Some subjects make people look away. That’s why the toughest problems need the most energetic and committed people behind them. People like Brittni Kellom who works with survivors of child sexual abuse in Detroit or D Watkins who breaks down the social cost of racism in his best-selling books....

A good story can get you places. Take Muhammad Najeeullah who gets local kids into science and technology by running robot battles in portable drone zones, or Baltimore engineer Brittany Young who’s using dirt bike culture to generate young engineers. Amy Kaherl explains how she’s creating a...