Texas Shines on Time Magazine’s 2025 Time100 Next List
Texas, known for its vast size and cultural diversity, has long been a breeding ground for influential individuals. A new list of emerging leaders highlights this fact, with ten Texans making the cut on Time Magazine’s 2025 Time100 Next list.
The Time100 Next list is a companion to the magazine’s highly anticipated Time 100 list, which recognizes the world’s most influential people. This year’s list features 100 emerging leaders from various fields, including celebrities like Becky G and Tramell Tillman, as well as political figures such as Erika Kirk and Ruben Gallego. Among them are ten notable Texans who are shaping the future in their respective domains.
Paige Bueckers: A Rising Star in Women’s Basketball
Paige Bueckers, the Dallas Wings point guard, is one of the most dynamic women’s basketball players today. Known for her skills during her time at UConn, Bueckers was selected first by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Despite the team’s struggles in 2026, Bueckers made an immediate impact, earning All-Star honors and being named Rookie of the Year in her first season.
WNBA legend Diana Turasi praised Bueckers, noting that “the hardest thing to do is pass the ball,” and that Bueckers does it exceptionally well.
Allison Ellsworth: Building a Beverage Empire
Allison Ellsworth, founder of Poppi, started her journey in the oil and gas industry before transitioning to entrepreneurship. In 2018, she launched Austin-based soda company Poppi, which gained popularity after an investment on Shark Tank. By 2025, she sold the pre-biotic soda company to PepsiCo for $2 billion.
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx and Sneex, praised Ellsworth for scaling her business from scratch and capturing a unique market niche.
Ben Lamm: Pioneering De-Extinction Technology
Ben Lamm, an Austin-native Baylor graduate, co-founded Colossal Biosciences with geneticist George Church. The company has made headlines for its work in de-extinction, including claims of resurrecting the extinct dire wolf. While some scientists were skeptical, Colossal later clarified that its efforts involve gene-edited grey wolves.
Susan Bullman: Cancer Research Innovator
Susan Bullman, a scientist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, studies how the human digestive tract’s microbiome responds to oral and colorectal cancers. Her research is crucial, as Matthew Meyerson of Dana-Farber notes, especially in understanding the rise of colorectal cancer among younger people.
Tracy and Arjav Ezekiel: Culinary Entrepreneurs
Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel and Arjav Ezekiel, co-owners of Birdie’s in Austin, have made a name for themselves in the culinary world. Tracy serves as the chef, while Arjav is the beverage director. In 2025, Arjav received a James Beard award, and Tracy was a finalist for best chef in Texas in 2024.
Ray Allensworth: Leading Private Spaceflight
Ray Allensworth, 32, is the Spacecraft Program Director at Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park. The company made history by becoming the first private entity to land a spacecraft on the moon. Allensworth leads the company’s private spaceflight efforts, emphasizing the importance of experience and perspective at a young age.
Elliston Berry: Advocating Against Deepfake Porn
Elliston Berry, from Aledo, became an advocate against deepfake porn after a personal experience. Her story led to the passage of the bipartisan Take It Down Act, which criminalizes non-consensual deepfake porn and requires social media platforms to remove such content within 48 hours.
Efrén Olivares: Championing Immigrant Rights
Efrén Olivares, a McAllen-based human rights lawyer, works with the National Immigration Law Center to defend immigrants. His advocacy reflects the principles of justice and equality he has championed throughout his career.
Shantanu Agarwal: Fighting Climate Change Through Innovation
Shantanu Agarwal, founder of Mati Carbon, is tackling climate change through innovative solutions. His company uses basalt rock in farms in the Global South to capture carbon in soil, aiming to remove over 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2050.
Additional Stories from Texas
- Yee-haw: Whataburger teams up with a Texas company for a western wear line.
- Explainer: Another tribal casino is coming to Texas. How is it legal?
- Impact: Mattress Mack no longer has any love for this sport.
- Sports: Even ‘Jeopardy’ is clowning the Astros’ late-season collapse.
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