Meet the 22 Philly-area folks who made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list

Forbes revealed its 30 under 30 class of 2026 this week and plenty of people with Philly-area ties made the list in its various categories. 

We’ve gone through the more than 600 honorees in Forbes’ 20 categories (“30 under 30” is straight up misinformation) and found 22 with local ties. 

Get ready to read “Penn grad” a lot. 

Sports

• Probably the most recognizable names on the list are Philadelphia Eagles pair — and Super Bowl LIX champions — Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. 
• Also selected from the NFL is Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, who hails from Doylestown and attended Central Bucks High School West.
• Abigail McCulloch, the founder of Chicago-based Alma Padel, attended the Wharton School at Penn.

Social Media

• Local influencer and Jefferson University grad Brandon Edelman, better known as Bran Flakezz to his followers. Billy Penn spoke to him earlier this year about the local influencer economy.
• Penn grad Cindy Ji Won Lim is the director of brand marketing at Match Group — the company that owns most of the dating apps on your phone. She’s also the co-founder of Korean-inspired streetwear company Sundae School.

Food and Drink 

• Penn alum Kara Rosenblum is co-owner of Bar Next Door on West Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard.
• Maggie Tang, another Penn graduate, is the founder of Magic Technologies, an “AI company for powering real-world experiences”  in the hospitality space.

Media

• Wall Street Journal producer and host Farah Otero-Amad attended Penn, where she played on the women’s soccer team. 
• CBS Sports’ lead WNBA analyst Isis “Ice” Young is from close-by Berlin, N.J.

Social Impact

• Alexandre Imbot and Eli Moraru, founders of the Community Grocer in West Philly, are Penn grads. The nonprofit provides a model where Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients can legally purchase hot, healthy meals that comply with federal policy. 
• Andre Hamra, co-founder of the recruiting platform Refer, which provides AI-powered recruiting agents, is also a Penn alum.

Education

• Penn grad Kausi Raman is a co-founder of ChompShop, which makes a child-safe power tool that cuts cardboard. The Chompsaw stirred up a bidding frenzy on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” which ended with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner going in on a $250,000 deal for 15% of the company.

Transportation and Aerospace

• Philly native and Wharton grad John Huddleston is the co-founder of Albacore Inc., which develops long-range autonomous underwater vehicles that are used for military defense.

Games

• Crystal Yang, who at 18 is the youngest person on this local list, is currently a Penn student and founder of Audemy, a nonprofit that makes educational video games that are accessible for blind gamers, as well as toolkits that make mainstream games more accessible.
• Penn grad Salaar Kohair is a co-founder of indie game studio CAGE Studios.

Manufacturing and Industry

• Penn grad Tristan Fogt is a co-founder of Sensory Robotics in Cincinnati.
• Fellow Penn alum Katherine Sizov is the founder of the biotech company Strella, which uses machine learning to reduce food waste in supply chains.

Energy and Green Tech

• Penn alum Jason Kaufmann is a cofounder of Maritime Fusion, which is building fusion reactors for maritime travel.

Finance

• Penn grad Yejin Yeoum is a principal with investment managers BC Partners.

Venture Capital 

• David Waltcher, another Penn alum, is a principal at venture capital firm FirstMark.

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