--- description: Find out why Skye Perryman is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Skye Perryman: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f050c23a4d1754/6998c5c9a97fc014eea7442b/time100-2025-skye-perryman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Skye Perryman by Kelley Robinson  WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 28: Skye Perryman speaks as student loan borrowers and advocates gather for the People's Rally To Cancel Student Debt During The Supreme Court Hearings On Student Debt Relief on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for People's Rally to Cancel Student Debt ) WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 28: Skye Perryman speaks as student loan borrowers and advocates gather for the People's Rally To Cancel Student Debt During The Supreme Court Hearings On Student Debt Relief on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for People's Rally to Cancel Student Debt )Jemal Countess—Getty Images for People's Rally to Cancel Student Debt Skye Perryman works tirelessly every day to safeguard our enduring, yet fragile, democracy. When Donald Trump’s federal-funding freeze sparked fear and confusion across the country, Skye acted decisively. As president of Democracy Forward, she mobilized a rapid-response legal team and filed the nation’s first lawsuit [challenging the freeze](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/us/trump-federal-courts-lawsuits.html "undefined"), winning the crucial administrative stay (and later injunction) that halted it nationwide. Whether litigating policy in our nation’s highest courts or speaking with Medicaid recipients in small towns, she understands that institutional power structures concede nothing without pressure and demand from the people. When Skye took the helm of Democracy Forward in 2021, she knew the work ahead would not be easy, but was desperately needed. Her work is now more critical than ever before. There is no question that we are living through uncertain, unstable, and scary times for so many Americans. We are moving through a moment that requires bold, swift action—Skye has shown time and again that she is willing and able to meet this moment. _Robinson is president of the Human_ _Rights Campaign_ Skye Perryman Is on the 2025 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273773/skye-perryman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273773/skye-perryman/"},"headline":"Skye Perryman","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:46:03.071Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273773/skye-perryman/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","T100innovators2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f050c23a4d1754/6998c5c9a97fc014eea7442b/time100-2025-skye-perryman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f050c23a4d1754/6998c5c9a97fc014eea7442b/time100-2025-skye-perryman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273773/skye-perryman/","name":"Skye Perryman"}}]}] ```