Philly artist Qualeasha Wood is a part of 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists

Forbes’ released its series of annual 30 Under 30 lists today, and, perhaps fittingly, more than 30 recipients are Greater Philadelphia trailblazers.

The Forbes 30 under 30 lists includes 600 honorees, who are categorized under 20 different industries, including athletics, education, technology, and business.

There are 32 winners with Philadelphia ties. One is Philly textile artist and Long Branch, N.J. native Qualeasha Wood.

Wood’s work has been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other art institutions across the country. One of her large woven jacquard tapestries is part of celebrity art collector Swizz Beatz and his wife Alicia Keys’ star-studded collection.

Back in March, Wood, who resides in Callowhill, said the internet is the inspiration behind most of her deeply personal projects. Social media’s self-reflection, surveillance, and occasional terror inspired Woods’ woven jacquard artwork, Clout Chasin,’ which incorporated disparaging social media comments following a doxxing incident while Wood was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2016.

“It’s an example of the internet’s real-life impact,” she said. “People who don’t navigate the internet with any sort of fear or precaution just don’t think about these things happening.”

One of Wood’s many tapestries was displayed at New York’s Brooklyn Museum in July. The exhibition, titled “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” was the first major exhibit of the couple’s holdings. Wood shared museum space with Gordon Parks, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Amy Sherald, and other iconic Black artists.

“I never would’ve imagined we’d all be in the same room,” Wood said. And now the 28-year-old artist is in more hallowed company with some of the country’s youngest and most celebrated pioneers and change-makers.

Among the sports honorees are NBA all-star guard and New Brunswick, N.J. native Jalen Brunson, 28, and North Carolina field hockey head coach Erin Matson, 24, who grew up in Chadds Ford, Pa.

As a standout on Villanova University’s basketball team from 2015-2018, Brunson helped lead the collegiate program to two national championships. He was named National Player of the Year during his last season for the Wildcats. That year, he was drafted No. 33 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, and has since become one of the league’s most dynamic combo-guards. He’s led the Knicks to consecutive winning seasons and playoff appearances.

“Grateful and humbled to be recognized on the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 list — Sports,” Brunson said in a LinkedIn post. “What an honor to join such a talented and passionate group of individuals who make meaningful impact across industries. Thank you everyone for the support.”

Matson, was added to Forbes’ Sports category for her contributions at the University of North Carolina.

As a player, she was named the national player of the year three times. After graduating in December 2022, the “Michael Jordan of field hockey” accepted the coaching job at her alma mater. And in November 2023, the then 23-year-old Matson became the youngest head coach in history to win an NCAA Division 1 championship, according to Forbes.

Other honorees from the Philadelphia area include Bryn Mawr College alumna and esports broadcast host Elisabeth Marchini; Maya Nazareth, who founded the Philadelphia-based Alchemize Fightwear; Berwyn native and Harvard grad Jahnavi Rao, who founded New Voters when she was in high school to help classmates register to vote; and Wharton student Simi Shah, the founder of South Asian Trailblazers, among others.

UPenn has at least three alums on the list: Zamp founder Rohit Bhandage, Tony Award-winning theater producer Timothy Bloom, and Eztia founder Tiffany Yeh.

For the full list of honorees, visit forbes.com.

Additional reporting by staff writer Rosa Cartegena.