40 Under Forty
Meet Grand Rapids Business Journal's 2012 "40 Under Forty" honorees and prepare to be inspired.
Janelle Lalonde | Senior Producer/Project Manager of Cynthia Kay and Co. Janelle put her apprehension aside when she got a job with Cynthia Kay and Co. that was outside her original career plan of broadcasting. Now she incorporates pieces of her broadcast training in her current position, as well as in the business side of production.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Ted Titus | Assistant Project Manager at Wolverine Building Group. One of Ted's current projects is an apartment complex for homeless veterans. The project promotes partnering with contractors who employ residents of low-income housing, and with Titus' help, 30 percent of the trade contractors and suppliers for the project are from low-income housing, women-owned businesses or disadvantaged business enterprises.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Mindy Castanon | Human Resources Consultant at Herman Miller. Milinda said her biggest career break came after only a year at Herman Miller, when she was offered her current position. She is grateful for the mentors who helped her and hopes to mentor others, professionally and personally, a trait she attributes to her father.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Seth Getz | President, Coach and Founder at Business Mastery. After starting several small businesses before the age of 25, Getz read a book that would prove to have a big influence on to him. After reading E-Myth by Michael Gerber, he studied with the author for several years and became certified as a coach under his training. Now as a small business coach, he takes pride in helping others in their work.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Mandee Rick | Portfolio Management Team Leader and Vice President at Huntington National Bank. Mandee is proud of her ability to take on new roles and challenges, but when she saw the opportunity to help young professionals determine how they could grow within the business of banking, she found a challenge in which to pour all her energy.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Johnny Brann | Owner of Kitchen 67 Brann's Cafe. Born and raised in a restaurant-owning family, Johnny Brann Jr. worked his way from busboy at 16 to management within six years. Now he is running his own new-concept restaurant, the innovative Kitchen 67 Brann's Cafe.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Nichole Smith | Event Production, Social Media, Physical Spaces at Start Garden. Nichole describes herself as a "social instigator," and in her position at Start Garden, an organization that gives away $10,000 a week to people with business ideas, that sort of instigation can result in new businesses.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Andrea Snyder | Co-owner/Creative Director of Studio3Twenty. Andrea opened her own graphic design, marketing and website development business and then gained a partner, her husband Matt Snyder. Snyder looks at her time spent teaching at Grand Valley State University and Kendall College of Art and Design as her biggest business break.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Amy Marshall | Managing Partner at Management Business Solutions. Amy's proudest achievements have been interviewing candidates and submitting them to clients after only three months on the job, being voted secretary of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce after five months on the board, and her positions on the board of Grand Rapids Young Professionals.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Ryan Smith | Owner/Partner of Argus Financial Consultants. As an Aquinas College student who came to the area from out of state and stayed to start a business, become involved in the community and raise a family, Ryan said Grand Rapids wants more of the college students who come to the area to do the same.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Rosalyn Bliss | The City of Grand Rapids Commissioner, Director of Residential Services at D.A. Blodgett - St. John's. A two-term city commissioner, she is most proud of her work on the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Parks and Recreation, assisting in creating Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, and her work with the first GR Bike Summit. She is part of the Urban Forestry Management Planning committee, supporting the goal of achieving a 40 percent tree canopy in the city.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Elissa Hillary | Executive Director of Local First of West Michigan. As the executive director of Local First, she has increased membership from 150 to nearly 600 and has encouraged Grand Rapids to create a recycling program that both reduces waste and positively impacts the community.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Benjamin Hammond | Attorney/Shareholder at Hilger Hammond, PC. After becoming partner at his former law firm, Benjamin made the leap with a respected colleague to form Hilger Hammond PC. Hammond said he and his partner also started a real estate holding company and are talking about other business opportunities, as well. Being a business owner himself helps him relate to the challenges his clients
face every day, he said.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
David Lund | Senior Vice President, Investment/Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch. David was also recognized this year as one of Wall Street's Top 40 Advisors under 40-his second accolade from "On Wall Street"Â which placed him seventh on last year's list. Rankings were determined by assets under management, and Merrill Lynch's Towner Lund Group came in with $1.43 billion.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Amanda Rogalski | Director of Business Development at viastore systems. Former president of the Grand Rapids Young Professionals, Amanda is now on its advisory committee. The group changed that sense of loss when she regained the sense of community she was seeking. She has been helping the organization build upon that feeling ever since.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Amanda Rogalski
Bob Worthington | Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Risk Management Director of Mercantile Bank of Michigan. As a young bank teller at Old Kent Bank, Robert Worthington went to the top for career advice. He called John Canepa, then chairman and CEO, who agreed to meet with him and became his first mentor.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Ashley Cole | Owner/Designer of Ashley Cole Designs. Ashley said her biggest professional break was the redesign of Monte's bar in Grand Rapids. The nature of the space and media exposure led to other opportunities with unique, boutique-style commercial spaces.
