40 under 40

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ACCE is dedicated to recognizing and supporting the most talented professionals in the chamber industry. This annual recognition program showcases 40 of the industry’s top emerging leaders who have demonstrated success in their careers and made significant contributions to the communities they serve. The list includes CEOs and staff professionals from a wide variety of roles and chamber sizes. Their creativity, dedication and commitment to identifying innovative solutions will help shape the future of the chamber profession.

Kim Baker
CEO
Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce
Gallatin, Tenn.
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Kit Sinyard, Director, Sumner County Anti-Drug Coalition
Kim has put together a passionate team of eight ranging from part-time to full-time and spanning the ages of 18 to 67. She is able to find the strengths of her employees, allowing her to build a team that works and thrives together. She has grown membership 46% during her time as CEO. Our COVID response, spearheaded by Kim, shows her strengths and true love of community. From launching Pandemic Pals, which connected at-risk individuals with folks who were able to assist them, to the S.E.E. Show, which showcased local businesses, educated viewers on the situations we all had to navigate, and engaged with the community. The chamber moved its events online and even launched several new programs, making it our goal to keep our members engaged and do whatever we could to support them.

Dani Barger
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Nominated by Dirk Draper, President & CEO, Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC
Dani has been instrumental to the success of the chamber & EDC by heightening the visibility of our business community since her arrival in 2018. She leads our efforts to tell the stories of local businesses in regional and national media. Dani has led the placement of nearly 70 stories over the past three years in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Money, Conde Nast Traveler, Smithsonian, Military Times, Colorado Public Radio, Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post and more.

Alex Breault
Director, Talent Initiatives
The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce
Naples, Fla.
Nominated by Michael Dalby, CCE, IOM, President & CEO, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce
Alex has quickly established herself as the connector and convener for innovative workforce solutions in our region – connecting emerging talent from our area schools, colleges and universities to employers, and helping employers better understand talent challenges and implement impactful solutions. She’s connected over 6,000 students to employers through various work-related experiences to improve their employability skills and create awareness of local career opportunities. She’s brought together industry heads and nonprofit agencies serving youth to help employers understand the barriers youths and transitioning adults face in finding employment, and helps job seekers better understand what employers expect.

Dan Brooks
Director, Business Advocacy
Billings Chamber of Commerce
Billings, Mont.
Nominated by John Brewer, CAE, President/CEO, Billings Chamber of Commerce
Dan is recognized by business leaders, elected representatives and the community as a trusted, authoritative and calm presence in an often politically divisive environment. Dan maintains the sane center on tough issues, which tends to gravitate solutions-oriented decision-makers to his side. Dan has made extraordinary advances to his chamber and the community by serving as legislative liaison to the country’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Response Team, creating the award-winning “Elections Matter” and “A Safer Billings” campaigns, supporting regional business and tourism throughout Eastern Montana and developing a standard for recruiting and endorsing business-friendly candidates.

Eric L. Brown
President and CEO
Salina Area Chamber of Commerce
Salina, Kan.
Nominated by Board Chair Jeff Maes, Owner/Operator, ComPro Realty, LLC
Eric has positively impacted our organization and community because of his leadership, skills, knowledge, willingness to help others and dedication to our mission. His experience and leadership with both long-term and short-term community development efforts, chamber-specific programming, advocacy and business development has had a truly positive impact on the future of Salina and our region of Kansas as a whole.

Kyla Bryant
Associate Director, Metro Business Center, a program hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber
Sacramento, Calif.
Nominated by Amanda Blackwood, President & CEO, Sacramento Metro Chamber
Over the course of the past year, Kyla has worked tirelessly to provide invaluable technical assistance for businesses throughout the greater Sacramento region during an incredibly challenging time of transition. In fact, her department infused $24 million in capital to small businesses during that critically important timeframe. She leads her team with empathy while finding opportunities in every challenge. Her determination, calm demeanor and ability to multi-task masterfully make her a natural leader, one who is a role model, problem solver and valued team player.

Maren Cerimele
Director of Membership
Vail Valley Partnership
Edwards, Colo.
Nominated by Chris Romer, ACE, IOM, President & CEO, Vail Valley Partnership
Maren has been a key staff member of Vail Valley Partnership (VVP) and her efforts have helped the Partnership be recognized as ACCE’s Chamber of the Year in both 2016 and 2020. She has initiative and leads numerous efforts at VVP, including our business retention and expansion program, our new VVP connect online network for our membership, our Vail Valley Works comprehensive workforce and professional development program and our Nonprofit Network educational series for nonprofit leaders. In addition, she has led our membership and events team to great success, including achieving member retention levels over 92% every year as director of membership. She has revamped our ambassador committee into a program advisory council and has led member engagement efforts for the organization.

