Our goal is to make this world a better place, one person at a time. BL. We need to talk not just to our members but to the entire business community., In 2020, Staffins served as chair of the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and is serving an additional year due to the pandemic. The ideal candidate is someone who is successful in his or her profession and is passionate about community service. A regular commuter, he advocated for the creation of two new bus routes in South Atlanta to make transit easier for residents. Wherever hes worked Thomson, Newton County, and now Brunswick and the Golden Isles Ralph Staffins has built a reputation for helping businesses succeed. February 2021 Ricky Walia, chief operating officer of Walia Hospitality Group, and Varun Yarabarla, development lead at VentLife, were among the dynamic Atlantans included in last year's "40 Under 40" list put out by Georgia Trend. We can provide grants to incubate, innovate and scale things that are really working in the district and use some of the funds and relationships we have to influence policy and shift the way things are done, says Starkel. She launched a company that sells Vaxxed wristbands, shirts, masks and buttons. Both are entrepreneurs who stepped up their efforts in 2020 to meet the challenges of the pandemic. BL. In addition, he coaches Little League baseball and serves on the local planning and zoning commission. Honorees and the event's associated sponsors will also be highlighted in a variety of online and print publications. The annual honor recognizes young alumni who have made significant strides in business, leadership, community, educational or philanthropic endeavors. Were looking for those whose involvement and commitment goes well beyond what they are paid to do. Smith serves as chair of the board for Trinity Community Ministries, is an immediate past chair of the Avondale Elementary School Education Foundation and a trustee of the Hopeful/Honest Initiative on Race and Understanding, where he partners with business and community leaders from Atlanta and the Southeast to have hopeful and honest dialogue about race. The program has a 90% success rate, according to Brantley. Davis coaches female athletes at Dunwoody High School and the Atlanta Track Club and she also mentors athletes at Berry College, where she was a track athlete. Paul is currently the Associate General Counsel at InComm Payments in Atlanta. Introducing the 40 Under 40 Class of 2021. PR. The only child of a widowed mother, Mejia immigrated from Colombia. No asterisk needed is Kimberlynn Daviss way of saying no defense or explanation is required for her perhaps unorthodox career path, which took the self-described scrappy New Orleans native and lifelong learner from an HBCU in Louisiana to an Emory University Ph.D. in organic chemistry and on to Georgia State University College of Law. KS. The former president and CEO of the State Charter Schools Foundation of Georgia, Bollman was the first staff member hired at Purpose Built Communities and continues to promote free cradle-to-college open-access public education. Located within the HUB Community for Innovation, ALG now has an increased staff, commercial teaching kitchen, greenhouse, pole barn and raised-bed gardens. , For the 26th year, Georgia Trend is celebrating 40 of the states brightest stars under the age of 40. Kyle Bennett can. Upfront. During the pandemic, Cherry discovered a talent for urban farming and teaching others to grow food. Author and scholar Regina Bradleys Southernness and love of hip-hop fuel her research on contemporary African American literature and culture. Today its grown to include catering as well as Mint to Be Mojitos, offering Latin-inspired cocktails, and The Apparition, a bar and speakeasy. Outside work, Smith is involved with the Rotary Club of Canton, serves on the state board for Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and supports the Georgia National Guard Family with fundraising. The organization launched new pickup sites, a home delivery program and a farmers market that doubles EBT/SNAP dollars. It has been an honor to play a part in the transformation of Downtown Woodstock from a sleepy train town to a thriving entertainment district full of restaurants, stores, attractions and a variety of places to live, says the manager of the award-winning Woodstock Visitors Center for 16 years. The three-term Northwest Georgia Travel Association president credits his work ethic to his father, who balanced a manufacturing job with running a 100-plus acre cattle farm. MCM. Volunteering with local non-profits is important to Stewart, who especially enjoys hosting mock job interviews for local high school students to prepare them for the real thing. As an assistant in the solicitor generals office, Amber Brantley is a force for bringing justice to both victims and offenders. During her time with Leadership Georgia, the Spelman College grad has canvased much of the state, which reminded her of what it was like to grow up in Macon. Whats most satisfying about my work is helping young adults create a life plan that is clear, concise and attainable, Cohran says. BD. As a volunteer, she offers technical support to the MTS Sickle Cell Foundation. After earning his degree from Georgia Tech, Benjamin Andrews went home to Americus and distinguished himself as a city staffer. The annual honor recognizes young alumni who have made significant strides in business, leadership, community, educational or philanthropic endeavors. SH. Throughout my career, I was able to teach in a different way, not necessarily in the classroom, but from doing public speaking. Having access to diapers means having access to education, to a job and to so many things that are needed for people to feel like they have a life, she