Courtesy Ashley Cole
Brian Burch | Public Relations Director of ArtPrize. Brian returned to Michigan and parlayed his experience in Chicago into a position with Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park , and with additional projects including working with Grand Rapids Art Museum, Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids, and now ArtPrize.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Bridget Clark Whitney | Executive Director of Kids Food Basket. When a student at Aquinas College, Bridget Clark Whitney was an intern for Kids Food Basket, then quickly became its executive director. In 10 years, the nonprofit has gone from a staff of one to 13 and from a budget of $35,000 to $3.6 million.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Brett Gilbert | Owner/Operator of Fatty Lumpkins Sandwich Shack. Gilbert runs the Muskegon restaurant with his girlfriend of nine years, Jera Cook, which he said makes him proud. Fatty Lumpkins has been involved with and supported many benefits and fundraisers for various causes in the community.
Courtesy of Brett Gilbert
Christina Keller | Business Unit Leader of Cascade Engineering. As the business unit leader of Triple Quest, a joint venture between Cascade Engineering and The Windquest Group, Keller is working with partners such as the U.S. Navy's Project Handclasp, USAID, Rotary International, World Vision USA and others to bring products to the developing world.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Colin Kraay | Principal/Investment Advisor of Colliers International West Michigan. Colin's experience in selling the community includes his involvement in different types of cash-flow properties, as well as assisting clients with management solutions, valuation analysis, exchanges and transaction closing. His biggest professional break was becoming part of a team charged with selling a $30 million portfolio of industrial investment facilities.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Sara Sherry | Owner, President at Mixed Staffing and Management. Though her boutique staffing and recruiting company in downtown Grand Rapids is only a little less than a year old, Sherry knows her professional break was when she decided to take a chance and open her own business.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Eric Johnson | Principal of Gorilla Pictures. Ericâs company has created a local market for film production which sustains a collective of 20 in-house filmmakers. He also has experience in other areas of the world. He has worked on films in 45 countries and most major U.S. cities.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Lawrence Duthler | President of Sun Title Agency. Lawrence's companies, which also include CD Holdings LLC, Docs on the Fly and Vets Title, range from real estate development to title insurance and settlement. His biggest professional break was the opportunity to join Warner Norcross & Judd after law school.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Kristin Revere | President/Owner of Revere Consulting LLC. Though she has been around Michigan's political circles for the better part of the last five years, Kristin is most proud of being selected for the Michigan Political Leadership Program Fellowship Program from 2007 to 2008.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Dr. Jermone Glenn | Senior Pastor at Revolution Christian Ministries. Jermone Glenn has a growing congregation of about a thousand members and embraces the responsibility within the walls of his church, but he takes his ministry outside of those four walls, as well. Glenn works to be involved in the community so he can see and understand the needs of those in his congregation and make a difference wit
h the help of others.
