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40 Under Forty, Class of 2022
When Worcester Business Journal 23 years ago first considered creating a 40 Under Forty award, the concern at the time was whether Central Massachusetts had enough high-quality young professionals to make the effort worthwhile and if that process of selecting the best and the brightest would be repeatable year and year. Looking at the 40 Under Forty, Class of 2022, that concept is just plain laughable.
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Worcester 300 trivia contest, part 13: Famous beverage manufacturer
Trivia question: What is the name of the Worcester beverage manufacturer owned by the Crowley family?
WRRB: Community Preservation Act would improve Worcester’s livability
Timothy DoyleWorcester voters will have a chance to vote on the Community Preservation Act, which uses a 1.5% property tax surcharge to fund community projects.
- Advice
AdvicePractice more empathy
Bonnie J. WalkerWe need to recognize and teach to different learning styles and understand the complexities of neurodiversity; and that lived experiences bring a multitude of diverse viewpoints to any given idea, problem, situation, and innovation.
- AdviceAdvice
101: How to get your startup acquired
Laura FinaldiYou had a business idea, you’ve poured most of your life savings into realizing it, you’ve had some success, and now you’re ready for the next step.
- Advice
AdviceEstate planning during a bear market
Matthew ErskineIn April, the stock market officially entered bear market territory.
- Advice
Advice3 Things I know about ... Transitioning to a management role
Laura FinaldiWhatever your path is, here are some tips for first-time managers, so you can get your feet firmly planted on the ground.
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- EditorialEditorial
Editorial: Worcester needs space for artists
Let’s not lose sight of the special sauce delivered by the creative community that makes Worcester such an attractive place to live and work.
- Opinion
OpinionViewpoint: CHIPS bill is a win for New England
James T. BrettThe New England Council was proud to support the CHIPS and Science Act, and its passage is a huge win for the New England innovation economy.
- Movers & Shakers
Movers & ShakersMovers & Shakers for Aug. 22, 2022
Among the companies with recent hires and promotions are MAPFRE USA, Central One Federal Credit Union, Country Bank, and Rollstone Bank & Trust.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Katherine Aguilar
Katherine HamiltonAt 25, Aguilar started her own company: the first plastic-free gift shop in Worcester.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Benjamin Barner
Katherine HamiltonSince his first job as a pharmacy technician at 16, Barner has spent 20 years not only climbing the ranks, but consistently striving to break down barriers to pharmacy-related health care.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Maggie Becker
Laura FinaldiCurrently, at Dell, she is focused on developing a career readiness curriculum for recent graduates and early career individuals.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Alise Breton
Laura FinaldiWhen Breton started in banking, she didn’t know how to complete a deposit ticket, let alone open an account.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Ryan Brown
Laura FinaldiWhile working as an Amateur Athletic Union basketball coach, Brown noticed there were lots of kids who wanted to learn how to play, but couldn’t afford to join.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Darryl Caffee Jr.
Katherine HamiltonCaffee holds many roles at Webster Five, but, in all his work, community investment is a priority and success is a constant.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Vanessa Calixto
Timothy DoyleCalixto uses her talent and time to ensure that artists from Worcester’s communities of color have space to perform and display their work, as space becomes scarcer.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty: Lauren Crossman-Nanof
Katherine HamiltonCrossman-Nanof measures her success in empowering other women in the trades and in her community, but that’s not for lack of achievement in her own business.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Tom Cunningham
Katherine HamiltonNot only has Cunningham’s business grown 750% during his time as managing director, but Cunningham himself plays an essential role in supporting Central Mass. small businesses with taxes and financial services.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Carla Delacruz Davila
Timothy DoyleMedical school is one of the most demanding endeavors in education. UMass Chan employs people to help students overcome the mental and emotional challenges of its program and stay on track to graduate.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Liz Estabrooks
Laura FinaldiEstabrooks’ versatility, tenacity, and diligence are what led her to launch her own business, Jax Seafood, which offers everything from lobster to ahi tuna to mussels to swordfish to whole belly clams.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Marissa Gallant
Katherine HamiltonWith a name change and a $15-million expansion completed in the last year, the team at Tower Hill is investing heavily in expanding its audience in both size and demographics. At the heart of that strategy is a focus on children, and at the heart of its youth programming is Gallant.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Eric Gratz
Laura FinaldiAs the co-founder of Ascend, a lithium-ion battery recycling company, Gratz is helping to establish Central Massachusetts as a player in the battery eco-space.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Jason Homer
Timothy DoyleStarting a new job is hard work, but taking charge of Worcester's public library system in the middle of a pandemic seems unfathomable. That is what Homer did, and he did so with great success and grace.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Timothy Johnson
Katherine HamiltonLike most of the country, Central Mass. has struggled with a worsening human service worker shortage over the past two years.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Joel Kent
Timothy DoyleTo say education has played an important role in Kent's life would be an understatement. With Fontaine Bros., which brought in $262 million in revenue in 2021, Kent has overseen more than 1 million square feet of new public school construction in Massachusetts.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Billie Kenyon
Katherine HamiltonAfter losing her job in the hotel industry to the COVID pandemic, Kenyon made a decision which defined her career. She took a job with Lysa Miller, who had just begun rebuilding her company into a digital branding consultancy for biotech companies.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Eric Kneeland
Laura FinaldiKneeland joined WRRB after graduating from Assumption in 2016. In the past six years, he rose through the ranks from research intern to program associate, to his current title of director of programs and operations.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Taylor Lacroix
Timothy DoyleWhile many people see the problem of homelessness abstractly as a quality of life issue in Worcester, Lacroix has devoted herself tirelessly to helping the people who are experiencing homelessness, substance use, and mental health.