Dewan Clayborn
CEO and President
League City Regional Chamber of Commerce
League City, Texas
Nominated by Pat Hallisey, Mayor, League City, Texas
When Dewan became president of the League City Regional Chamber, he brought with him his professionalism, his knowledge, his leadership and his energy to help the chamber grow and expand, bringing in more businesses to the chamber and helping those businesses flourish so they can succeed. In addition to his business and leadership skills, his personality truly connects in positive ways with everyone that he meets, making him stand out amongst others.

Elizabeth Cleary
Director of Operations and Community Programs
The Chamber of St. Matthews
Louisville, Ky.
Nominated by Chamber Board Vice President Steve Hoak, Hoak Insurance Services
During a year of uncertainty, pain and struggle, Elizabeth rose to the occasion and led our team to brighter days. She spent countless hours researching and networking to find the latest information on the pandemic. Leveraging state and federal resources along with other chamber professionals, she developed safety protocols for the staff and members of the chamber. In a time when businesses struggled, she fought to help the chamber and our members excel. Brainstorming to implement COVID-safe activities, we developed new programming with Elizabeth’s ideas and helped bring our members together to both network and heal.

Molly Crouser
Special Events Manager
Lancaster Chamber
Lancaster, Pa.
Nominated by Thomas T. Baldrige, CCE, President & CEO, Lancaster Chamber
During her time with us, Molly has developed a regional reputation for excellence in events. She’s hosted past presidents, Fortune 500 CEOs and a prime minister at events that were attended by thousands. And she’s always done so with an eye toward excellence that has strengthened the entire chamber brand due to the high-profile nature of the programs.

Kate Daniels
President and Executive Director
Wayne County Chamber of Commerce
Goldsboro, N.C.
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Kevin Johnson, County Extension Director, Wayne County Cooperative Extension
Kate is an outstanding leader with the ability to bring our community partners together to enhance and promote Wayne County. She is a true leader with a vision to grow the Wayne County Chamber using both traditional and non-traditional programming. She was a beacon in our community when COVID-19 hit. She led her team through creative channels to reach businesses and find ways to provide timely resources and opportunities. For example, she created Wayne County Eats & Drinks Facebook page, which has over 9,200 followers. Restaurant owners referred to it as a “lifeline” through COVID-19, as it was a way to share hours, take-out/delivery options and highlight unique finds throughout the county for dining.

Carolyn Davis
Manager, Events & Outreach
Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Nashville, Tenn.
Nominated by Suzie Lusk, Vice President, Events & External Affairs, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Our events grew from 60 to 112 during the past year and Carolyn’s professional approach to each one was impressive. Many offerings were specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, but many others were organized because she saw an opportunity to bring in speakers and topics that were relevant during this time. She not only embraced the shift to virtual and hybrid offerings, she taught member companies all the advancements in this “new normal” including details to make each offering successful. Whether working with internal or external groups, Carolyn looks to find the best outcome for all involved and truly exemplifies the core values of our chamber.

Taylor Davis
Director, Wichita Falls Talent Partnership, Military Liaison to Sheppard Air Force Base
Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce
Wichita Falls, Texas
Nominated by Henry Florsheim, IOM, CEO, Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce
Taylor joined the chamber just as we were beginning to implement an ambitious community-wide strategy to grow Wichita Falls, and she’s become a vital part of the effort. She’s taken a struggling young professionals group, brought it under the chamber’s umbrella and rebuilt it into an effective, vibrant new organization called The Circuit. A military spouse herself, Taylor has developed an entire suite of programs aimed at creating stronger connections between the military and our business community. She’s been responsible for helping dozens of military spouses find meaningful employment in Wichita Falls. She’s also developed an internship program that will create easier pathways for college students to find their first real employment opportunity in their field of study.

Josh Driskell
President
Jenks Chamber of Commerce
Jenks, Okla.
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Rob Loeber, Director of Communications, Jenks Public Schools
Because of his leadership capacity, attention to detail and his continuous efforts to form productive relationships with key stakeholders, Josh has been able to expand the chamber’s reach and enhance the quality of life for Jenks residents. Thanks to his fiscal responsibility and vision, the Jenks Chamber remained stable and open through COVID challenges, helping local businesses navigate through the uncertainty of the pandemic. Not a single employee of the Jenks Chamber was furloughed or cut. Josh balances the day-to-day operations of the chamber while considering the future of his community and how he can improve the life of its citizens.

