Success can be measured in a lot of ways. Titles, accomplishments, awards, or years of experience. But making a difference is something bigger. It’s about the impact you leave on the people, organizations, and communities around you.
That idea is at the heart of the Difference Maker Top 100, a list created by Trish to recognize individuals whose work and leadership are creating meaningful change.
In a recent conversation with Trish, we went behind the scenes of the Difference Maker Top 100 to learn why she created the list, what makes someone a true difference maker, and why taking the time to recognize impactful people matters.
There are plenty of lists that celebrate professional success. The Difference Maker Top 100 looks beyond the resume.
For Trish, the goal is to recognize people whose influence extends beyond their own accomplishments. These are individuals who invest in others, strengthen their organizations, challenge the status quo, and find ways to leave their corner of the world better than they found it.
That distinction matters. A difference maker doesn’t necessarily need to be the person with the biggest title or the loudest voice in the room. Often, they’re the people consistently doing the work, helping others succeed, and creating an impact that ripples far beyond themselves.
Recognizing the People Behind the Impact
One of the most powerful aspects of the Difference Maker Top 100 is simply giving people their moment of recognition.
In fast-moving professional communities, it’s easy to move from one challenge or accomplishment to the next without stopping to acknowledge the people making it all happen. The Difference Maker Top 100 creates that opportunity.
It celebrates not only what someone has achieved, but also how they’ve influenced the people around them. And that recognition can extend beyond the honoree, shining a light on the teams, organizations, mentors, and communities that helped make their impact possible.
Our own Lindy Kyzer, VP of Content, PR, and Events made the list at #22: The Talent Magnet.
There’s No Single Path to Making a Difference
Looking across a group of difference makers also reveals an important lesson: meaningful impact doesn’t have a single formula.
Leadership can look different from person to person. Some people make a difference by mentoring the next generation. Others create new opportunities, solve difficult problems, advocate for their teams, build stronger communities, or simply show up consistently when people need them.
What connects them isn’t necessarily a job title or career path. It’s intentionality. They choose to make their work about something bigger than themselves.
How Are You Making a Difference?
Perhaps that’s the most important takeaway from our conversation with Trish. Being a difference maker isn’t ultimately about receiving an award or seeing your name on a Top 100 list. It’s about what you do when no one is keeping score.
It’s about the people you’ve helped, the opportunities you’ve created, the problems you’ve solved, and the community you’ve strengthened along the way. The Difference Maker Top 100 gives us an opportunity to celebrate those people. But it also gives the rest of us a question worth considering:
How are you making a difference?