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Focus On 40 Under FortyForty Under 40 2022: Kyle Landry
Laura FinaldiLandry’s bread and butter is food science.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Nathan Lanier
Katherine HamiltonAs the legend goes, Lanier and his three friends, Damien Goudreau, Dean Rohan, and Jonathan Weisbach, started Tree House Brewing Co. in a small barn in Brimfield.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Hana Lasell
Katherine HamiltonLasell is one of the powerful figures in Central Mass. blazing a trail for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and she’s doing so with a uniquely artistic flair.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Nicholas Lazzaro
Timothy DoyleAs other seniors in Holy Cross’ class of 2023 ponder what they will do after graduation, Lazzaro will be busy growing his already successful business, working for the good of Millbury public school students, and writing for a local print publication.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Matt Majikas
Laura FinaldiIn 2019, Majikas grew his DJing side hustle to the point where he was making more than twice what he made at his day job selling ads for the Worcester Business Journal.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Michel Moravia
Laura FinaldiFor 12 years, Moravia worked at some of the world’s top pharmaceutical and medical device companies, where he successfully brought drugs, medical devices, and combination products to market.
40 Under Forty 2022: Leah Motsis
Laura FinaldiMotsis is dedicated to her hometown. She’s worked at the DCU Center, where she developed the first-ever group sales guide, secured a long-term contract with a major coffee and donut retail company, and raised $100,000 in annual sales.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Boa Newgate
Katherine HamiltonThroughout his 14 years at SEACMA, Newgate has been a beacon for Central Mass. youth.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Mike Nicholson
Timothy DoyleBeing elected mayor of a city at 25 years old is an impressive feat. Taking the reins of a city in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and working to keep the public informed and 35,000 patients vaccinated is impressive at any age.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Katia Norford
Katherine HamiltonBesides being a successful business owner, Norford has become a key leader in the Main South business community, playing an important role in the Worcester neighborhood’s significant development over the past five years.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: David Oliva
Laura FinaldiWhen Oliva started at Organomation in 2012, he had neither a background in hard science nor any exposure to chemical analysis laboratory equipment.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Natalia Oliver
Timothy DoyleOliver arrived in the U.S. at the age of 21, bringing only a suitcase from her native Uruguay. Now, at 39, she holds one of the top jobs in Fitchburg, a city of 42,000.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Dave Ortendahl
Timothy DoyleEach of the 40 Under Forty winners are rising stars, but the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers made it official for Ortendahl in 2019, giving him its Rising Star Award.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Masielle “Massy” Paulino
Katherine HamiltonPaulino provides community leadership, preservation of Latino culture, and mental health care, all through one medium: dance.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Domenica Perrone
Katherine HamiltonPersonally and professionally, Perrone’s work for Worcester’s Latinx community is immeasurable.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Ashley Sears Randle
Laura FinaldiSears Randle’s passion for agriculture started early. She grew up on a dairy farm in Western Mass., making her a fourth-generation working farmer.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Natalie Rodriguez
Katherine HamiltonRodriguez started out in the hospitality industry at 16, worked her way up to a hotel manager, and, in 2019, opened her own Puerto Rican restaurant, where she is the head chef.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Ashling Rowen
Laura FinaldiFour days after she opened Infinity Events, her full-service event planning company, Rowen was faced with the overwhelming challenge of COVID-19.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Matthew Vaccaro
Laura FinaldiA founding member of Masis Staffing Solutions, Vaccaro grew the company from 40 internal employees in 2015 to 325 today, with operations in 20 states.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: Amanda White
Timothy DoyleWith two graduate business degrees, two startup companies, and several nursing certifications, White has the experience and qualifications for leadership.
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Focus On 40 Under Forty40 Under Forty 2022: David Willens
Laura FinaldiWillens has spent almost half his life working at Kinefac, starting as a part-time employee during his undergraduate years and working his way up to head of research and development.
