism.
Naomi recently worked with five peers to design and host natural hair workshops for area youth groups. In these workshops, girls had the opportunity to play with textured-hair dolls, learn techniques, try products, and engage in conversations about Black girlhood. Naomi has distributed over 600 natural hair products fueled by her networking efforts to gather donations and fundraising for her organization.
A senior in high school, Naomi also engages with youth outside of her project, by coaching gymnastics, tutoring students, and teaching cheerleading for the Special Olympics. She is excited to be a speaker at “Curl Fest,” the largest natural hair event in the United States and was recently recognized by the Princeton Prize for Race Relations, Maryland Chapter for The Embold Project.
Naomi shares that her work is centered around, “redefining people and communities in their own image.”
