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This is the 24th year Inside Business has honored young professionals who are successful in their careers and involved in the community. The 40 people highlighted here represent a wide range of occupations. They all work hard and volunteer often to make Hampton Roads a better place.
It is our hope this honor encourages them and others to go out and work even harder to be successful and get involved. We thank our judges, listed here, whose commitment to this program has made it stronger over the years. We also recognize our sponsors and advertisers, without whose support the event and this publication about the honorees would not be possible.
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The event
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 17
Where: The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center, 4535 Commerce St., Virginia Beach
More information: virginiamedia.events/top40under40/
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The judges
Walter T. Camp
ATTORNEY, MEDIATOR, CMA AND CONSULTANT
Top 40 Class of 2001 | Walter T. Camp is an independent commercial mediator, and he serves clients as a business executive and consultant, attorney, owner’s representative on construction projects and certified management accountant. Selected by Volunteer Hampton Roads as the region’s 2022 Adult Volunteer of the Year, he is appointed to the Virginia Supreme Court’s mediation quality panel, Virginia Beach Active Transportation Advisory Committee (chair), Virginia Beach Mayor’s Commission on Offshore Wind & Clean Energy and Virginia Beach Citizen’s Committee on Boards & Commissions (vice chair). He serves as Historic Kempsville Citizens’ Advisory Committee secretary and volunteers for local nonprofits.
Wanda Cooper
OWNER, THE COOPER LAW FIRM
Top 40 Class of 2006 | Wanda Cooper is owner of the Cooper Law Firm and specializes in traffic and serious criminal defense matters. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Beach Bar Association. She has received many accolades, including Inside Business’ Women in Business and Top 40 awards, as well as the YWCA’s Woman of Distinction Award. She is on the school board of Green Run Collegiate.
Stephanie Gorham
CEO, VOLUNTEER HAMPTON ROADS
Stephanie Gorham is a seasoned nonprofit executive with over 20 years’ experience in Texas and Virginia. Volunteerism, board service especially, has been an important part of her life as she has served on 11 nonprofit boards since 2009, currently serving on boards for the Hampton Roads Workforce Council and Southeastern Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. She is a 2012 recipient of the Top 20 Under 40 in North Texas, a 2012 graduate of Leadership Wichita Falls, a 2019 graduate of the CIVIC Leadership Institute, and recognized in Inside Business’ 2021 Women in Business and 2022 Power List’s People to Watch.
Adam T. Rex
VICE PRESIDENT, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, ACCREDITED INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY, CORNERSTONE FINANCIAL SERVICES
Top 40 Class of 2010 | Adam Rex is a board registered financial planner in a family-owned, full-service financial advisory business. He volunteers with financial literacy programs and has a served on a number of boards, including United Way Young Leaders Society, National Institute for Learning Development, NAIFA and the Hampton Roads Chamber Ambassadors. His work focuses on helping clients to make fiscally sound decisions to set themselves up for “whatever comes next.”
Jennifer Ann Saunders Pfitzner
PARTNER, SAUNDERS, MATTHEWS & PFITZNER
Top 40 Class of 2007 | Jennifer Ann Saunders Pfitzner is a partner with accounting firm Saunders, Matthews & Pfitzner, PLLC. Her community involvement includes board positions with ForKids as treasurer, The Maury Foundation, The Wards Corner Lions Club and related foundation, and advisory positions with the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jacket Club and Cedar Point Ladies Golf Association. She is a 2016 graduate of the CIVIC Leadership Institute, a 2017 Women in Business honoree (Inside Business), and Norfolk Small Business of the Year honoree (Hampton Roads Chamber).
Owen Van Syckle
FOUNDER, SALES ACCELERATION ACADEMY
Top 40 Class of 2010 | Owen Van Syckle works with business owners by helping them stop unpaid consulting, generate more qualified leads and stop giving away their ideas and pricing for prospects to shop them around to competitors. He is the managing partner of Van Syckle Financial Group, a financial planning service firm that was created as a result of growing client sales in their companies. He is the author of “What You Know About Selling is NOT True,” a graduate of Lead 757 Class of 2009, graduate of CIVIC Leadership Institute’s Class of 2014 and founder of The Presidents Luncheon.
Danijel Velicki
FOUNDER, OPUS WEALTH STRATEGIES AND SQWIRE
Financial educator and founder of Opus Wealth Strategies and Sqwire LLC, Danijel Velicki is fiercely committed to equipping and empowering every single person he encounters with the information and resources to confidently thrive across all facets of life. After nearly 20 years in the financial and insurance services arena, Velicki committed his resources and expertise to develop a financial education platform that delivers online lessons and personalized support to help individuals and their families develop healthy spending habits and informed financial decisions that fuel their long-term sustainability and success. Arriving in the United States in 1995 with just $40 in his pocket, Velicki is living proof that the “American dream” is well within reach.
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