Dallas Young Professionals

Choosing this year's 40 Under 40 for Dallas Business Journal proves hard work

It’s that time again, when the Dallas Business Journal releases the list of young professionals who made it to the coveted “40 Under 40” roster.

Announced June 17, this year’s class includes 15 women and 25 men, ranging in age from 27 to 39. The chosen few are not only impressive professionally, but personally and civically, this group offers an inspiring array of skill sets, passions and causes.

This year, I had the distinct pleasure of serving on the judges panel alongside several other “40 Under 40” alums from recent years. And I can officially attest to the difficultly of selecting the individuals to be awarded this honor.

These young professionals are running marathons on the weekends and executing million-dollar business deals on Monday.

The task to whittle down that list from hundreds of accomplished career- and community-oriented individuals to only 40 names is, to say the least, not an easy one.

But whittle we did. Those who made the cut are key executives for some of the city’s largest organizations. They are making a massive impact in the lives of Dallasites from a civic perspective. They are dentists and attorneys. Entrepreneurs and financial advisors. They are family men and women.

They are running marathons on the weekends and executing million-dollar business deals on Monday. These are the individuals who are asked constantly, "Do you ever have time to sleep?"

All together, one might wonder what this group can’t do. And the fact that they’re under 40 means they’ve only just begun.

Here are this year’s top 40 young professionals, as chosen by the DBJ:

Malcolm Allen, CEO, MyCEO Inc.

Donna Anderson, owner and president, DNA Transcomp and Houdek Enterprises Inc.

Evan Beattie, principal, Good Fulton & Farrell

Erica Bramer, executive vice president and partner, The BVA Group

Bryan Carter, senior pastor, Concord Church

Heath Cheek, associate, Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP

Kristen Colby, senior director of marketing, Front Burner Restaurants

Missy Cousino, managing director of internal and labor communications, American Airlines

Catherine Cuellar, executive director, Dallas Arts District

Maribel De Leon-Cantu, business adviser, Dallas SBDC

Dena DeNooyer Stroh, general counsel and corporate secretary, Murchison Oil and Gas Inc.

Bill DiGaetano, chief operating officer, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – DFW

Gabriella Draney, co-founder and CEO, Tech Wildcatters

Lacy Durham, tax manager, Deloitte LLP

Sarah Erickson, senior vice president and partner, Stream Realty Partners

Derrick Evers, CEO, Neal Richards Group

Danielle Girdano, president, D'fine Scultping & Nutrition LLC

Jonathan Gross, Co-CEO, Fusion Packaging

Dan Healy, CEO, Civitas Capital Management LLC

Clint Herzog, founder and CEO, Floss Dental

Stephen Holley, associate, Jones Lang LaSalle

Matt Houston, executive director, Group Excellence

Stephanie Johnson, founder and CEO, Bed Rest Concierge

Omar Khan, Co-CEO, NQ Mobile

Kevin Lavelle, owner, Mizzen + Main

Jay Liberman, associate vice president - financial advisor, RBC Wealth Management

Brian Livingston, CFO, Firebird Restaurant Group

Terrence Maiden, executive vice president, Corinth Properties

Kim Moore, marketing manager, City of Dallas Office of Economic Development

Carl Pankratz, city councilman/vice president legal counsel, City of Rowlett/Capital Title

Ben Patterson, president, Patterson & Associates Insurance Agency Inc.

Ward Richmond, vice president, Colliers International

Jon M. Ruff, senior vice president, Spire Realty Group LP

Chad Schieber, director of client services, The Beck Group

Edward Spooner, business development manager, Turner Construction Co.

Whitney Strauss, director of alumni relations and major gifts, Greenhill School

Myiesha Taylor, physician, Taylored Physician Professional Association

Jeronimo Valdez, founder and managing partner, Valdez Washington LLP

Ryan Valdez, partner, Cantey Hanger LLP

Brian Vanderwoude, shareholder, Winstead PC

Honorees will receive their awards at the Brookhaven Country Club on August 28 at 5:30 pm. Tickets can be obtained through the Dallas Business Journal.

Dallas Arts District executive director Catherine Cuellar.

Catherine Cuellar, executive director of Dallas Arts District

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Dallas Arts District executive director Catherine Cuellar.

unspecified

Reduce, Reuse, Relisten

McKinney record store joins creative effort to give old vinyl a new life

Photo by Eric Krull on Unsplash

A new program is trying to keep old vinyl out of landfills.

North Texas vinyl collectors going through the disappointment of discovering a damaged record in their collection can at least avoid sending it to the landfill. A new initiative is turning 11 independent record stores across the United States, including Red Zeppelin Records in McKinney, into vinyl take-back points for potential recycling.

The pilot is a collaboration among the record stores, Warner Music Group (WMG), and Virterras Materials, a recycling technology business that specializes in "challenging" materials like plastics and rubber. It will run from "the end of June through September," a press release says.

All customers have to do is drop off damaged records — any kind or condition is accepted.

The program is still in an exploratory phase; the partners don't know the best way to organize the collection yet, and they are vague about what the records might become. The release says the goal is "to better understand how damaged or unwanted records can be collected, consolidated, and directed toward potential material recovery pathways."

Funding comes from a grant from the Vinyl Institute.

The partners will gather information about participation rates, material quality, the work it takes to move and process the records, and the different possible outputs after recycling. The release notes that vinyl records have become more popular over the past decade, but that industry-wide information about disposal is lagging.

This May, WMG, GZ Media, and Abbey Road Studios completed a manufacturing study that confirmed that it is possible to turn unsold and obsolete records into new pressings with audio quality that is high enough for commercial sale. The take-back pilot continues pulling that thread.

Launching the pilot at different stores around the U.S. — those in "major music markets," the release says — serves to diversify the communities getting involved, whether it's locals with specific preferences or fans of different kinds of music.

Two other stores in Texas are participating: County Line Records in Keller and Antone's Record Shop in Austin.

Red Zeppelin Records is a locally owned record store located at 206 E. Louisiana St. in McKinney. It's open 11 am-6 pm Monday-Thursday, 10 am-8 pm Friday-Saturday, and 12-5 pm Sunday.

"Independent record stores have long served as gathering places for music fans and stewards of music culture," said Warner Music Group senior director of ESG Madeleine Smith in the release. "The pilot brings together retailers, recovery partners, and music fans to explore an important question: what would it take to create practical pathways for recovering unplayable or damaged vinyl records? It’s a vital first step in understanding what’s possible."

Participating stores include:

County Line Records (Keller, TX)
Red Zeppelin Records (McKinney, TX)
Antone’s Record Shop (Austin, TX)
Amoeba Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA)
Criminal Records (Atlanta, GA)
Easy Street Records (Seattle, WA)
Home Rule Records (Washington D.C.)
Rough Trade NYC (New York City, NY)
Spin Me Round (Easton, PA)
Reckless Records (Chicago, IL)
Sweat Records (Miami, FL)

record stores sustainability technology