Courtesy Jermone Glenn
Gina VanGessel | Owner/Co-owner of Gina's Boutique and Lia Rose. Now the owner and co-owner of two successful boutiques in areas where retail has had a difficult time taking hold, she is proud to be a part of the retail development of downtown.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Jessica Tyson | President/Owner at Events by Jessica Ann, LLC. Jessica Ann Tyson mixes business with giving, as 55 percent of her business is focused on working with nonprofits. She has been part of producing annual multicultural and diversity events such as The Legacy Ball, a scholarship she started for high school/college seniors, The Minority Business and Professionals Tour and The Mixing Pot: A Multicultural Festival held as part of Rock the Rapids.
Courtesy Jessica Ann Tyson
Mark Rumsey | Founder of Free Radical Gallery. Rumsey is doing his part to help artists become recognized in the community as founder/organizer/curator of Free Radical Gallery. He also has initiated and organized a series of pop-up galleries, mentored young artists and built collaborations to benefit the area's art community. He has been involved in lectures, talks and exhibitions around the world, and recently was accepted as a guest artist at The Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai, China.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Lindsay Anes | Director of Business Development of Owen-Ames-Kimball. Some of Lindsay's recent projects at Owen-Ames-Kimball include the Van Andel Institute-Phase II, Byron Center Public Schools improvements, the Bissell Tree House at JOHN BALL ZOO SOCIETY, and West Michigan Sports Commission's planned 12-field baseball/softball complex.
Courtesy of Lindsay Anes
Matthew Downey | Nonprofit Services Program Director at Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. One accomplishment of which Matthew is most proud was helping an after-school program in Muskegon Heights that had lost funding. Downey's work helped build a board of directors, attract supporters and create a fundraising strategy.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Michael Wolff |Clinical Neuropsychologist at Behavioral Resources And Institute for Neuropsychological Services. Following graduation, Michael assisted in developing a specialized traumatic brain injury program for patients with severe agitation following discharge from acute hospitalization. He developed BRAINS as a multi-disciplinary program to assist children, adults and families to re-define and maximize potential as a result of any mental health or medical complication. Since it began in 2007, it has progressed from a loss of $30,000 in revenues in the first year to billing more than $1 million today.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Mike Hill | Managing Partner at Edify North, LLC. Since founding Edify North, a Holland employee benefits consulting firm, in September 2009, Michael Hill has increased revenue significantly each year and grown the firm to include five employees.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Mike Mraz | Vice President of Real Estate Development at Rockford Construction. Michael is most proud of the recently completed MoDiv, Shops@Monroe Center & Division, which took vacant space and created a retail incubator for downtown.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Rob McCarty | Jack of All at The Image Shoppe. Of his marketing accomplishments, Rob is very proud of getting the Local First of West Michigan organization off the ground. He serves as point person for The Image Shoppe, managing clients that include Essence Restaurant Group's Bistro Bella Vita, The Green Well Gastro Pub and Grove. He also has worked on mygrcitypoints and Better Buildings for Michigan.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Scott Erickson | Founder of Diligent Music. Scott was executive producer of The Grand Rapids LipDub video that was featured on national and international television programs and other media. The video also gained acclaim when Grand Rapids was featured as Person of the Week on ABC World News Tonight.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Scott Erickson
Stacy Stout | Dean of Students at Burton Middle School. Stacy began volunteering at age 7 for Special Olympics, nursing homes and community beautification projects. The value placed on volunteerism and youth has continued in her work today as dean of students for Burton Middle School, and in her previous position as education director of Hispanic Center of Western Michigan.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Tami VandenBerg | Co-owner of The Meanwhile / The Pyramid Scheme. Tami and her business partners have opened two thriving and unique businesses that appeal to the creative class of Grand Rapids and beyond. The Meanwhile Bar and The Pyramid Scheme have revitalized abandoned buildings and contributed to the new culture of their surrounding communities.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Christina Freese-Decker | President of Spectrum Health United & Kelsey Hospitals. Helping to develop Spectrum Health's mission, vision and values and see those standardized across the system is a source of pride for Christina. It's important to her that other women be part of that leadership, and she works to mentor and support women at Spectrum.
Photo by Johnny Quirin
Christina Freese-Decker
