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    Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated welcomed a new group of honorary members on Friday during its 61st Biennial Boule in Tampa, Florida. The 2026 group, known as the “TrailblazerΣ Honorary Membership Class,” includes women from entertainment, sports, business and public service. Among the inductees are actress and producer Tami Roman Youngblood, hip-hop pioneer MC Sha-Rock, basketball legend Lynette Woodard, former Rockette Jennifer Jones and Sesame Street icon Sonia Manzano.

    Roman first rose to fame on The Real World: Los Angeles in 1993 before becoming a fixture on Basketball Wives. Her career later expanded into scripted television with roles in The Family Business and Haus of Vicious, where she also serves as an executive producer. Outside of entertainment, Roman has used her platform to speak candidly about mental health and her experience with body dysmorphic disorder.

    MC Sha-Rock joins the sorority after helping establish a place for women during hip-hop’s earliest years. As a member of Funky 4 + 1, she appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1981 when the group became the first hip-hop act to perform on the program. Her work now includes teaching at Bowie State University.

    Woodard made basketball history in 1985 as the first woman to join the Harlem Globetrotters. The Olympic gold medalist previously starred at the University of Kansas, where her 3,649 career points stood as the women’s college basketball scoring record for 43 years. She entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.

    Jones also broke a major barrier when she became the first Black Rockette in 1987. She remained with the company for 15 years and has since written about her experience while advocating for cancer awareness following her own diagnosis and recovery.

    Other honorees include three-time U.S. Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku-Bradley; entrepreneur and actress Malorie Bailey; plumbing industry pioneer Adrienne Bennett; Disney Imagineering executive Charita Carter; three-time U.S. Olympian Michelle Carter; humanitarian and mental health advocate Dr. Ann-Marie Dillard; attorney Natasha Grey-Brooks; communications expert Adrien Lake; Black Girl Sunscreen founder Shontay Lundy; executive leader Michele A. Newman-Lawrence; singer and actress Dame Lisa Simone; author and NAMI ambassador April Simpkins; Olympic bobsledder Elana Taylor; educator Priscilla Till; scholar and educator Dr. Cassandra Wells; and musician Venzella Joy Williams.

    The induction took place under International President Marica T. Harris as Sigma Gamma Rho celebrated its newest members in Tampa.

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