says. This group organizes community initiatives including food drives. BL. Noting that its hard to conserve without celebrating, Valentine introduced Historic Athens Porchfest in 2019. This included hosting a 100% plant-based food event where we basically just gave food away, she says. A small-business owner whose Black Airplane, a full-stack digital product agency, employs 30 people at its downtown location, Caldwell and his family also live in downtown Woodstock. Our economy is the regional leader, he says. 2021 Georgia's Top 100 Public Companies. It provides aid to those without shelter ranging from food to hygiene kits. KS. KS. Since then, Atlanta Redemption Ink has worked with tattoo shops around Georgia and nationally to remove or cover up tattoos from sex trafficking, gang symbols and marks from self-harm or addiction. PR. These outstanding young leaders make their homes throughout Georgia and represent the healthcare, legal, nonprofit and government sectors as well as large corporations and entrepreneurial startups. Giving a voice to the voiceless and shining a light on human rights, thats what civil rights attorney Phi Nguyen does. Were always looking for youth and offer free sessions to learn the sport, he says. Umana started in 2015 with a desire to encourage commuting by bike and a $5,000 grant as an 8 80 Cities Emerging City Champions fellow. At 19, the former high school state track champion decided on elective leg amputation versus living in pain. Her community service revolves around Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha Incorporada; at Georgia Southern University, she co-founded the first Georgia chapter of the Latina-oriented sorority. RS. We are in essence doers, finding a way to make a deal or initiative come to fruition through innovative thinking. Out of tragedy came a way to honor his life while serving the community. Since then, hes started a company, opened four restaurants (Gunshow, Revival, Gamechanger and Cold Beer), and written several cookbooks. And may the best 40 win! For the past four years, Marcie Smith has overseen 11 staff members, 120 court-appointed advocates and dozens of community volunteers, all promoting the health and happiness of children impacted by abuse and neglect. Wikoff, whose TikTok videos of ear wax removal have gone viral, with over 10 million views, also provides free hearing care to assisted-living communities in Georgia, mentors audiology doctoral candidates and volunteers as a yoga teacher. Thats especially true during this troubling year, as many in this group of young leaders are working, Its been 23 years since Georgia Trends inaugural 40 Under 40, and each year the winners continue to leave us awed and inspired. Find us onLinkedin,Facebook,TwitterandInstagram. Theres power in tangible experiences, says Olaleye. We are experiencing stagflation. His #Beer4Good program dedicates a portion of every beer sale to community causes, from donations to a local nonprofit to buying turkeys to give away. Now an orthopedic surgeon, Bilbrew supports the community through annual back-to-school and toy drives, and her passion is mentoring others. RS. Bank of America executive Constance Mack was attending an event for Neighborhood Builders, a bank- sponsored program supporting local nonprofits, when she met the president of Atlanta Technical College. Gooch-Voyd also owns MV3 Events, a boutique wedding officiant and planning service serving Metro Atlanta. Because that was me, she says. Organizations; Sustainable Georgia Roundup; As the mom of three young daughters, she serves as a troop leader for Girl Scouts and head soccer coach for an under-six girls team. She works in a neighborhood health center founded 50 years ago by four women in a small trailer that has since expanded to a main building and two other locations in Athens. BL. Daniel Farr spent most of his career in the automotive industry before deciding to make the jump to tech. Taking over one of the states best-run chambers, Staffins immediately created a communications director position. This desire led him to Salesforce, where he rose swiftly to lead the Heroku Elements marketplace, a source for supporting app development. KS, Heath Tippens, an eighth-generation Cherokee County resident, is uniquely positioned to help his home community thrive. While hes enjoyed great success as a community banker, Chris Raiford was raised by parents who worked in law enforcement and taught the importance of community service. Its been 12 years now, and Im still pursuing what this might look like, to teach kids through food, Mobley says. In college, I realized I like to write. Our family has placed all of its bets on this place, says Caldwell, who serves on the board of the Cherokee County Historical Society. Our shared public spaces do not belong to any one person, its supposed to be a shared vision., A member of the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Council, Kyle also works with advocacy groups like the South River Forest Coalition, working to preserve greenspace in Fulton and DeKalb counties, and the Stone Mountain Action Coalition, attempting to reclaim Stone Mountain Park from its legacy as a Confederate memorial. She always knew she would join the family business because she finds financial health just as important as physical and mental health. I want to reach out as much as I can, he says. Evans unquestionable inspiration is his multitalented wife Rebecca, whose warmth, selflessness and serenity help him scale mountains, both literal and metaphorical. It carried about 14,000 twenty-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs) of cargo. The Editors. The Georgia Southern University Alumni Association "40 Under 40" Class of 2022 was recognized at a ceremony on Sept. 23 at the Eugene M. Bishop Alumni Center in Statesboro.