Avenue Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 for 2013

With the unveiling tonight of Avenue Edmonton’s fifth annual Top 40 Under 40, there have now been 200 amazing, young Edmontonians recognized. The latest group was honored this evening at the Royal Alberta Museum.

Every year, Avenue magazine recognizes Capital Region’s most exceptional young community leaders. The Top 40 Under 40 list honours individuals under the age of 40 who are excelling in their careers, giving back to the community and raising the profile of Edmonton.

Both Minister of Culture Heather Klimchuk and Mayor Don Iveson (who was recognized in 2009) brought greetings to the event. “This is a city that loves to defy expectations,” the mayor said. “There are many leaders in this room. There might even be a mayor among you!”

Here’s the Top 40 for 2013 and where you can find them online (in alphabetical order):

• Alex Abboud, Policy Advisor, Homeward Trust Edmonton
• Janelle Aker, Co-Founder, I Dig Your Girlfriend
• Jessica Baudin-Griffin, Owner, J’Adore Dance & Intellidance
• Spencer Beach, Professional Speaker, Spencer Speaks Inc.
• Don Berner, Freelance Musician
• Danisha Bhaloo, Manager of Fund Development, BGCBigs Edmonton
• Nathin Bye, Corporate Chef/Partner, Wildflower Grill/Lazia/East
• Arman Chak, Legal Counsel, Alberta Human Rights Commission
• Irfan Chaudhry, Instructor, MacEwan University
• Ellen Chorley, Artistic Director/Founder, Promise Productions
• Alexis Marie Chute, Artist/Photographer/Writer
• Sameer Dhar, Co-Founder, Geomeer Charitable Society
• Grant Fedoruk, President, Leading Edge Physiotherapy
• Aaryn Flynn, Studio General Manager/VP, BioWare
• Jennifer Flynn, Executive Director, Legal Education Centre of Alberta
• Rona Fraser, President, Event Energy
• George Heidt, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Geomeer Charitable Society
• Alexis Hillyard, Supervisor, Institute for Sexual Minority Studies, University of Alberta
• Salima Kheraj, Senior Project Manager, Beaverbrook Developments
• Richard Kirby, Office Managing Partner, Felesky Flynn LLP
• Jessica Kluthe, Writer/Instructor, MacEwan University
• Kim Knull, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Walk-In Counselling Society of Edmonton
• Blair Lebsack, Chef/Owner, RGE RD
• Sorin Mihailovici, Founder, Scam Detector Inc.
• Keri Mitchell, Executive Director, Theatre Alberta
• Janice Moore, VP Resource Development, Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta/NWT
• Brian Murray, Strategic Coordinator, Sustainable Development, City of Edmonton
• Dr. Dhiren Naidu, President, HealthPointe Medical Centres
• Carol Neuman, Executive Director, Alberta Students Executive Council
• Abraham Nunes, Co-Founder, Care-Q
• Ian O’Donnell, Field Services, Manasc Isaac Architects
• Michelle Ponich, Director Development/Community Relations, Edmonton Down Syndrome Society
• Adam Rozenhart, Digital Strategist, Calder Bateman
• Michael Serpe, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta
• Dr. Michael Stickland, Director, Centre for Lung Health
• Rob Tarulli, Senior Land Use Planner, Edmonton Catholic Schools
• Danny Turner, Co-Founder, The Organic Box
• Toscha Turner, Principal/Partner, Swell Social Venture
• Ben Weinlick, Founder, ThinkJar Collective
• Terry Wittingham, President, KellerDenali Construction

Congratulations to all the winners! There are some names there that have me saying “finally” and others who I’m happy to be introduced to. I look forward to learning more about this new group of Top 40 alumni.

For those of you who care about such things, the average of this year’s list is 34.3 and there are 24 males and 16 females.

The cover of the new issue features Aaryn Flynn. You can read more about all of the individuals above at Avenue Edmonton. There’s lots more to see on Twitter using the #top40yeg hashtag too.

Want to see who made the list in past years? Check out my posts from 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.