Lyndsay Ferguson
Vice President of Workforce
Huntsville/Madison County Chamber
Huntsville, Ala.
Nominated by Lucia Cape, CCE, IOM, Senior Vice President, Economic Development, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber
Lyndsay first joined us as our workforce director in 2015. After reviewing our members’ needs, she established a career awareness program that we still operate and are presenting to a statewide group later this year. She also advanced our relationships with our K-12, post-secondary and adult education partners to increase our reach and impact. Not surprisingly, within two years she was recruited to another community organization as its executive director. As our members’ workforce demands increased, we determined that we needed a Vice President level position to address our challenges, and her commitment to the community helped us recruit her back to the chamber, and we are already benefitting from her expertise, professionalism and relationships among our partners.

Jack Feria
Membership & Events Manager
Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Milwaukee, Wis.
Nominated by Jason Rae, President & CEO, Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Jack leads our entire membership process, from solicitation of business members, to closing the sale, to onboarding and renewal. Right before COVID hit, Jack helped led us through our first dues increase since we launched in 2012. He worked to communicate the change to members, and because of his work, after the increase was implemented, we didn’t lose a single member. During COVID, he has worked tirelessly to ensure the health and success of our membership by individually reaching out, sending notes, visiting shops and making sure that our businesses are bouncing back. While many chambers may be losing members, during COVID, we actually gained new members and saw our retention rates increase. He is so passionate about the work of the chamber and supporting LGBTQ and allied businesses.

Jessica Linder Gallo
President & CEO
Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce
Aurora, Ill.
Nominated by Jamal Scott, Vice President of Strategic Development, Waubonsee Community College and incoming chamber board chair
Jessica is intelligent, deliberate and thoughtful and is an outstanding leader of people. She has an uncanny ability to balance direct leadership and decisiveness with organizational leadership and personality management. She has brought so much strategy and direction to the Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce. Her presence and intentionality has raised the bar for not just the employees but for the board members as well. One of the first things that she did was tell us that she needed our help to be successful, and she has held us accountable to that.

Nelly Hocke
Director of Membership Services
Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
Miami, Fla.
Nominated by Alfred Sanchez, President & CEO, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
Just weeks before the pandemic closed the world, Nelly’s VP left the chamber to care for his mother. Nelly, the most senior person of the team with only a year, was asked to step up to lead the department despite never having managed a team before. She not only stepped up, but she rallied her team through a difficult period keeping their spirits high. Having built a great esprit de corps, she directed the team to call all our members individually checking on them, surveying their needs and helping connect them to services, customers and resources to stay open and keep their employees working. It’s easy to excel when things are going to plan. It’s an entirely different story when facing adversity. Yet despite all the head winds, Nelly and her team beat projections for retaining existing members and engaging new ones.

Kyle Jacobson
Vice President of Government Relations
Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
Lubbock, Texas
Nominated by Kay McDowell, President and CEO, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
During his five years in the chamber industry, Kyle has adapted and grown in several different roles from programs and events to communications and his specialty area of government relations. Earlier this year, Kyle published “Advocacy Basics for Chambers of Commerce: The ABCs of Government Relations,” a guidebook for local chambers seeking to enhance their government affairs efforts. He was invited to speak at the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals annual conference and joined the Western Association of Chamber Executives Chamber Leadership Podcast to discuss the importance of the chamber industry engaging in the public policy process.

Jim Johnson, CCE, IOM
President/CEO
Pearland Chamber of Commerce
Pearland, Texas
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Ann Strouhal, Owner/HR Consultant, Strouhal & Associates, LLC
Jim has done a phenomenal job of jumping right in as president/CEO of Pearland’s Chamber. He has met one-on-one with board members, engaged members of all levels and built relationships with our city and community leaders. He streamlined our reports for our board to gain a better understanding of our progression and has been fully transparent with all that he has implemented and proposed. He is passionate about his career in the chamber industry. He is the epitome of a successful, engaging, emerging leader, and we are truly blessed to have him.

