2016 Elite 40 under 40 Class set; public to pick 'Best of the Best' in online vote

Starting this week, the public can now cast an online vote to choose the winner of the Oakland County Executive's Elite 40 under 40 Class of 2016. Nearly 450 applications and nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges, looking for the top 40 young professionals and thought leaders who live or work in Oakland County. The 40 honorees have achieved excellence in their field and contributed to the quality of life in their communities. Of that group, the three candidates who scored the highest are placed before the public vote to determine a 2016 winner. This is the fifth year of the Elite 40 program. "The future of Oakland County and for that matter the country will be in good hands," County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "We went through scores of applications, write ups and testimonials and we think the whole class is superb and the top three are outstanding." Voting continues through Friday, Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. Individuals may vote once every 24 hours at AdvantageOakland.com/Elite40. Among other opportunities, the top vote getter will introduce Patterson at his State of the County Address on Feb. 10. Online voters must choose between: - Jeanette "Jenny" M. Brown, 31, Program Coordinator, Dutton Farm. Brown is a former collegiate basketball player and an Oakland University graduate who was studying for a law degree when she shifted gears and decided to help people with special needs transition into society. Dutton Farm is a Rochester-based non-profit that serves more than 100 tri-county residents a month. It employs 17 adults with severe impairments at competitive wages a first-of-its-kind business model for people with disabilities. The program has been featured in various media reports. It aims to provide independence, meaningful work and socialization for its clients and partners with multiple school districts and also with Oakland Community College in its mental health programming to help train future mental health professionals. It has been awarded grants from the Autism Society of Oakland County and various service organizations and retailers. She is a licensed foster parent and has been a foster parent to seven children. She and her husband adopted two of the children. - Nick Moroz, 32, CTO and founding member, Detroit Materials, Inc. Moroz is a manufacturing and advanced materials innovator and entrepreneur. His company, Wixom-based Detroit Materials, commercializes the highest strength low-alloy castable steel in the world. Moroz was key in investing the lightweight steel, which is used in defense, automotive, heavy truck and agriculture. He has helped acquire grants totaling more than $450,000, which are projected to create 130 jobs in Oakland County in the next five years. Moroz co-patented a manufacturing technology and helped raise $5 million in capital at a company he co-founded. He has won numerous awards and was honored by the University of Michigan College of Engineering for entrepreneurial leadership in 2014. He is a graduate of Albion College and the University of Michigan where he is expected to receive his Ph.D. this year. Moroz also mentored high school students in Northville and Southfield in the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Program. - Ali Woerner, 38, Assistant Professor of Dance, Oakland University. Woerner, has taught dance at Oakland University for the past six years and is the co-founder and co-director of the non-profit professional modern dance company, Take Root. Since its inception in 2013, the troupe has been invited to teach master classes and perform in South Korea, Germany, the National Theater of Costa Rica and numerous locations throughout the United States. Woerner, a one-time Radio City Music Hall Rockette who has toured the world as a freelance choreographer, has received kudos for offering a dance class for people who have Parkinson's disease. She has more than 40 participants in the class, which come Oakland County and the surrounding area. She has led demonstration classes at various hospitals in the county, for physical therapists so that they might understand the program and pass it onto their clients as well as the Older Persons' Commission in Rochester. She has a master's degree in dance choreography and performance from the University of Michigan. The members of the 2016 Oakland County Executive's Elite 40 Under 40 class are: - Andrew Androff, co-owner and director of marketing, Professional Movers.com, 37. - Ethan Baker, attorney/owner, Law Offices of Ethan D. Baker, 36. - Brian Birney, president & CMO, The Birney Directive, 35. - Kathleen Borschke, senior account director, The Fulkerson Group, 35. - Christopher Brower, director, Marketing and Strategic Planning, Aluminum Blanking Co.,35. - Amelia Brown, leadership development consultant, Consumers Energy, 32. - Jeanette Brown, program coordinator, Dutton Farm, 31. - Jeffrey Campbell, assistant city manager, City of Hazel Park, 37. - Laura Casai, director of Interior Design, TMP Architecture, Inc., 32. - Nathan Conway, CEO Fortis Energy Services, Inc., 38. - Clarence Dass, assistant prosecuting attorney, Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, 30. - Kelli Dobner, chief development officer, Judson Center, 36. - Florence Doo, founder/CEO Surgerati, LLC, 26. - Daniel Dumas, lieutenant, Waterford Regional Fire Dept., 35. - Michelle Elder, business development manager, Michigan Economic Development Corp., 36. - Christopher Fitzmaurice, president, Teddy's Ts and Buttons, 32. - Napoleon Harrington, founder/therapist, Ambassador Counseling & Resource Group, 36. - Kathryn Katz, partner, Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP, 32. - Erin Klug, partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, 31. - Kathleen Logan, regional coordinator, Michigan Veteran Affairs Agency, 33. - Andrew Magnus, president, Bright Side Markets, 33. - Christopher Martella, attorney, Kemp Klein Law Firm, 37. - Erik Meier, founder/CEO, EAM Consulting Group/Sandler Training, 33. - Nick Moroz, CTO and co-founder, Detroit Materials, Inc., 32. - Talisa Norton, co-owner/ COO, All Pro Color, 36. - Alison Orlans, president and CEO, Orlans Group, 36. - Suzanne Perreault, DDA executive director, Village of Lake Orion, 33. - Phillip Pittman, principal, Keith Elementary, Walled Lake Consolidated School District, 38. - Robert Ray, senior wealth strategy associate, UBS Financial Services Inc., 36. - Jonathan Schwartz, attorney, Seyburn Kahn PC, 33. - Reese Serra, attorney and counselor, Serra Legal PC, 31. - RachelSmith, patent attorney, Brooks Kushman, 32. - DeAnte Thompkins, workforce development technician, Michigan Dept. of Transportation, 27. - Doug Tietz, senior advisor, Congressman Dave Trott, 35. - Theresa Tran, executive director, Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote Michigan, 31. - Jordan Twardy, executive director, Eight Mile Boulevard Association (8MBA), 29. - Sachin Varma, director, Health Alliance Plan, 37. - Andrea Walker-Leidy, community relations coordinator, Crittenton Home Care, 33. - Linda Williams, economic & community engagement supervisor, City of Madison Heights, 38. - Ali Woerner, assistant professor of dance, Oakland University, 38. Published: Wed, Jan 27, 2016

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