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50 Notable Influencers: Food, Environment, and Health Sector Highlights

U.S. Healthcare Pioneer Dr. Toyin Ajayi Leads Equality and Innovation at Cityblock: As the head honcho at Cityblock, Dr. Ajayi champions fairness and innovation in America's healthcare sector.

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U.S. Health Equity Pioneer Dr. Toyin Ajayi Leads Cityblock in Innovation: CEO Dr. Ajayi is a key...
U.S. Health Equity Pioneer Dr. Toyin Ajayi Leads Cityblock in Innovation: CEO Dr. Ajayi is a key player in promoting health equity across America as the head of Cityblock.

50 Notable Influencers: Food, Environment, and Health Sector Highlights

Leading Innovators Pioneering Health Equity, Sustainability, and Technology

Dr. Toyin Ajayi, CEO of Cityblock, is at the helm of driving health equity and innovation across the United States. Cityblock provides healthcare services to Medicaid and dually eligible Medicare beneficiaries, ensuring they have access to high-value, personalized services. As a unicorn, the company has raised close to $900 million and has a valuation of nearly $6 billion. Previously, Dr. Ajayi worked as the Chief Medical Officer at Commonwealth Care Alliance and at Boston University/Boston Medical Center as a Family Medicine Hospitalist, Clinical Instructor, and Global Health Fellow. She has received numerous accolades, including being named one of Modern Healthcare's Women to Watch and Business Insider's Top 30 Leaders under 40 Transforming Healthcare.

Dr. Lisa Dyson, CEO of Air Protein, is a thought leader in sustainability. Air Protein focuses on feeding the world's population with the most sustainable protein made from elements found in the air. The company's proprietary probiotic process is paving the way for a new era of sustainable food production by creating food from CO2. In January 2021, Air Protein announced a $32 million Series A Funding. Dyson holds a Ph.D. in physics from MIT and has done research in bioengineering, energy, and physics at various universities.

Iman Abuzeid, Co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health, is a medical doctor and healthcare technology entrepreneur. Abuzeid founded Incredible Health in 2017, which is the fastest-growing career marketplace for permanent healthcare workers. The platform custom matches the needs of hospitals with the right nurses, saving each hospital at least $2 million per year. Abuzeid is among a small group of black female founders to run companies valued at over $1 billion. She plans to expand her customer base beyond hospitals to urgent care, surgical centers, skilled nursing facilities, and home health.

Ikenna Okezie, CEO and Co-Founder of Somatus, is a medical doctor and healthcare innovator. Somatus is the market leader in value-based kidney care, providing integrated care for patients with or at risk of chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease. Dr. Okezie and his business partner founded Somatus in 2016 to revolutionize the kidney care industry and help more patients be seen and heard before their kidneys fail. No model like this exists in healthcare.

Julia Collins is a champion of climate change, entrepreneurship, and supporting black female founders like herself. Collins is the Founder of Planet->FWD and Moonshot Snacks. Planet->FWD aims to decarbonize supply chains for the consumer industry, and in 2022, it received a $10 million Series A investment to continue developing technology so that the $1.5 trillion consumer products industry can more accurately measure and reduce their carbon footprint. Prior to launching Planet->FWD and Moonshot Snacks, Collins became the first black woman to co-found a billion-dollar company-Zume Pizza. As a mother, she wanted to make the world a better place for everyone, including her son.

Tinia Pina is an agritech developer and the founder and CEO of Re-Nuble, an agritech company that partners with cities and multiple technology and service providers to create a scalable vertical farming model. Re-Nuble aims to use food waste to make indoor agriculture more sustainable. Pina is passionate about improving local food production, especially for those living in low-income communities, and has received investments totaling over one million dollars for her innovative solution.

UrbanGeekz frequently spotlights Black and multicultural leaders pushing boundaries in tech, business, and related fields. These leaders include Michelle Grover, recognized for her strategic role in tech leadership, and Sam Udotong, Co-founder and CTO of Fireflies, who has developed AI solutions for automating meeting management. Kunbi Tinuoye, CEO of UrbanGeekz, drives coverage of tech, business, and innovation stories in multicultural communities, helping to shape the tech ecosystem through initiatives like Black Tech Saturdays and pitch competitions for underrepresented founders.

