The 14th annual 10 Over the Next Ten Awards were held virtually on Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 6 until to 7 p.m. This event recognizes Greater Lansing’s top young professionals who are expected to contribute significantly to our community over the next ten years. The event was co-hosted by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC) and Grand River Connection (GRC).
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2020 10 Over the Next Ten Awards:
Matthew Anderson serves as executive director at Engaged Outreach, an education consulting firm focused on developing programmatic solutions for K-12, higher education, businesses, and non-profits. In 2018-2019, he worked closely with the local Dale Carnegie franchise and Engaged Outreach to establish numerous statewide and regional talent development partnerships. For his efforts, he was recognized by Dale Carnegie & Associates as the No. 1 corporate trainer in the world. He was born in Lansing and is a 2009 graduate of Michigan State University (MSU). In 2012, he was appointed to the MSU’s School of Hospitality Business Alumni Association Board of Directors. He started an endowment, the Ronald F. & Shelley G. Cichy Hospitality Business Student Leaders Endowment, the fastest-growing endowment funded by more than one person in MSU’s history.
Zachary Armstrong serves as the Founder & Wealth Advisor of Allied Integrated Wealth. He passed the rigorous three-part examination and earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and earned a real estate salesperson license. He graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Zach as been very active in the community serving as a member of the Lansing Economic Club Committee and a Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Ambassador. He was recently appointed to the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan Board of Directors.
Ceci Bordayo is CEO of Pass the Mic and Pass it On, Inc., an organization that has been able to feed hundreds of families, provide household items and counseling services, and mentorship. Her most fulfilling professional accomplishment occurred earlier this year when she was granted the deed to a building on the northside of Lansing. She envisions turning into a center for children and youth. She hopes the center will provide space for the next generation to create, develop, and become community cultivators. Living in Lansing since she was three years old, Ceci has been very active in the community, including working in a soup kitchen, the Lansing City Rescue Mission, local camps, House of Promise, and Maranatha Bilingual Church. Through Pass the Mic and Pass It On, she has led a team of volunteers to run a summer program called Own Your Color Camp.
Grace Braatz-Opper is a financial representative for Modern Woodmen of America. She graduated from Northwood University with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2015. She has passed the Life, Health, Series 6, Series 63 and Variable License exams. After completing those licenses by the age of 21, she earned the FIC and FICF designations. She was named the Michigan Fraternalist of the Year in 2017, and was named to her industry’s All Stars Club in 2018. She is a member of the Lansing area NAIFA and YAT groups, president of the Michigan FIC Board and treasurer of the Lansing area non-profit, ASPIRE. She is on the Old Town Board of Directors and serves on the Old Town Design Committee. She is also active with Junior League of Lansing.
Amanda Davis serves as the community outreach director for WLNS-TV 6. She works closely with local business owners, non-profit and community organizations and the WLNS news and sales teams. In 2018, she helped launch Connecting with Community, which has a goal of improving life in Mid-Michigan through a cause-based marketing strategy. Amanda was born and raised in Lansing and is a graduate of Michigan State University. She strives to impact the region through her community involvement which includes volunteering for Habitat for Humanity Capital Region, Food Bank of South-Central Michigan, House of Promise and Capital Area Humane Society. She has served on numerous boards, includingLansing Community College Alumni Committee,and ATHENA WINEvening of Empowerment.
Katie Krick is a commercial insurance producer with Cedar River Insurance Agency. During her years in the insurance industry, she has earned the Lamplighter Award for life insurance production, an accomplishment achieved by fewer than 20 percent of sales reps nationally. She is a six-time Pacesetters winner, a 2018 Webbie Life Insurance winner, and a Pursuit of Excellence recipient. She is a fifth-generation Lansing native and a graduate from the James Madison College of Public Policy at Michigan State University. Katie Krick is an active member of the Lansing Community. She is a board member of the Lansing Women’s Forum, Meridian Area Business Association, and among others. She is also a current volunteer and Board Member of Hospice of Lansing & Stoneleigh Residence.
Joe Lewis II serves as a project manager for C2AE, where he specializes in manufacturing and government projects. Demonstrating immense skill, he quickly became one of C2AE’s youngest project managers. He was assigned to lead projects for Magna International, one of the world’s largest Tier 1 automotive supply companies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from North Carolina A&T. He is a graduate of the Lansing School District and has participated in the Junior Achievement Reverse Job Shadow Program at several of the district’s schools, which gives students interactive presentations about architecture and engineering. He is also involved in FUNdamentals, an organization focused on creating curricula for children and adults in engineering, music, art, finance, civics, aviation, and math.
Lisa Nguyen is senior projects and public relations officer for Delta Dental. She uses her interpersonal skills to inspire, lead and engage all Delta’s stakeholders in the work the company does as a leading dental benefits company. She has built several successful projects at Delta, including a Girl Scout patch program focused on oral health, which teaches scouts how the mouth links to their overall health and well-being. Lisa was born in Lansing and graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism. Giving back to the community has been a lifelong goal of hers. She has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters since she graduated from high school and recently enjoyed the privilege of seeing her “little” go to college where she is double-majoring in business and psychology. She is involved with numerous community boards, including Woldumar Nature Center, Small Talk Children’s Advocacy Center, and the Public Relations Society of America.
Josh Robertson holds a bachelor’s and law degree from Western Michigan University. For the past five years, he has represented the non-profit Child Advocacy Centers of Michigan before the legislature and was instrumental in passing several bills that assisted their work in Michigan. He has also been involved with Forensic Fluid Laboratories, a woman-owned business that focuses on helping four states, including Michigan, in controlling drug use and abuse. Josh and his wife are incredibly proud to work and live in downtown Lansing, purchasing a 105-year old home through the Ingham County Land Bank.
Lillian Werbin is chief operations officer/human resources director at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. She is striving to become the second generation of the Werbin family to own and operate Elderly Instruments since 1972. Lillian is passionate about building communities by using communication and music to address social gaps. She earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Western Michigan University and subsequently returned to her native Lansing. Through working with local and national boards such as the Old Town Commercial Association, Decolonizing the Music Room and Bluegrass Pride, Lillian has learned the importance creating and maintaining inclusionary spaces and using natural differences to forge a deeper connection to one another. She also chairs the Safe Venue Project, working on establishing a network of inclusive music venues.