Ainsley Johnston
Events Manager
Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce
Greensboro, N.C.
Nominated by Tracy Myers, EVP, Member Engagement, Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce
Ainsley has utilized her experience in planning large festivals and her work in the theatre to transform not only the Greensboro Chamber’s events and programs, but also the industry. She is a thought leader in events and programming. She works with marketing professionals to add production value that wraps around the content of events to create experiences that community members find exciting. Ainsley grew our signature events to sell-out status with over 1,000 attendees. Community leaders seek out her advice when planning other major events in the city. During the pandemic she worked tirelessly to recreate and reimagine events and programming in a virtual, and now hybrid, format. Her creativity and skillset allowed us to meet our pre-pandemic goals.

Drew Kamp
President & CEO
Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Judd Knispel, State Farm Insurance
I was board chair when it was time to hire a new CEO. Chamber relationships in our community were poor. Portions of the Chamber had even branched off into separate entities and there was not much hope in bringing these groups back together. We could not have hired a better person and leader. Drew has tirelessly and masterfully worked on all of these relationships. City, county and major employer/funder relationships are flourishing. We set a very challenging goal for Drew to bring these groups together—and he crushed it!

Katie Lopez
Director, Military and Workforce Development
Tampa Bay Chamber
Tampa, Fla.
Nominated by Bob Rohrlack, DBA, CCE, President & CEO, Tampa Bay Chamber
Since joining the Tampa Bay Chamber in 2018, Katie’s leadership has helped the community gain national recognition for its efforts to support military families, including the Association of Defense Community’s Great American Defense Community Award, Hiring Our Heroes Three-Star Chamber of Valor Award and the Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Community of the Year Award. Katie also revamped our workforce development committee and was the catalyst leading our workforce housing committee. These issues are impacting all communities and in Tampa Bay, the collaboration with our city, county and educational institutions has greatly increased and we are currently working on new zoning restrictions for density and parking.

Joshua Lunger
Senior Director of Government Affairs
Grand Rapids Chamber
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Nominated by Andy Johnston, CCE, IOM, Vice President, Government Affairs, Grand Rapids Chamber
Josh leads our advocacy efforts on local government, housing, environment, energy and transportation. He recently organized and led the Michigan Housing Coalition, which boast over 100 members and is focused on creating and expanding tools for local governments to support the development of attainable housing. The bipartisan legislation Josh led overwhelming passed the Michigan Senate and will be acted upon this fall. At the local level, Josh has led a number of successful initiatives including influencing our city’s new COVID ordinance, the creation of social districts and securing more resources to address public safety issues. Josh utilizes an inclusive approach, taking into consideration the broader impact of policy decisions. Not surprisingly, when our leadership team was establishing our organization’s values, he was one of the team members we modeled them after.

Kelley McCall
Senior Vice President, Leadership, Community & Resource Development
ChamberRVA
Richmond, Va.
Nominated by Brian D. Anderson, CCE, IOM, President & CEO, ChamberRVA
Last summer, Kelley created "Shared Values Summit," a program which centered on the work we aspire to do together, across the region and sectors, to strengthen our economy and community. Her vision and leadership helped regional organizations, big and small, step up their support for communities of color by changing business practices, catalyzing transformational projects with other CEOs, and working through civic and community organizations to advance inclusive economic growth. She also led our small business relief fund initiative, a six-week sprint to award 100 grants to local businesses negatively affected by COVID last year. She continues to collaborate with a regional coalition to deploy additional funding in our community.

Danielle McFadden
President/CEO
Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce
Lowell, Mass.
Nominated by Board Member Joanne Dennison, The Guidance Counselor for Grown Ups
Pre-pandemic, Danielle’s creativity, devotion and passion showed. Open to new kinds of offerings, it has never been, “We don’t do it that way.” This chamber never got stale and continued to recruit new members who caught her enthusiasm. As we faced recent challenges like other membership organizations, she didn’t hesitate. Danielle created online fundraisers, identified community-focused partnerships to support the greater good, used social media to raise awareness and spread happiness, retained and astonishingly recruited new members, provided support to the broader community and launched virtual programs and events – all with an element of fun.

Megan Mullins
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Wilmington Chamber
Wilmington, N.C.
Nominated by Natalie English, CCE, CCEC, IOM, President & CEO, Wilmington Chamber
Megan has helped to amp up the Wilmington Chamber’s image in our community. She has used her experience in retail marketing to tell our story in every possible medium. She revamped our website, social media properties, membership and sponsorship sales material and more. She also brings a unique perspective to the staff team, having been an active volunteer in a political party in our community. As we discuss our advocacy opportunities, she plays an important role helping us understand how we might appear to that party. That has enabled us to truly live into our role to be the sane center and to advocate for prosperity and the business growth that enables prosperity.

