Erie's 40 Under 40: Class of 2024

by Erie Reader Staff July 3, 2024 at 7:45 AM
Jessica Hunter

We are living through a time on planet Earth when it can be hard to find much hope. We're getting bombarded with bad news from nearly every angle and disillusionment is a very real reaction to all that we're either experiencing or witnessing. What is it that can give us hope for the future? The answer invariably lies with our youth.

Each year for the past 12 years, the Erie Reader editors have sifted through hundreds of nominations to decide which 40 people under 40 years old should be featured. And with each of those nominations, our hope-o-meter ticks ever upward.

What is always so uplifting about this list year after year are the myriad ways that each of the honorees makes a difference in our community: through government and politics, through volunteerism, by speaking up, by lending a helping hand, by creating art, by teaching the next generation of leaders, or by simply following wherever their ideas and motivations lead them — by having the confidence in their own ability to make change and do good. And that should give us all hope for the future. It's right here — in Erie and among these pages, with these 40 along with the 440 who have come before them.

Won't you join us in celebrating them? The 12th Class of Erie's 40 Under 40!

 

Written by: Jonathan Burdick (JB), Chloe Forbes (CF), Ally Kutz (AK), Erin Phillips (EP), Cara Suppa (CS), Matt Swanseger (MS), Amy VanScoter (AVS), and Nick Warren (NW)

All photography by Jessica Hunter

Do you know someone you would like to see in an upcoming class? Our online nominations for 2025's class are now open! Just visit eriereader.com/40under40nomination

Anna Lindvay
Anna Lindvay, 35
Community Advocate and Organizer / Barista, Werner Books & Coffee

When Anna Lindvay isn't brewing up delicious coffee concoctions at her day job as a barista at Werner Books & Coffee (whose staff recently received the inaugural Safe Space of the Year award from local nonprofit Compton's Table), she's working to make Erie a fairer, more equitable, and just place for all of our citizens.

Lindvay, an East High School graduate, works throughout the city and county, advocating for those causes that directly affect our community. She is an organizer and moderator for Project Minerva, which is a grassroots organization committed to the preservation and support of the Blasco Library; she is a member of Keep Our Library Public; she is a member and organizer with the Erie chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America; and she is a member leader with Erie County United.

The goal she shares with her fellow community organizers is to bring progressive social and political ideals to a local level of action and change.

Lindvay explains the kind of work she does, "The last time that Trump came to town, instead of simply protesting his visit, myself and others with the Democratic Socialists of America organized a mutual aid gathering in Perry Square where we platformed local progressive political candidates and managed to collect enough nonperishables to fill every Little Free Pantry within the city — turning a potentially stressful and polarizing moment into something positive and proactive for the community."

In addition to this work, Lindvay's efforts (including deploying petitions, email campaigns, and drawing speakers and crowds to council meetings) were key in the adoption of Andre Horton's resolution to make sure that the kind of censorship that led to Pride displays being removed from the Blasco Public Library would not happen in the future.

In her own words, "I try to make Erie a better place by advancing the ideas of civic engagement, mutual aid, and community building — and by showing that you don't need to be an elected official or have a bunch of money in order to make an impact."

When Lindvay isn't engaging in local advocacy, she enjoys reading, playing the guitar, and gardening. She doesn't drive or own a car and hopes to never need to. And Erie is lucky to call her a permanent resident, "After leaving and returning many times, I'm now saving to buy a home here. I hope to be able to attend city council and school board meetings with the weight of being a tax-paying property owner." — EP

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