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Shigeru Ban does not call himself an environmental architect even though he has made a name in paper architecture. The Naked House at Kawagoe, Saitama prefecture, Japan; the Nomadic Museum; the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand; and the Musée d'art Moderne Georges in Pompidou, Metz, France are just some of his masterpieces. They all have one thing in common-paper. He founded the Voluntary Architects' Network (VAN), a non-governmental organization that aids in building homes for refugees and evacuees. Because of his dedication to giving back to the community, he has been dubbed "the people's architect." To read more about Shigeru Ban visit www.thextraordinary.org

What we take for granted, the women in Kakenya Ntaiya's village are denied of. A member of the Maasai community, Kakenya and her fellow women were looked down by men in their society. In a way, cultural customs discouraged a woman's success. Before they even get to high school, they are married off and get relegated to a life of service to their husband and children. But Kakenya fought her way to college, eventually becoming the first Maasai woman to achieve such feat. And because women do not forget, she founded The Kakenya Center for Excellence to give back. To read more about Kakenya Ntaiya visit www.thextraordinary.org.

Peyton Robertson began inventing at the age of eight. He's been brought up by his parents to think of solutions to problems rather than complain about them. By the time he turned 12 years old, Peyton has won first place in Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for inventing Sandless Operational Sandbag (SOS). His invention is a lot lighter than conventional sandbags, more intuitively designed to avoid seawater or floodwater from seeping in, and 100% reusable. Once totally dried after use, the SOS can just be stored for future flood emergencies. To read more about Peyton Robertson visit www.thextraordinary.org

Mackenzie Bearup may seem unfortunate for having been diagnosed to have an incurable disease known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. She, however, did not let this disability keep her from doing extraordinary things, like providing kids with distraction to help them cope with their emotional distress and physical pain. After discovering how books made her feel better despite the pain, she started a book drive that is now known as Sheltering Books. She just turned 18, so we could expect more good deeds from this lovely young lady who's in pain yet still managed to think of others. To read more about Mackenzie Bearup visit www.thextraordinary.org.

Meet the extraordinary and very well-known publisher, philanthropist and human rights activist who founded Human Rights Watch, an organization that focuses on promoting human rights throughout the world, and the more recent Advancing Human Rights, Robert Bernstein. A dedicated and passionate leader of human rights, Robert has spent his entire life promoting human rights both in closed and open societies. "Dictatorships must be brought up to the level of democracies." To read more about Robert Bernstein visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary William Kamkwamba. At 14 years old, William built windmills from scratch to power his house and irrigate their fields. When he was told he could no longer continue school, he kept reading and from there learned how to build windmills using diagrams. "We skip the problem by creating our own solutions." To read more about William Kamkwamba visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary entrepreneur, scientist and nuclear engineer who is most known for her design, the Waste-Annihilating Molten Salt Reactor, a nuclear reactor design that not only eliminates reactor waste by reusing it as nuclear fuel, but also provides more electricity than the conventional nuclear reactor, Leslie Dewan. "If you want to bring change to any field, beat away at a problem until you solve it." Leslie Dewan www.thextraordinary.org

Alexander McLean has so much compassion for the suffering inmates of Africa that he has dedicated most of his life to caring for them and personally making sure that their needs are well-provided for. He founded the African Prisoners Project or APP when he was only 18 years old back in 2004 after witnessing a shackled inmate in a hospital lying in his own waste. The suffering is already more than enough. Depriving them of their basic right to life is something he couldn't just look away from. To read more about Alexander McLean visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet Brittany Wenger, a young inventor, computer programmer and scientist from Ohio who is most known for making Cloud4Cancer, an artificial intelligence software that is designed to detect breast cancer and leukemia at the least invasive and best way possible. Originally starting out as a science project after Brittany's cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer, Cloud4Cancer has now grown to becoming a future potential choice in diagnosing diseases such as this. To read more about Brittany Wenger visit www.thextraordinary.org

Nancy Lublin is an entrepreneur, business consultant and philanthropist who is most famous for founding Dress for Success, an organization that provides career development training and interview suits for aspiring young people; and currently being the chief executive officer of DoSomething.org, a non-profit organization that focuses on motivating young people to do their part and create change in their communities through participating in nationwide campaigns.

The human mind. The last frontier of man's journey to discover himself and the one thing that sets humans apart and makes them unique from all creatures on Earth. The mind is often referred to as a person's soul, containing the various aspects of thought, emotion and decision. And so, understanding the mind is a great necessity to help us address a lot of the problems that society is facing today, by working on ways that will help enhance the human mind, which will then result on the improvement of a person's life and thus enable him/her to become a more productive member of the community. To read more about Tan Le visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary environmentalist and architect who is most famous for the "Earthship Biotecture", an architectural building design that aims to create sustainable and eco-friendly homes to reduce stress and make living more comfortable and at the same time benefiting the environment, Michael "Mike" Reynolds. "If you walk the talk, you don't have to talk that much." To read more about Mike Reynolds visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, formerly known by the name Bradley Edward Manning, is a soldier in the United States Army who became famous worldwide for being accused and convicted for leaking the largest set of classified files to the public regarding a major U.S. military controversy. A person with an extraordinary love for humanity and passion for truth and justice. "I always want to figure out the truth". To read more about Chelsea Elizabeth Manning visit: www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary young entrepreneur, philanthropist, blogger and IT professional who is most known for developing Ushahidi, an open-source software platform that is designed to provide crisis reporting and information, Juliana Rotich. "I am, as optimistic about the world, and as action-oriented as I aspired to be". To read more about Juliana Rotich visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary creator of the prestigious TED Conferences which he chaired it for more than a decade, Richard Saul Wurman. Other conferences he created and chaired are California 101, TEDSELL, TEDNYC, TED4Kobe in Japan, TEDMED and TEDCity in Toronto. He founded and chaired TEDMED which was eventually sold for millions of dollars. "Leadership is having an idea". To read more about Richard Saul Wurman visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary inventor of a water purifier that uses solar energy to make water clean and safe to drink, Deepika Kurup. Her invention was featured in the 2013 White House Science Fair. She won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2012 and was named "America's Top Young Scientist of 2012" for her invention. "A scientist is one who loves learning and getting a better understanding of the world." To read more about Deepika Kurup visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary Richard O'Barry. He is a former dolphin hunter and trainer who turned activist after one of the dolphins he trained died in his arms. He is most popular for being the trainer of the five dolphins that were used in the 1960s television series "Flipper", as well as being the founder of the international organization "The Dolphin Project". "Everything starts with a dream". To read more about Richard O'Barry visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary philanthropist and animal activist who is most famous for being the founder of Orangutan Outreach, one of the largest animal conservation organizations in the world today,Richard Zimmerman. Aiming to not just protect and save the orangutans from extinction but also to get more people involved through the internet and other forms of media. "People have a strong voice via social media". To read more about Richard Zimmerman visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary inventor of supercapacitor that can be recharged in 20 seconds, Eesha Khare. She won 50,000 dollars in 2013 in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Her invention can be used in mobile phone batteries, cars, and other every-day gadgets. "Do not look at titles." To read more about Eesha Khare visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary Will Allen. He is a former professional basketball player and current urban farmer who is most noted for leading the successful urban farming organization, Growing Power. Throughout his career Will has been invited numerous times to speak about the importance and methods of urban farming, and he is considered to be among the top experts and leaders in urban farming today. "I've always eaten good food. I search out good food." To read more about Will Allen visit www.thextraordinary.org