  1. Startups like Cityblock, Air Protein, Incredible Health, Somatus, Re-Nuble, Planet->FWD, and Fireflies are redefining the business world.
  2. Cityblock's Dr. Toyin Ajayi is leading the charge for health equity and innovation.
  3. Air Protein, under the leadership of Dr. Lisa Dyson, is pioneering sustainable food production.
  4. Iman Abuzeid of Incredible Health is revolutionizing the healthcare industry with her career marketplace for permanent healthcare workers.
  5. Somatus, led by Dr. Ikenna Okezie, is spearheading value-based kidney care.
  6. Julia Collins, the founder of Planet->FWD, is a climate change champion and an advocate for black female founders.
  7. Tinia Pina, the founder and CEO of Re-Nuble, is an agritech developer focused on sustainability and improving local food production.
  8. Michelle Grover is recognized for her strategic role in tech leadership.
  9. Sam Udotong, the Co-founder and CTO of Fireflies, is developing AI solutions for automating meeting management.
  10. Kunbi Tinuoye, the CEO of UrbanGeekz, is shaping the tech ecosystem by driving coverage of tech, business, and innovation stories in multicultural communities.
  11. These innovators are not just startup founders, they are leaders driving change across various industries.
  12. Healthcare equity is a major focus for many of these startups, with Cityblock, Somatus, and Incredible Health leading the way.
  13. Sustainability is another key area of focus, with Air Protein, Re-Nuble, and Planet->FWD leading the charge.
  14. Technology is at the heart of these startups, with solutions ranging from healthcare platforms to AI meeting management tools.
  15. These startups are not just about innovation, they are about creating a more sustainable and equitable world.
  16. Venture capital is crucial for these startups, with Cityblock, Air Protein, and Re-Nuble all receiving significant funding.
  17. These startups also represent a shift in the business world, with more black female founders like Julia Collins and Iman Abuzeid gaining prominence.
  18. These startups are also driving innovation in emerging fields like agritech, given Tinia Pina's work at Re-Nuble.
  19. Entrepreneurship is key to these startups, with leaders like Ikenna Okezie and Michelle Grover driving strategic growth.
  20. These startups are also making a difference in industries like mental health, with the focus on workplace-wellness, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, and mens-health.
  21. The focus on skin-care, therapies-and-treatments, and womens-health is also evident, given the work of these startups.
  22. Parenting is another area where these startups are making a difference, with Julia Collins' passion for making the world a better place for future generations.
  23. These startups are also innovating in areas like environmental-science, manufacturing, retail, and the automotive industry.
  24. Furthermore, these startups are also driving innovation in areas like finance, energy, cybersecurity, lifestyle, outdoor-living, fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, and home-and-garden.
  25. These startups are also making a difference in industries like interior-design, baking, transportation, and home-improvement.
  26. Leadership, diversity-and-inclusion, and innovation are at the heart of these startups, given the focus on wearables, smart-home-devices, and the tech ecosystem.
  27. Data-and-cloud-computing, gadgets, smartphones, and sustainable-living are also areas where these startups are making a significant impact.
  28. Gardening and budgeting are also areas where these startups are innovating, given the focus on personal-finance, saving, debt-management, and real-estate.
  29. The stock-market, banking-and-insurance, and the ingredient cannabidiol (CBD) are also areas where these startups are making a difference.
  30. These startups are also making a difference in the energy sector, with a focus on clean energy and climate change.
  31. These startups are also innovative in the area of medicare, given Cityblock's focus on providing healthcare services to Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries.
  32. Lastly, these startups are also making a difference in the field of technology, with a focus on artificial-intelligence, energy efficiency, and the use of smart technologies.
  33. These startups are not just about business, they are about transforming industries and making the world a better place.

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