Meet the members of the Sun-Star’s inaugural 2017 ‘20 under 40’ class
It’s been nearly two months since we asked you to nominate the Merced area’s best and brightest emerging leaders for “20 under 40,” a new Sun-Star program identifying emerging community leaders.
Today, we’re pleased to announce the inaugural class of the “20 under 40” program. Judges had their work cut out for them, with a large number of nominations to sift through.
The winners form a diverse group of up-and-comers who are poised to play key roles as the community charts its future – a future they will likely lead.
We’re sharing the list today in an effort to invite community members to help us celebrate the 2017 class at a special event at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Merced Golf & Country Club. Tickets are $25 and are available online at http://bit.ly/sunstar20under40.
Profiles of the winners will appear in a special section in the print edition of the Sun-Star on Sept. 23.
Judges were Annissa Fragoso, board member of Merced Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Bruce Logue, founding pastor of Lifespring Community Church; Mike Murphy, Merced mayor; David Ness, CFO of MERCO Credit Union, and Octavio Valencia, president of Valencia Toys.
The Sun-Star’s 2017 ‘20 under 40’
▪ Chris Abrescy, executive director, alumni relations, UC Merced
▪ Juan Aguilar Jr, firefighter and city council member, city of Livingston
▪ Uday Bali, founder and owner, Bali Learning Center
▪ Katherine Brokaw, associate professor, UC Merced
▪ Stephanie Dietz, assistant city manager, city of Merced
▪ Robert Dylina, branch manager/loan officer, Envoy Mortgage
▪ Sue Emanivong, CEO, Tsunami Collaboration Inc.
▪ Dana Grisby, faculty, CSU Stanislaus
▪ Ryan Heller, deputy district director, California Assemblymember Adam Gray
▪ DeVon Hilliard, founder and president, Students With Aspiring Goals
▪ Tonya Kubo, online engagement director, UC Merced
▪ Miguel Lopez, community relations representative, UC Merced
▪ Clarissa Nobile, assistant professor, UC Merced
▪ Josh Pedrozo, teacher, Merced High School, and member of Merced City Council
▪ Juan Roman, career services coordinator, Milan Institute
▪ Brandon Ruscoe, managing broker, Merced Yosemite Realty
▪ Adam Saxon, business development specialist, Image Masters
▪ Matthew Serratto, deputy district attorney, Merced County District Attorney’s Office, and member of Merced City Council
▪ Nicole Silveira, supervising deputy district attorney, Merced County District Attorney’s Office
▪ Breeana Sylvas, senior analyst for sustainability, UC Merced
This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Meet the members of the Sun-Star’s inaugural 2017 ‘20 under 40’ class."