Age: 24
Follow: Facebook
Withelma “T” Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, spent 18 years in the foster care system living through sexual abuse, failed adoptions, group homes and treatment centers, but she turned her difficult childhood into a platform to help others. Today, Pettigrew is a widely-respected youth advocate who uses her personal experience as a sex trafficking victim to help inform groups from Google to Congress about the need to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.