Deborah Dogba, Program Director, Salvation Army North Corps, Founder, Afro Swag Media & Magazine, CEO, Business Seals Consulting Firm, is a 2025 Next 100 Honoree., In every room she enters, Deborah Dogba carries the authority of someone who has done the work — the internal work, the cultural work, the entrepreneurial work. She is known for her presence, her discipline and her ability to see people clearly. But ask her what defines a leader, and she doesn’t hesitate: integrity

David Earl, who spent 10 years reporting in Omaha, now applies those skills as an attorney in Chicago. David Earl built his career on listening. As a journalist in Omaha, he spent a decade asking questions that helped communities understand themselves more clearly, approaching every story with the belief that information could strengthen the public. “I got into journalism because I wanted to make people smarter,” he said. “I wanted to help solve society’s problems.” That inst

In a newsroom defined by the relentless churn of the day’s events, Katie Bane is slowing down long enough to build deeper, more intentional relationships with the people she leads. As assistant news director at KETV, Bane oversees a large, multi‑platform operation in one of the most complex eras of journalism. Yet the heart of her leadership is simple — creating space for connection and growth.

When companies talk about finding talent, they often quickly focus on job postings, interviews, compensation and whether the candidate is the right fit. Johnson listens, then rewinds the tape. If leaders want the right hire, she argues, they need to invest earlier, deeper and with more intention in people who are often overlooked.

by Jay Liebenguth In this essay, guest contributor Jay Liebenguth makes a simple but provocative case: Not every interruption needs to be optimized. "In Defense of the Snow Day" invites leaders to reconsider the value of an unplanned pause in an always-on world. There are certain childhood rites you don’t recognize as rites until they’re gone. If you grew up where winter was a real season, you know what I mean: the Snow Day Vigil . You’d wake up early with that strange mix

From Managing Tasks to Curating Judgment For decades, leadership was defined by expertise - the person in the room who knew the most. That assessment is evaporating. AI can now out-read, out-summarize and out-scan any human. With that shift, the Information Age is fading, replaced by something more demanding: the Age of Discernment. Today, leadership is shaped by the capacity to evaluate information, place it in context and act with purpose. The Shift Where leaders once owned

Introducing The Next 100 Leadership Index Over the past five years, organizations have navigated overlapping waves of disruption—technological acceleration, labor-market volatility, rising employee expectations and pressure for stronger governance and social responsibility. The leaders who succeed in 2026 will be those who adapt to these changes with discipline and a willingness to rethink long-standing assumptions. Across industries, research points to similar conclusions: T

Research shows regions with active civic networks and leadership programs show higher levels of innovation and civic participation.

In leadership, roots are your values, your self-awareness, your ability to reflect before reacting. They’re the habits and principles that keep you steady when conditions change.

Born in Omaha and raised with a deep respect for both street culture and fine art, Jackson built Local Art Plug from the ground up.

In every movement, every challenge and every comeback, there is one powerful constant: hope. It fuels leaders. It rallies communities. It's the curious bend in the road that becomes a contagious energy for change.

In leadership, we often talk about momentum: moving forward, making change, accelerating results. What's equally important is the question we don’t always stop to ask: What’s holding you steady?

Certainty may never return in the way we once knew it, but leadership doesn’t require certainty. It requires clarity, trust and the courage to evolve.

Adaptive leadership is less about "knowing" and more about being tuned in to what’s happening now, allowing us to move with life's changes.

Change doesn’t knock anymore. It lets itself in, makes a mess of your plans and dares you to figure out what matters most.

The world remembers Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, but few recall the man whose brilliance made their inventions practical. Without him, the lightbulb might have struggled to achieve widespread use, and the telephone’s development might have taken a different path. His name was Lewis Latimer - and he helped illuminate the world. The Challenge By the 1870s, the world was racing toward electric light. Thomas Edison had developed a working lightbulb, but it still faced

Confidence helps people push boundaries, overcome challenges and seize opportunities.

by Jill Bruckner From academic rigor to superior student-support systems, WalletHub’s recently released report, States with the Best &...

Omaha leaders unveil four pillars for the future.