Introducing the 2021 40 Under 40 winners
They are educators, attorneys, entrepreneurs and financial experts.
Some have day jobs helping their communities; others do so after hours. All of them have had to adjust to a pandemic and a new normal in recent times.
Meet the 2021 class of 40 Under 40.
This marks the 30th year of the awards, bringing the total number of honorees over the years to 1,200.
The thrust of the awards hasn’t changed since the program’s inception in 1992. The goal has always been to identify 40 men and women — younger than age 40, of course — who are successful in their professions and heavily involved in community activities.
Here are this year’s honorees:
- Emily Brooks, staff engineer, Qualcomm
- Craig Bucki, partner, Phillips Lytle LLP
- Peter Burakowski, co-founder and vice president of strategy, HELIXintel
- Nick Campanile, director of corporate finance/ treasury, Columbus McKinnon Corp.
- Kyle Ciminelli, executive vice president, Ciminelli Real Estate Corp./executive managing director, Newmark Ciminelli
- Lisa Conrad, head of school, the Park School of Buffalo
- Adam Desmond, regional market executive, commercial lending, Tompkins Bank of Castile
- Kali Dickinson, executive director, Teach For America Buffalo
- Kelly Dimitri, chief financial officer, The Resource Center
- Lindsey Dotson, assistant development director, BestSelf Behavioral Health
- Drew Dunlap, EVP, chief financial officer, Cornerstone Community Federal Credit Union
- Thomas Ess, vice president, emergency management safety and security, People Inc.
- Shannon Filbert, confidential law clerk / town justice, Erie County Family Court / West Seneca
- Rebecca Gandour, executive vice president, Buffalo Urban Development Corp.
- Michelle Girardi Zumwalt, supervising producer/media and content, Pegula Sports and Entertainment
- John Godwin, partner, Hodgson Russ LLP
- Darice Hickey, senior legal counsel for global private banking legal, Americas, HSBC Bank USA N.A.
- Asantewa Holley, director of operations, Northland Workforce Training Center
- Charles Hunt, executive vice president and chief operating officer, HUNT Real Estate
- Robert Ingrasci, principal, Lumsden & McCormick LLP
- James Jackson, senior manager, market human resources business partner, Sam’s Club
- Ted Janicki, SVP, Buffalo president, Bank of America
- Jillian Jones, director of advancement, Albright-Knox Art Gallery-Becoming the Buffalo AKG Art Museum
- Joshua Kaplan, chief compliance officer, Landmark Wealth Management
- Patrick Keating, Western New York regional president, Five Star Bank
- Daniel Leonard, associate principal, Wendel
- Brendan Little, partner, Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman
- Joseph Lowry, president, Encorus Group
- Jennifer O’Neill, chief financial officer, Buffalo FilmWorks
- Andrew Reading, partner, Dopkins & Company LLP
- Lucia Rossi, senior director of outpatient operations and employee health, Erie County Medical Center Corp.
- Laura Schwalbe, senior associate, Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
- Finune Shaibi, director of accountability and assessment, Clarence Central School District
- Yaman Sharma, vice president, private banker, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
- Philip Stokes, executive director, Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve
- Michael Tobin, founder/owner, Fresh Catch Poke Co., Shuck Shack
- Jason Ulatowski, associate general counsel, PCB Piezotronics Inc.
- Michelle Walter, physician/program director, Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center / University at Buffalo
- Royce Woods, VP of community development and commercial real estate, Evans Bank
- AJ Wright, Director, government affairs, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York
This year’s winners were chosen from more than 150 nominations. They will be celebrated at a luncheon Nov. 18 at The Statler. For more information, click here.
