Fort Worth is a city on the move.

Now the 10th-largest city in the country, it combines rapid growth with a unique culture and place in Texas history. That duality has created a class of leaders who are both protecting Fort Worth's identity and adding to it in unique ways.

Those are the kinds of leaders we're highlighting in the third annual Fort Worth Newsmakers list: 30 people who are helping to shape the future of a dynamic and economically diverse place. This is not an awards program. There were no nominations. Instead, senior members of our newsroom selected the leaders we think will have an outsized influence on Cowtown in the next year.

We will highlight the Newsmakers online and in the Sept. 11 print edition. These are pros you need to know if you have big ideas — or big questions — about Fort Worth.

2026 Fort Worth Newsmakers

• Susan Alanis, Panther Island Program director, Tarrant Regional Water District
• Mike Berry, president, Hillwood
• Kirk Calhoun, president, UNT Health Fort Worth
• Cody Campbell and John Sellers, co-CEOs, Double Eagle Energy Holdings
• David Cooke, COO, Sundance Square
• Jennifer Cowley, president, University of Texas at Arlington
• Cameron Cushman, executive director, Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership
• Joseph DeWoody, CEO, Valor Mineral Management
• Ryan Dickerson, CEO, Walsh Cos.
• Karen Duncan, president and CEO , JPS Health Network
• Gibson Duwe, principal, Transwestern; also 2SP partners
• Ericka Garza, president and CEO , Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Michelle Green-Ford, president and CEO, Fort Worth Metro Black Chamber of Commerce
• Megan Henderson, president, Near Southside Inc.
• Matt Homan, manager, Dickies Arena (Trail Drive Management Corp.)
• Anette Soto Landeros, chief strategy officer, Trinity Metro
• Monica Luera, vice president of redevelopment services, Trademark Property Co.
• Alan Lund, executive vice president, MP Materials
• Danny Maldonado, CEO, Bell Textron Inc.
• Steve McKeever, developer, North City
• Rick Merrill, president and CEO, Cook Children’s Medical Center
• Daniel Pullin, chancellor, Texas Christian University
• Jessica Rogers, director of economic development, city of Fort Worth
• Susan Sheffield, CEO, GM Financial
• Schafer Smartt, vice president of development, Larkspur Capital
• Robert Sturns, executive director, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County
• Heath Townsend, vice president of development, Dart Interests
• Adrienne Wall, managing partner, Munsch Hardt
• Mitch Whitten, president and CEO, Visit Fort Worth

To read more, click here.