Attorney General Brian Schwalb named 25 young Washingtonians as recipients of the D.C. Office of the Attorney General's (OAG) 2026 Right Direction Awards, marking the program's 10th year.

The ceremony was scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW. The annual awards recognize District youth and young adults ages 14 to 24 who have shown perseverance through adversity and serve as mentors, leaders and role models in their communities.

OAG has recognized more than 200 young people over the past decade.

"For the past 10 years, OAG's Right Direction Awards have celebrated the resilience, leadership, and vision that more than 200 DC youth have demonstrated in their lives," Schwalb said in a statement announcing the honorees. He called the honorees "mentors, volunteers, role models, and changemakers" who "have done extraordinary things, oftentimes against extraordinary odds."

Robert White, the former at-large D.C. Council member who created the awards in 2015 while serving as OAG's director of community engagement, was listed as the keynote speaker. The OAG described White as "Delegate-elect" in its announcement. As we reported Nov. 4, D.C. voters elected White as the District's congressional delegate.

This year's 25 honorees range from age 15 to 24 and represent Wards 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8. They include Calique Barnes, 19, of Ward 8; Zyah Brown, 15, of Ward 4; Daniela Espana, 17, of Ward 1; Makhia Hall, 23, of Ward 8; and Tatiana Robinson, 24, of Ward 8, among others.

OAG also presented Youth Empowerment Recognition Awards to a group of advocates who helped shepherd the Support, Opportunity, Unity and Legal Relationships Act (SOUL Act) through the D.C. Council. Dayar Brown, an OAG staff member, was also honored with the award.

The SOUL Act is a D.C. bill crafted by current and former foster youth that would allow teens 16 and older to legally enlist multiple guardians or trusted adults for support without fully severing ties to their birth parents. The bill received unanimous support in the D.C. Council, was signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser and sent to Congress, where it has bipartisan support, ABC News reported in July. It was expected to take effect in September.

The 13 Youth Empowerment honorees include Cierra Bailey, Princess Simms, Zaniya Torres and Destinee Stokes.