Erie's 2018 '40 Under 40'

A cross cultures and across religions, 40 is a number steeped in symbolic significance. It is the number of years Moses and the Hebrew people wandered the desert before finding the Promised Land. It was the prophet Muhammad's age when he received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. Forty days is a standard period of fasting in Christianity and Hinduism. Secularly, it is the number of spaces on a Monopoly board, the amount of ounces separating Sublime from freedom, and the highest number ever counted to on Sesame Street.

And since 2013, 40 has been a figure that has figured heavily into the Erie Reader's annual calendar, as the "40 Under 40" feature celebrates the young adults making an impact in the community and keeping Erie's arrow pointed consistently upward. If the multitude of nominations we received is any indication, these are not lean times in terms of our city's longterm outlook. Hundreds of nominations were received, with the finalists carefully selected. From this we've assembled an impressive list of young professionals, entrepreneurs, and activists across an array of disciplines — from lawyers to musicians, from school teachers to head chefs, from hair stylists to gallery owners and more.

There is a saying that "life begins at 40," but these folks are off to one heck of a head start — and as long as they stay on that trajectory, our city and our future stand to be the major beneficiaries.