Erie's 40 Under 40: Class of 2022

by Erie Reader Staff July 13, 2022 at 9:30 AM
Photos by Jessica Hunter

It's so hard to find good help these days — or so they say. But not you. And certainly not us.

We could fill binders with the number of nominations that pour in for Erie's 40 Under 40 annually, proof that there is a surplus of good help these days where our community is concerned. In fact, it's become increasingly difficult choosing just 40 candidates for our final list. Despite doubts early on in the Reader's lifespan, finding 40 worthy candidates each year is clearly no longer an issue (if it ever was).

Case in point — this is now our 10th class of Erie's 40 Under 40, and we are still astounded by the unique impacts Erie's young adults are making on our town and in their respective professions, which run the gamut from counselor to councilwoman, baker to tailor, filmmaker to podcaster, and almost everything and anything in between.

It's perhaps appropriate that 10th anniversaries are traditionally commemorated with tin — it's flexible enough to bend without breaking, resilient enough to stand up to heat without melting. These are attributes that serve us both as individuals and as a community, and they're exemplified by the honorees you're about to meet in these pages.

 Do you know someone who you would like to see in the 2023 class? Our online nominations are now open!

Written by: Jonathan Burdick (JB), Erin Phillips (EP), Ben Speggen (BS), Matt Swanseger (MS), Cara Suppa (CS), Amy VanScoter (AVS), Nick Warren (NW), and Jim Wertz (JW)

 

Photos by: Jessica Hunter

Nate Ross
Nate Ross, 28
Assistant Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager, Northwest Bank

As an Erie native and a graduate of McDowell High School and Gannon University, Nate Ross understands the power of building upon the roots and relationships planted here so long ago. Today, as a Commercial Relationship Manager for Northwest Bank, he helps folks invest in the community where he was raised and now raises his own family – with his wife Kristyn and son Wesley. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit local business and industry, Ross helped implement Northwest Bank's Paycheck Protection Program, working with his team around the clock to manually input loan applications so that local entrepreneurs could be approved as quickly as possible.

That type of dedication extends to his civic life as well, where he serves as chairman of the board of the Americans for the Competitive Free Enterprise System, vice president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Erie County, and treasurer of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church.

When not engaged in or promoting entrepreneurship, he's a powerhouse bowler and duck-pin bowler, boasting two 300 games and the Westway Bowling duck-pin score record — a whopping 279.

"Erie is a big small town," he says. "The future of Erie has only just begun and it is a great place to raise a family. I want to help our local business community grow and prosper to enhance job growth and increase the overall standard of living. We need to not take Erie for granted, but take the beauties of Erie and enhance them, collectively." — JW

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