Samuel P. Murphey
Chief Strategy Officer
Greater St. Louis, Inc.
St. Louis, Mo.
Nominated by Jason Hall, CEO, Greater St. Louis, Inc.
Sam has played a lead role in guiding the formation, strategic mission and revenue growth of Greater St. Louis, Inc., the premier economic development organization in the bi-state metro. He is the mastermind who makes things happen. He has a relentless work ethic and is trusted by this region's most influential CEOs. Sam’s extraordinary skills in analysis, stakeholder engagement and strategic communications helped guide the complex, year-long process the successful conclusion of the merger of five regional entities and launch of Greater St. Louis, Inc.

Jesse Phillips
Coordinator of Inclusive Growth
Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
New Haven, Conn.
Nominated by Garrett Sheehan, President & CEO, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
Jesse originally joined our team as the partnership services coordinator. During his tenure, he quickly expanded the role into our diversity and inclusion efforts. Jesse began leading our Diversity and Inclusion Council and making inroads with BIPOC-owned businesses that had not been involved in the chamber. Though new to the chamber world, he has taken our organizational model and fundamentally changed it to be more diverse and inclusive. The chamber is about partnerships, and he has created many, but he has also built a new level of trust with many businesses in our community.

Jacqueline Pitts
Vice President, Communications
Kentucky Chamber
Frankfort, Ky.
Nominated by Ashli Watts, President & CEO, Kentucky Chamber
As the first professional journalist to launch a news platform at a state chamber, Jacqueline led the way for other chambers across the nation to do the same. Since then, The Bottom Line has become one of the most respected political news sites in Kentucky. In 2021, she was named as the chamber’s first vice president of communications, overseeing all communication efforts for the chamber. Jacqueline oversees the organization’s communications and marketing strategy, which includes managing social media, media relations, graphic design, email marketing, print and digital newsletters, website design, advocacy communications, program marketing, photography and more. Jacqueline has been a trailblazer for expanding the chamber’s efforts and outreach.

Brittany Quick-Warner
President/CEO
Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce
Eugene, Ore.
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Cale Bruckner, President, Concentric Sky
It has been my privilege to work closely with Brittany and observe firsthand her leadership skills, amplified by her ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit, fearlessness and work ethic. She rose to the challenge in unimaginably difficult times marked by COVID-19, devastating wildfires, social unrest and an epidemic of homelessness. She maintained and grew our membership, launched Onward Eugene to promote economic development and tap new funding sources, implemented a new membership model, helped businesses access COVID relief funds, took a high-profile position in support of racial justice, increased chamber efforts to diversify its leadership and program participants and issued a seminal report on homelessness calling for a radically new approach to the problem.

Kayla-Rose Rombalski
Director of Talent Development and Interim Director of Business Engagement
Portage County Business Council
Stevens Point, Wis.
Nominated by Todd Kuckkahn, Executive Director, Portage County Business Council
Kayla was brought into our organization as the director of talent development. In September 2020, she added the role of director of business engagement when the board of directors decided to not fill the vacated position. She has turned the membership position on its head – in a positive way. The logistics and our use of ChamberMaster as a tool instead of a burden has helped to streamline so many aspects of the organization. She also developed a new member retention system that streamlined the program with a reduction in lost members, even during the pandemic. She pivoted in her role as director of talent development, as well. Due to the pandemic, we had to flip our Leadership Portage County program from live to virtual. The crowning achievement was a drive-through graduation for the participants that included staff in caps and gowns.

Jack Russell, CP
President
OneZone Chamber of Commerce
Fishers, Ind.
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Patrick Broccol, Co-Owner, Senior1Care
Jack is a strong, servant leader whose passion for the chamber shines through his efforts to create innovative projects, collaborative relationships with business and community leaders and a fun, professional work environment for his team. He has been able to take OneZone to yet another level this year by focusing on value-adding opportunities, including creating a new supplier diversity program, launching a health and wellness committee, establishing a women in business group and advocating for county funding to support a career center.

Colleen Schipsi
Program Manager
Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce
Holland, Mich.
Nominated by Jane Clark, CCE, IOM, President, Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce
Colleen’s commitment to our members and their chamber experience has taken our programmatic work to the next level. In the last year alone, she developed and managed 45 digital programs during a time when Michigan prohibited any in-person gatherings. She implemented an intentional pivot in our programmatic priorities and was driven to be innovative and truly responsive to what our members wanted and needed. Colleen has stretched herself to learn new skills and been successful doing it. She constantly thinks bigger to make things better and has demonstrated a willingness and ability to successfully learn brand-new areas of work.

