40 Under 40 Awards - 2022

The 4th Annual 40 Under 40 Awards are the Cape Fear region's premier event to celebrate young professionals who are scaling businesses to new heights, making decisions that put their organizations on the map, or producing a seemingly infinite stream of impactful work in our community.

We plan to recognize the 2022 honorees during an event at 5:30 pm on September 29 at the Brooklyn Arts Center. Space is limited to 250 attendees. Free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be available. 

The deadline to purchase tickets is Thursday, September 22 at 11:55 PM. 
 

The list of honorees for 2022 is:
 

• Zedrick Applin, 39, head of diversity, equity, inclusion and community for nCino  
• Kimberly Bageant, 38, CFO and owner at Coastline Therapy Group LLC 
• Emily Barlas, 37, director of development and a licensed clinical mental health counselor at Cape Fear Psychological Services  
• Connor Barth, 36, an NFL football player, real estate developer, owner of Connor Barth Photography and part owner of Blue Shark Vodka 
• Victoria Bellamy, 31, public relations manager for FOCUS Broadband 
• Laura Bullock, 36, director of community engagement for Vigilant Hope 
• Donald Burns, 39, battalion chief of training for the Wilmington Fire Department 
• Webster Burrier IV, 27, director of wealth management for Dominion Wealth Management 
• Emily Byrum, 38, assistant capital defender with the Office of the Capital Defender 
• Jon Campbell, 37, pandemic operations manager for New Hanover County Health and Human Services 
• Lauren Diaz Clark, 33, care management program director for Coastal Horizons 
• Ben Currin, 32, CEO at Vantaca 
• Anya Davis, 39, literacy instructional coach at Trask Middle School 
• Leah DeMasters, 32, construction specialist for Live Oak Bank 
• Constance Foreman, 36, physician at Novant Health New Hanover Primary Care Wilmington, Navy Reserve lieutenant commander, and Beyond Clinic Walls Wellness owner 
• Franchon Francees, 38, founder of Healing Your Almond 
• Gino Galutera, 39, associate vice chancellor for business services at University of North Carolina Wilmington 
• Angel Garcia, 37, director of MI CASA Mentoring Program and assistant director of Centro Hispano at UNCW 
• Cameron Garvey, 28, executive chef at PinPoint Restaurant 
• Emmy Gibson, 30, Healthy Opportunities Pilot Project manager with Communities In Schools of Cape Fear 
• Travis Gilbert, 29, executive director for Historic Wilmington Foundation 
• Tyler Graham, 31, owner of Cape Fear Boil Company 
• Ryan Huffman, 39, agent and financial services certified professional with Farm Bureau Insurance 
• Adam Keen, 39, director of national accounts for MegaCorp Logistics 
• Brooke Lambert, 37, director of the Mohin-Scholz LGBTQIA Resource Center at UNCW 
• Christine Lamberton, 38, museum director at Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens 
• Michael Langston, 35, owner of Boseman's Shoes  
• Veronica Lett-McGee, 36, director of the Brunswick Center at Leland, a division of Brunswick Senior Resources 
• Allan Lusk, 31, general manager for the Wilmington Sharks Baseball Club 
• Bill McHugh, 37, town of Leland councilmember and associate contract manager at PPD-Part of ThermoFisher 
• Joey Milam, 37, mortgage loan officer at Alpha Mortgage 
• Scott Monroe, 38, CEO and co-founder of Essential Personnel 
• Jonathan Paschal, 36, principal at West Brunswick High School 
• Jerod Patterson, 39, communications director for the City of Wilmington 
• Daniel S. Ruisueno, 30, special victims unit detective with the Wilmington Police Department 
• Logan Thompson, 38, director of advancement at Cape Fear Community College 
• Sandy Thorpe, 34, partner with Parastream Real Estate Development  
• Marquise Tilman Sr., 29, social worker for New Hanover County Health and Human Services 
• Trevor Todd, 29, third-grade teacher at Castle Hayne Elementary School 
• Luke Waddell, 34, Wilmington City Council member and CEO at Cadence Realty Corporation 

To be eligible this year, nominees had to be younger than 40 years old as of September 29 and live or work in Brunswick, New Hanover, or Pender counties. 

A seven-member selection panel studied the nominations and met earlier this year to pick the winners. The panelists were: Natalie English, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce president and CEO; Sherry Jones, StarNews Media news director; Chris Montero, CEO & Sales Director, Perfect Touch Rental and previous award recipient; Travis Corpening, Diversity and Equity Specialist, New Hanover County and Founder/Executive Director at Young Mogul Development Group; Dane Scalise, General Counsel & Insurance Broker, GriffinEstep Benefit Group and Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Board Member and previous award recipient; Olivia Dawson, Mayor of Burgaw and Tourism Assistant at Pender County and previous award recipient; Margaret Haynes, Mayor Pro-tem for the City of Wilmington.

The StarNews will publish individual profiles on this year's honorees at StarNewsOnline.com on the night of September 29 and in a special section in the print newspaper on September 30. 

To learn more about event sponsorship opportunities, please contact Megan Mullins at mullins@wilmingtonchamber.org.