- December 08, 2023
- By Sala Levin ’10
An app that lets users shop other people’s closets, a water filter that removes skin irritants and a nonprofit dedicated to empowering women in the music industry: These accomplishments landed three Terps on Forbes’ 2024 30 Under 30 lists, the magazine’s popular annual roundup of 600 young changemakers around the world.
These three University of Maryland graduates join nearly 25 innovators and entrepreneurs who Forbes has celebrated since 2011 for their contributions to categories like finance, media, science and education. Read on to learn more about this year’s honorees.
Kristina London ’19 (communication) landed on the magazine’s music list for her role as founder of Amplify Her Voice, an L.A.-based nonprofit that connects women with record company internships and mentors in the music industry.
The organization, which launched in 2019, has more than 60,000 members and works with companies like Live Nation, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and the Recording Academy. “As a connections-based industry that has been dominated by men, men have far more connections, opportunities and are given more chances,” London told the Chicago Music Guide. “Until more women and marginalized individuals are given opportunities to lead, solutions to these problems will remain relatively stagnant.”
Lynn Ma ’18 (public health science) was named to the retail and e-commerce list. Ma is the co-founder of Filterbaby, a water filter that attaches to sinks to remove chlorine, microplastics, rust and lead, which Ma said can irritate the skin.
Ma, who used to model for Nordstrom and Equinox, created the filter with her sister, Xin Ma ’10, after noticing that their skin felt dry and tight after they washed with tap water. They soon discovered that chlorine, commonly used to sanitize tap water, "can strip natural oils from your skin," said Ma, exacerbating "almost every type of skin issue you can think of." Filterbaby has researched and created technology to help those with eczema rosacea and other skin conditions The filters are also sold online at Urban Outfitters and Bloomingdale's, and the company anticipates generating $8.5 million in revenue this year.
Brian McMahon ’15 (business information systems) made Forbes’ retail and e-commerce list as co-founder and CEO of Pickle, an app that lets users rent out their wardrobe to people in their area.
McMahon and his co-founder, Julia O’Mara, launched Pickle in New York City in 2021. Users can filter by size, style and occasion to see whether anyone nearby has a clothing option to get them out of a fashion pickle (hence the name). “You can essentially think of it as Airbnb for clothes that you own,” McMahon told WWD. The app has gone viral on New York City TikTok and has expanded to cities beyond the Big Apple, and is opening its first retail store this weekend in Manhattan. The company has raised $8 million in funding and has a $30 million valuation.