Courtney Shaw, APR
Senior Vice President of Communications
Greater Des Moines Partnership
Des Moines, Iowa
Nominated by Greater Des Moines Partnership President & CEO Jay Byers, CCE, IOM, and Chief Operating Officer Tiffany Tauscheck, CCE, IOM, CDME
Courtney joined the Greater Des Moines Partnership in 2019. She has been a positive, impactful contributor, and her efforts have helped us share our region’s story with national and international audiences. Courtney has built strong relationships with the media, and her efforts have resulted in nearly 12,000 media mentions for the organization in more than 55 countries. Courtney has led several high-profile initiatives, including a national digital marketing campaign focused on driving site selectors to consider Greater Des Moines (DSM) as the place to be to expand businesses, and targeting individuals who have the propensity to move to DSM for job opportunities. This national marketing campaign has contributed to more than 325,000 unique visitors to Partnership talent attraction and economic development webpages during Courtney’s time overseeing it.

Whitney Theriot
Vice President & COO
Temple Chamber of Commerce
Temple, Texas
Nominated by G. Roderick Henry, CCE, IOM, President & CEO, Temple Chamber of Commerce
To say it simply, Whitney is a vital team member, a confidant who strives to always be one step ahead by taking on increased responsibilities, challenges and opportunities, enabling the organization to strive for relevancy, to be a level above. She’s demonstrated strong leadership traits by taking on assignments including the successful submission of a workforce grant through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and being accepted into the Business Leads Fellowship program. She was recently elected chair of P-20, a multi-county consortium of education and business leaders working on initiatives to enhance the workforce of tomorrow.

Esmeralda Villarreal
President & CEO
Brownsville Chamber of Commerce
Brownsville, Texas
Nominated by chamber board chair Richard E. Abete, Senior Vice President Commercial Lending Department, International Bank of Commerce
Esmy is a fierce leader with a strong passion to serve her community. She inspires her staff daily to carry out the mission of the chamber. She displays leadership qualities, integrity and a strong work ethic which has paved the way to her being considered one of the top leaders in our community. Esmy is well-known and respected by chambers of commerce throughout Texas by her leadership role as an active board of director of the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Ryan Weaks
Director of Marketing & Communications
Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance
Lynchburg, Va.
Nominated by Christine Kennedy, CCE, IOM, CPC, Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President, Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance
Ryan’s first day was the day the COVID-19 pandemic closed down Virginia. He hit the ground running, managing all our COVID communications. He set up our virtual platforms and launched our virtual briefings and trainings all within a week of our state’s lockdown. But that doesn’t even begin to describe his contributions. Within 12 months, Ryan increased our Instagram followers by 500%, our LinkedIn and Facebook likes/followers by over 300 each. He set up our blog publishing 47 posts within seven months. His work with the press and media earned us 37 pieces in our regional paper and 89 mentions with our regional television stations. In 2021, he’s completely revamped the Alliance’s website, launched our new podcast and set up new non-profit and member focused weekly social media campaigns to highlight members.

Jonathan Weinhagen
President & CEO
Minneapolis Regional Chamber
Minneapolis, Minn.
Nominated by Chamber Board Chair Cassie Nelson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, McGough Construction
Jonathan brings passion, expertise and strong leadership skills to his role leading the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. In the Minneapolis region, our community has come together to address systemic racism and deal with the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. This occurred as businesses were also struggling through a global pandemic. As the largest and most diverse business association in the region, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber has helped lead the way in tackling these challenges and more. Jonathan has been the steady hand that our business community needed to provide a path forward and hope for a stronger tomorrow.

Katie Yeutter
Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer
Florida Chamber of Commerce
Tallahassee, Fla.
Nominated by Mark Wilson, CCE, President & CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce
Katie embodies the best leadership qualities and drives the innovative, forward-thinking work needed to propel our industry forward. She is playing an essential leadership role in transforming our organization into an entrepreneurial operating system that aligns the right talent with the right strategy and results in momentum and growth, while enhancing our corporate culture. Katie’s vision, coupled with strategic direction, has also been instrumental in leading the Florida Chamber in creating “the Florida Model” for Equality of Opportunity, including growing the Florida Prosperity Project, aimed at cutting Florida childhood poverty in half by 2030, launching our groundbreaking statewide diversity, equity and inclusion effort and a COVID-impact study on childcare, remote work and productivity.