We’re excited to announce the top four finalists in our contest to find our next Champion in the fight against malaria. Voting will open until May 31st – so make sure you cast your vote to help us choose the next Champion!
Meet our finalists:
Naomi Kodama
Chesterfield, MO
When it was time for Naomi Kodama to tell her parents what gift she was hoping to receive for her seventh birthday, she shared with them that she didn’t want any gifts at all. Instead, she hoped to use her birthday to help others. Naomi wanted to have a birthday party where guests could make donations for life-saving bed nets. Read more and vote for Naomi here.
Bryant Barr
Davidson, NC
Bryant Barr, a former Davidson College student, first became interested in global health issues on a mission trip. After his trip, he returned to Davidson and used his passion for basketball to engage his teammates and local students in a 3-on-3 tournament to raise money for bed nets. Now, just a couple of years later, Bryant is inspiring his community to send even more life-saving nets through his BUZZKILL Foundation to benefit Nothing But Nets. Read more and vote for Bryant here.
Mahdi Mohamed Ramsan
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Dr. Mahdi Mohamed Ramsan has led USAID-funded programs to fight malaria since 2006, as chief of party for RTI International. Under his leadership, malaria prevalence rates in Zanzibar are at pre-elimination levels. More than 1 million people in Zanzibar — nearly 100% of the population — have been protected through indoor residual spraying (IRS) and more than 330,000 nets have been distributed to vulnerable children and pregnant women. Read more and vote for Dr. Mahdi here.
Alexandra Taylor
New York, NY
A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Alexandra uses her passion for fashion to send nets and save lives with Nothing But Nets. Using her mosquito-inspired prints and building off the beauty of nets, she designed a line of scarves to support the purchase of bed nets. Her scarf collection “Alexandra Taylor for the Nothing But Nets Campaign” features six styles. Every time someone buys a scarf, Alexandra donates $10 to Nothing But Nets — so every customer is sending a net and saving a life. Read more and vote for Alexandra here.
Cast your votes for our next Champion today! We’ll announce the winner in Chicago alongside our partners at the WNBA Sky Season Opener on June 10.
And remember: it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, anyone can be a Champion in the fight against malaria. All you’ve got to do is take action: whether it’s raising awareness about malaria prevention, volunteering on the ground, sending nets and saving lives, advocating for government funding for malaria programs, working in a lab — there are so many ways to be a Champion.
Keep up the great work!