Westfair Communications Inc., publisher of the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals and WAG magazine, has selected the winners of its Millennial Awards for 2019.
Thirty-two individuals from Westchester and Fairfield were chosen. The event recognizing their achievements is scheduled for Nov. 21 at Serafina at the Italian Center in Stamford.
A study released in November 2018 by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors said that relative to members of earlier generations, millennials are more racially diverse, more educated and more likely to have deferred marriage.
The study stated, “Millennials are less well off than members of earlier generations when they were young, with lower earnings, fewer assets and less wealth.”
The study also found that the severity of the 2007 global financial crisis and recession that followed “may have left a lasting impression on millennials, who were coming of age at that time, much like the Great Depression left a lasting impression” on its generation. The study referenced a Pew Research Center report defining millennials as individuals born between 1981 and 1997 and the U.S. Census Bureau defining the end date for the millennial category as 2000.
A study of millennials by the White House Council of Economic Advisers in October 2014 stated that millennials comprise the generation that will shape the U.S. economy. It referred to policies that the Obama administration put into place to address various challenges the millennial generation faces. Among them are: making student loan payments more affordable; promoting digital literacy and innovation; pushing for equal pay; supporting policies to create better-paying jobs; enhancing job training programs and increasing access to affordable health care.
The millennials to be honored at Westfair”™s event were selected by a panel of experts for their entrepreneurial spirit, passion and the lasting impact they”™ve been having in Westchester and Fairfield.
They are: Pakeeza Alam, a urogynecologist at CareMount Medical; Ina Gjoni Allkanjari, operations manager at Avanti Systems USA; Kelly Andersen, marketing director for the Wealth Continuum Group; Amanda Ayala, a singer; Theresa Baker, director, health care sponsor finance at Webster Bank; Tom Burbank, vice president of service operations at Atlantic Westchester; Nate Checketts, co-founder and CEO of Rhone; Michelle Eva Marie Colacion, senior manager at Deloitte Consulting; Alexandra Cooley, COO and co-founder of Greenworks Lending; Nicole Cuglietto, an attorney with Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP; Amanda DiPreta, art director of Catalyst Marketing Communications; Laura Donovan, founder of Sonder Financial; Lauren Enea, associate at Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano LLP; Rachel Gould, accounting manager at Aquarion Water Co.; Rebecca Graziano, associate director of marketing at Westmed Medical Group; David Jones, certified financial planner, the SKG Team at Barnum Financial Group; Adam Kirshner, manager of media and metadata operations at WWE; Brendan Klein, youth advocacy and engagement coordinator at the Westchester Institute for Human Development; Loni Richards, CEO and president of Service After Service; Manette Macias, manager of lab services at Hampford Research; Jillian McDonnell, sales associate + jeweler at D”™Errico Jewelry; Victoria McGruder, private wealth relationship manager at Merrill Private Wealth; Chelsea Merola, creative director at Grande Cosmetics; Krystina Murawski, owner and founder of Noomi; Tugba Pal, assistant director of physician relations services at Columbia Medical Center-Westchester Columbia Doctors; Nitin Sekhri, medical director of pain management and co-founder of WMC Headache Specialists at Westchester Medical Center; Stelios Stavrianos, founder/CEO of Cylinder Vodka; Nicole Thomas, vice president, middle market relationship manager at Wells Fargo Bank; Ken Tuccio, founder/CEO of Best Trivia Ever; John Varamo, program manager for the city of Stamford; Cassandra Vogel, counsel at Yankwitt LLP; and Adam C. Weiss, associate attorney at Lever & Ecker PLLC.
The keynote speaker for the evening will be Kristen Ruby of the Ruby Media Group.
The presenting sponsor is the UConn School of Business.
Sponsors in the Innovators category include Deloitte; Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano LLP; Val”™s Putnam Wines and Liquors; Yale New Haven Health Greenwich Hospital; Barnum Financial Group The SKG Team; and Aquarion Water Co. Sponsors in the Mentor sponsorship category include the Center for Children”™s Advocacy and CR Rajni Menon.
