The power of ten

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23 — The Lansing Regional Chamber’s recognized some of the community’s rising stars last night with its ninth annual 10 Over The Next Ten awards at MSU’s University Club. This event recognizes top young professionals in Greater Lansing who are expected to contribute significantly to their community over the next ten years. Qualifying applicants are judged based on their professional achievements, community involvement and personal successes.

The following are recipients of the 2015 10 Over The Next Ten awards:

Andrew Belanger

Andrew Belanger is social media manager of MiTalent.Org and project manager of talent resources with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Belanger supports statewide talent programs and strategic communications for Pure Michigan Talent Connect, MiTalent.Org, the State of Michigan’s official labor exchange system. Serving as a statewide expert on talent resources for Michigan employers and local and state government stakeholders, Belanger provides leadership on talent-focused outreach strategies, partnerships, communications and marketing for MEDC talent attraction and retention initiatives. Andrew currently serves as a board of directors member for the Mid-Michigan Spartans Alumni Club and as a director at-large for the Central Michigan Public Relations Society of America (CMPRSA). Belanger received his bachelor of science from Ferris State University in 2008 and completed his master’s degree in education at Michigan State University in July 2014.

Scott Dane

Scott Dane was chosen to lead the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) in 2006. His volunteer experience in the nonprofit, combined with his desire to be involved in the soccer community, helped him to grow CASL’s geographic reach and player participation. Holding his United States Soccer Federation ‘C’ license and various NSCAA professional development certificates, as well as leading the MSU men’s club soccer team, Dane has remained an active member of the soccer community for quite some time. Dane has also worked to make the game more accessible for those in underserved communities. He spearheaded efforts to collect and redistribute used athletic shoes and has led the efforts to make the Beacon Soccer Field a reality for downtown Lansing. He currently serves as the executive director for the Capital Area Soccer League, executive director for the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association, varsity coach for the Grand Ledge Boys and Girls soccer teams, staff coach for Michigan Rush Lansing and head coach for the MSU men’s club soccer team.

John Kaczynski

John Kaczynski serves as the director of governmental affairs at Saginaw Valley State University. Kaczynski has been with SVSU since 2006 and previously served as the director of the James A. Barcia Center for Public Policy & Service. Kaczynski holds bachelor of science and master of public administration degrees from Central Michigan University. He is also a doctoral candidate in the higher education administration program at Michigan State University. Since 2004, Kaczynski has worked on various policy projects for state & local government. These projects have included a transportation project for the City of Cadillac, a brownfield redevelopment project for the City of Grand Haven, a strategic planning session for the City of Saginaw and facilitating a community survey for both the City of Bay City and City of Midland. He has also worked on policy projects for Michigan State University, the DMVA and for the Office of the Governor. Kaczynski serves on the leadership team for the Michigan Political Science Association, the Ransom E. Olds Transportation Museum, the Sycamore Park Neighborhood Association and the Central Michigan University Young Alumni Board. He is also active as an active volunteer for the various civic organizations in the Lansing Capital Region.

Amanda Lick

Amanda Lick graduated from Michigan State University with a master’s degree in health and risk communication. She currently works as the manager of advocacy, governmental and regulatory affairs at the Michigan Pharmacists Association. She founded OPAL Consulting, a firm that was created to improve awareness and education related to prescription drug abuse and opiate overdoses. Lick believes that communities are our extended family, so she serves on the boards of two community organizations, including the Families Against Narcotics Okemos Chapter board as the executive secretary. She has been active in Michigan increasing awareness of the prescription drug misuse and unintentional poisoning epidemic in the state and nationally.

Lauren Long

An Okemos native, Lauren Long has made it her mission to contribute to Greater Lansing through her small business, Curvaceous Lingerie, which opened its doors in November 2012. After graduating from MSU, her passion for ladies formalwear moved her around the country, where she gained hands-on experience in retail, management and purchasing. Always a leader and advocate for women, Long satisfies the need to empower local women through Curvaceous, believing everyone has a right to feel beautiful from small through plus sizes. She supports several breast cancer research organizations, has created many local body-positive campaigns and is currently working with Lansing Community College and the Runway to bring a lingerie design competition to Lansing.

Aaron Pumfery

Aaron Pumfery has held several positions on the agency and media side of advertising, allowing him to acquire a diverse set of tools and an ideology based around ROI. He has been a creative force at Edge for over six years, specializing in creative direction, art direction, design, conception, ideation and more. Starting as an art director, he lent his talents to numerous projects from high-profile campaigns to small start-ups. He is ready to work with team members and clients to strategize, concept and develop effective, award-winning campaigns. He is a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in advertising. Pumfery has earned numerous awards for his innovative projects from Mid-Michigan Creative Alliance, Public Relations Society of America, West Michigan Ad Club, Ad Club of Champaign-Urbana, Health Care Marketing Report, the American Advertising Federation and the Telly Awards.

Stephen Purchase

Stephen Purchase is the vice president of H. Incorporated, a Lansing-based urban development firm specializing in historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse. He previously served as former State Rep. Marc Corriveau’s legislative director and is an alum of Michigan State University, where he majored in political theory and constitutional democracy and international relations. Purchase stays active in the Spartan community (especially with the James Madison College), volunteering his time with the Alumni Association and attending various MSU sporting events. Purchase currently serves as the board chair of the Educational Child Care Center in Lansing and is a part of the planning committee for Scrapfest in Old Town, Lansing’s Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and the Corporate Board for Michigan Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership.

Joseph Quick

Joe Quick serves as director of business solutions for the Michigan Works! Association. He focuses on how the workforce/talent system in Michigan interacts with employers to provide talent acquisition and development solutions. He also works the on design and facilitation of Michigan’s Business Solutions Professional certification program. Previously, Quick served as manager of talent programs for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. He oversaw several additional talent event programs, initiatives and services in his time with MEDC, including talent acquisition services, social media strategies, e-newsletter distribution, Pure Michigan Opportunity events, the State of Michigan’s Fidelity Bonding Program, and the SHARE Network. Quick is a certified economic development finance professional and a certified business solutions professional and received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Michigan State University. Heavily involved in the performing arts scene, he has served on several arts and culture boards and committees throughout the Greater Lansing area.

Jodi Schafer

Jodi Schafer is the owner and general partner of Human Resource Management Services, LLC. She is a certified senior professional in human resources, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education from Kalamazoo College. She has over a decade of human resource management experience, working in both for-profit and nonprofit sectors with small and mid-sized employers. Her areas of expertise include employee relations, training, onboarding, recruitment and retention. Schafer writes a regular HR column for various state-wide publications, conducts training seminars through the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and serves on various committees related to HR policy and leadership development.

Tony Willis

Tony Willis is the director of the new economy division at Lansing Economic Area Partnership, where he establishes and extends programming for entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the counties of Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton. He helps businesses tap into the vast amount of resources Greater Lansing has to offer, whether it is the Business Accelerator Fund, business pitch competitions, local incubators, or other available resources. As the managing partner of the Hatching, Willis helps coordinate a monthly event which brings together the public and private sectors as well as community and academia to promote and support entrepreneurship. Prior to joining LEAP, Willis spent the past three years as a business services specialist at MSU Federal Credit Union. In this role, Willis specialized in business development, account management, and commercial lending with a focus on startups. Willis is a proud Spartan, having earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with specialization in PR from MSU. Willis prides himself with being connected and involved, so he maintains active involvement with many organizations including the Lansing Regional Chamber, Lansing Community College Foundation, Delta Side Business Association, and Startup Weekends.